Category: Religion

The British monarchy should be reformed to represent modern, secular Britain

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The British monarchy should be reformed to represent modern, secular Britain

By Khadija Khan British society remains grief-stricken after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who was widely admired for the commendable service to her country. Her eldest son, King Charles III, will be crowned on May 6. The new King has been receiving much adoration and reverence from the British people, as well as some criticism for having a Coronation amid a current cost of living crisis in the UK. But whatever your opinion of the coronation or indeed the monarchy, this is the beginning of a new era in…

To Fast Or Not To ‘Let Others’ Fast

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To Fast Or Not To ‘Let Others’ Fast

By Shamila Ghyas It’s that time of the year again when everyone starts fighting whether it is Ramzan Mubarak, Ramadan Kareem or a chutney of the two – Ramzan Kareem. Call it whatever you like, but one thing is certain: we will once again spend this year not bathing in the spirituality of fasting, but rather worrying if the neighbor’s aunt’s daughter’s husband is fasting or not. Whether cousin Shabana really can’t fast or is she just lying about it. Why that guard outside my favorite shoe store took a…

Wakefield ‘blasphemy’ incident is a wake-up call that we could lose the the freedoms we enjoy in Britain

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Wakefield ‘blasphemy’ incident is a wake-up call that we could lose the the freedoms we enjoy in Britain

By Khadija Khan Nearly 400 years ago, the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei was convicted of heresy. His crime was to confirm the view that the sun rather than the earth was the centre of the solar system. While today we believe this to be a scientific fact, the Catholic Church at that time believed it was the sun that moved around the earth – a fact of scripture that could not be disputed. Galileo caused huge offence to the Church and, as a result, was prosecuted and put under house…

Religious superstitions and the coronavirus pandemic

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Religious superstitions and the coronavirus pandemic

By Khadija Khan In the past, in the absence of scientific explanation, superstitious beliefs and unfounded assumptions about what causes deadliest plagues and contagious diseases led to horrific outcomes – and blame was usually heaped on the actions of minority groups in society for having ‘caused’ it all. Ironically, while anybody can get an infectious disease, it is actually the most vulnerable ones – women for example – who bear the brunt of the devastation in the aftermath of a pandemic. Therefore, religious people today implying the legalisation of abortion…

Sports should be free from political and religious influence

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Sports should be free from political and religious influence

By Khadija Khan   It was heart-warming for many of us to hear the World Cup-winning Irish-born captain Eoin Morgen’s remarks, “We had Allah with us as well”. The captain used the opportunity to promote diversity and inclusion that epitomises the men’s English cricket team as the winners of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He added: “I spoke to Adil (Rashid); he said Allah was definitely with us. I said we had the rub of the green.” Muslims tend to give all credit of their success to Allah, therefore…

The Parkfield school controversy was all about homophobia

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The Parkfield school controversy was all about homophobia

By Saima Baig   The only reason to tell children that having two mommies or two daddies in a family is ‘not appropriate’ is if you are a homophobe. Talking about safe and healthy relationships, without considering the gender of the parents, is not something that should ever be considered unsuitable.   However, this is exactly what happened in Birmingham, UK, when Parkfield Community School introduced the No Outsiders programme, the brainchild of its assistant head Teacher Andrew Moffat.  Issues addressed include gender and gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, disability…

The burden of reform and why we do it

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The burden of reform and why we do it

Arshia Malik “The 21st century belongs to women of Muslim heritage,” said Jimmy London [Sedaa contributor Jimmy Bangash] in a Facebook post/thread. He is right. When we expose or talk about our lives under Muslim culture, we are not just doing it out of spite, we do it for our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, scores of neighbours, friends and relatives whose troubled lives spilled before us while growing up and getting conditioned into our culture. We could do nothing except watch and listen and observe as the adult women consoled,…

International Conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression in the 21st Century

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International Conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression in the 21st Century

In April 2017 Pakistani student Mashal Khan was killed by an angry mob in the premises of his university over fake allegations of posting blasphemous content online. Sadly, Mashal’s death is not a one-off incident. Even now dissenters continue to be threatened, silenced, no-platformed, intimidated and even killed for rejecting and criticising Islam. This is why a celebration of apostasy, blasphemy and the free word are historical tasks. One Law for All and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (marking its tenth anniversary) are aiming to host the largest gathering of secularists, freethinkers and ex-Muslims as…

The right to enquiry

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The right to enquiry

By Arshia Malik   Altamira, in Spain, is a testimony to the fact that the “early people” had developed a sense of consciousness and the instinct to enquiry, judging by the inaccessible grottos and niches they crawled into just to express themselves, with the rudimentary tools and pigments their early minds had made efforts to invent. I am not sure if most of the constitutions of the world have the right to enquiry, but it seems to be an obvious truth that there should be an irrevocably, undisputed article in…

The Reality Behind the ECJ’s So-Called “Headscarf Ban”

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The Reality Behind the ECJ’s So-Called “Headscarf Ban”

By Tehmina Kazi   The debate on Tuesday’s European Court of Justice ruling on the “visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign” is riddled with misinformation. With headlines that scream, “headscarf bans,” and the fact that the law in this area is incredibly complex, is it any wonder that many observers are left scratching their heads? Let’s look at the facts. This ruling focuses on two different cases in different countries: Belgium and France. The Belgian woman had been working as a receptionist for G4S Secure Solutions and…