HUNDREDS CELEBRATE BIRTH OF THE PROPHET

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Hundreds celebrate birth of the Prophet

Nearly 2,000 Muslims took part in a procession to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad.

The Milad Un-Nabi celebration took place in Leicester on Sunday.

The procession started with prayers at the Islamic Centre in St Peter's Road and followed a long route through the city, despite persistent snow, to the Central Mosque, in Conduit Street. It was followed by a meal for 3,000 people.

Organiser Mustafa Malik Salim said: "It was a very peaceful procession with between 1,500 and 2,000 people.

"The procession was held on the Sunday nearest the birthday, on Thursday."

Malik Salim, chairman of the committee in charge of the Islamic Centre and Central Mosque, said: "After the procession, 3,000 people sat down to a meal.

"It was a joyful and peaceful event."

AS MUSLIMS WE WILL SHOW LOVE FOR JESUS

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

As Muslims we will show love for Jesus

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community wishes all the people of Leicestershire and Rutland a merry Christmas and happy new year.

Although we may not put up stockings and Christmas lights in our houses during the holiday season, make no mistake, as members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, we celebrate the life of Jesus – and all prophets – all year.

Although our views diverge from Christians regarding the divinity of Jesus, Muslims hold a deep reverence for the Prophet Jesus who we, too, regard as the Messiah and whose name is mentioned no fewer than 25 times in the Holy Qu'ran.

As a Muslim, I invoke God's blessings every single day on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

But I also choose to show my love for the Prophet Jesus, not with Christmas decorations and frantic holiday shopping trips, but by invoking blessings on him on a regular basis as well. In our five daily prayers, we beseech God to bless us as he did Abraham and his people, which included Jesus.

As we all attempt to navigate another stressful holiday season, may we all remember his patience, steadfastness and unconditional love for humanity and make that a part our faith and lives.

Amen.

Dr Habib Akram, president, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Leicester

HUNDREDS IN US FILM PROTEST

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

 

Hundreds in US film protest

Hundreds of Muslims took to the streets of Leicester yesterday to protest at a controversial American film.

Roads were closed off as the protestors congregated outside the Central Mosque, in Conduit Street, at 2.30pm, to complain about the amateur film Innocence of Muslims.

The 400 protestors, many carrying placards, listened to imams from mosques throughout the city condemn the film at the peaceful 30-minute outdoor meeting.

The film denigrating the Prophet Mohammed has sparked unrest in many parts of the Muslim world over the past 10 days, and the deaths of at least 33 people, including the US ambassador to Libya, have been linked to the violence.

Much of the anger has been directed at the US government, even though the film was privately produced in the US and American officials have criticised it for insulting Muslims.

At yesterday's Leicester protest, Mahommed Machar, 24, of Evington, said: "I felt it was important for me to be here.

"I have come down to register my protest against this film and its message. The film is abusing the freedom of speech, not upholding it."

Mohammed Ayub, 43, of Evington, said it was vital to get across the message about non-violence.

He said: "This is the way to protest, not to resort to violence. You can tell by the numbers of people here today, the strength of feeling about this film here in the city of Leicester."

Maulana Shahid Raza OBE, head imam of the Islamic Centre, said the film had caused global unrest in the Muslim world.

He said: "The film is the worst possible violation of freedom of expression.

"We firmly believe that Prophet Mohammed always taught and practiced peace and tolerance and throughout his life he always upheld universal human values.

"To depict him as a violent extremist is disgusting and reprehensible.

"Muslims consider it a gross insult to the Prophet and we call upon all faith leaders to condemn this unjustified action and show their solidarity with the Muslim world in respect of safeguarding the honour and sanctity of all faiths and their founders."

Malik M Salim MBE, chairman of the Islamic Centre, appealed to the Muslim community to remain calm.

He said: "We would like to record the protest and wish to communicate to those extremists that the hatred of Islam through such movies would not harm the great personality of the Prophet or any aspect of Islam, but would only backfire on the people who spread venomous ideas."

Inspector Chris Cockerill, responsible for policing the event, said the protest had passed off peacefully.

He said: "We work closely with the Central Mosque and have done so concerning this event.

"It is part of our duty to ensure that people can take part in a peaceful protest and that is what we had here in Leicester."

Once the meeting was over, the road blocks were lifted.

WE ARE PROUD TO BE MARKING QUEEN'S JUBILEE

Habib Akram's First Person column appears in today's Leicester Mercury (though not on the paper's website).

We are proud to be marking Queen's Jubilee

Habib Akram on why British Muslims are proud to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee

As a British Muslim, I am proud to be a citizen of this country and to lead my community in Leicester in celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. That is why our mosque will be lit up for the extended Jubilee weekend and will display a large banner congratulating Her Majesty.

Every Ahmadi Muslim who lives in Great Britain is an extremely loyal citizen of the country and loves it. This is because the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instructed us that the love of one's country is an integral part of one's faith.

Our mosques throughout the UK will say prayers for the Queen as part of a programme of activities to mark the occasion.

Many members of my community from Leicestershire have already taken part in our own sponsored Jubilee walk around the Tower of London, which has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for British charities, including the Queen's Jubilee charities.

Our mosques throughout Britain are celebrating this historic occasion with street parties, programmes to feed the homeless and blood donor drives.

In the history of the British monarchy, there have only been two diamond Jubilees and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been involved with both.

We have launched 200 Jubilee buses in London - buses with congratulatory messages to the Queen from the community. Women in our community held a regional sponsored walk and a fete to raise money for the Jubilee charities.

We share in our country's pride and joy at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We are proud of this country's values of tolerance and respect.It is our heartfelt prayer that may God [sic] continue to protect the Queen and we look forward to the festivities of the Jubilee weekend and to make those as inclusive as possible.

We are not unique in our belief that that we should contribute to the society in which we live to make it a better place for future generations - many other Muslim communities and other faith groups share these values.

The Jubilee provides a splendid occasion to remind us of our common values and the need to stand united against those that seek to cause dissension and rancour.

I look forward to meeting many members of the region's faith groups at our interfaith peace conference this year and hope and pray the goodwill and sense of community cohesion the Diamond Jubilee generates is a lasting one.

Find out more about my community at: www.MuslimsForPeace.org.uk

Dr Habib Akram is president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Leicester

KELVINGROVE: THE LION AND THE GAZELLE

The first blog entry from the treasure trove that is Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is for an Islamic shield, 1750-1850, Indian or Iranian, metal inlaid with silver and brass. Here’s the copy on the card with the shield itself:

The animals on this shield are made of words. The four lions are symbols of courage and are protecting the gentle gazelles in the middle. A soldier carried the shield into battle as a symbol of his Islamic faith.

Alongside the shield is an interactive electronic book, which tells the story of the shield in eight pages or so. The following text is found on the last few pages of the interactive book:

To fully appreciate the cultural value of this Islamic shield, and after careful consideration, we have chosen to tell this shield’s story in a visual way by illustrating the lives of the characters represented on it, those of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his cousin Imam Ali.

 To aid us with this task we have selected a number of historical miniature paintings that have appeared in Islamic manuscript  books such as “Jami’ al-Tawarikh” by Rashid Al-Din, Tabiriz AD 1306; “Siyar-i-Nabi”, Istanbul, AD 1595; the “Khavarnama” by Ibn Husam, Punjab, AD 1686; and “Maktel-i-Ali Resul” by Lami’l Celebi, Turkey, early 17^th century AD.

We are very aware of the tension that exists within Islamic cultures today with regards to figurative art in general, and the depiction of Prophet Muhammad and of his family in particular.

Some of this concern stems from theological arguments, but some stems from concern for misrepresentation and disrespectful depictions.

We would like to assure Muslims that in this interactive  we are following in the footsteps of respectable Medieval artists and their patrons who set precedence for the Islamic artistic tradition of illustrating the stories of the lives of Prophet Muhammad and his followers.

We have adhered to veiling the face of the Prophet and flames to emphasise his special position in his community.

The aim of this interactive is purely educational to introduce and explain the story of the gazelle and the lion in an accessible way to people who may not know of it.

None of the images that are meant to be a true likeness of any of the characters. They are merely illustrations to inspire and educate their audience.