Canadian mosque raised thousands of dollars to support vandalised church

A Canadian mosque raised thousands of dollars to support a nearby Catholic church after a spate of vandalism. News of the vandalism soon spread. Hamid Slimi, imam of the Sayeda Khadija Centre in Mississauga visited the St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church to make sense of the crime. Father Camillo Lando showed Slimi footage of the vandal’s behaviour. According to the Toronto Star, “The guy who did it ripped pages out of the Bible. He broke the altar. He threw the cross,” said Slimi. “When I saw this, I thought it was pure injustice. It was just wrong”. After recalling the incident at a Friday sermon, Slimi urged others to donate. Within a day, the congregation raised almost $5,000. CCTV of the first incident captured a man tearing pages from bibles, throwing holy books, and laying a cross upon the floor. Upon leaving, footage captured him taking items. Days later, a vandal left a statue of Jesus desecrated; the adjoining school spray painted. Local police soon arrested Iqbal Hessan, 22, and charged him. At a bail hearing, Hessan stated he was ‘upset’ with Christianity. During the ongoing trial, prosecution told the court that Hessan confessed a desire to ‘hurt’ [...]

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What are the three central values of the Quran?

The Quran advocates many values that shape one’s intellectual and spiritual journey to God; but most importantly, these values also enable adherents to be more tolerant as they consider themselves vicegerent of God. Unfortunately, it appears that some Muslims do not give due consideration to these values. In this rather brief chapter I shall mention three values without in-depth elaboration: these are the value of life; the value of respecting differences; as well as the value of justice. How the Qur’an values life When your Lord said to the angels, “I am appointing someone as my deputy on earth,” they said (almost protesting), “Are you going to appoint one who will commit corruption and bloodshed therein, even though we (are the ones who) commemorate Your Name and glorify You?” The Lord said, “I know that which you do not know”. (Q. 2:30). I find this passage from the Qur’an extremely important. It helps me appreciate mankind but also my journey towards understanding God and his relationship with mankind. For instance, the verse indicates that mankind enjoys the most privileged state amongst all God’s creations. Furthermore, the verse tells us that mankind is God’s viceroy on earth.  God could have chosen [...]

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Response from the Prime Minister’s Office on anti-Muslim Hate

This is a letter received from the Office of the Prime Minister in response to our briefing on anti-Muslim hate which we sent through. The letter is a timely reminder of what binds us all in the United Kingdom. “I am writing on behalf of the Prime Minister to thank you for your recent letter,

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Bigoted anti-Muslim Graphics Start to do the Rounds

The following is an example of the kind of graphic that is doing the rounds after the terrible terrorist bombings in Kuwait, Tunisia and France. With 15 British nationals killed in Tunisia, at a time when we should all be thinking of their families and how we can stand against together against those who seek

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More UK Muslim women needed to combat extremism, say activists

Not enough Muslim women are involved in counter-extremism operations in the UK, say activists, a problem which could be leading to more women and teenage girls deciding to travel to Syria to join extremist groups. This week a UK family, comprising three sisters and nine children from Bradford, crossed the border into Syria without their […]

Radicalisation and Extremism and the Pulls Towards ISIS and Syria

Fiyaz Mughal, the Director of Faith Matters speaks about the pushes and pulls of extremism and the way that ISIS and other extreme groups are reaching out to individuals and groups within the United Kingdom. Fiyaz outlines some of the background as to where 3 women and their 9 children may be, after travelling to […]

British Link Muslims To Terrorism, Reject Syrian Refugees, Poll Finds

When British people think about Muslims, terrorism often comes to mind. Amid a growing international concern about the Islamic State group (aka ISIS), a recent YouGov poll found that Britons associate followers of Islam with certain negative terms more often than positive ones. At the top of the list were the 12 percent of respondents […]

Faith Matters Supports and Endorses the Curriculum Against Terrorism & ISIS

We have all seen the terrible impacts on communities of the nihilistic pull of ISIS. Yesterday, a group of 3 women and their children disappeared whilst returning from Saudi Arabia and are purported to be in Turkey, on their way to ISIS. Any theological material that undermines the rhetoric of ISIS whilst placing British Muslims […]

Snow in Paradise Show Sponsored by Faith Matters

This Saturday: British gangster-turned-Sufi Muslim Martin Askew to talk about his life following the screening of Snow in Paradise, a film he inspired Bucking the trend about negative Muslim stories in the press, actor Martin Askew will talk about his salvation from a life of crime through Islam at a special screening event at the […]