The Thinking Muslim

The subject of the sighting of the moon has become a metaphor for our broader division as an ummah. We have disputes over the correct day to start and end Ramadan and invariably this leads to division. This weeks guest Ustadh Iyad Hilal argues that in origin what constitutes sighting has been subject to differences between the classical scholars. To insist on one way, as some Islamic groups do, in the absence of a caliphal authority, comes from a shallow understanding of the lawfulness of difference of opinion in Islam and contravenes notions of adab of iktilaaf. He talks through all the evidences on the matter and discusses issues of using calculations, local vs global sighting, what is a witness and following countries such as Saudi Arabia.To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/ and follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to see a film that simultaneously depicts the horrors of man’s excessive barbarism but also the indominable spirit of human resilience, you have to watch The Mauritanian. Set in the legally dubious post-9/11 world, it tells the gripping story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi and his rendition to the infamous ex-Soviet airbase, Bagram in Afghanistan and then Guantanamo Bey. Slahi was falsely accused of links to Al-Qaeda and without recourse to due process, international treaties and conventions and the so-called cherished principles of the US constitution, he ended up spending 14-long years in Camp X-ray. Yet the power of the human spirit and his Islamic convictions prevailed and he returned to his home country of Mauritania, exonerated of any wrongdoing.But the film left many unanswered questions. We invited Moazzam Begg from the campaigning group CageUK, also a former Guantanamo prisoner, to talk about the film, his relationship with Slahi and to put into context the geopolitical and legal issues that led to what some describe as a scar on American democracy.To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/ and follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The social sciences, the humanities, politics, geography and the like are looked upon with the same reverence as natural sciences. And the queen of these sciences is economic science. Economists in the new era have convinced us that they have unearthed the universal truth of human economic activity and the markets are infallible. We often hear newsreaders speak of ‘the markets’ as if they were a natural law, a deity that cannot be questioned.Our guest this episode is Dr Asad Zaman has a unique view of modern economics and he concludes capitalism is a house of cards masquerading as objective truths. He should know, he spent many years studying and then lecturing at America’s most elite institutions, mixing with the likes of Joseph Stiglitz. He calls for a revival of Islamic thinking on the subject. Riaz Hassan spoke to him from his home in Pakistan.For further reading and to listen to and view Dr Zaman's insightful lectures, check out our episode insights page: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/insights/demystifying-social-science-liberal-economics-asad-zaman To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's weekly international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a world where Islam is subject to an almighty project of reform. In this difficult environment, the simple truths of Islam and the age-old process of arriving at such truths have been muddied by modernist constructions that at their heart hope to reconcile Islam with a dominant ideological narrative.To give this campaign a fig leaf of legitimacy, the traditional principle of al-maqasid al-shariah, loosely translated as the general goals of the shariah, has been co-opted by liberals and secularists as a means to open up Islam to the so-called universal values of liberalism. But what is the traditional conception of al-maqasid? To take a deeper look at this idea, Riaz Hassan and I spoke to Dr. Osman Umarji a director at the Yaqeen Institute who studied Islam at al-Azhar University in Cairo. To comment - go to https://www.thinkingmuslim.comFollow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Special Extended InterviewFreedom of speech is an idea we all naturally gravitate towards. Who would want to live in a society where certain types of speech were outlawed or regulated? Or where we had to watch what we say at every turn. To understand this subject further, we have Hamza Tzortzis to break down the idea and to give us an Islamic perspective. Hamza is the author of The Divine Reality: God, Islam & The Mirage of Atheism. He is a public speaker, instructor and essayist and a founding member of the Sapience Institute.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vaccines are in the news. As the coronavirus ravages the world, causing untold damage to lives, communities and livelihoods, a glimmer of hope has come in the production of new vaccines. This breakthrough, however has not been universally embraced. Theories abound, across the internet and on social media, suggesting a number of reasons why vaccines are dangerous.So how should we think about vaccines? Well the first step is to consult a trustworthy expert so we can make an informed decision. And we have such a person this week. Dr Hisham Abdullah has a lifetimes work looking at vaccines and research. He holds a degree in pharmacy and a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences and clinical research. He started his career as a scientist at the US Food and Drug Administration and he has, since then, worked on various pharmaceutal projects in industry. On top of that, Dr Hisham has acquired qualifications in Islamic studies and has spent the past 30 years teaching Usul al-Fiqh and is active in Islamic circles in the US.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we invite back onto the show Ustadh Iyad Hilal from California’s Al Arqam Institute. Ustadh Iyad has expertise in usul ul-fiqh and has recently presented a stimulating and accessible online usul course. We ask him to untangle the issues of vaccines, medicines in general and we discuss how a Muslim should arrive at judgments and our responsibilities to not fall prey to theories not grounded in reality.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Email: info@thinkingmuslim.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Riaz Hasan speaks to Almir Colan, a thinker on Islamic economics and host of the thought provoking Islamic Finance podcast and Director of the Australian Centre for Islamic Finance. He speaks to us about the problems with the current paradigms of capitalism and socialism and how greater thinking on Islamic economics needs to take place. He also speaks about his 'Shepherds Model', the manner we need to look at economy. You can listen to his Islamic finance podcast here https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/islamic-finance-podcast-with-almir-colan/id569462639?mt=2 For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode, I speak at length to the Arab Spring activist Iyad El-Baghdadi about his valuable experience, analysis and forecast about the years ahead. He rose to prominence in the aftermath of the Arab revolutions of 2011 before being summarily arrested and forcibly exiled from his home in the UAE in April 2014. Today he is recognized among the most influential and prominent Arab voices online. He lives in Oslo, Norway, where he has been granted political asylum, and writes regularly for both Norwegian and international media, and his Twitter account received over 180 million views in last year. He is also founder and editor-in-chief of the Arab Tyrant Manual, a platform for the study of authoritarian behaviour and tactics.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To help us understand the current crises in France, I am delighted to have on The Thinking Muslim Sheikh Yasir Qadhi. Dr Yasir Qadhi is well known in the Muslim community, he is a scholar and since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, with a center in Houston, Texas.  He is currently the resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center in Texas.Dr Qadhi has raised some searching questions over the past few weeks about French policy towards Muslims, violence perpetrated by a minority of those Muslims and, he argues, the potential for the ‘French model’ to be exported to other countries where Muslims are a minority. We ask Dr Qadhi about Islamic justifications for violence, how we should defend the honour of the Messenger of Allah (saw), the position of minority communities, the role of scholarship in politics and raising awareness about these issues and we also speak about the current problem with many Islamic scholars who chose to remain silent instead of speak truth to power, less they lose their position, usually gained through political patronage or they lose their following. Inevitably the thorny subject of scholars and despotic rulers comes up, and Dr Qadhi gives his frank opinion on the matter.Website: http://thinkingmuslim.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/ Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Email: info@thinkingmuslim.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.