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    "Is in danger of being run over by Islamic extremists?" This is the question posed to Imam Hydal of the Ahmadiya Muslims in Trinidad, by Clevon Raphael of the Trinidad Guardian.  Imam Hydal made some interesting comments in the interview.  Read the full interview below.

    FROM TARIM TO GRANADA

    The living tradition of Tarim nestled in Yemen's Hadhramaut valley and the glorious legacy of Granada meet for the first time.

    In this special documentary feature film, Habib Umar bin Hafiz travels to Spain, visiting Muslim communities in Madrid and Granada. Accompanied by journalist and commentator Fuad Nahdi and Muslims from the Spain, Yemen and the UK, From Tarim to Granada chronicles a remarkable journey.

    This is the story of new communities and ancient legacies. Of enduring faith and the burden of history. Of renewing the connection between East and West. Of finding a new convivencia for our times.

    This paper is the first installment of a new Nawawi Foundation series titled “Roots of Islam in America,” bringing to light the largely unwritten but surprisingly rich history of Muslims in the Americas over the centuries. Turks, Moors, and Moriscos in Early America focuses on the first British colony in the New World, the so-called “lost colony” of Roanoke (1585-1590). Roanoke was established for the primary purpose of attacking Spanish ships bearing large amounts of gold and silver from Spain’s American colonies to imperial Spain, which, at the time, constituted England’s primary military, political, and religious rival. On his way to Roanoke in 1586, Sir Francis Drake led a large fleet of British privateers against the Spanish in the Atlantic and Caribbean and freed hundreds of Muslim galley slaves, who had been forced to serve in the Spanish navy.

    Historical sources identify these galley slaves as “Turks” and “Moors.” But the galley slaves probably included Moriscos as well. The Moriscos were former Spanish and Portuguese Muslims (Moors) who had been forcefully converted to Christianity after the fall of Muslim Spain and often ran afoul of the Spanish Inquisition and were condemned to the galleys. As the article shows, Drake definitely had this large contingent of newly liberated Muslims with him when his ships came to the Roanoke colony in 1586. We know that many of the “Turks” were repatriated to the Ottoman Empire, which had friendly diplomatic relations with England at the time. What became of the hundreds of other former Muslim galley slaves remains an intriguing mystery. It is possible that some of them stayed or were left behind and became the ancestors of the Melungeons, Lumbees, and other enigmatic indigenous American populations who trace their origins to the Roanoke colony and have long claimed to have “Portuguese” and “Moorish” roots.

    My Hajj Diary

    Khalim Ali

    This diary contains my notes about my experiences of Hajj. This is my first Hajj and it is being undertaken in company of my dear wife, Rasheeda. The Hajj (Arabic: حج‎ Ḥajj) is the annual pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah in the Arabic language). The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar.

    In a historic and stirring speech at the Global Peace and Unity Conference [GPU], Dr Tahir ul Qadri removed the incorrect perceptions of Jihad and placed it in its proper text and context within the Islamic paradigm,  GPU was held in London at the Excel Centre on the 23rd and 24th October.  Dr Tahir analyzed the concept of Jihad from its dictionary meaning, its text and context in the Qur'anic teachings and the example of the Prophet Muhammad [s].  This forceful speech brought the thousands assembled to their feet on several occasions. You can listen to the full speech here.

    The Rethinking Islamic Reform conference, originally held May 26, 2010, featured two of the world's foremost Muslim intellectuals as they provide guidance in the ever polemical topic of reform in Islam.

    Oxford University Islamic Society was honoured to have hosted Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson (Zaytuna Institute, USA) and Professor Tariq Ramadan (Oxford University, UK) to participate at this ground-breaking conference.

    The conference addressed the phenomena of how, in the post 9/11 world, it has grown to be an axiomatic truth that Islam needs to reform. Whether it is Western policy-makers seeking to protect themselves from Muslim extremists, humanitarian activists fighting to liberate silenced Muslims, or Muslims themselves responding to new paradigms faced in the 21st century, all are agreed that something within Islam needs to change. The question though, is what, and perhaps more pertinently, how?

    The distinguished guest speakers are well placed to answer. Invitations for this event extended to ministers, policy advisors, think tanks, journalists, theologians, scholars and other public figures with an interest in the field of Islamic Reform.

    The House of Saud

    The House of Saud has controlled every aspect of Saudi life and politics since the kingdom was established in 1932. But outside the Desert Kingdom, little is known about Saudi Arabia's secretive royal family. In "House of Saud," Frontline explores how the Al Saud family maintains its hold on power in the face of growing tensions between Islam and modernity. Through interviews with members of the royal family, government officials and other experts from Saudi Arabia and the U.S., the two-hour documentary also traces America's relations with the Saudi royal family from their first alliance in the 1930s through Sept. 11 and beyond to the present day.

    AMERICA IS MY LAND TOO: A patriotic Muslim American is not ’silent anymore. Creeping Sharia in the USA? More like Sleeping sharia in America.

    500 American town have Muslim names. Reds have Green Roots. Cherokee Muslims. Mali Muslims visit American. Chinese Muslims. Muslims have been here in America from the begining. They came with Columbus, they came before Columbus and they came after Columbus.  Muslim influences are present all over America. California (Caliph Haronia), Alhambra, T Allah Hasee (Tallahassee), Alah Bumya (Alabama), Islamorada, Florida and other names are proof of Muslim influences in America. More than 500 towns are of Muslim origin.Muslims in America before Columbus

    A mosque is as American as apple pie. Muslims have been part of America before Columbus. The last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Granada, fell just before the Spanish Inquisition was established in 1492. Non-Christians were forced to either convert to Catholicism to save themselves from the tyranny of the Inquisition or were exiled from the country. Documents exist which prove the existence of immigrant Muslims in Spanish America before 1550.

    In 1539 an edict from Spanish King Charles V was put into practice which forbade the immigration of Muslims to settlements in the West. This edict was later expanded to expel all Muslims from overseas Spanish colonies in 1543. The existence of Muslims in overseas islands and regions was known along with the fact that the Spanish king issued such an edict. Again, in many Islamic sources, it is noted that Muslims living in Spain and North Africa made overseas voyages during the Andalusia period. Scientific research on this subject will bring out many documents into the daylight, documents which have escaped the notice of both Muslims in America and those throughout the world, which will perhaps serve, in the future if not immediately, as a starting point for a re-evaluation of the history of America. Recreating a New America as envisioned by our Founding Fathers:-A patriotic American Muslim speaks out


    Islam as brought by the West Africans has not survived in the Americas, but its impact has been deep and wide in a variety of ways. Though this phenomenon has not received enough attention yet, it is a crucial element, as stated earlier, in a better understanding of the cultures of people of African descent in the New World. It also gives useful clues on the impact of Islam on its practitioners. It is, furthermore, part of the world-wide history of the religion; and as Islamologists will turn their attention to the story of the African Muslims enslaved in the Americas, much more about Islam and Muslim populations, on a global scale in time and space, will come to light.