The End is Not Nigh
Many cataclysmic events have been forecast for 2012. From the Mayan prophecies to the 2012 Apocalypse on Discovery Channel; from Indian guru Kalki Bhagavan, to the...
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When Failure Succeeds
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.” So said Thomas Edison, inventor of the...
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The Best of Muslims
“I am humbled by the response from everyone,” said Tariq Jahan, but it is we — the rest of us — who are humbled. His son, Haroon, had just been...
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Uniting the World
I am writing this from the beautiful and magnificent city of Istanbul, sitting by the shores of the Bosphorus. The hills stand tall, dotted with red-tiled houses, which...
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Faith in Action
“The words dearest to God are: ‘subhan-Allah, wa bi-hamdihi’ — Glory be to God and I Praise Him,” said the Prophet, and surely we must...
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The Passing of Time
I turn 40 this June. Forty is one of those ages that are culturally important in Britain. I can remember with great clarity my mother’s 40th birthday, as it was...
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Editorial - Stargazing
There are three main ways to approach belief in God: to believe, not to believe and not to be sure. The latter, agnosticism, is the default position of most in the...
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Choosing God
I have experienced a lot of reactions from people when they found out that I became a Muslim. Confusion, happiness, incredulity, joy, outrage; but the reaction that I...
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God's Big Bang
Last month saw miniature versions of the “Big Bang” being created within the Large Hadron Collider, based under the Alps at CERN. Scientists are cheering at...
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Living a Legacy
Alfred Nobel is most famed for the Nobel Peace prize created in his name. But did you know that Alfred Nobel is also the inventor of dynamite? I didn’t....
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Trust in Skye
I am writing this from the Isle of Skye, one of the Scottish Hebridean islands. Its rugged, mountainous landscapes, deep mysterious lochs and heather topped hills make...
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Qur'anic Questions
“Have you ever considered the water which you drink?” “No, not really,” was my answer to this very simple question from the Qur’an, and I...
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The Hard Life
Those of you who followed my “Good Life Express” in the gardening section of emel will know that I keep chickens. When Ginger and Omlet arrived in my...
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Editorial - The Incredibles
Polls suggest it could be the closest election for a generation. An almost certain Conservative win 18 months ago now does not seem inevitable and a...
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When Tomorrow Comes
The last decade was vividly played out to me on a video at my grandmother’s funeral. As we mourned her passing and celebrated her life, my uncle played a video of...
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Strength in Vulnerability
I am usually the one who gives out the prayers in my family. However, when I was feeling particularly down, hurting, with a deep sense of loss my brother sent me an...
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Fighting to Live
Of all the war stories that I remember from my childhood, it is the stories of the Doodlebugs that most stick in my mind. Doodlebugs were bombs launched from...
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Life's Journey to God
A massive earthquake has hit the northeast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that is threatening to extend across the Pacific as I write. My brother, his daughter and his...
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The Enduring Heart
“Christians held a mass in Tahrir Square, side by side with their Muslim brothers. All Egyptians were praying for freedom. My country, my Egypt, where the adhan...
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Editorial - First Date
I'm writing this in the midst of Ramadan. As I was breaking my fast with dates, I was taken back to my first Ramadan by my daughter. She was saying that she did not...
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100 Thank Yous and More
One normally writes eulogies for the dead. Nevertheless, there are times when the occasion is so grand that a eulogy to the living seems not just appropr iate, but...
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For those who reflect - Editorial
“We have profoundly disengaged from the Qur’anic counsel to reflect and contemplate; thus we see the results – appalling spiritual and economic...
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Editorial - The First Racist
“I am better than he.” These are the fatal words spoken by Iblis to God regarding Adam, and led to him being accursed by God.Iblis knows that God exists. It...
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The Beautiful Game of Life
Sport! I was hopeless at it. Netball and hockey were something to be dreaded. I was always the penultimate child to be picked - there was one girl who was actually...
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The Religion of the Pure and True
Within eighty years of hijra there were pagoda-style mosques in China. This extraordinary fact encapsulates in a tangible way the essential idea that Islam can traverse...
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By Whatever Name
I received an email from a reader saying “I wish at times you would use the word Allah instead of God all the time.” An interesting request and one...
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Humans and Other Things
It is International Woman’s Day on March 8th and we will all be cheerleading about women. Or not, as the case may be. I’ll confess: International Woman&...
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Paradise with neighbours
I recently attended the funeral of my 85-year old neighbour. Eileen was a widow. Her husband had died 16 years ago. She never had any children and lived alone with an...
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Surmountable Obstacles
We sat together over tea chatting about the world, as friends in a group do. The conversation revolved around “exit strategies”. Not what plans the US and...
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Loving Jesus
Around this time of year, more than any other, my thoughts tend to be focused on...
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A Dignified Humanity
I recently had to fill in a questionnaire describing in three words my identity in order of preference. Umm… so a lot flexibility there, I thought. I sat and...
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Injustice Can Never Prevail
“Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” was the Christmas carol that shaped my childhood views of a picture-postcard Palestine, where kings and shepherds wandered,...
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Death: A Life-Giving Force
It is said that the Prophet Abraham lived until he was 175 years old. He had acquired the honorific title of ‘the friend of God’. There is a tradition that...
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Sarah Joseph on Pause for Thought
Sarah Joseph appeared on The Chris Evans Breakfast for her Pause for Thought. Her theme this week was "Them and Us" after 9/11. Listen HERE When I...
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Patient Perseverance
This first appeared in issue 25, October 2006 There is a holy season in the Christian church called Advent. It is roughly the whole month before Christmas. The...
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Twenty Ramadans
This article first appeared in issue 36 - September 2007This Ramadan will be my twentieth. I keep recounting the years as it seems almost impossible that I reached that...
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Change in an Ever-changing World
First Published on November/December 2004To access the issue page, click here ‘Another world is possible.’ The slogan shouted out at me from...
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A New Pattern for the Kaleidoscope
First Published on July/August 2004To access the issue page, click here As EURO 2004 showed us, it’s hard being an England football supporter. The...
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In the shade or in the sun
I was addressing a Quaker meeting recently. As we talked over a range of current affairs we came to the banning of the hijab in France. “I can’t understand...
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Editorial- The future of our history
A rose. The quintessential emblem of England. It reminds me of the summers of childhood, the pink blooms in my grandmother’s garden always twin planted with...
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Editorial-More than just a scarf
When I took on the hijab in 1988 it was a problem. It was not as popular as it is now, although increasing numbers were wearing it. I had just embraced Islam and my...
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A New Expression
Welcome to the second issue of emel. Issue one has been so well received, as our letters page will show you, yet we have been asked where we fit in? What is emel’...
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Ramadan in the Age of Convenience
I went to the 33rd Dimbleby Lecture at St. James’ Palace to listen to HRH The Prince of Wales. The lecture, entitled Facing the Future, was a truly inspirational...
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The Skills of Living
After a long stretch of hard work, our son’s exams were upon us. He had to sit 13 papers in four days. It had been a stressful period for him and we wanted to buy...
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Eco-Jihad
“Is climate change the greatest challenge we face today?” This was the question that my son had to reflect on. He had to answer it by analysing the term &...
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Editorial
I write this from the city of Makkah having just completed Umra’ – the lesser pilgrimage. I have begun my editorial so many times over the past few weeks,...
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Welcome to emel
The first question you are sure to ask is “what does emel mean?” Well, emel is a new word made from the letter M (em) and the letter L (el) – M and L...
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Finding Love
When I became a Muslim there was one thing that bothered me.I was persuaded intellectually. I was connected spiritually. I was emotionally convinced too. Yet the more I...
In Search of Humanity
February 11th 2011 was the day the Mubarak regime fell in...
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