Address
- Al-Medinah Mosque
- 24 Bedford Place, Brighton, BN1 2PT, UK 01273 737721 almedinahmosque@gmail.com
Monday, December 13, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
PRESS RELEASE: iERA Responds to the “British Schools, Islamic Rules” Panorama Programme
PRESS RELEASE: iERA Responds to the “British Schools, Islamic Rules” Panorama Programme
Contact: Hamza A. Tzortzis
Company Name: Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA)
Telephone Number: 0845 310 5397
Fax Number: 0208 961 6593
Email Address: media@iera.org.uk
Web site address: http://www.iera.org.uk/
START
iERA Responds to the “British Schools, Islamic Rules” Panorama Programme
London, 23rd November 2010
On the 22nd November 2010 the BBC aired a Panorama programme entitled “British Schools, Islamic Rules”. This programme aimed to investigate the “disturbing evidence” that some Muslim schools were providing a platform to “extremist preachers” and “fundamentalist Islamic groups”. The programme also attempted to “expose” the extreme, anti-Semitic and homophobic material found within the curriculum of some Islamic schools.
In short, the programme misrepresented established Islamic teachings on a range of issues in a manner that portrayed them as crude and insensitive whilst linking them to social unrest and violence.
In a statement by Saqib Sattar, Vice-Chairman of the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), he said “The attack on Muslim schools as an institution is both ill-informed and misguided. Muslim schools constantly achieve high academic standards with students continuously becoming highly responsible members of society, contributing positively to the public good. No ‘hard’ evidence has ever been presented otherwise. Muslim Schools have excelled in this regard, due in no small part to their ethos which is rooted in the Islamic scholarly tradition which provides an objective and cohesive basis for social values and norms, something which we find lacking in our increasingly secular society. The irony is that most of our social ills stem from the failure of state schools and society at large to provide such grounding, leading ever more conscientious parents to choose private or faith schools for their children’s secondary education. Faith schools and communities are providing that important moral voice for our society, making their presence felt through social welfare projects across the country. The contribution of faith communities should actually be championed and not maligned.”
The BBC has shown that it does not have the ability to convey the reality of the Islamic tradition. iERA condemns such irresponsible and sensationalist programmes. It is obvious that this Panorama programme has been designed to attract viewers without engaging their minds.
Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, iERA’s media representative said, “The attack on mainstream Islamic speakers because they hold established theological views is making the job of community cohesion difficult, as is the constant misconstruing or lack of context with regards to their statements. The programme-makers would have been better served to look deeply into the Islamic scholarly tradition and its historical impact, and they would have found a beautiful model of community cohesion. For example it is a well known historical fact that Islam and Muslims for centuries have been offering protection to the Jewish community. A contemporary Jewish Historian Zion Zohar for instance has written that Jews used to see Muslims as liberators from Christian persecution. There is a whole corpus of historical and theological material that strongly indicates conclusions that contrast with the content of the Panorama programme. Another example includes the Jewish Historian Amnon Cohen who writes that Jewish people, particularly women, used to go to Islamic authorities for adjudication of disputes even though they were always given the option to go to Rabbinical courts.
The reality that Islam has ensured security and peace for the Jewish people is not a historical accident, it is engrained in the Islamic traditional sources. For instance the Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessing be upon Him) said that ‘whoever harms a non-Muslim harms me’. Additionally the Qur’an, the holy book of the Muslims, states in its 60th chapter ‘And He does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of your homes: God loves the just”. The difference between political confrontation and communal engagement has always been clear in the Islamic tradition. It is very surprising that the BBC ignored this fact, and shows once again that it has prioritised sensationalism over substance.
For many Muslims, Islamic law is an important part of their lives. Islamic law covers politics, economics, criminal law, business, contracts, family life, hygiene, social issues and many more. There are similarities with Western secular law in terms of the rights it gives and the principles and values that it upholds. To reduce Islamic law to criminal punishments is a caricature of a comprehensive legal and social framework.”
Sattar further adds “The decontextualised references to cutting the hand of the thief and other criminal punishments in the programme are the equivalent of claiming that British law is unjust because it has short sentences for rapists without even taking into consideration the social and jurisprudential context of the British legal system. For example, Professor of Law at Harvard University Noah Feldman has tried to educate the west on Islamic punishments. He states “Today, when we invoke the harsh punishments prescribed by Shariah [Islamic law] for a handful of offences, we rarely acknowledge the high standards of proof necessary for their implementation.”
To warmly articulate the Islamic worldview and demystify the negative image this programme attempted to paint of Islam and Muslims, iERA will be distributing their new CD “Another View” and a leaflet clarifying the BBC’s misconceptions across the UK, and also on the morning of Monday 29th December 2010 outside the BBC Headquarters with specific educational packs for the programme makers.
END
Notes to the Editors:
iERA stands for the Islamic Education and Research Academy
iERA is committed to presenting Islam to the wider society, http://www.iera.org.uk/.
iERA will distribute the CD’s and the leaflets at stalls and various outlets in the UK.
The distribution at the BBC will happen on Monday 29th November from 7:30am until 10:00am.
To contact our media team please email media@iera.org.uk.
iERA is a registered UK charity in the United Kingdom, number 1134566.
Contact: Hamza A. Tzortzis
Company Name: Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA)
Telephone Number: 0845 310 5397
Fax Number: 0208 961 6593
Email Address: media@iera.org.uk
Web site address: http://www.iera.org.uk/
START
iERA Responds to the “British Schools, Islamic Rules” Panorama Programme
London, 23rd November 2010
On the 22nd November 2010 the BBC aired a Panorama programme entitled “British Schools, Islamic Rules”. This programme aimed to investigate the “disturbing evidence” that some Muslim schools were providing a platform to “extremist preachers” and “fundamentalist Islamic groups”. The programme also attempted to “expose” the extreme, anti-Semitic and homophobic material found within the curriculum of some Islamic schools.
In short, the programme misrepresented established Islamic teachings on a range of issues in a manner that portrayed them as crude and insensitive whilst linking them to social unrest and violence.
In a statement by Saqib Sattar, Vice-Chairman of the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), he said “The attack on Muslim schools as an institution is both ill-informed and misguided. Muslim schools constantly achieve high academic standards with students continuously becoming highly responsible members of society, contributing positively to the public good. No ‘hard’ evidence has ever been presented otherwise. Muslim Schools have excelled in this regard, due in no small part to their ethos which is rooted in the Islamic scholarly tradition which provides an objective and cohesive basis for social values and norms, something which we find lacking in our increasingly secular society. The irony is that most of our social ills stem from the failure of state schools and society at large to provide such grounding, leading ever more conscientious parents to choose private or faith schools for their children’s secondary education. Faith schools and communities are providing that important moral voice for our society, making their presence felt through social welfare projects across the country. The contribution of faith communities should actually be championed and not maligned.”
The BBC has shown that it does not have the ability to convey the reality of the Islamic tradition. iERA condemns such irresponsible and sensationalist programmes. It is obvious that this Panorama programme has been designed to attract viewers without engaging their minds.
Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, iERA’s media representative said, “The attack on mainstream Islamic speakers because they hold established theological views is making the job of community cohesion difficult, as is the constant misconstruing or lack of context with regards to their statements. The programme-makers would have been better served to look deeply into the Islamic scholarly tradition and its historical impact, and they would have found a beautiful model of community cohesion. For example it is a well known historical fact that Islam and Muslims for centuries have been offering protection to the Jewish community. A contemporary Jewish Historian Zion Zohar for instance has written that Jews used to see Muslims as liberators from Christian persecution. There is a whole corpus of historical and theological material that strongly indicates conclusions that contrast with the content of the Panorama programme. Another example includes the Jewish Historian Amnon Cohen who writes that Jewish people, particularly women, used to go to Islamic authorities for adjudication of disputes even though they were always given the option to go to Rabbinical courts.
The reality that Islam has ensured security and peace for the Jewish people is not a historical accident, it is engrained in the Islamic traditional sources. For instance the Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessing be upon Him) said that ‘whoever harms a non-Muslim harms me’. Additionally the Qur’an, the holy book of the Muslims, states in its 60th chapter ‘And He does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of your homes: God loves the just”. The difference between political confrontation and communal engagement has always been clear in the Islamic tradition. It is very surprising that the BBC ignored this fact, and shows once again that it has prioritised sensationalism over substance.
For many Muslims, Islamic law is an important part of their lives. Islamic law covers politics, economics, criminal law, business, contracts, family life, hygiene, social issues and many more. There are similarities with Western secular law in terms of the rights it gives and the principles and values that it upholds. To reduce Islamic law to criminal punishments is a caricature of a comprehensive legal and social framework.”
Sattar further adds “The decontextualised references to cutting the hand of the thief and other criminal punishments in the programme are the equivalent of claiming that British law is unjust because it has short sentences for rapists without even taking into consideration the social and jurisprudential context of the British legal system. For example, Professor of Law at Harvard University Noah Feldman has tried to educate the west on Islamic punishments. He states “Today, when we invoke the harsh punishments prescribed by Shariah [Islamic law] for a handful of offences, we rarely acknowledge the high standards of proof necessary for their implementation.”
To warmly articulate the Islamic worldview and demystify the negative image this programme attempted to paint of Islam and Muslims, iERA will be distributing their new CD “Another View” and a leaflet clarifying the BBC’s misconceptions across the UK, and also on the morning of Monday 29th December 2010 outside the BBC Headquarters with specific educational packs for the programme makers.
END
Notes to the Editors:
iERA stands for the Islamic Education and Research Academy
iERA is committed to presenting Islam to the wider society, http://www.iera.org.uk/.
iERA will distribute the CD’s and the leaflets at stalls and various outlets in the UK.
The distribution at the BBC will happen on Monday 29th November from 7:30am until 10:00am.
To contact our media team please email media@iera.org.uk.
iERA is a registered UK charity in the United Kingdom, number 1134566.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Eid al Adhaa' ( 10th Zul Hijjah) Tues 16th November 2010
Eid al Adhaa' will be on Tuesday 16th November. There will be 2 Eid prayers taking place at al Medinah Masjid. The 1st at 8am. The 2nd at 9:30am.
Be on time as prayers will start promptly!!
Be on time as prayers will start promptly!!
Etiquettes of Eid
The Sunnan (plural of sunnah) that the Muslim should observe on the day of Eid are as follows:
1 – Doing ghusl (bathing or showering oneself) before going out to the prayer.
2 – Eating before going out to pray on Eid al-Fitr and after the prayer on Eid al-Adha:
Part of the etiquette is not to go out to pray on Eid al-Fitr until one has eaten some dates. It is mustahabb to eat before going out to emphasize the fact that it is forbidden to fast on that day and to demonstrate that the fast has ended. Whoever does not have any dates may break his fast with anything that is permissible.
But on Eid al-Adha it is mustahabb not to eat anything until one comes back from the prayer, so he should eat from the udhiyah if he has offered a sacrifice. If he is not going to offer a sacrifice there is nothing wrong with eating before the prayer.
3 – Takbeer on the day of Eid
This is one of the greatest Sunnahs on the day of Eid because Allaah says:
“(He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allaah [i.e. to say Takbeer (Allaahu Akbar: Allaah is the Most Great)] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him” [al-Baqarah 2:185]
The time for takbeer on Eid al-Fitr starts from the night before Eid until the imam enters to lead the Eid prayer.
In the case of Eid al-Adha, the takbeer begins after the Fajr of the 9th until the after the Asr of the 13th of Dhul Hijjah.
Umar Ibn Khattab (RA), Ali Ibn Abi Talib (RA) & Ibn Abbas (RA) said, “Recite the Takbeer from the Fajar of the day of Arafah (9th of Dhul Hijjah) until the Asar of the last day of Ayamul-Tashreeq (13th of Dhul-Hijjah). (Tafseer of Imam Qurtubi)
Takbeer Tashreeq is the recitation of Allahu akbar, La ilaha illa hu Wallahu akbar, Allahu akbar wa lillahil hamd (There is no god but Allah and Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest and to Allah belongs all praise.) after every fardh salaah commencing from the Fajr of the 9th of Dhul Hijah until after Asr of the 13th of Dhul Hijjah.
According to authentic Islamic sources, it is obligatory on each Muslim, to recite this Takbir after every fard salah. For women also, it is commendable though not obligatory. Whether you are performing salah with Jama'ah (collectively) or on your own (individually) makes no difference. You must recite the Takbir. However, male Muslims should recite it in a loud voice, while females should recite it in a low voice
Description of the takbeer:
It was narrated in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he used to recite takbeer during the days of tashreeq:
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, wa Allaahu akbar, Allaah akbar, wa Lillaah il-hamd (Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is most Great, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most great, Allaah is most great, and to Allaah be praise).
4 – Offering congratulations
The etiquette of Eid also includes the congratulations and good wishes exchanged by people, no matter what the wording, such as saying to one another Taqabbala Allaah minna wa minkum (May Allaah accept (good deeds) from us and from you” or “Eid mubaarak” and other permissible expressions of congratulations.
5 – Adorning oneself on the occasion of Eid.
A man should wear the best clothes that he has when going out for Eid.
With regard to women, they should avoid adorning themselves when they go out for Eid, because they are forbidden to show off their adornments to non-mahram men. It is also haraam for a woman who wants to go out to put on perfume or to expose men to temptation, because they are only going out for the purpose of worship.
6 – Going to the prayer by one route and returning by another.
May Allah Azza wa Jall accept us all - Ameen
Friday, November 5, 2010
Charity week - Almost over..
MashaAllah! Well done to the Sisters of Brighton & Sussex Unis and the Muslim Women of Brighton & Hove and surrrounding areas.
Last wednesday (3rd Nov), at al Medinah Masjid Brighton, in a space of 3 hours they managed to raise £1331.31p for charity week.
MashaAllah, May Allah Azza wa Jall accept - Aameen
Last wednesday (3rd Nov), at al Medinah Masjid Brighton, in a space of 3 hours they managed to raise £1331.31p for charity week.
MashaAllah, May Allah Azza wa Jall accept - Aameen
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
This sunday 31st October 2010 at almedinah Masjid Brighton
Two Talks for the time of one! ( 40 minuites each talk 1hr 20minuites in total )
Event: Why the big fuss about Haloween? Is it just harmless fun? & Eid celebrations: The do's and dont's
Speakers: Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood (al Zuhri Academy Luton) & Shaykh Muhammad Rayhan (al Zuhri Academy Luton)
Date: 31st October 2010
Time: 5pm - 7pm (Maghrib Salaah at 4:37pm)
Venue: Al Medinah Mosque Brighton, 24 Bedford Place BN1 2PT
Extras: Sisters welcome entrance from sisters doors. Light refreshments.
Event: Why the big fuss about Haloween? Is it just harmless fun? & Eid celebrations: The do's and dont's
Speakers: Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood (al Zuhri Academy Luton) & Shaykh Muhammad Rayhan (al Zuhri Academy Luton)
Date: 31st October 2010
Time: 5pm - 7pm (Maghrib Salaah at 4:37pm)
Venue: Al Medinah Mosque Brighton, 24 Bedford Place BN1 2PT
Extras: Sisters welcome entrance from sisters doors. Light refreshments.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Open to All Brothers & Sisters - Dawah Training Thurs 21st Oct ^pm Sussex Uni
I hope this message reaches you in the best of health and iman inshAllah.
Allah(swt) says in Suart An-Nahl: "Invite to the way of your Lord with
wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best .. "
Wanting to do dawah is very important but it's not enough, as muslims
living in a non-muslim country we are frequently asked questions about
Islaam some of which you have had to answer but didn't know how such as:Why
do you pray 5 times a day, or why do your women wear hijaab etc .. and we
as muslims need to invite to the way of our Lord by wisdom and good
instruction.
This is why we are proud to present to you the " Dawah
training workshop" which is going to be ran by Brother Nasser Karimian at
6pm in Fulton Building, second floor Room 213. Fulton Building is just on
the corner from Bramber House east entrance and Swanborough. The " Dawah
training workshop" will teach you the skills and give you the confidence to
answer such questions and more,and deliver the message of Islam, the
message of Peace, in an effective and adequate way.
Here is a small biography about brother Nasser Karimian:
Nasser Karimian is presently enrolled at Concordia University in The
History and Philosophy of Religion, doing a Masters in Religion. He has
completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Concordia University, with a Major
in Religion and a Minor in Classical Arabic Language. At the tender age of
15 he began practicing Islam and initiated the memorization of Qur’an, a
goal which he has yet to reach but intends to complete in the future. In
his 2 years at John Abbott College he completed his DEC in Science. While
he was there he was given a position as the Imam who would lead prayers
regularly and he often led the congregational Friday prayers. As he was
Imam he was also an executive of John Abbott‘s Muslim Students Association
(MSA) involved in planning, organizing activities such as the IAD (Islamic
Awareness Day) and many more. He has travelled to the U.K. as well as the
U.S. giving lectures on Islam to various Islamic youth groups which were
intended to help direct students towards a balance in their studious life
along with the spiritual aspirations. He is also a participant in
organizing activities with Concordia’s MSA, where he regularly gives
lectures and leads the Friday Prayer with up to six hundred attendees.
InshAllah I will see you there!
Please feel free to e-mail back if you have any questions about the
location or the program.
Kind Regards,
Mohamamd
Head Brother Sussex ISOC
Monday, October 11, 2010
AUTUMN SISTERS' COFFEE MORNING
AUTUMN SISTERS' COFFEE MORNING
Monday 18th OCTOBER
10h30 - 12h30
It's time to meet again around a nice cup of tea or coffee, bring a small savoury or sweet dish to share, catch up with each other and see what the BHMW is up to.
VALE PARK SCOUT HALL
Portslade
BN41 4DB
Car park available
BUS Number 1
Bus stop St Andrews Road
click to navigate map
View Larger Map
Portslade
BN41 4DB
Car park available
BUS Number 1
Bus stop St Andrews Road
click to navigate map
View Larger Map
BHMW Mothers & Toddlers 2010-2011
BHMW Mothers & Toddlers
2010-2011
2010-2011
at Al Medinah Mosque, Brighton
The dates below are Every Alternate Saturdays, from 10am - 12noon
Autumn
October: 16th, 30th
November: 13, 27th
December: 11th , 25th
Winter
January 2011: 8th , 22nd
February: 5th , 19th
March: 5th, 19th
Spring
April: 2nd, 16th 30th
May: 14th 28th
June: 11th, 25th
Summer
July: 9th, 23rd
August: 6th, 20th
**These dates are subject to change
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Religious leaders condemn Qur'aan attack
Religious leaders condemn Koran attack
The actions of an American evangelical priest’s decision to go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran as a remembrance of September 11 attacks received worldwide condemnation today from religious leaders.
Inter faith advisers for the diocese of Chichester, The Revd John Chitham and Ms Mary–Jane Burkett today responded to the proposed burning.
“The news that an obscure pastor in the USA is going to publicly burn copies of the Koran fills us with dismay. Jesus message is one of love: to love our neighbour and to love our enemy. Most Muslims are simply our good neighbours. We are called by Jesus to love and not to hate, and we hope and pray that all Christians in Sussex will live up to His call.”
The Bishop of Chichester John hind said: “I was horrified to hear the news report, which reminded me of the Nazi burning of Jewish religious texts. Christians in the West especially need to be aware of the effect of their statements and actions on Christians in other parts of the world.”
Lisa Williamson
Diocesan Communications Officer
Diocese of Chichester
Tel: 01273 425791 Mob: 07775022461
Thursday, September 16, 2010
BHMW Family Eid Party Saturday 18th September 2010
SATURDAY 18th SEPTEMBER
6h30-8h30 pm
FUNPLEX
Bevendean
Brighton
Take Bus 49A
See map below if coming by car or walking
Eid Party at Funplex Bevendean
Arabic is easy for the brain
Arabic is easy for the brain
By Shaikh Riyad Nadwi PhD (in Cognitive Science)
7th September 2010
On Saturday morning I woke up to find my inbox inundated with emails linking to an article on the BBC's website entitled Reading Arabic "hard for brain" with an embedded picture of little Muslim girls in hijab reading the Arabic alphabet. Parents, somewhat concerned about the potential strain upon their children's brains, were inquiring about the validity of the claims made in the article. Having looked at the original research paper in the journal Neuropsychology(Language Status and Hemispheric Involvement in Reading: Evidence From Trilingual Arabic Speakers Tested in Arabic, Hebrew and English written by Raphiq Ibrahim and Zohar Eviatar, published by the American Psychological Association 2009, Vol. 23, No. 2, 240–254), upon which the news item was based, I think there is a need for some clarifications that were, in the pursuit of sensationalism and perhaps anti-Arabic bias, ignored by both the researchers and the BBC science correspondent who authored the article, Dr Katie Alcock. I apologise in advance for the use of technical jargon but it is inescapable in this instance. This is a blatant and malicious attack posited within a scientific framework and therefore it requires, at least in part, a discussion in scientific terms. I will try to simplify my language as much as possible.
Reading "Israeli Arabic and logic" is hard for any brain
The problems with this research are too numerous to cover comprehensively in this short article, however there a few conspicuous ones that can be dealt with succinctly. The first problem is that the Israeli researchers have violated a basic principle of authenticity in the representation of a language upon which they have issued this verdict of causal cognitive deficit. Instead of presenting their subjects, in the experiments, with written Arabic (to read) they created an entirely new orthographic configuration for the language in question. Arabic morphology is nonconcatanative and the forms of its letters vary considerably depending on their positions in a given word. Among the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, 20 have different orthographic positional representations. For example, the letterʿayn in its final, middle, first and "standalone" forms are represented thus 
.
.
Therefore native readers of Arabic do not learn to read words comprised of letters in their standalone forms. This is different to English, where the orthographic forms found in the English alphabet are identical to those employed in English word constructions.
Despite mentioning this difference between the languages in the research paper, the sample stimuli sheet (Table C1. Arabic) clearly shows the Arabic used in the experiments was written without any consideration of the multiple positional forms of Arabic orthography. For example, the word maktabah was not written in Arabic as it should be (
) but instead presented as a string of separate standalone letters. See the word maktabah circled in red from the sample sheet below:
) but instead presented as a string of separate standalone letters. See the word maktabah circled in red from the sample sheet below:
I could not believe my eyes when I saw this stimuli sample sheet in the appendix of the research paper. Initially, I thought it might have been a font recognition problem with my PDF reader but, on closer inspection, I discovered that that was not the case because the stimuli sheet was an image, i.e. a photographic snapshot of the original materials. What is even more astonishing is that there is no explanation whatsoever in the research for this bizarre choice of orthography. All they have to say on the point is that Arabic was presented to the subjects in Modern Standard Character Madinah S U Normal font. No mention is made of the fact that they had invented their own way of writing Arabic script i.e. by constructing separated letter strings which cannot be considered by any measure to be "Arabic words or Arabic text". Arabic speakers have no familiarity with this form of orthography.
If one's research methodology is flawed then one's results are bound to be flawed. The equivalent of this would be for me to present English speakers with a string of consonants without vowels, test their reaction times in milliseconds and then declare some cerebral deficit for those who speak English.
Another major problem is that the researchers do not consider the subjects’ Arabic reading as first language (L1) competence. They regard the diglossia of ʿāmmiyyah(spoken Arabic) and fuṣḥa (Modern Standard Arabic) as two distinct languages for which they argue "the two forms of Arabic are different enough from each other to result in the pattern typical of bilingualism" and that the "Adults can minimally be considered quadri-lingual, with SA [Spoken Arabic] as first language (L1), and MSA [Modern Standard Arabic], Hebrew, and English as additional languages. Because SA does not have a written form, all reading and writing are in the non-native language." For argument sake, if we were to agree with them on this point, then this raises a valid objection to the claim that their subjects were "native readers of Arabic".
In addition to these problems, the researchers appear to be grossly ignorant of Arabic and its orthography. For example, they erroneously claim that "In Arabic, 22 of the 28 letters in the alphabet have four shapes". Ask any child who can read the Quran, even in a backwater village in non-Arabic speaking India, to count the different forms of the letters and s/he will able to demonstrate the ignorance of these so-called academic researchers. I am surprised that a prestigious journal like Neuropsychology,of the American Psychological Association, would publish such substandard research. Judging from the grammatical errors found in the paper (e.g. "This pattern in discernable in Hebrew". p.250), I am guessing that even the peer review may have been compromised, perhaps for the sake of old-boy networks or Zionist back-scratching of some sort.
The brain naturally prefers left-hemisphere (LH) for languages
So what is the problem if Arabic speakers use the left hemispheres of their brains? There is an overwhelming body of research which shows that language is predominantly a left-hemisphere activity, even in the case of English (for a review, see Banich, 2004; Hellige, 1993, 2001; Hellige & Adamson, 2006). There is left-hemisphere superiority for processing printed English. For example, reading-related deficits are more likely and more dramatic after injury to the left hemisphere than after injury to the right hemisphere (for a review, see Banich, 2004; Hellige, 1993, 2001). Also, functional brain imaging studies show that cortical networks within the left hemisphere are more active than corresponding networks within the right hemisphere during the identification of words and pronounceable nonwords (e.g. see Binder & Price, 2001; Hagoort et al., 1999; Herbster, Mintun, Nebes, & Becker, 1997; C. Price et al., 1992; Puce, Allison, Asgari, Gore & McCarthy, 1996). In addition, words are identified more quickly and more accurately when they are flashed briefly to the right visual field (and, thus, directly to the left hemisphere: RVF/LH presentation) than when they are flashed briefly to the left visual field (and, thus, directly to the right hemisphere: LVF/RH presentation). Tasks have included such things as naming a briefly presented word or nonword (e.g. see Bradshaw & Nettleton, 1983; Chiarello & Nuding, 1987; Hellige, Taylor & Eng, 1989; Levy, Heller, Banich & Burton, 1983; Levy & Kueck, 1986; Lindell, 2003) and deciding whether a string of letters spells a word (e.g. see Babkoff, Faust, & Lavidor, 1997; Iacoboni & Zaidel, 1996; Mohr, Pulvermuller, & Zaidel, 1994).
Studies examining language processing in general and the processing of printed text in particular have demonstrated left-hemisphere superiority across many other languages, including other Western languages like Spanish and German, as well as a variety of non-Western languages like Urdu, and phonetic forms of Chinese and Japanese (e.g. see Faust, Kravetz, & Babkoff, 1993; Hagoort et al., 1999; Hellige & Adamson, 2006; Hellige & Yamauchi, 1999; Illes et al., 1999; Kuo et al., 2001; Nakamura et al., 2000; Rastatter, Scukanec, & Grillot, 1989; Sakurai, Ichikawa & Mannen, 2001; Sasanuma, Itoh, Moi & Kobayashi, 1977; Tzeng, Hung & Garro, 1978). They all show left-hemisphere dominance with only a small number of exceptions, such as the Japanese Kanji pictographic system, which has been shown to have right-hemisphere dominance (e.g. see Coltheart, 1980; Nakamura et al., 2000; Sasanuma et al., 1977).
Even if the Israeli research was sound in its methodology, the claims made would still be equivalent to someone presenting Japanese pictographic letters to the left-hemisphere (RVF/LH) Kanji speakers and concluding not only that the Japanese have brain deficits but also that reading Japanese is "hard for the brain" which of course would be an absurd conclusion. It would be similar to me forcing a right-handed person to write with his left hand and when he fails, I declare that because some people are ambidextrous "writing is hard for the brain".
Every language has its own particular effect on the brain. Subjecting speakers of one language to the peculiarities of another in order to establish differences is interesting and scientific but to issue verdicts of deficits on the basis of these differences and to accuse a language of being hard for the brain is not only unscientific but malicious. If some orthographic characters in English or Hebrew are processed in the right hemisphere of the brain, then that is an idiosyncrasy of those languages, in the same manner as the pronunciation of the letter ḍāḍ is unique to Arabic. Imagine the furore that would ensue if I were to ask Hebrew speakers to pronounce the Arabic letter ḍāḍ and, when they fail to do it correctly, I declare in the headlines that speaking Hebrew inhibits phonetic capacity in the brain. The ridiculousness of this whole exercise and the spin put upon it in the media by Dr Alcock suggests that there is an ulterior motive.
The real target seems to be the Quran
Arabic is not only the mother tongue of some 200 million Arabs but is it also the sacred medium of Devine communication for nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world. Through Arabic, Muslims experience the presence of the Words of God in the Quran. It is the language of our five daily prayers and the source of names we choose for our children. Arabic is sacrosanct in the worldview of a Muslim: through it we receive guidance from our Creator and with it we worship Him and pray for His Mercies.
The relationship between Arabic and our faith – Islam – is inseparable. Without Arabic we would have no Quran, and without the Quran we would have no Islam. Therefore for those who speak Arabic as their mother tongue, their connection to the Quran is direct and profound. They experience not only the supreme literary aesthetics of the Quran but also the power of the Divine words upon every fibre of their being. In the words of one baffled Christian observer, "It is difficult to understand the fascination that the Quran exerts without mentally putting oneself in the place of the Muslim, who finds God when he recites it, looks to it for guiding principles and for whom the Quran is the presence of God" (Jomier, J., 1978, Eng trans1997. p.124).
In is no secret that in recent times there has been a consorted global campaign to create distance between Muslims and the Quran. This onslaught has come in a wide variety of guises, ranging from calls for reformation to malicious and direct interventions. Where these attempts – by way of postmodern mumbo jumbo philosophy, music and entertainment – have failed to distract Muslims from the Quran, school curricula have been manipulated to remove Quranic content under the pretext of modernisation and preventing terrorism.
The attack on Arabic by the Israelis and the BBC appears to be part of this same campaign. If Muslims were to believe that reading Arabic is overly burdensome or tiring for the brain, then they would become reluctant to send their children to learn to read the Quran. Muslim children, regardless of the language they speak, learn to read the Quran at a tender age in the mosques across the world. This experience creates a lifelong bond between the child and the mosque. This is one of the reasons why our mosques are overflowing at the seams while other places of worship are struggling to survive.
The Israeli motive for attacking Arabic could not be clearer. In 1987, they got the Palestinian Authority to agree to Israel’s annexation of 80% of Palestine and now they are currently holding "peace talks" in Washington to grab more concessions over the remaining 20% of the land including Al-Quds al-Sharif and Masjid al-Aqsa. Big pronouncements about peace do not hide their malicious intent. The fact that the BBC is being used to attack Arabic in late 2010 during Ramadan with research that was published in 2009, suggests that there are other timetable considerations in play here.
Dissuading Muslim children from reading the Quran concurs with the ‘doctrine of pre-emption’. The argument runs as follows: if Muslim boys and girls around the world are kept away from reading the Quran for fear of brain damage or mental strain, their belief will receive less focus in their lives. As such, their belief in the Quranic sanctity of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be eroded. As a result, their stance against Israeli oppression will be neutered.
The Quran and its Arabic is made easy
Had Arabic been a strain on the human brain, then whole populations in countries such as Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Sudan would not have become Arabic speakers. It was primarily their zeal to understand the Quran that led people to give up their native tongues and adopt Arabic as their main language. The Quran emphasises its Arabic nature in no less than eleven different verses (12:2, 13:37, 16:103, 20:113, 26:195, 39:28, 41:3, 41:44, 42:7, 43:3, and 46:12) Allah (swt) says:
إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿يوسف: ٢﴾
فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَتُنْذِرَ بِهِ قَوْمًا لُدًّا ﴿مريم: ٩٧﴾
وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ ﴿القمر: ٤٠﴾
The easy and appealing nature of the structure of the Arabic is recognisable by anyone who genuinely studies the language without bias or malice. This is so even among non Muslims, such as the world renowned Harvard professor Jaroslav Stetkevych, who wrote:
"[T]he fact that Arabic long survived and still had the vitality to burgeon anew might be due to religious and social factors, but the quantitative ability to expand and the qualitative capacity to attain perfection and to maintain its essential characteristics are merits of the language exclusively."
He also explained what he meant by this claim: "To the Western student unfamiliar with the schematic morphological structure of Semitic languages, the first experience with Arabic suggests an idea of almost mathematical abstraction. The perfect system of the three radical consonants, the derived verbal forms with their basic meanings, the precise formation of the verbal noun, of the participles - everything is clarity, logic, system and abstraction. The language is like a mathematical formula. This is, of course, a first notion but it also is the ultimate truth. In between there lies the great body of language: rich and various, with its pitfalls and puzzles, but what impresses itself upon the mind is the abstract idea."(Jaroslav Stetkevych, (1970) The Modern Arabic Literary Language. University of Chicago Press, p.1.)
If Arabic were a strain on the human brain, then it would not have been able to serve as the main international language of science and intellectual thought for nearly a thousand years. Modern Western scientific advances owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Arabic language for its contributions to science.
Conclusion
This BBC news article was a calculated and malicious attack on Arabic in the blessed month of Ramandan when those responsible know that Muslims – men, women and children, around the world – would be spending long hours in the days and nights of Ramadan reading the Quran in Arabic. Most Muslims try to read the complete Quran during this month and many complete it several times before the month is over. Children are encouraged to read and memorise as much as possible in this month. So it comes as no surprise that those who would wish that Muslims abandon the Quran would choose this month to publicise their spurious and malicious theories regarding one the most revered languages in the world.
Reading Arabic is not more strenuous for the brain than watching a series of flickering pixels on a screen to create pictures in our minds. If we permit our children to spend hours glued to pulsating screens (TVs, computers, consoles, mobile devices etc), then sending them to learn to read the Quran in Allah's house (masjid) will not only serve as a relief and respite for their brains but it will also be a nourishment for their hearts and fortification for their faith and souls.
When the Quran is made easy for us by the Almighty, who then in the world can make it hard? If you feel that in order to enter the modern scientific world you must abandon Arabic and adopt some European language, then know that the Japanese who are not bonded to their language through a Divine revelation like the Quran, have mastered modern technology, risen to the pinnacle of science and current modern standards of living without abandoning their language.
One way to defeat this relentless onslaught of attacks on our faith, attacks on our sacred texts, attacks on the dignity of our Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), attacks attacks on our women, attacks on the clothes we wear and attacks on our sacred language, is to deny the instigators their ultimate target, which is our children. They have made our children their primary target. Put you ears to ground and you will hear them say that this is a "generational struggle". What this means is that they have given up on trying to take me and you away from Islam but the effort is now firmly focused on disconnecting the next generation from the legacy of the Prophets of Allah and from the heritage of received wisdom in Islam. Creating distance between our children and the Quran is vital to their effort. Do not allow them that chance. Fortify your children’s hearts with the Quran and preserve your sacred language by making sure your children will able to teach it to your grandchildren.
وَقَدْ مَكَرُوا مَكْرَهُمْ وَعِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَكْرُهُمْ وَإِنْ كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ
﴿ابراهيم: ٤٦﴾
Mighty indeed were the plots which they made, but their plots were well within the sight of Allah, even though they were such as to shake the mountains.
وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ
﴿آلعمران: ٥٤﴾
They plotted and planned and Allah is the best of planners
كل عام وأنتم بخير
Eid Mubarak
(Sh) Riyad Nadwi
Oxford, UK
27th Ramadan 1431
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Eid Mubarak!!
Eid / 1st of Shawwal will be on Friday 10th September.
We will be having 2 Eid prayers.
The 1st at 8am and the second at 9:30am. Please be on time as the Eid salaah / prayer will start promptly.
May Allah Almighty accept our good deeds of Ramadhan and forgive us our shortcomings - Aameen.
We wish everyone a happy Eid!
We will be having 2 Eid prayers.
The 1st at 8am and the second at 9:30am. Please be on time as the Eid salaah / prayer will start promptly.
May Allah Almighty accept our good deeds of Ramadhan and forgive us our shortcomings - Aameen.
We wish everyone a happy Eid!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Khatmul Qur'aan Ramadhan 1431AH
Assalamualaykum,
Insha Allah we will be completing the recitation of the noble Qur'aan on the night of Tuesday 7th september 2010 which will be the 29th night of Ramadhan. Please pass on the message for this noble occasion. May Allah Almighty accept - Ameen.
Insha Allah we will be completing the recitation of the noble Qur'aan on the night of Tuesday 7th september 2010 which will be the 29th night of Ramadhan. Please pass on the message for this noble occasion. May Allah Almighty accept - Ameen.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Eid Salaah/prayer Ramadhan 1431AH / 2010
Assalamualaykum,
We are fast approaching the end of the blessed month of Ramadhan. May Allah Almighty accept our Fasting, standing in prayer, our duaa and charity - Aameen.
Please note that Eid / 1st of Shawwal will be on either Thursday 9th or Friday 10th September.
Depending on the day of Eid, there will be 2 Eid Prayers
1st at 8am to be rendered by Imaam Muhammad Ismail
2nd at 9:30am to be rendered by Imaam Gulaam
Please be on time as the prayer will start promptly!
Watch this space for Eid day announcement!
We are fast approaching the end of the blessed month of Ramadhan. May Allah Almighty accept our Fasting, standing in prayer, our duaa and charity - Aameen.
Please note that Eid / 1st of Shawwal will be on either Thursday 9th or Friday 10th September.
Depending on the day of Eid, there will be 2 Eid Prayers
1st at 8am to be rendered by Imaam Muhammad Ismail
2nd at 9:30am to be rendered by Imaam Gulaam
Please be on time as the prayer will start promptly!
Watch this space for Eid day announcement!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ramadhan Mubarak!
Wednesday (Tomorrow) 11th August is the first Fast of Ramadhan 1431AH.
Imsaak/Fast begins at 3:16am. (It is advisable to start fasting 5 minuites before this time)
Fajr Salaah will be at 3:30am at the Masjid.
Our First Taraweeh will be tonight after Esha salaah 10:15pm.
The Month of Shabaan 1431AH had 29 days.
May Allah accept our Fasting, standing in prayer, dua, our repentance. May He allow us to know our worth and the need for turning to Him and May He bless us with Jannah- Aameen
Imsaak/Fast begins at 3:16am. (It is advisable to start fasting 5 minuites before this time)
Fajr Salaah will be at 3:30am at the Masjid.
Our First Taraweeh will be tonight after Esha salaah 10:15pm.
The Month of Shabaan 1431AH had 29 days.
May Allah accept our Fasting, standing in prayer, dua, our repentance. May He allow us to know our worth and the need for turning to Him and May He bless us with Jannah- Aameen
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Al Medinah Masjid August Prayer timetable 2010
اوقات الدخول
STARTING TIMES
|
اوقات الاقانمة في المسجد
JAMA'AH
TIMES
| ||||||||||
| DATE/ PRAYER |
الفجر
FAJR
|
الشروق
SUNRISE
|
الظهر
THOHAR
|
العصر
ASR
|
الغروب
SUNSET
|
العشاء
ESHA
|
الفجر
FAJR
|
الظهر
THOHAR
|
العصر
ASR
|
المغرب
MAGHRIB*
|
العشاء
ESHA
|
| AUGUST | |||||||||||
| 1 |
2:42
am
|
5:27
am
|
1:07
pm
|
5:16
pm
|
8:46
pm
|
10:00pm
|
4:00
am
|
1:30
pm
|
6:00
pm
|
8:46
pm
|
10:15
pm
|
| 2 |
2:46
|
5:28
|
1:07
|
5:15
|
8:45
|
9:59
|
4:00
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:45
|
10:15
|
| 3 |
2:49
|
5:29
|
1:07
|
5:14
|
8:43
|
9:57
|
4:00
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:43
|
10:15
|
| 4 |
2:53
|
5:31
|
1:07
|
5:14
|
8:41
|
9:56
|
4:00
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:41
|
10:15
|
| 5 |
2:56
|
5:32
|
1:07
|
5:13
|
8:40
|
9:55
|
4:00
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:40
|
10:15
|
| FRI6 |
3:00
|
5:34
|
1:06
|
5:12
|
8:38
|
9:54
|
4:00
|
***
|
6:00
|
8:38
|
10:15
|
| 7 |
3:03
|
5:35
|
1:06
|
5:11
|
8:36
|
9:52
|
4:15
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:36
|
10:15
|
| 8 |
3:06
|
5:37
|
1:06
|
5:10
|
8:34
|
9:51
|
4:15
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:34
|
10:15
|
| 9 |
3:10
|
5:38
|
1:06
|
5:09
|
8:33
|
9:50
|
4:15
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:33
|
10:15
|
| 10 |
3:13
|
5:40
|
1:06
|
5:09
|
8:31
|
9:49
|
4:15
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:31
|
10:15
|
| 11 |
3:16
|
5:42
|
1:06
|
5:08
|
8:29
|
9:47
|
4:15
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:29
|
10:15
|
| 12 |
3:19
|
5:43
|
1:06
|
5:07
|
8:27
|
9:46
|
4:15
|
1:30
|
6:00
|
8:27
|
10:15
|
| FRI 13 |
3:22
|
5:45
|
1:05
|
5:06
|
8:25
|
9:44
|
4:15
|
***
|
6:00
|
8:25
|
10:15
|
| 14 |
3:25
|
5:46
|
1:05
|
5:05
|
8:23
|
9:43
|
4:30
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:23
|
10:00
|
| 15 |
3:28
|
5:48
|
1:05
|
5:04
|
8:21
|
9:41
|
4:30
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:21
|
10:00
|
| 16 |
3:30
|
5:49
|
1:05
|
5:03
|
8:19
|
9:40
|
4:30
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:19
|
10:00
|
| 17 |
3:33
|
5:51
|
1:05
|
5:02
|
8:17
|
9:38
|
4:30
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:17
|
10:00
|
| 18 |
3:36
|
5:52
|
1:04
|
5:01
|
8:16
|
9:38
|
4:30
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:16
|
10:00
|
| 19 |
3:39
|
5:54
|
1:04
|
5:00
|
8:14
|
9:36
|
4:30
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:14
|
10:00
|
| FRI 20 |
3:41
|
5:55
|
1:04
|
4:59
|
8:11
|
9:34
|
4:30
|
***
|
5:45
|
8:11
|
10:00
|
| 21 |
3:44
|
5:57
|
1:04
|
4:57
|
8:09
|
9:32
|
4:45
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:09
|
9:45
|
| 22 |
3:47
|
5:58
|
1:03
|
4:56
|
8:07
|
9:31
|
4:45
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:07
|
9:45
|
| 23 |
3:49
|
6:00
|
1:03
|
4:55
|
8:05
|
9:29
|
4:45
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:05
|
9:45
|
| 24 |
3:52
|
6:02
|
1:03
|
4:54
|
8:03
|
9:28
|
4:45
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:03
|
9:45
|
| 25 |
3:54
|
6:03
|
1:03
|
4:53
|
8:01
|
9:26
|
4:45
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
8:01
|
9:45
|
| 26 |
3:57
|
6:05
|
1:02
|
4:51
|
7:59
|
9:25
|
4:45
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
7:59
|
9:45
|
| FRI 27 |
3:59
|
6:06
|
1:02
|
4:50
|
7:57
|
9:23
|
4:45
|
***
|
5:45
|
7:57
|
9:45
|
| 28 |
4:02
|
6:08
|
1:02
|
4:49
|
7:55
|
9:22
|
5:00
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
7:55
|
9:45
|
| 29 |
4:04
|
6:09
|
1:02
|
4:48
|
7:53
|
9:20
|
5:00
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
7:53
|
9:45
|
| 30 |
4:06
|
6:11
|
1:01
|
4:46
|
7:51
|
9:19
|
5:00
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
7:51
|
9:45
|
| 31 |
4:09
|
6:12
|
1:01
|
4:45
|
7:48
|
9:16
|
5:00
|
1:30
|
5:45
|
7:48
|
9:45
|
IMPORTANT NOTE
Please note that Ramadhan 1431AH will start on Wednesday 11th or Thursday 12th August 2010. The Congregational times will be different to this timetable. Please ask for our Ramadhan timetable to see exact times for fasting and congregational prayer at the masjid
ليعلم ان المسجد يفتح عشرين دقيقة قبل الاقامة و يغلق ثلاثين دقيقة بعد الاقامة
Please note that the Masjid will normally open 20 minutes before the jama’ah time of each prayer .Please also note that the Masjid will normally close 30 minutes after each jamaa’ah prayer
***AUGUST: Jumu’ah/Friday talk in English 1:10PM. Sermon/Khutbah in Arabic followed by Salaah: 1:30PM
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