English

SHAFAQNA –The British referendum on membership in the European Union on 23 June has exposed deep layers of racism and xenophobia in the United Kingdom and raises serious conces about the welfare of minorities and immigrants in the country. Verbal violence and the murder of a politician who devoted her life to justice and peace – including in Palestine – are the terrifying manifestations of the ugly face of the referendum. And yet if we think of the wider implications of the vote, with a view to evaluating the outcome’s relevance to Palestine, the results are less of a disaster and open new vistas for our struggle for peace and justice in Palestine. There are three reasons why those deeply i...

SHAFAQNA –New York has knocked off London as the world’s premier city for foreign investment in commercial real estate due to fears the vote to leave the European Union would diminish the British capital’s appeal as a global financial center. Data on cross-border property transactions indicate greater unease among investors prior to the referendum, which voters unexpectedly approved on June 23, than had been captured in the capital markets prior to the vote. Cross-border capital flows into London real estate fell 44 percent in this year’s first six months from the same period in 2015, according to data from brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Property investors feared Britain’s exit from the ...

As you may be aware, the prophets propagated their messages on the basis of two executive guarantees: waing the people and bringing glad tidings for them. They waed people from the agony of fire as a result of sins; and promised them the rewards and great blessings of the hereafter as a result of being obedient to the Almighty Allah. Let us assume (God Forbid) that Allah (SWT) is an oppressor and that He will punish everyone regardless of their good actions. If this was the case, there would not be a difference between the righteous and the people who have been sinful all their lives; at the end both will be punishedequally. Therefore, the set of laws set by Allah (SWT) and expressed by the ...

SHAFAQNA –The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, expressed deep conce about the Bahraini security authorities’ summoning of Head of Religious Freedom unit at the Bahrain Human Rights Observatory, Sheikh Maytham al-Salman. “I am very conceed by reports that talk about the Bahraini authorities summoning Maitham Salman for interrogation on August 14, 2016, and I am observing this matter closely,” he said in a tweet on his official Twitter account. Sheikh Salman said that he had received a call from the security authorities asking him to be present for interrogation Sunday (August 14, 2016) without informing him of the...

SHAFAQNA – In a letter to his son, Imam Khomeini wrote: My son, never pursue the world, even in Halal ways, because it is the top mistake; as it leads the human being towards the Haram world. You are young and with the power of youth granted to you by God, you can cut the first step of deviation, and not allowing other steps to be taken in that way, because each step leads to another, and any sin even a small one leads the human being to bigger sins; and then the big sins will appear small into human’s mind; to an extent that sometimes people become proud of their big sins, and because of the intensity of darkness and worldly veils, they deny the good and encourage the bad [1]. [1] Sahifey...

SHAFAQNA –Following a series of violent attacks by militants whom have claimed to be loyal to Daesh, aka ISIL, France has been looking for effective counter-terror measures to protect both its citizens and its way of life. While many, most of all the French might have expected measures in tune with the gravity of the situation, David Lisnard, the mayor of Caes (seaside Mediterranean town) chose to legislate over fashion to curb radicalism. Starting this August, Caes will no longer allow for Muslim women to wear the burkini – Islamic swimsuit; a decision which officials have promised will help promote and protect France secular traditions. Shafaqna asked Mayor David Lisnard to elaborate on t...

SHAFAQNA –Crimes committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq’s Sinjar in 2014 may be considered as war crimes, crimes against humanity and even genocide, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday in a statement on the second aiversary of Sinjar’s tragedy. The Secretary General strongly condemned “the heinous crimes that continue to be committed by ISIL against the diverse ethnic and religious communities of Iraq” and expressed deep conce “about the safety of the people who remain in ISIL’s captivity, in particular the thousands of Yezidi women and children.” He called upon “all those engaged in the fight against ISIL to make their release a prime objective in their...

SHAFAQNA-As you may be aware, the prophets propagated their messages on the basis of two executive guarantees: waing the people and bringing glad tidings for them. They waed people from the agony of fire as a result of sins; and promised them the rewards and great blessings of the hereafter as a result of being obedient to the Almighty Allah. Let us assume (God Forbid) that Allah (SWT) is an oppressor and that He will punish everyone regardless of their good actions. If this was the case, there would not be a difference between the righteous and the people who have been sinful all their lives; at the end both will be punished equally. Therefore, the set of laws set by Allah (SWT) and expre...

SHAFAQNA- The topic of Divine trial is an issue of great debate and discussion. The first question that comes to mind is: Are trials not for understanding matters which are obscure, hence eliminating our ignorance? If so, why does Allah (s.w.t.), who possesses knowledge of the hidden and the manifest of everything within the heavens and the earth, have to examine and test (the people)? Does there exist something, which is concealed from Him and which may become manifest for Him by means of examination? The answer lies in the fact that the concept of examination with respect to Allah (s.w.t.) is vastly different from that, with respect to us. Our examinations are that which has been stated a...

Blair Imani meeting Bill Clinton. Credit: Courtesy of Blair Imani SHAFAQNA- On April 13, 2016, barely a month after I started observing hijab, I attended an event called “Conversations with Bill.” It was a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, one of the first I had attended, and I was so excited to hear from the former president. http://en.shafaqna.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/bill.mp3 Unfortunately, before the event could even get going I was referred to as a terrorist by a comfortably bigoted attendee. I already felt out of place. I was one of the only black people present, one of the youngest attendees, and the only woman wearing hijab. My eyes filled with tearsand I asked one of the organi...

British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses a news conference following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Haibal Hanschke SHAFAQNA –Since entering Downing Street as Britain’s new prime minister last week, Theresa May has quickly dispelled hopes that the UK might change its mind about leaving the European Union. “Brexit means Brexit,” she said in her inaugural speech. She added later thatBritain will take the time it needs to invoke the now notorious Article 50 of Europe’s de facto constitution goveing a member’s divorce from the EU. Both May and her new minister for Brexit have said Article 50 would not be triggered befor...

Theresa May has driven extreme policies that surveil and criminalize Muslims, migrants and refugees Now that the Conservative Party’s Theresa May has a clear path to becoming the next prime minister of Britain, much of the media coverage is focusing on her “unpredictability,” “resolve” and,unfortunately, her favorite style of shoes. But as the United Kingdom reels from a post-Brexit surge in racist hate crimes and xenophobia, a key aspect of May’s legacy is going underreported: her role in driving policies aimed at surveilling, criminalizing and extraditing Muslims, refugees and migrants. From the begiing of her tenure as home secretary in 2010, May has been a key backer of the controversia...

SHAFAQNA –The Saudi Arabia-led coalition has unlawfully hit civilian economic structures in Yemen which may amount to war crimes, says Human Rights Watch. The attacks killed 130 people and 171 more were hurt, according to the latest HRW report. The group urges Saudi Arabia to agree to independent inteational inquiry into the attacks and says the country should be suspended from membership on the UN Human Rights Council. The 59-page report titled ‘Bombing Businesses: Saudi Coalition Airstrikes on Yemen’s Civilian Economic Structures’ studies in detail 17 airstrikes on 13 civilian economic sites: factories, warehouses, a farm and two power facilities. These facilities employed some 2,500 peopl...

SHAFAQNA – The Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi answered a question about performing Salaat at a place where backbiting is going on. Question: If whilst performing Salaat, others are engaged in backbiting, what is the duty of the person who is performing Salaat? The Grand Ayatollah Makarem: Whenever a person is performing Salaat in a room where others are engaged in backbiting, must leave the Salaat and perform Salaat in another place because it is not allowed to be present in a gathering where a sin is being committed. Source: PERSIAN SHAFAQNA SHARE Facebook Twitter Previous articleBackbiting and not being able to ask for forgiveness/the Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s answer L...

SHAFAQNA – Repenting is easier for young people and the correction of the soul and education of the ier self can be faster for them. The soul of the young is delicate and flexible and unlike the older people, there is not as much love for the soul and the world in young people. The young can in relative ease get rid of the corrupt soul and engage in spirituality/morality. The extent with which the young people are effected in ethical and preaching sessions, old people do not [1]. The young people should value their time whilst they are young and make sure this great blessing is not neglected because correcting the soul in old age is very difficult [2]. [1] Va’adeye Didar, Letter dated 27/0...

SHAFAQNA –Ramadan is celebrated worldwide in the religion of Islam, and bans all those practicing the religion from eating during the hours of sunlight. Serving food before dawn and after sunset, they caot even drink water while they observe in daylight hours during the month-long ritual. Eating, drinking, smoking and any sexual activity is baed while the sun is visible, and the fast breaks with a meal known as the Iftar. But for those who live in the northe most regions of the world, fasting can prove tricky if the sun barely sets. In what is known as a polar day, the sun does not set below the horizon, and the reverse for a polar night. In the most extreme locations, the sun does not set ...

SHAFAQNA – The Grand Ayatollah Safi answered questions about the situation in the month of Ramadhan when a person knows that if falls sleep, noctual emission will happen. Question: One hour is left to dawn’s call to prayer (Adhan), and the person knows that if falls sleep, does not wake up until call to prayer and noctual emission will happen; can the person sleep or not? And if the person sleeps and noctual emission happens, and call to prayer is performed, is the fasting correct or not? The Grand Ayatollah Safi: If the mentioned person knows that before dawn’s call to prayer will have noctual emission, according to Wajeb precaution must not sleep. Source: PERSIAN SHAFAQNA SHARE Faceb...

SHAFAQNA –British NGOs received €145 million from the EU’s emergency aid department, ECHO, in 2015. When the UK leaves the EU following Brexit, UK-registered non-profits will no longer be eligible for that funding, and the ECHO aual budget is also likely to shrink in the absence of UK contributions. As official British aid is 100 percent “untied” – UK companies and charities are allowed no advantage in getting grants – replacing the lost ECHO funding from the UK aid ministry, DFID, could not be guaranteed without a major policy change. Among the largest recipients of ECHO humanitarian funding last year were the British wings of multinational, or federated, NGOs, including Inteational Rescue...

SHAFAQNA – On the moing of June 12, as details emerged from a shooting at an Orlando nightclub, Muslim Americans across the country likely reacted with horror, while secretly hoping that the shooter wouldn’t tu out to be one of them. Many had gone through the same roller coaster of emotions after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and the San Beardino shootings. Muslim Americans have become accustomed to this patte whenever there’s an attack with a Muslim perpetrator. Media outlets will debate whether or not Islam justifies violence, while sounding alarm bells about the extent of homegrown radicalism. At the same time, politicians and pundits trumpet policies restricting the civil liberties...

AftermostBritons voted to leave the European Union, tens of thousands of Londoners took to social media to express their opposition. Around 100,000 Londoners signed a petition organized by James O’Malley on the change.org website, asking Mayor Sadiq Khan to declare Londonan independent state. The petition read: “Declare London independent from the UK and apply to join the EU.” “London is an inteational city, and we want to remain at the heart of Europe,” the petition said. “Let’s face it — the rest of the country disagrees. So rather than passive aggressively vote against each other at every election, let’s make the divorce official and move in with our friends on the continent. “Mayor Sadiq...