JIHAD: A Battle for peace and Justice

I wrote the following article on Jihad sometime in 1999. It appeared in several newspapers then. I found the following on http://www.jammu-kashmir.com. JIHAD: A Battle for peace and Justice By Sultan Shahin " O ye who believe ! Bow down, prostrate yourself and adore your Lord; and do good; that ye may be successful. And strive in the way of Allah as ye ought to strive (with sincerity and discipline). He has chosen you and has imposed no hardship on you in religion; it is the Religion of your father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslim, both before and in this ( Book ) that the messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witness for you and ye be witness for mankind! So establish Salat (prayer), give Zakat and hold fast to Allah! He is your protector, the best to protect...

I found the following article I had written several years ago on a website Islam for today. Though some of the statements are now outdated, it may still bear reading and would probably prove useful for some readers. It is also available at http://www.islamfortoday.com/shaheen01.htm. I am posting it here just as it is on that site except that I have corrected the misspelling of my byline: About this Site Basic Islamic Beliefs What's New Muslims Today History & Civilizations...

OIC statement on Kashmir hurting interests of 150 million Indian Muslims

By Sultan Shahin New Delhi has done well to reject observations made by the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) on Kashmir calling it a burning political dispute and reiterate that ‘Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India’. It is customary for OIC to make references to the State in a rather gratuitous manner, without showing any concern for the interests of over 150 million Muslims living in India peacefully and participating in all walks of life. It would be best if OIC were to leave Indian Muslims including Kashmiris to live in peace and not create problems for them by focussing attention on them as separatists or supporters of secessionism. If it can’t do them any good it should at least leave them in peace. One would have felt greater respect for OIC if it focussed...

Indian Muslim women deserve congratulations for their new marriage code

Indian Muslim women deserve congratulations for their new marriage code By Sultan Shahin Indian Muslim women deserve congratulations for coming out with their own marriage code. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is using its clout in the media to denigrate this move. But they have yet to come out with a coherent answer to the question: after all, what is wrong or un-Islamic about the new women’s proposed code. Before criticising the women board’s effort and calling it irrelevant and useless and so on, they should come out with cogent explanations of what is wrong with it. Our experience with ulema is not very encouraging. I am certain that if someone were to go to the ulema, at least in Phulwari Sharif, Patna, of which I have some experience, and say I dreamt...

It certainly is time to take a stand against the obscurantists among Muslims

It certainly is time to take a stand against the obscurantists among Muslims In orthodox Islamic theology, the Ex-Muslims of Britain should have as much right to renounce religion or convert to other religions as those from other religions have to convert to Islam. Quranic injunction – La Ikraha fid Deen (There can be no compulsion in religion) - is absolute and admits of no ifs and buts. The obscurantists who consider it wrong are of course another matter. The vast majority of Muslims have to learn to deal with the obscurantists among them before they destroy their religion. It’s sad and shameful for us Muslims that ex-Muslims have to make such a song and dance about merely exercising their human right, given to them as much by Islam as by other laws of choosing or denying a religion....