Sufi-Master Sheikh Eşref Efendi's Visit to Krishnamurti Foundation during his "Peace Tour to India" is Remarkable!

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 31 December 2022 Sheikh Eşref Efendi, the founder of World Peace Institute of Sufism based in Berlin, Germany and Ambassador of the High Sufi Council of Jerusalem Holy Land, is currently on what he calls the 'Sufi Peace Way to India'. This month-long visit of a global Sufi Master who is also a recipient of several Peace Awards from the EU and is the founder and head of Sufi Centre Rabbaniya, Germany, has been sending out a strong message of peace and dialogue to several states in India. The Sufi Master landed in India on 17th of December, 2022 and since then he has been indefatigably travelling across the country to substantiate the two points precisely: 'peace within and peace outside'. Notably, he has also been actively engaged in the dialogue in various...

Orthodox Islam Has An Aversion To Sufism

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 31 December 2022 One 'ocean of knowledge' is of the view that Sufis exaggerate. Therefore, their path is not right. Only the path propounded and propagated by him will lead all Muslims to Allah. Obviously, these are tall claims. Muslims, esp. Sunnis, still suffer from Hallaj Syndrome, named after Mansur-al- Hallaj, who was excoriated for his ecstatic proclamation of An-al-Haq ('m the truth). This gentleman is unaware that the real Sufism is unstructured. Annihilation in Allah is not through any fixed process and procedure but through love and devotion. Shams-e-Tabriz writes, " I've gone beyond Namaz, Roza and rosary. All these are secondary. I'm merged into Him. " To a conventional Muslim who has been rubbing his Peshani (forehead) by offering regular dose...

The Never-Ending Series of Problems for Muslims: A Matter of Concern

By Dr Yusuf Rampuri 31 December 2022 Translated into English by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam Reasons Why Muslims Are Openly Condemned And Characterised As Immoral And Barbaric Main Points 1. Muslims currently have a miserable social life. Some pervasive evils in their society are what are causing their decline. 2. The division and chaos among Muslims have shattered the cohesiveness of the whole Muslim world. 3. Sincere worship is no longer practised in the Muslim community. 4. Morals are rapidly declining, while bad temper, poor behaviour, and bad temper are all on the rise. 5. Why is Muslim society being openly condemned and characterised as extremely immoral and barbaric? 6. Everyone in the Muslim community must be exhorted to lead a simple life in order...

Sufi-Master Sheikh Eşref Efendi's Visit to Krishnamurti Foundation during his "Peace Tour to India" is Remarkable!

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 31 December 2022 Sheikh Eşref Efendi, the founder of World Peace Institute of Sufism based in Berlin, Germany and Ambassador of the High Sufi Council of Jerusalem Holy Land, is currently on what he calls the 'Sufi Peace Way to India'. This month-long visit of a global Sufi Master who is also a recipient of several Peace Awards from the EU and is the founder and head of Sufi Centre Rabbaniya, Germany, has been sending out a strong message of peace and dialogue to several states in India. The Sufi Master landed in India on 17th of December, 2022 and since then he has been indefatigably travelling across the country to substantiate the two points precisely: 'peace within and peace outside'. Notably, he has also been actively engaged in the dialogue in various...

Taliban Vs. Islam: Preventing Women From Education Is A Sin In Islam

Education Is Equally Obligatory On Both Men And Women. Main Points: 1. The education of a man is the education of an individual, while the education of a woman is the education of a family. 2. Since women make up half of every country's population, denying them access to education will prohibit that country from ever progressing. 3. The Holy Quran exhorts Muslim men and women to learn many types of sciences. ---- By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam 31 December 2022 Islam places a high value on education. In Islam, "Education is equally obligatory on both men and women". It is not mentioned in the hadith that it is required for boys but not for girls. The idea that girls shouldn't have access to higher education while boys should wasn't mentioned either. In terms of both needs and...

The Quran Does Not Differentiate Knowledge as Worldly and Religious

By S. Arshad, New Age Islam 31 December 2022 Knowledge Leads Man To Salvation Main Points: 1. The Quran asks man to ponder on scientific facts. 2. God gave prophet Noah a.s. the knowledge of building a huge ship. 3. The Quran asks man to ponder over the phases of foetus in the womb. 4. The Quran asks man on history of mankind. 5. The Quran also gives knowledge on religious issues. ----- Islam has always stressed on the importance of education and knowledge. The very first verse revealed to the prophet pbuh stressed on reading as a means of acquiring knowledge. Knowledge leads one towards realisation of truth and ignorance keeps one wandering in darkness. The Quran time and again asks man to acquire knowledge and should travel for that purpose if it is necessary....

Why Should God Be Concerned Whether You Worship Him Or Someone Else?

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 30 December 2022 I generally refrain from stretching a subject or issue a trifle too long but I thought of letting NAI's Mr S Arshad know that I didn't write my Shirk piece from the perspective of a polytheist. That's a pigeonholing on the part of the writer and an attempt to limit someone for whom religions, scriptures, gods and tenets have no significance. I'm neither a monotheist nor a polytheist. And I'm also neither a theist or atheist. I've gone beyond your worldly limits. I call myself an apatheist for the want of a better word at the moment. Now let me ask Mr Arshad, how can Shirk be an act of ingratitude? St Augustine said that the god is free of human attributes. Gratitude and ingratitude are human traits. Upanishad, esp. Chandogya Upanishad, calls...

Iman and Yaqin: Faith In The Unseen And Certainty

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 30 December 2022 Iman is belief or faith in the Unseen or in Al-Ghayab. The authenticity of the source of knowledge of the Unseen is testable but not the authenticity of the contents of Al-Ghayab itself. We believe in the Unseen because the source of knowledge of the Unseen is the Quran which satisfies all the attributes expected of the word of an all-knowing God. For the comprehensive meaning of faith, please read: The Quranic Truths of Qayamat and Resurrection Yaqin is a certainty. Can we have certainty of the Unseen? This is not possible by the very definition of the Unseen. We can therefore do acts to strengthen our Iman but no matter how very much strong our Iman may become, it cannot become Yaqin or certain knowledge. So what do the terms Ilm al-Yaqin...

Unless A Modern Scientific Exegesis Of The Quran Is Written, The Taliban Will Not Change Their Attitude Towards Education And Women

Before The Ascent Of the Taliban, 40 Percent Of Doctors In Afghanistan Were Women Main Points: 1. 70 percent of school teachers were women. 2. 60 percent of university professors were women. 3. 25 percent of the members of parliament were women. 4. 6.2 percent of ministers were women. ---- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 29 December 2022 UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya Women’s rights advocates engage in awareness-raising activities in Herat, Afghanistan. (file) ----- In his article, Mr. Faizan Mustafa takes a comparative look at the educational and political state of women in Afghanistan before and after the ascent of the Taliban in Afghanistan. He writes that during the US occupation, women were given the freedom to receive education and impart education. They also had political...

Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan's Heightened Activities in Pakistan Pose Security Threat to The Entire Region

Pakistan's Euphoria Over Taliban Victory Was Misplaced Main Points: 1. TTP has carried out 141 attacks in 3 months. 2. 95 per cent of attacks were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ruled by Imran Khan's PTI. 3. TTP have broken the ceasefire agreement. 4. Afghan Taliban had mediated in the peace agreement. ------ By New Age Islam Staff Writer 29 December 2022 When the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan for the second time last August, Pakistan burst into jubilation. It was only Pakistan that celebrated Taliban's comeback. Even the Afghan people were apprehensive about them and millions of Afghans scrambled to board aeroplanes to get out of the country. Prior to that Pakistan had freed some prominent Taliban leaders lodged in Pakistan jails in order to facilitate their...

The Term 'Extremism': Unwarranted In Every Case Be It Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism Or Any Other Religious Group

By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam 29 December 2022 Locating The Source Of Terrorism In Religious Extremism Functions To Deny And Obscure Its Political Origins And The Possibility That It Is A Response To Specific Western Policies. ----- Hindu monks (Representative image) ---- Rana Ayyub in one of her tweets in 2016 wrote, “ISIS is attacking Islam and Muslims the world over and the irony is the world calls it Islamic terror. What a SHAME !” Ayyub is not the lone voice. Several academicians, journalists, scholars, and politicians have pointed out the contradictions in using the terms “Islamic Terrorism” or “Islamic Extremism”. Professor Richard Jackson of the University of Otago argues, “Arguably the most important challenge to the overall discourse pertains to the notion of ‘religious...

'Years Are Silly Segments Of Time': Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 29 December 2022 Guzarte Waqt Ka Ehsaas Hai Par Dil Nahin Udaas Hai Kyon Ke Ilm Hai 'Adam' Safar-E-Farda Ke Liye Aas Hai -Abdul Hameed ' Adam ' ' A New Year is a mere change of date/s on the calendars. What's most important is a change, nay transformation, in one's outlook. So, change from within.' -Joseph Conrad Every New Year must witness a better you. -A Turkish adage " Why should one change with the New Year? A change can be brought about every day, nay minute." Anon " Time slips away imperceptibly just like sands from the fist. " An Eastern proverb (I know that the time is gliding by/ Yet, I'm not sad/ Because I know 'Adam'/ I've hope for tomorrow's journey). " Years are silly segments of time....

Shirk Is An Expression Of Ingratitude To The Benevolence Of God

By S. Arshad, New Age Islam 28 December 2022 A Rejoinder To Mr Sumit Pal's Article On Shirk Main Points: 1. Allah was not the deity of Quraish. 2. The Quran pointed out the impurities inserted in Christianity and Judaism. 3. The Quran, not Prophet Muhammad pbuh, made shirk an unpardonable sin. 4. All religions originated in a tribal society. ---- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr Sumit Pal Quotes Professor Reynold A Nicholson: "Tribalism Is The Essence Of Islam". In Fact It Is The Other Way Round. Islam Originated In The Tribal Society Only To Retrieve The Arabs From Their Tribal Mentality And Bring Them In Harmony With The Modern Civilised Society. It Scientific Research And Started The Process Of Social Rehabilitation...

A Question Islamists Must Ask Themselves: Why All Islamic Political Experiments Fail, Shia As Much As Sunni?

By Dr. Mohammad Ghitreef, New Age Islam 28 December 2022 Modern Man Can’t Compromise With His Individual Freedoms, And Stagnant Islamic Thought Isn’t Ready To Give Him Or Her This Right Main Points: ----- 1. Islam as a political ideology is less effective than Islam as amoral, spiritual force. 2. Without bold and effective Ijtihad and rethinking, tall claims such as “Islam is the solution,” don’t work in modern times. 3. Iran’s semi-republican theocracy has produced the least religious society in the Muslim world. ----- Iran is making global headlines for the wrong reasons once more. Since the beginning of her so-called Islamic revolution in April 1979, when anti-Shah protesters overcame the country's tyrannical police and army and deposed the shah, she has consistently...