Ya Baghdadi….

To the one who presumed to don a mantle that was not his. Ya Shaykh! As I transcribe these thoughts of mine, reports abound of your supposed death; whether you still live or have passed on is at this time unclear. With respect to the contents of this letter, though, it is largely irrelevant. The…

The death of an angel

One would have thought  the death of an 11 year old girl in a tragic amusement park accident a relatively straightforward incident to report on: a short summary of what happened, the name and age of the victim followed by some comments from the park operators and friends and family of the deceased. And so,…

A non-devout Muslim

[Note: I wrote a much more detailed appraisal of Mr Nawaz back in 2015 – https://maskedavenger1.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/an-appeal-to-reason/ ] As I’m sure you are all too painfully aware I am currently on extended leave from Twitter. I realise how much you must all miss my trenchant wit and do hope to stage something of a comeback later…

My bit part in The Way of The Strangers

Those who follow me on Twitter might be aware that I make a brief appearance in Graeme Wood’s new book, The Way of The Stangers – Encounters With The Islamic State. The final four pages of the chapter entitled “A Dream Deferred” to be precise (pages 208 to 212 in the current UK edition). I…

Salafi-Jihadism:The History of an Idea

[Available at most good book shops and on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Salafi-Jihadism-History-Idea-Shiraz-Maher/dp/1849046298/] The 9/11 attacks, fifteen years ago propelled Al-Qaeda into global infamy; previously little known outside intelligence circles the organisation and its leader Osama Bin Laden almost overnight became household names. Yet the ideology they represented remained relatively obscure in the West. The subsequent dispersal of the…

Imam Shakeel Begg vs the BBC

May the peace and blessings of Allah (swt) be upon sayyidina Muhammad and upon his noble Ahlul Bayt. Whosoever Allah guides none can misguide and whosoever Allah leads astray there is none that can guide them. All good is in holding fast to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his last and final…

Islam’s Non-Believers

Note: I’m currently only writing very short comments on the blog as my spare time is almost non-existent. “Islam’s Non-Believers” was first aired on ITV on Thursday 13 Oct at 10.40pm. The objective of Ms. Deeyah Khan’s “documentary” should have been abundantly obvious to any Muslim activist worth his salt. Quite why any sane Muslim…

Europe’s Muslim Question

How can Europe integrate its Muslim citizens? Or to take the glass-half-empty perspective, do Muslims have a future in Europe? I have to keep this succinct so let’s quickly run through the list of possible options: Die Endlosung der Muslimfrage. Deport them all. Forcibly assimilate them (i.e. force them to adopt secularism and liberal ideals)….

First hijabi to pose for Playboy

Picture the scenario… In a town somewhere far away there lives a certain bibulous individual – an alcoholic if you will – who from dawn till dusk the only liquid he will consume is whiskey (or in its absence another spirit of similar strength). He continues in this way for a number of years never…

Burkinis, hijabs, niqabs and lip gloss

What’s with the lip gloss in the title? I just find it incredibly attractive on a woman, that’s all. I should, I suppose, qualify that by adding that it depends on the woman in question but as a (non-permanent) means of amplifying natural feminine charms nothing else comes close by comparison. Anyway, enough of my…

Racism is vile…regardless the victims…

  Given that voter concerns around immigration formed the pith of the Leave campaign’s argument it should come as no great surprise that their success in June’s EU referendum vote unleashed a tsunami of xenophobic hate. Media reporting has focussed largely on the experiences of the Polish community and Muslim women wearing the hijab –…

Comments rather than articles

Due to changed personal circumstances I shan’t have much free time over the coming six months to write full length articles. I shall instead intermittently publish short comments on topical subjects.