On 7 February the Department for Education (DfE) launched a consultation on Reform of the National Curriculum in England. It ends today (16 April). The DfE has already published a draft curriculum specification for 12 school subjects. In History, the Islamic contribution to this country remains almost entirely absent. In...

Transcript: Keynote Speech by Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari Tuesday 12 March 2013 Organised by LSE Students Union on ‘Campus Extremism, Freedom and Security: Working top promote Cohesion in British Universities’ Chair, distinguished guests, colleagues, students:   It is my pleasure and privilege to be able to talk tonight about three...

Religion and science seem to be at loggerheads again. This time it is evolution that takes centre stage – the creation of our species on Earth – and it appears aggressive atheism is desperate to turn a theory into “fact”. Recently there have been impassioned debate on this area on...

Our children are our future, our hope. We all want them to be good human beings and better citizens. However, with changing nature of our society many of us are worried. Positive parenting is at the core of raising responsible children. Strong family, confident children Parenting starts in the family;...

Egypt, the historic leader of the Arab World, has been locked in post-revolutionary turmoil for over a month following President Morsi’s decree seizing a great deal of executive power on 22 November 2012. His decree included stripping the judiciary of the power to challenge his decisions. Although he revoked much...

The new Census figures from the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales reveal some startling, if perhaps unsurprising, changes over the last decade. For a start, we are mixing more, getting married less, religious affiliation is falling and the growth of immigration has altered the demographic makeup of...

Controversy has arisen around end-of-life care. In recent time questions were raised on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) system, which is intended to ease the last hours of a dying patient. But critics are saying that LCP is a way of hastening patients’ deaths. Some in the media are now...

Leaders of hospices and Muslim communities came together for a landmark event last Saturday, 13 October 2012 to mark Hospice Care Week. Lord Howard of Lympne CH QC, Chairman of Help the Hospices, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari MBE and Robin Knowles CBE QC,together with Help For Hospices, celebrated and raised...

Religion and religious practice is for a higher purpose; to lift the status of human beings. When it comes to Islam it is about the spirit and message of the oneness of God and the stewardship of human beings on earth. Islam is essentially about one’s wilful submission to God...

“We pray to You, Almighty God, may grievance become hope, May revenge become justice May mothers’ tears become prayers That Srebrenica never happens again To no one and nowhere!”   Last Wednesday on the 11th of July, I was in Srebrenica for the very first time. The above is the...

A child is not an adult Children are not small adults. They are newcomers to the world; everything is a first to them. They view the world through fresh, new and curious eyes. They are inquisitive, playful, imaginative, impressionable, uncritical and driven by extrinsic motivations. Their life is about exploring...

The news that nine men have been found guilty of child sex abuse in Rochdale has created widespread revulsion. The disclosure in Liverpool Crown Court that the men plied their victims with drink and drugs so they could ‘pass them around’ and use them for sex was vile. One of the girls...

A new wave of anti-Muslim intolerance and antagonism is sweeping Europe. The far right political gains seen in some parts of the continent are alarming. Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and extreme right parties seem to be cashing in on economic hardship and austerity measures. In a blinkered world of ‘us’ and ‘them’...

No legal case in recent times has created as many strong feelings and controversy in Britain as that ofBabar Ahmad. Along with four other British Muslim terror suspects, Ahmad has just lost a battle against extradition from Britain to the United States in the European Court of Human Rights. He is accused...

In my book Addressing Adolescence: A Guide to Parenting in Islam, I explored a Muslim perspective of adolescence and its issues, as this is where my primary experiences come from. However, adolescence and its adventures and challenges are universal. I have come across children and parents from all faiths during my...

A newborn baby is a pearl, a treasure in a family and loved dearly; sought after by parents, especially mothers. This ‘love’ comes after pain, after a nine month long pregnancy which can only be experienced by women. That is why in all religious and cultural traditions the mothers’ position...

The birth of a child is a euphoric and – for most parents – an ecstatic moment. It is a high point, a fulfilment, in one’s life journey. A child is a fruit of love between two human beings. For people who have religious faith, such life starts from God’s...

A very learned and successful Asian father whom I know attended my recent book launch at the House of Lords on parenting. On his return I got an email that said: “The motto of a budding family should be parenting, parenting, parenting. It is true that many problems caused by...

A book by Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari was launched at the House of Lords today. ‘A Guide to Parenting in Islam: Addressing Adolescence’ is the latest instalment by Dr. Abdul Bari, on a topic that is most pertinent to him as a community leader and activist. Th book launch was...

The year 2011 provided us with a mix of hope and despair. One young Tunisian man, Mohamed Bouazizi, set in motion the Arab Spring when he set himself on fire, following years of abuse and corruption from local officials. His actions captured the mood of a people desperate for change....

Is religion fading in Britain? According to the latest influential British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA), just released this December, half of us Brits do not belong to any religious grouping or affiliation. What’s more, more than half (56%) of those who identify themselves as belonging to a religion never attend...

Ever since I came back from my obligatory Hajj in 1989 I had always dreamt to be the guest of God once again. The opportunity came this year, and I was ecstatic.  In the last two decades things definitely have changed. I was full of excitement and joy, as well...

Over four thousand years ago when humanity stooped to crude idolatry and moral degeneration became embedded with material progress there came a man of vision and towering personality who redirected mankind towards their role of vicegerency on earth. He was Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic). His obedience to Allah through...

We are all born as individuals from a man and woman, a father and a mother: bare and dependent on adults for our survival. Our departure from the world is shrouded in uncertainty and when the time comes we leave this world alone and empty-handed. Our life is a mystery;...

Assalamualaikum and Eid Mubarak. We are delighted to join others in sending warm greetings of Eid Al-Fitr to all. This comes every year after a month-long fasting during the month of Ramadan which is for our spiritual renewal. It is in this month when Allah, out of His love for...

The shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan by armed police in north London on the evening of 4th August created a chain of riots, looting and mayhem in London and subsequently other cities. The first human casualties were three young Asian men of Muslim origin in Birmingham who were defending their...

‘Read’ – the road to success Among the signs of developed and successful societies are two practices that stand out prominently – their government’s higher investment in education and skills and the high level of reading habits from their citizens. These societies are dynamic and their people are disciplined. Even...

Fasting and the blessed month of Ramadan The month of blessings, forgiveness and salvation from Hell-fire, the month of Islam’s first victory over the pagan Arabs, and above all, the month of Al-Qur’an, has a distinctive significance for Muslims all over the world. Allah, in His infinite mercy upon the...

The Book that shaped the world! The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with clear signs containing guidance and criterion…. (Al-Qur’an 2:185). At a time when the world sank to its lowest and humanity deviated from its elevated position...

Infidelity in marriage is not new to human society. Although in God-conscious or more traditional societies it has remained rarer, none have been safe from this immorality. However, in recent decades the cases of marital infidelity has dramatically increased, especially in developed societies. This is due to a number of...

The key to the success of a Muslim community anywhere in the world is for its members to emulate the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him*) in both the individual and communal spheres of life. Mosques should be at the heart of community development and should provide the community with...

First, I must thank the Centre for Faith in Society for inviting me to deliver this lecture. The work undertaken by your centre is extremely valuable. I commend your important, fact-based analysis of faith communities, the institutions they build, their national and international contribution and their interface with government, business, and the wider civic sphere. Never has there been a more urgent imperative to appreciate the role of faith in public policy and in the civic sphere, and never has there been a more poignant moment for faith communities to make a contribution guided by what they hold dear, and to reach out to people of all faiths and none. My brief today is to outline ways in which British Muslims, one of the largest and perhaps youngest faith communities in this country, can construct a better Britain. Despite the challenges that Muslims face, even though we are sadly cast...

The demographics of the Muslim community in Britain has significantly increased in the past decade – there are now 2.4m Muslims, with a high percentage being under 4 yrs old, according to ONS in 2008. A recent study by the Young Foundation (Valuing Family, Valuing Work: British Muslim Women and...