Abdallah al-Hassan’s Critique of “Blogging the Qur’an” and his slander of Ahmadiyyah

 Along with all the talk of Islam undergoing or needing reform or a re-reading of the texts from every edifice of the internet all the way to Turkey, There are some unnecessary points being made, and also some vital points being missed.

Take, for example, the recent project undertaken by Zia-uddin Sardar through which he ‘asks’ some questions and invites answers from those who claim to be in the know, as well as offering his own admittedly ‘academic’ opinion.

This received commendations and standing ovations from advocates of ‘modern islam’ or ‘moderate islam’ from all over the world.  However, it also received, and continues to receive intense criticism from the Muslim intelligentia, and those who advcoate a ‘traditional route to analysing the texts’ only by those who are well versed with the texts themselves and their relative interpretative methodologies.

A certain Abdallah Hassan wrote a strongly worded letter to Zia-uddin Sardar making known his grievances here: http://maqasid.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/blogging-the-quran-letter-to-ziauddin-sarda/

I have to say although I complement Zia-Uddin Sardar on his stance in defence of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in face of the persecution and vitriolic abuse that Ahmadi Muslims suffer from certain elements of the Islamic Community, I must disagree with him and Madeleine Bunting on their approach of “interpreting the Qur’an” purely with their thoughts and intellect and without recourse to the classical methodologies which are necessary pre-requisites for the understanding and exposition of the Qur’anic verities and subtleties.

Muslims in Indonesia – Ahmadiyyah and Prophethood

This is a brief excerpt from correspondence I had with some people in regards to the recent actions that the Government of Indonesia, under compulsion from the Islamic Political Parties,  took against the Ahmadiyyah community.

It was reported in the Jakarta Post, and on the ‘Indonesia Matters’ Blog that Ahmadiyya Leaders in Indonesia ‘caved in’ to pressure from national political and religious leaders and diminished the status of Sayyidna Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani (qaddasa Allahu sirruhu) as demanded by them.

Below is a brief excerpt from som correspondence I partook of, on the Blog.

Khatam al-Nabuwwah

Khatam-un-Nabuwwah

Ahmadiyya; End of the Prophets 

I would like to begin by stating that the author of this document is a simple person and by no means a scholar.

He compiled this brief document of his own volition, not on behalf of Al-Jama’ah Al-Islamiya Al-Ahmadiyya, as he felt that misrepresentations had been made about the claims of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (The Promised Messiah, Imam Mahdi & Reformer of the 14^th Century). 

There are a few point which I would like to address concerning the following video posted on youtube, 

 

Whilst the above video might be a sincere and polite attempt to bring into question some of the Ahmadi tenets there are several items I would like to bring to the attention of its author…

Indigo Jo (aka ‘blogistan’) and his opinions on Ahmadiyyah and free and frank debate

I was browsing some blogs recently by a Muslim Londoner – who intrigued me as he had many posts on teh topic of tasawwuf and sufism.  I was even more interested to learn that he displayed an inclination towards a Tariqah which immediately caused me to respect him a great deal more, as I have respect for anyone who joins a Tariqah.  This is because I had assumed that anyone who has adopted a sufi Tariqah will be on a path to cleanse and purify his/her soul and his/her heart and will be free from many of the vices of the average/unserious muslim who is not on such a path, or at least, is not too serious about it.However, as I read on, I found that this person who had an inclination towards the practice of Tasawwuf started to adopt slander and defamation as his mannerisms, towards Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani.