Ebony
14-11-06, 11:46 AM
Lecture Tour with Dr Umar Abd-Allah
The Radical Middle Way (http://www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk) is pleased to present a lecture tour by Dr Umar Faruq Abd-Allah.
Dr Umar, who is the Chair and Scholar in Residence at the Nawawi Foundation, (http://www.nawawi.org/) Chicago, is one of the most creative and inspiring scholars in the West today.
He will visit London, Bradford, Birmingham and Liverpool between 16-26th November 2006.
Admission is free to all events, except the conference on Fatherhood.
To read Dr Umar Abd-Allah's biography, click here. (http://www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=)
London
Cultural Jihad - Making Islam Matter
17th November 2006
7 pm - 9.30 pm
Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London [see location] (http://www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/findus.html)
Keynote address: Dr Umar F Abd-Allah
Respondents: Aki Nawaz (Fun-Da-Mental), Naz Koser (Ulfah Arts) and Peter Sanders (the Photographer)
Discussion with audience and photo slide show by Peter Sanders
Brief: For Muslims living in the West the future lies not in the tinkering of theology but in the production of culture. But how is this process of cultural relevancy to take place? Is it taking place? What are its discernible forms? What are the challenges that need to be surmounted before a genuine cultural expression takes root? And what and who is to define what is ‘genuine’? To what extent is cultural output in Islamic civilisation a utilitarian exercise? In the global village of specialised economies and shared global tastes where does the process of being consumers stop and that of being producers of culture begin? What needs to be done to convert Western society to associate Islam with the beauty of the Taj Mahal and the Majesty of the Dome of the Rock rather than with the blasted Twin Towers of New York or the shattered Buddhist statues in Afghanistan? Can we develop an agenda of cultural do’s that would harness the energy of our young people – to teach them that singing, creating, beautifying and being joyous are all part of the Islamic agenda?
This event is brought to you with City Circle and Islamic Circles.
Bradford
Cultural Jihad - Making Islam Matter
18th November 2006, 6.30 pm
Bradford Central Mosque, Darfield Street, Bradford, BD1 3RU
Tel: 07813884167
Keynote address: Dr Umar F Abd-Allah
Respondent: Rasjid Skinner
Brief: As above
Liverpool
Course on Religion and Ethics
19th November 2006, 10 am - 5 pm
with Dr Umar Abd-Allah and Shaykh Ibrahim Osi Efa
Liverpool Hope University
Lecture Theatre A
Lecture Theatre Complex
Taggart Avenue,
Hope Park, Childwall,
Liverpool, L16 9JD
London
"Searching for Dad: Exploring Muslim Fatherhood"
23rd November 2006, All day
Paddington Hilton Hotel
Brief: Dr Umar Abd-Allah will deliver the keynote address at the UK's first Muslim Fatherhood conference. His address, entitled "Father versus Patriarch: The Socio-Political Ramifications of Parenthood" will explore the theological and spiritual dimensions of fatherhood as embodied in the Islamic non-gender specific concept of God and the model of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). It will also focus on the nature of the nurturing father and its social-psychological and political implicationespecially in terms of helping to thwart right-wing political ideologies and propensities.
Participants must pay a fee to attend. For more details, click here. (http://www.an-nisa.org/)
London
"Can't Cook. Won't Cook. Don't know how to cook."
24th November 2006, 6.30 pm
London School of Economics (Room no. G108), Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE
Nearest tube: Holborn
Brief: Could there be a more frustrating issue plaguing our young people than gender relations? How long can the first gaze be? Can I shake hands with a member of the opposite sex? Why can't I find a wife or a husband? Why do I break out into a sweat each time my eyes meet that of a Muslim sister/brother, and yet it's easy to talk to Sally, Mandy or Tom? What if we just want to be friends? Why are all the good men and women taken? Why is everyone marrying 'back home'? I'm too successful - why won't anyone marry me? What does it mean to be an ideal husband or wife?
Join Dr Umar Abd-Allah in an open, honest and informal discussion.
This event is brought to you by the LSE Islamic Society, with Islamic Circles.
Birmingham
25th November 2006
The Veiled Truth: Famous Women of Islam
25th November 2006,
1 - 3 pm
St Cyprians Memorial Hall, Fordrough Bridge, Haymills, B25 8DL
Opposite Small Heath Asda (Next to 'Next' the clothes shop!)
Brief: What does it mean to have Muslim women who speak with authority? Dr Umar will comment on the current fascination with Muslim women and the problems of both the "mainstream" and Muslim approach to women. Dr Umar will draw on selected stories of his ground-breaking work, Famous Women of Islam, to challenge conventional notions of Muslim women - both Muslim and non-Muslim.
Islamic Extremism in the Context of Globalism
25th November 2006,
Right after Isha prayer
Birmingham Central Mosque, 180 Belgrave Middleway, Highgate, Birmingham, B12 0XS
Brief: “Islamic Extremism in the Context of Globalism” focuses on three elements: issues, ideology, and the social psychology of “globalized religion.”
Extremism is not restricted to Muslims but is equally prevalent today among Jews, Christians, Hindus, and Secularists. Among Muslims and others, extremism is a peripheral, albeit perilous phenomenon. Within all groups, it is represented by different camps. It takes on different forms of expression, diverse responses, and is neither internally nor externally monolithic. Nevertheless, some generalizations are possible regarding the phenomenon in today’s globalised world.
Muslim extremists and their Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Secular counterparts have several features in common. They identify strongly with charismatic leaders, are communalistic, and thrive on a strong “we-feeling” based around their leadership. Their worldviews are black-and-white and sharply dichotomous; they foster unquestioned allegiance to the group and antipathy toward the Other. “Globalised” religious extremists are generally anti-intellectual and anti-theological in a traditional sense. They are averse to the “higher” tradition of their faith, although they justify their innovations through selective retrieval from tradition and atypical interpretations of revelatory texts. The personal religiosity of religious extremists is primarily individualistic and experiential; it roots itself in a sectarian sense of solidarity with the group and the “we-versus-them-feeling” that it inspires. Today’s extremists adopt an idealistic (ahistorical) picture of the past and apocalyptic vision of the future, which lies at the base of their social and political strategies. They have a sharp sense of immediate crisis engendered by the modern world, yet utilize its most advanced technologies—generally with great sophistication—to execute their ends.
“Islamic Extremism in the Context of Globalism” concludes with a search for solutions. All the three essential elements of extremism—grievances, ideology, and social psychology—must be effectively addressed. It is a grave mistake, however, to regard globalized religion as we know it as something unique to our age. Similar developments have happened before in the history of world religions when powerful political and economic realities—as in the Roman Empire—amalgamated vastly diverse ethnic and religious groups in a unified world system. Such precedents provide insight for the future. One of these is that the religious and secular extremisms we face today must be treated as essentially default positions in the absence of satisfactory alternatives.
As Muslims, we are required to restate Islam’s Middle Way as embodied in mainstream Islamic culture and civilization over the centuries. Our vision of the Middle Way must be authentic, articulate, and fully relevant to the pluralistic realities of the global age. But abstract formulations of worldviews are never effective in the abstract; they need human faces that embody them in the eyes of the people like the movements of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela. Merely giving directions to the Middle Way is not enough; our communities must cultivate and bring to the forefront a generation of charismatic men and women who embody that path and are role models for others.
The Radical Middle Way (http://www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk) is pleased to present a lecture tour by Dr Umar Faruq Abd-Allah.
Dr Umar, who is the Chair and Scholar in Residence at the Nawawi Foundation, (http://www.nawawi.org/) Chicago, is one of the most creative and inspiring scholars in the West today.
He will visit London, Bradford, Birmingham and Liverpool between 16-26th November 2006.
Admission is free to all events, except the conference on Fatherhood.
To read Dr Umar Abd-Allah's biography, click here. (http://www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=)
London
Cultural Jihad - Making Islam Matter
17th November 2006
7 pm - 9.30 pm
Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London [see location] (http://www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/findus.html)
Keynote address: Dr Umar F Abd-Allah
Respondents: Aki Nawaz (Fun-Da-Mental), Naz Koser (Ulfah Arts) and Peter Sanders (the Photographer)
Discussion with audience and photo slide show by Peter Sanders
Brief: For Muslims living in the West the future lies not in the tinkering of theology but in the production of culture. But how is this process of cultural relevancy to take place? Is it taking place? What are its discernible forms? What are the challenges that need to be surmounted before a genuine cultural expression takes root? And what and who is to define what is ‘genuine’? To what extent is cultural output in Islamic civilisation a utilitarian exercise? In the global village of specialised economies and shared global tastes where does the process of being consumers stop and that of being producers of culture begin? What needs to be done to convert Western society to associate Islam with the beauty of the Taj Mahal and the Majesty of the Dome of the Rock rather than with the blasted Twin Towers of New York or the shattered Buddhist statues in Afghanistan? Can we develop an agenda of cultural do’s that would harness the energy of our young people – to teach them that singing, creating, beautifying and being joyous are all part of the Islamic agenda?
This event is brought to you with City Circle and Islamic Circles.
Bradford
Cultural Jihad - Making Islam Matter
18th November 2006, 6.30 pm
Bradford Central Mosque, Darfield Street, Bradford, BD1 3RU
Tel: 07813884167
Keynote address: Dr Umar F Abd-Allah
Respondent: Rasjid Skinner
Brief: As above
Liverpool
Course on Religion and Ethics
19th November 2006, 10 am - 5 pm
with Dr Umar Abd-Allah and Shaykh Ibrahim Osi Efa
Liverpool Hope University
Lecture Theatre A
Lecture Theatre Complex
Taggart Avenue,
Hope Park, Childwall,
Liverpool, L16 9JD
London
"Searching for Dad: Exploring Muslim Fatherhood"
23rd November 2006, All day
Paddington Hilton Hotel
Brief: Dr Umar Abd-Allah will deliver the keynote address at the UK's first Muslim Fatherhood conference. His address, entitled "Father versus Patriarch: The Socio-Political Ramifications of Parenthood" will explore the theological and spiritual dimensions of fatherhood as embodied in the Islamic non-gender specific concept of God and the model of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). It will also focus on the nature of the nurturing father and its social-psychological and political implicationespecially in terms of helping to thwart right-wing political ideologies and propensities.
Participants must pay a fee to attend. For more details, click here. (http://www.an-nisa.org/)
London
"Can't Cook. Won't Cook. Don't know how to cook."
24th November 2006, 6.30 pm
London School of Economics (Room no. G108), Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE
Nearest tube: Holborn
Brief: Could there be a more frustrating issue plaguing our young people than gender relations? How long can the first gaze be? Can I shake hands with a member of the opposite sex? Why can't I find a wife or a husband? Why do I break out into a sweat each time my eyes meet that of a Muslim sister/brother, and yet it's easy to talk to Sally, Mandy or Tom? What if we just want to be friends? Why are all the good men and women taken? Why is everyone marrying 'back home'? I'm too successful - why won't anyone marry me? What does it mean to be an ideal husband or wife?
Join Dr Umar Abd-Allah in an open, honest and informal discussion.
This event is brought to you by the LSE Islamic Society, with Islamic Circles.
Birmingham
25th November 2006
The Veiled Truth: Famous Women of Islam
25th November 2006,
1 - 3 pm
St Cyprians Memorial Hall, Fordrough Bridge, Haymills, B25 8DL
Opposite Small Heath Asda (Next to 'Next' the clothes shop!)
Brief: What does it mean to have Muslim women who speak with authority? Dr Umar will comment on the current fascination with Muslim women and the problems of both the "mainstream" and Muslim approach to women. Dr Umar will draw on selected stories of his ground-breaking work, Famous Women of Islam, to challenge conventional notions of Muslim women - both Muslim and non-Muslim.
Islamic Extremism in the Context of Globalism
25th November 2006,
Right after Isha prayer
Birmingham Central Mosque, 180 Belgrave Middleway, Highgate, Birmingham, B12 0XS
Brief: “Islamic Extremism in the Context of Globalism” focuses on three elements: issues, ideology, and the social psychology of “globalized religion.”
Extremism is not restricted to Muslims but is equally prevalent today among Jews, Christians, Hindus, and Secularists. Among Muslims and others, extremism is a peripheral, albeit perilous phenomenon. Within all groups, it is represented by different camps. It takes on different forms of expression, diverse responses, and is neither internally nor externally monolithic. Nevertheless, some generalizations are possible regarding the phenomenon in today’s globalised world.
Muslim extremists and their Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Secular counterparts have several features in common. They identify strongly with charismatic leaders, are communalistic, and thrive on a strong “we-feeling” based around their leadership. Their worldviews are black-and-white and sharply dichotomous; they foster unquestioned allegiance to the group and antipathy toward the Other. “Globalised” religious extremists are generally anti-intellectual and anti-theological in a traditional sense. They are averse to the “higher” tradition of their faith, although they justify their innovations through selective retrieval from tradition and atypical interpretations of revelatory texts. The personal religiosity of religious extremists is primarily individualistic and experiential; it roots itself in a sectarian sense of solidarity with the group and the “we-versus-them-feeling” that it inspires. Today’s extremists adopt an idealistic (ahistorical) picture of the past and apocalyptic vision of the future, which lies at the base of their social and political strategies. They have a sharp sense of immediate crisis engendered by the modern world, yet utilize its most advanced technologies—generally with great sophistication—to execute their ends.
“Islamic Extremism in the Context of Globalism” concludes with a search for solutions. All the three essential elements of extremism—grievances, ideology, and social psychology—must be effectively addressed. It is a grave mistake, however, to regard globalized religion as we know it as something unique to our age. Similar developments have happened before in the history of world religions when powerful political and economic realities—as in the Roman Empire—amalgamated vastly diverse ethnic and religious groups in a unified world system. Such precedents provide insight for the future. One of these is that the religious and secular extremisms we face today must be treated as essentially default positions in the absence of satisfactory alternatives.
As Muslims, we are required to restate Islam’s Middle Way as embodied in mainstream Islamic culture and civilization over the centuries. Our vision of the Middle Way must be authentic, articulate, and fully relevant to the pluralistic realities of the global age. But abstract formulations of worldviews are never effective in the abstract; they need human faces that embody them in the eyes of the people like the movements of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela. Merely giving directions to the Middle Way is not enough; our communities must cultivate and bring to the forefront a generation of charismatic men and women who embody that path and are role models for others.