I sometimes feel as if fiqh related debates about Muslim minority issues in America are framed as if the American Muslims are the first Muslim minority in history. The recent discussion on TalkIslam about al wala wal bara reminded me of this issue. Here is my two Rimnibi on the issue.
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wangdaiyu
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willow
Egypt’s Dar al Ifta legalizes misyar. I did not see this coming. So…what *is* fornication anyway, if putting a bismillah in front of no-strings-attached sex makes it halal?
Are we seeing the end of impermissible sex in Islam? And they say we’re not progressive…
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thabet
Imam Zayd Shakir offers a textual argument to show that jihad is not perpetual warfare.
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aziz
Up for a little Ramadan controversy? Let’s talk about moonsighting vs astronomical calculations! I grab the horns of the debate over at City of Brass.
And Ramadan mubarak to all of you. In advance, or belatedly, as the case may be. These gates of ijtihad, they swing wide open…
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thabet
An example of how fiqh and medicine intersect, using the case of smoking.
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thabet
The British government is to fund a board of Muslim theologians (and jurists?) to debate key issues such as loyalty to the United Kingdom. It is hoped this will sideline ‘violent extremists’. The Times reports Muslim women will also be part of what they dub a ‘board of imams’. There are also plans to teach Muslim children about citizenship in mosques across the country.
What authority will this board hold? Who will define the label ‘Muslim’? Ministers are quoted by the BBC as saying the board will “reflect the diversity of Islam and Muslim communities in the UK”. What does that even mean? Does this include Muslims who may hold unpopular views regarding women, liberalism or gay rights? Or how about those on the other side of the spectrum (e.g. Muslims who are also gay, people who self-define as ’secular Muslims’)?
At first glance, this looks like an extra-legal attempt to set up so-called ’sharia courts’, but without the accountability element.
No separation of church and state, please. We’re British.
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Andrea Useem
Is it wrong for a Muslim to get plastic surgery for purely cosmetic reasons? One prof says scholars usually allow it for therapeutic reasons (eg after auto accident or mastectomy.) But he also added that most Muslims facing that choice would probably consult only with their doctors, not religious leaders. Do you know of any Muslims who’ve had cosmetic surgery?
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thabet
This is bad science (my emphasis):
All food, organic or not, is made up of chemicals.
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Andrea Useem
Time to consider making it okay for Muslim women to even consider marrying a non-Muslim guy. This InFocus article, A Few Good Men, raises some important issues (even if the journalistic standards are not high.) but doesn’t mention the fiqh question — how muslim men can marry “out” but muslim women can’t — and how that contributes to the current “marriage crisis.” Question for you: Is it better for a Muslim woman to remain unmarried her whole life, or to find a non-Muslim man and have a chance at a happy married life?
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aziz
Four witnesses might not be enough.
