Al-Azhar 'The Response'

Euro-Islam, "The Response”

This is a very useful pointer to fixyourdeen.com, available in Arabic, English and Urdu as pdf files. Dr. Richard Gauvain (one of the translators) notes: "This book is the result of a lengthy collaboration between scholars of Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar University and Islamic Hotline or El-Hatef El-Islami organization. Put simply, far too simply, its aim is to contest the growing number of intolerant and/or simply mistaken legal opinions that often go unchallenged in Muslim communities today. Deeply rooted in the legal tradition of ikhtilaf writings, yet utilizing modern means of communication, The Response applies the wisdom of the classical jurists to the complex realities of the contemporary Muslim world."

I haven't read the document yet ...

"Takeaway Fatwas"

Fatima Sidiya, Arab News, Opinion divided on TV, online fatwa services, 1 Sept 09, "Abdullah Manna, a Saudi writer, has coined a phrase to describe fatwas delivered through such modern means — “Takeaway Fatwas”. Manna said that Q&A programs on satellite channels have lost their educational and religious purpose and become business instead. He added that these modern means of communication provide sheikhs with a platform to compete with each other and increase their popularity."

Overview. Some interesting points, especially about how these sites and services generate income.

el-Hateef el-Islami/Islamic Hotline 'Live' in English

Robert Pigott, BBC News, 'Real Islam' just a phone call away, 2 Jun 09 "Callers to the Islamic Hotline will get answers to their questions within 48 hours, from scholars trained at one of the world's principal Islamic universities. Users are also able to email their enquiries through the service's website."



From Islamic Hotline

"Islamic Hotline Phone Service was created in Egypt in 2000 with the mission to become the global and primary source of information for Moderate Islamic Teachings in IT & Telephony medium, initially through the medium of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, and subsequently, via Internet through unified messaging and e-debit cards."

"Islamic Hotline or El-Hatef El-Islami is a pay-per-call service which is online 24/7, ready to receive callers’ queries at any time of day to give reliable answers by AL-AZHAR Scholars, in Egypt after 24 hours, and outside after 48 hours. This easy to use service has begun in Arabic and has been translated to English, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay and Senegalese (Wolof)."

I've been monitoring this for some time. I will be writing about this in a forthcoming chapter. Some aspects of the site are not fully operational. The design is straightforward and intuitive in nature.