Copenhagen imam accused of calling for killing of Jews

BBC News, Copenhagen imam accused of calling for killing of Jews "Mundhir Abdallah was reported to police after being filmed citing in Arabic a hadith - a teaching of the Prophet Muhammad - considered anti-Semitic."

#JAKIM: Social media a threat to Islam

Malay Mail, Social media a threat to Islam, Internet controls a must, Muslims told in Friday sermon "The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) alleged that “enemies of Islam” were prowling social media platforms, purportedly to topple the governments of Muslim-majority nations, with a nod to the conflict-riddled Middle East as an example.

 "“The pulpit would like to state that the abuse and misuse of the internet and telecommunications technology is against religious obligations, laws and community conduct."

Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal

JamaicaObserver.com, Al-Faisal denies preaching hatred on Internet, 14 Mar 2012 "Controversial Muslim Cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal has denied a report that he has been preaching hate against non-Muslims via the Internet."

Shia cleric enters record book for longest sermon

Deccan Herald, Shia cleric enters record book for longest sermon

"Maulana Athar, who retired as principal of Shia College here a decade ago, is popular among the Shias and it was one of their organisations-- Anjuman-e-Imamia which had approached the Limca Books for inclusion of his name. Athar said that he was surprised by his own popularity.

""I was not aware about it till I travelled to Europe, the US and the Middle East... People tell me there that they saw me at my Mumbai congregation on TV, radio and Internet", says the Maulana."

Ghana: sermon from Sheikh Hussein Idris Molah

Ghana News Agency, Muslims enjoined to desist from usage of drugs, 12 Jun 2011 "Sheikh Idris Molah advised Muslim parents not to close their eyes against the negative practices of Muslim youth, who indulge in ‘Sakawa’ (Internet Fraud), get rich quick attitude, western cultures and indecent dressing but rather to continue to admonish them to lead decent lifestyles. "

Reading List: Australian Religion Studies Review

Australian Religion Studies Review 23.3. is a 'cyber- issue'. In relation to this blog, Steven Fink's "A New Domain for Co-Workers of God" and Roxanne D. Marcotte's 'The New Virtual Frontiers: Religion and Spirituality in Cyberspace' (the latter downloadable for free here as a pdf) are particularly relevant.

Egypt: sermons on “the Islamic ruling on suicide.”

Al-Masry Al-Youm, Friday sermons to discuss religious prohibition of suicide, 20 Jan 2011: "In a press statement on Thursday, Minister of Endowments Hamdi Zaqzouq said this week’s Friday sermon in all mosques nationwide will be focused on “the Islamic ruling on suicide.” Zaqzouq went on to say that the sermon will include proofs from the Quran and Sunnah that suicide is forbidden."

Cut and paste khutbah

Cut and paste culture isn't just an education phenomenon:

Qantara.de - A Battle of the Fatwas, 8 Dec 2010: "Another scholar accused some clergy of copying and pasting Friday sermons from books or the Internet and reading them out loud without even understanding what they're saying. Yet others suggested that clerics needed to improve their writing skills. 'Some of them elaborate on the topic by repeating themselves and going around in circles,' Ahmad Mawrai, a Saudi professor, told the Gazette. 'In many cases they jump from one topic to another. This is why their sermons are tedious and boring.'"

Amr Khaled in Yemen (update)

Amr Khaled, The National, From podcasts and Friday sermons, a new start for Yemen, 28 Nov 2010 " ... we have selected 100 of the Muslim world's most respected and renowned preachers whom we will bring to Yemen. With the support of Yemen's Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf), they will be trained to broadcast true Islamic teachings. We will use the latest technologies - podcasts and the internet - as well as the most traditional - Friday sermons in the mosque."

The net is only one part of this. [Note: Internet World Stats, Yemen "420,000 Internet users as of June, 2010; 1.8% of the population, according to ITU."]

Choudhry, al-Awlaki & YouTube

The Guardian, Roshonara Choudhry: I wanted to die … I wanted to be a martyr, 4 Nov 2010 transcript, with an indication of the role of al-Awlaki's sermons on Choudhry's stabbing of Stephen Timms. The transcript also refers to RevolutionMuslim.

"She began listening to his sermons in November 2009, and finished the last in the first week of May, days before she carried out the attack. "I downloaded the full set of Anwar al-Awlaki's lectures," Choudhry told police, saying that she listened to more than 100 hours of them."

I'll be writing about this in due course.

UAE Friday sermons in English

Ahmed Al Majaida , Khaleej Times, Friday sermons in English soon in mosques, 25 Oct 2010

"In an unprecedented move Islamic scholars has suggested English Friday sermons for certain mosques, along with the reduction in the time gap between prayer call and the actual prayer in certain mosques.

"The committee has also decided to install LCD screens at the pulpit for Imams to read out the sermons from, rather than using paper ...

" ... Asad Rifaat, a non-Arabic Moroccan, seemed impressed with the decision to have English Friday sermons. “I think it’s necessary, because Islam is not regional, it’s global. Faith should extend beyond language, since most expats here speak English, this will be a beautiful way of extending Islam and making it more relevant for non-Arabic 
speakers.”"

It'll be interesting to see if they start streaming these sermons as well.

Australian net issue

Natasha Robinson, The Australian, Iranian cleric preaches to Sydney via net, 11 Sep 2010

"Dr Leghaei, deemed by ASIO to have carried out "acts of foreign interference", said he planned to continue to give his regular Friday sermons via the internet from Iran.

"As you can see, technology has made life much easier," Dr Leghaei joked during the live broadcast yesterday. "I don't need any visa . . . to come to Australia and join you - we can watch and see each other."."

"US Muslims Debate Choice Of Arabic, English In Sermons"

Interesting article, which reflects ongoing discussions elsewhere:

Rachel Zoll, AP/Huffington Post, US Muslims Debate Choice Of Arabic, English In Sermons, 21 Feb 2010 "On suhaibwebb.com, a Web forum for Muslims in the West, writer Abu Majeed said in a post last month that while his English-language sermons were accepted without protest at several U.S. mosques, he was derided by one South Florida congregation as a modernist who violated Islamic law. Foreign-born imams, or prayer leaders, who moved here to serve immigrant communities, have sometimes reinforced the thinking that only Arabic is acceptable. Other mosques might use Arabic and Urdu – a language from Pakistan, India and elsewhere in Asia – but no English."

See suhaibwebb.com for more information.

Ramadan in Second Life

Meedan, Muslim preachers take Ramadan message into Second Life, "Muslim preachers have taken their Ramadan message into a new realm this year - on the virtual world "Second Life"."

Well, it's not exactly new (see iMuslims on this and on Islam Online's involvement in Second Life), but it is interesting to see participation on this scale.

Islam Online have produced a great Ramadan tent this year (spending their Linden dollars wisely). You can see a slideshow of the tent here. There's a related article here: Islam Online, Ramadan in IOL Second Life Tent

There's also an informative article by Aldric Chang: media-freaks.com, Ramadan Sessions in Second Life, 18 Aug 09 "Explaining this move, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ghamdi describes the phenomenon of the new media: “The objective of this lecture is to remind the youth exploring Second Life about the fires and winds of the blessed Ramadan,” Al-Ghamdi said, “and how they can use this month to obey and worship, strengthening the conviction that Islam is the religion of integrity and perfection.”"

I also liked It's Maddie the Hijabi, Islam in Virtual Worlds, which is illustrated with several SL screen shots.

"I started using Second Life last year and found out about this virtual sim (virtual island or place in there) made and owned by IslamOnline.net . I discovered a hidden gem that most people don't know about!"

iKhutbah

Announcement:

"Radical Middle Way is launching ikhutbah this Friday, 26th @ 12:00 GMT:

"The term khutbah is given to the Friday sermon delivered within mosques before Friday Juma’a prayers. The Khutbah plays a central role in the weekly congregational prayer, providing Muslims with a time for reflection and focus, guidance and spiritual sustenance; as instated by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

"We have captured many of our world-renowned scholars and luminaries to impart their advice, inspiration and guidance in each ikhutbah video. With this unique facility, you can now immerse yourself in these inspirational bite-size talks each week, at the touch of a button.It'll be in a language that you understand and deal with issues that don't really get addressed in many khutbahs these days. Plus, they'll be short (under 10 mins), to the point, inspirational, though provoking and direct.

"Visit radicalmiddleway.co.uk Friday, 26 June at 12:00GMT to watch."

Commentary

Digital Journal, Internet Brings Some Moderate Tone to Big Three of Faith, 22 June 2009 "Religion has entered the digital world in major ways. Not only are there mega churches in Christianity, but now the Islamic and Jewish groups use the Internet widely. Some of these teach and convert, with moderate views."

Gary R. Bunt, The National, 'The net effect of digital Islam'

Gary R. Bunt, The National, 'The net effect of digital Islam', 4 Apr 09

Moez Masoud

Toronto Globe & Mail, Young Muslim televangelist preaches tolerance, 1 Mar 08 Another article about Moez Masoud (previously blogged), in which the role of his online activities are emphasised, especially the Facebook page, which is well worth taking a look at (you need a Facebook account): "It's a message that's reaching millions of people via television shows broadcast on satellite channels across the Middle East, and many more through Masoud's slick Web site and a Facebook Internet group that has more than 10,000 members." There's a number of YouTube clips as well. A good example is here

Algeria

RIA Novosti, Sex films sold in Algeria disguised as Islamic sermons, 21 Jan 08

"Algerian police have uncovered a criminal group that made pornographic DVDs and put well-known Islamic preachers on the covers to disguise the films, the Al Shuruk al Yawmi daily reported on Monday."