After every extremist attack in the West, there are invariably questions asked of Muslim communities. The questions are, by and large, rather baseless, ranging from "why haven’t Muslims condemned terrorism?" (they have, countless times) to "why don’t Muslim report on terrorists?" (they have, and did, many times and were ignored). But sometimes, there are also questions within the Muslim communities of the West and when a group of imams in the UK recently declared that they would not offer the ritual funeral prayer for the deceased London attackers, they gave an answer to one of those questions.
There are two major questions that have been asked within the Muslim British community post-London Bridge. The first is quite simply this: if the UK government’s current counter-extremism policy is flawed, which many Britons feel it is, what are the more useful alternatives on offer? There will be those who will try to dodge the question, and focus almost solely on social and political factors in how Muslims are drawn into extremism, which effectively does away with the need to tackle it. But thoughtful members of the Muslim British community are also clear that while such factors are no doubt at work in the wider configuration of the radicalisation universe, there is an ideological component and it needs to be tackled. Where that component is, how it is expressed, how widespread it is – all of those remain legitimate questions, but the fact that it exists is not a subject of debate. It is about how to tackle it.
But there is a secondary question that hasn’t really been discussed openly before. In the aftermath of the London attacks, there are three corpses of the attackers and they are supposed to be prayed over and buried. On Monday, more than 100 Muslim religious leaders and preachers in the UK, with a range of perspectives and qualifications, declared they wouldn’t pray over the bodies. And here the question is raised: how are British Muslims to relate to extremists who not only think radical things, but die in the course of carrying out atrocities? Does the decision to not pray over the terrorists of the London Bridge attack bring us closer to that course of excommunication, which so many outside the Muslim community have been calling for? To put it quite simply: no. And moreover, it shouldn’t.
There is something akin to excommunication in Islam. It is called takfir. It is exceedingly rare in Islamic history, because the standard is set very high. Moreover, it has little to do with actions and everything to do with belief. To put it simplistically: a Muslim who does bad things is still a Muslim, even if he does bad things.
The question of whether he or she leaves the faith has everything to do with faith, not with actions.
Perhaps one of the most crucial deviances of radical extremists in the Muslim fold is their willingness to indulge in takfir so liberally, they consider massive swaths of Muslims as having rejected Islam.
For years, there have been calls for Muslim religious institutions to excommunicate groups such as ISIL and others. The religious leadership has largely rejected the option. To do otherwise is a slippery slope indeed, and it is wholly unnecessary in any event. Takfir is not necessary in order to arrest, pursue or wage war against criminals, Muslim or not – and indeed, stigmatise them as well.
The funeral prayer denial is a perfect example. By refusing to pray over the London Bridge attackers, the imams weren’t declaring they weren’t Muslim. They were, however, declaring that the crimes were so odious, public religious leaders and authorities should shun any public prayer over their bodies and they encouraged all mosques and imams to do the same.
It’s not a difficult position to justify. The funeral prayer is, according to Muslim religious authorities, a religious obligation upon the Muslim community to fulfil – but anyone can fulfil that obligation. The deceased family; those who actually place the body into the ground; it doesn’t necessarily need to be religious authorities or scholars, in order to fulfil the communal obligation. In that regard, the imams and preachers are not denying any religious duty.
Moreover, classical Islamic jurisprudence also makes it clear that religious authorities are justified in denying a public burial. There can be a variety of reasons to deny burials to criminals who are still considered to be Muslims, and they are mentioned in orthodox manuals of Islamic law. In that regard, these religious authorities are not coming up with some sort of new-fangled opinion.
But in this case, there is also an added, even if not critical, community factor involved. The British Muslim community is a demographically minor one that faces a significant amount of anti-Muslim sentiment and Islamophobia. If any mosque did actually carry out the funeral prayer, one can only imagine how the community of that mosque would be scandalised.
The media may have taken this move to have been unique and exceptional, heralding some kind of new era. It isn’t. The imams and preachers who took this step relied on established, orthodox religious tools to address a key issue – how to publicly relate to Muslims who are openly guilty of heinous crimes. The application of those tools will no doubt require sagacity and wisdom, and certainly they can be and have been abused – but at least in this circumstance, it seems these Muslim religious authorities have acted prudently indeed.
Dr HA Hellyer is a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington and the Royal United Services Institute in London
On Twitter: @hahellyer
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
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The%20specs
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The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
Winner: Miqyaas, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Untold Secret, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Shanty Star, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Alkaamel, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Speedy Move, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Quartier Francois, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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