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Publication date: 17 September 2008
Summary: An-Nisa Society Newsletter 28 September 2008
An-Nisa Society Newsletter 28 September 2008
We bid a sad farewell to Ramadan and wish you Eid Mubarak! 
We hope that this finds you in the best of health and spirit, and pray that you have enjoyed and benefited from the barakah of this blessed month of Ramadan as it reaches its end. All of us at An-Nisa wish you and your families the blessings and joy of Eid.
Eid Mubarak!
Building a Better Future in Britain
"They ask thee what they should spend (In charity). Say: Whatever ye spend that is good, is for parents and kindred and orphans and those in want and for wayfarers. And whatever ye do that is good, -(Allah) knoweth it well."
Holy Qur'an 2:215
You must all be suffering from donor fatigue as we are bombarded with appeals for zakat and sadaqa, especially during Ramadan. What with the appeals through our letterbox, on the TV, at the mosques, in our email inbox, facebook groups - everywhere we turn we are being asked to support some worthy cause. But where is this money going? It is certainly not going to build youth centres, nursery provision, Day Centres for the elderly, refuges for women fleeing abuse and violence, soup kitchens, Islamic counselling services, mediation services for families and couples, for children taken into council care - we could go on.
Most of our relief agencies are doing a worthy job in deprived parts of the world but they spend very little (if any) on supporting social welfare projects in this country. The Jewish community, although much smaller in size than us, wisely invests millions of pounds in supporting Jewish communities in the UK. A study by NCVO showed that Muslims give the most in charity per head than any other faith group in this country. It is amazing considering the extent of disadvantage in the community that people have such open hearts. Yet this is not reflected in the provision for charitable health and social welfare provision for Muslims in this country.
There is every justification for sending charity abroad but unless
we actually invest in providing support services for Muslims in the UK
we are 'killing the goose that lays the golden egg.' How long can
British Muslims afford to help the needy abroad when our own families
are disintegrating. We can only be of service to others when we have
put our own house in order. An-Nisa Society has 23 years of experience
in working to support Muslim families. Currently all our work is not
yet up on the website but you can get a snapshot from our leaflet.
Please note that the address on the leaflet is no longer valid. An-Nisa_Society_leaflet.pdf
If you would like to support our work you can send money directly to our bank, set up a regular standing order or send a cheque made out to An-Nisa Society to our office at the address at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Name of bank: |
Barclays Bank PLC |
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Account Name: |
An-Nisa Society |
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Number: |
80502952 |
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Sort Code: |
20 29 41 |
Muslim Marriage
At An-Nisa we are well aware of the problems Muslims are facing in finding suitable partners for marriage. The problem is particularly acute for Muslim women as Muslim men options such as marrying in their country of origin and marrying out of the faith.
This means that the pool of suitable men in this country is very limited. In particular, if you are an educated and professional Muslim woman finding a compatible partner is really difficult. We want to know what you think are the problems and issues and what you think is the best way forward. Have you got any ideas of how we can introduce people to each other with a view to marriage that is not tacky and embarrassing?
If we can come up with some good ideas An-Nisa plans to set up an initiative to address this problem. Please contact us with your thoughts and ideas and if you would like to be involved - info@an-nisa.org
(The picture is a mosiac by Hasina Zaman)
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'Forced Marriage - is not our Culture' - An-Nisa delivers keynote address at Norway Conference
Keynote Presentation by Humera Khan, An-Nisa Society at Mira Senteret, Norway - 4th September 2008 entitled: 'Holding On - Letting Go: How to negotiate new cultural patterns'
Norway is not a country that comes first to mind when thinking of emerging European Muslim communities. Humera Khan, An-Nisa Society, was invited by Mira Senteret, a migrant advocacy group, to give a keynote address at a conference in the northern city of Tromsó. The conference entitled 'Forced Marriage -- Is Not Our Culture' held on 4 September 2008 aimed to dispel some of the stereotypes and prejudices in Norwegian society of forced marriage and honour killings.
Read more...NorwaySep08.pdf
British Muslim or Wot? - An exploration of what it means to be young, British & Muslim
An-Nisa has an on-going project exploring British Muslim identity with young Muslims. Check our website for more details of the work we have already undertaken on www.an-nisa.org. If you would like to be involved or would like to support this initiative email us on info@an-nisa.org
Website Administrator Wanted
We are looking for someone to manage our website, to be responsible for placing content on our website, updating it, setting up and maintaining a database, sending out e-newsletters and so on. If you have experience of this work and would like to contribute some voluntary time to support a worthy cause please contact Khalida Khan by email on info@an-nisa.org _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Brent News
Brent Holds an International Food Festival in Ramadan
We were very disappointed that the London borough of Brent, where we are based, held an International Food festival in the month of Ramadan without realising that it would exclude the Borough's significant and long established Muslim community. The event held in the Wembley Town Centre, near the famous Wembley Stadium, would be "boasting approximately 40 stalls selling mouth watering dishes from across the world and a stage showcasing both professional and local dancers/musicians from Africa, the Orient, India, Europe and the Americas." All to take place in the town centre during the times when Muslims would be fasting and in the heart of an area which has a large and visible Muslim community with many of the shops in Wembley Town Centre owned or run by Muslims.
We had a lot of complaints from
members of the community who live, work or have businesses in the area
and were upset that holding such an event in Ramadan displayed a gross
lack of understanding and insensitivity by the Council.
We wrote to the Council pointing out the oversight. The response from Brent Council was:
"I sincerely apologise for this. I can assure you that it was not intentional. Unfortunately, due to competing events both locally and regionally, of which stadium events take precedent, this was the only suitable window of opportunity for this event. I am aware that Brent celebrates Eid and other special festivals therefore meets its equalities obligations. Although, Wembley World Flavour seeks to include as many of Brent's diverse population as possible, I hope you will understand that there will be occasions when we may not be able to please everyone. We will certainly bear the Ramadan season in mind when planning next year's event.
However, there is more to the day than food, we hope that you will be able to join us to the array of music and dance that will be on offer."
Our response was:
"Many thanks for your email. I do understand the dilemmas of setting dates to fit in with competing events. However, taking into account that a significant proportion of Brent's population is Muslim and will be fasting from dawn until around 7.45 pm it means that we will be excluded from taking part in this event. It will be impossible to take part in the music and dance as many people will be taking part in extra Ramadan evening prayers and as the whole point of Ramadan is to heighten spirituality and self-restraint it will not be appropriate to take part in such entertainment.
As Ramadan is likely to fall at this time of year for the next few years and if you intend to hold this event again at this time, it may be an idea for us to meet with you to a) deliver an awareness session on what Ramadan actually means and entails and the implications for events - for the benefit of your staff and b) to discuss how events may be delivered so that Ramadan is taken into account e.g maybe having a Iftar (fast) breaking session as part of the events highlighting the different foods eaten by different Muslims communities at this time...We will be only too pleased to help you in this matter."
We are awaiting a response.
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Events
Shaikha Halima Krausen Autumn Seminars 2008
FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY
Islamic studies series
(This workshop is by invitation only)
With Shaikha Halima Krausen
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Date: |
Saturday, 4th October, 2008 and Saturday, 11th October 2008 |
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Time: |
9.30am - 4.30pm | |
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Fee: |
£15 per day | |
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Venue |
An-Nisa Society, Unit 18, Space House, Space Business Park , Abbey Road, London, NW10 7SU | |
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Map |
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Study Day 1 - 4th October 2008
- Perspectives of Freedom and Responsibility
- Questions and thoughts on the subject, including the ones triggered by reading the texts in the reader
- Where do We start Working?
- Philosophical: the concept of Man, possibilities and limitations of freedom & responsibility
- Practical: questions and problems in the world today regarding freedom & responsibility
- Sources and Resources
- Qur'an and Sunnah
- Thoughts of Muslim Scholars
- Thoughts of non-Muslim Theologians and Philosophers
- My Own Evaluation
- What are My Conclusions and Why?
- Choosing the "Homework"
- My theme, my particular question, and the background for it.
Study Day 2 - 11 October 2008
- Prestentation and discussion of drafts and abstracts:
- Slavery: Abolition - and then?
- Women's Liberation: From what, for what?
- Migration Today: From the Frying Pan into the Fire?
- Confronting Tyrants: The most excellent Jihad
- Spiritual Liberation: Dealing with the Greatest Idol
- Moral Liberation: Honour and Honesty
- On Tyrants and Oppressive Structures
- Teaching Freedom and Responsibility
- and others ..
LIBERATING THE MIND
Healing the Self series
With Shaikha Halima Krausen
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Date: |
Sunday 5 October |
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Time: |
9.30am-4.30pm |
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Fee: |
£20 (includes light lunch) |
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Venue |
Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, London W1H 4LP |
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Map |
Who is Pharaoh?
- Identifying the Tyrants and Slave-Masters
- What is Keeping Us Tied up?
- Identifying chains, fetters and dungeons
- Let's Go
- Steps of emigration from oppression based on Qur'anic texts and on concepts from Al-Gazzali's Ihya 'Ulum ad-Din
- Jihad - for What?
- Possibilities and challenges of freedom - and the goal of our migration
- Liberation as a Religious Concept
SOCIAL CHANGES THROUGH THE QUR'AN AND THE PUBLIC LIFE OF EARLY MUSLIM WOMEN
Islamic History Series
With Shaikha Halima Krausen
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Date: |
Sunday 12 October |
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Time: |
9.30am-4.30pm |
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Fee: |
£20 (includes light lunch) |
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Venue |
Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, London W1H 4LP |
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Map |
- Social changes through the Qur'an: - Changing images, self-images
and role expectations of men and women, their expression in ethics and
law, and resulting new possibilities
The Mothers of the Faithful: They are known as the "wives of the Prophet (s)", but what did their lives, interests and activities look like? A quick recap - Early Women Scholars: "Acquiring knowledge is a religious duty for every Muslim, man and woman." How did women in the first generations then apply their knowledge of religion and law?
- Women and Science: The "traditional" role expectations that emerged in the past centuries didn't leave much space for women to be interested in science. What about the early generations?
- Women with Money and Power: Women - so we are told - are supposed to "ciltivate inner values". Does that exclude them from economical and political activities? We look at some early examples.
AN-NISA SOCIETY & LEO BAECK COLLEGE JEWISH MUSLIM DIALOGUE
LIBERATION
With Shaikha Halima Krausen and Rabbi Sybil Sheridan |
Date: |
Sunday 19 October |
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Time: |
9.30am-4.30pm |
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Fee: |
£20 (includes vegetarian lunch) |
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Venue |
Venue: Leo Baeck College - Centre For Jewish Education |
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Map |
- Getting Out of Egypt: We explore key points of the Biblical Exodus story and related key experiences in Jewish Tradition
- Getting Out of Egypt: We explore key points of the Qur'anic Exodus story and related key experiences in Muslim Tradition
- Liberation: A Happy End? Jewish and Muslim perspectives on the chances and risks of freedom
This dialogue group has been running since 2003. We work in a text
based way and provide a safe place to explore our shared experiences.
THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR JEWS AND MUSLIMS ONLY
Click here to download flyer and bios of Shaikha Halima Krausen & Rabbi Sybil Sheridan: Liberation_JM_19Oct08.pdf
Places in all the workshops are limited. You can book your place in the following way:
Email: info@an-nisa.org www.an-nisa.org
Download a timetable of all the workshops SH_HALIMA_KRAUSEN_AUTUMN_2008_SEMINARS-1.pdf
Leave a message on: 020 8963 3153 and we will contact you.
ALL SEMINARS ARE FOR MEN & WOMEN & PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS AND BELIEFS UNLESS SPECIFIED. PLACES IN ALL SEMINARS ARE LIMITED SO BOOK EARLY
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Other Events
New Exhibition at Asia House: 30 Years of Solitude, Photography and Film by Iranian Women.27 September 2008 - 10 January 2009
Closed 24 December to 4 January
As part of the events programme accompanying this exhibition it begins with a one-day seminar entitled How Can we be Iranian, Women and Artists? Full details of the seminar are included on the website. Group visits and tours to the exhibition can be arranged.
Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP, Tel: +44 (0)20 7307 5445, Fax: +44 (0)20 7307 5459 www.asiahouse.org