For a reflective read, click on the “Surfing Behind the Wall” links’ button on the right…enjoy…

IMAM Abu Hanifah, born Nu’man ibn Thabit ibn Nu’man, came into the world a mere eighty years after the Prophet Muhammad’s (s) death. His grandfather was a Persian revert to Islam. His father was a wealthy silk merchant who died during his childhood. By the time Abu Hanifah had passed[…]

Phew! It’s been a helluva year! Really busy but rewarding. I’ll be taking a break from 24/12/09 to 11/1/10. See you then. Shafiq

I can remember octogenarian Arabs telling me in my travels to the Middle-East how in their distant childhoods mosques in Syria, Jordan and Palestine would be decorated for Christmas.

The other day I tuned into a Q & A, a popular programme on all our South African Muslim radio stations. This is where a titled cleric tackles listeners’ religious questions. Generally speaking, I would say that these programmes serve a useful purpose. A wide range of issues are usually[…]

Animal Farm, the feted novel by George Orwell (the nom-de-plume of Eric Arthur Blair) has been studied by generations of learners. Written by a struggling left-wing journalist, it employs the allegory of a farm to tell a tightly-woven tale of how social revolution can turn on itself. First published in[…]

Terry Crawford-Browne, who is currently observing the Palestinian situation for the World Council of Churches, reports that the Shaikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem is very tense due to house demolitions and evictions by belligerent settlers. The Israelis have been trying to ethnically cleanse this historical Arab part of the[…]