[Image from omlet.co.uk]

We’ve been thinking about having some egg laying chickens for a while now and decided to take the plunge. The Omlet Eglu range seems easy to maintain and look after and we’ll get on average 18-20 fresh eggs per week from organic, free range chickens. Chicken droppings will also be a great addition for our composter!

The cost was £295 for the Eglu and run, £11 each for the chickens (£33) and a couple of bags of chicken feed for £40.

Omlet deliver, set up and give you a quick tutorial on keeping chickens as part of their service.

Will report again once we receive the order.

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Daniel Streich

Anyway, back to the story at hand, Illume Magazine’s Jason Hamza van Boom is presenting a more rigorously established account of the MP’s conversion which you can read here: Swiss Politician’s Conversion Sparks Rumors, his original piece was publised in Tikkun Magazine Online.

The question has to be asked is why are some Muslim prone to exaggerate and in some cases make up stories about conversions (Neil Armstrong anyone?)?

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Praise belongs to God, The all Knowing, the Giver, the Generous, may the blessings and peace of God be upon the best of those who gave thanks for God’s gift and gave praise, the one who gave the gifts of God their due, our master Mohammad, who was sent as a mercy to creation and a guide, and upon his family and all his companions.

By the success only God gives and by His help, the new website of Habib Ali Aljifri has been launched in its new format, including new parts, and additions. Enjoy!

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A slideshow of photographs from previous years is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjxnnSwbb2s

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Disappointingly, he is joined this time by Dr. Irfan Alawi (not the same as the Marifa.net webmaster who is a different person entirely) who had previously denied, on a number of occasions, any slandering and maligning of Shaykh Hamza and of any direct association with Schwartz. However this time he has written a joint article, in which Schwarts spews his bile and regurgitates the same tired old and firmly debunked myths about Shaykh Hamza. The whole piece reeks of envy, diseased hearts and obsessed minds.

SubhanAllah, it is an understatement to say that Shaykh Hamza and Imam Zaid have changed the lives of thousands, and it is no exaggeration that they have illuminated this world with their works, speech and presence, they never sought fame or repute. I have personally witnessed and spent time with both these men in public and in private and all I have seen is goodness, they are the same in private as they are in public, they are utterly gracious when it comes to criticism and unhesitatingly forgiving when wronged.  Allah chooses whom He wills to carry out His Divine work and who better in the West than Shaykh Hamza and Imam Zaid. What have the likes of the detractors of these great men actually achieved apart from a few pieces of lazy and sensationalist journalism and a few slide-shows on the disappearing sacred heritage of Saudi Arabia, whose lives have they changed for the better, what positive representation of Islam and Muslims have they given?

I am extremely disappointed with Dr. Irfan who has always stated he has nothing against Shaykh Hamza and I have always given him the benefit of the doubt even though some very credible and trustworthy people have pointed out a few things that troubled me regarding him. I have been acquainted with Dr. Irfan since the mid-90s and I have had a few run-ins with him over a misunderstanding or two but our relationship has remained largely cordial.

Anyway, the caravan moves on despite the noise from the proverbial sidelines. May Allah continue to grant Shaykh Hamza, Imam Zaid and all of our noble shayukh long lives and health to keep on doing what they are doing, illuminating our hearts and nourishing our minds. To borrow a phrase from the Bible “by their fruits ye shall know them” – and we have consistently enjoyed beautiful fruits from these beautiful people. The only thing we can do, as per the instruction of our Shayukh, is make dua for these people, and ask Allah to turns their hearts to what is good and forgive them their short comings.

The article appears in the link below, if you care to read it, I have not hyperlinked it as I don’t want to contribute to its page rank so you’ll have to copy and paste it.

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/8787

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On a cold and wet Sunday morning in winter I would normally get up for fajr prayer at around 7am and once I have offered my prayer would crawl back in to bed. Not today. I was invited to a special screening of the film Journey to Mecca at the IMAX cinema in Waterloo taking place at 9.30am. I had told the kids and the Mrs. that we would be going so they were prepared but my boys, Yusef and Binyamin (14 and 12) were not all that excited, typical teenage nonchalance. We headed to Waterloo from Aylesbury at about 08:10am, the sat nav told me it was about 46miles. It took us an hour to arrive at Waterloo bridge and we managed to find a free parking spot there and the IMAX was a short walk in front of us.

My wife Nazia and I had a special interest in the film as the the hajj scenes were shot whilst we were on hajj in 2007. Some months earlier Abdal Lateef Salazahar (the unit director for Mecca) had mentioned to me that they would be making the film and I told him that I would be going on hajj the same year. One evening as I was walking out of the Haram in Mecca I heard  someone calling “Mas’ud! Mas’ud!” and I looked around and saw Abdal-Lateef waving at me through a crowd of hujjaj (pilgrims), I went over gave my salams and he said “I had a feeling today that I would meeting you today!” He told me that they would be directing scenes in and around the Haram and that his son Yasin was also around (who I met later at Jamarat). Anyway, Nazia and I were very keen on seeing the film (no, I didn’t have a starring role lol!)

As the film rolled, immediately it was clear to me that, with the music score and visuals,  you know that this is something of quality and as the scenes of the Ka’aba faded-in, my emotions got the better of me and my eyes welled up with tears, I looked around at my wife and she also had tears in her eyes, it was beautiful, it was as if our yearning to return to Mecca was unveiled and reignited by this film, even as I write this, I have a deep feeling from the pit of my stomach, a visceral longing that I never really understood in others once they had returned from Hajj, which I fully understood once I had experienced it. I had never been on Hajj before, nor even on umra so the experience for me is still very unique and special.

I don’t plan to review the film, since I went to watch it to enjoy it and experience it, I would love to watch it again once more to attempt to critique it, but from what I saw, it is a top quality production on par with some of the best Hollywood productions. The cinematography and locations were breathtaking, the direction – masterful, the editing – slick and flowing, the score – evocative but unobtrusive and composed by Michael Brook (worked with the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), the acting – wonderfully sincere and believable with Ben Kingsley narrating some of the incidental scenes. The film was shot entirely on IMAX cameras and this was entirely appropriate considering the majestic nature of the cinematography, the locations and subject matter.

The only criticism I could have of this wonderful film was that perhaps it was too short – it is not feature length, I think the running time is about 45mins, having said that, it is the perfect length for educational purposes and my two boys remained interested throughout and thoroughly enjoyed it.

As the credits closed, an “in memory of” message and a picture showed the lead actor, Chems Eddine Zinoun, who died, tragically, in a car accident aged only 28. I am told that he was an upcoming actor on the cusp of greatness and this was his last role before his passing, my emotions were running high anyway and this felt like a punch in the gut having just watched his wonderful performance, there is no doubt he had a star quality about him but a humbleness in his eyes, may Allah grant him a high maqam in the akhira, Amin.

The audience gave the film a rousing ovation, everyone was in awe of it and had lots of good things to say.

The film is currently not on general release and unless we demand it, it will not be on general release. Those of you who have seen it should write in to the BFI and tell them what you thought of it and encourage them to put it on their IMAX theatres as special showings. Those of you who have not seen it, write to the BFI asking for it to be shown. You can do so here: http://www.bfi.org.uk/help/contact/4/?utm_source=ask&utm_medium=internal&utm_campaign=home. Don’t underestimate the importance of this film and you should, at every opportunity, support it and the film makers in whatever capacity that you can.

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The areas covered were:

Communication Planning Tips

• defining the problem,
• set clear and measurable goals,
• know who you want to reach and then figure out how to reach them (know your audience),
• frame issues around emotions of your audience,
• use images, words and messengers that reinforce your frame
• effectively targeting your message by choosing suitable and affordable means

Messaging Tips

• general rule of messaging – Not more than one key message and one or two secondary ones.
• repetition – repeat your message over and over
• deliver a sound-bite that encapsulates your message
• use language that evokes images, it should create a picture in the mind
• keep it simple – simple messages one or two sentences.

Media Relations Tips

• how to form relationships with journalists and media outlets
• opinion writing
• expert commentary
• event hosting
• report writing
• pitching a feature
• crisis response

Interview Tips

• prepare – develop your key message and how to deliver it effectively
• know your interviewer – watch their show or read their articles to get a sense of what angle they will take.
• what type of interview – live, live-to-tape, recorded, satellite, telephone, press? In-studio interview is always preferable, to help build a rapport with the interviewer and producers.
• watch and critique – watch how you did and determine how you can do better
• role play – get together with friends and practice interviews
• SMILE!
• don’t be obliged to answer the question if you don’t want to, bridge to the point you want to make – “that’s an interesting question but….”, or similar techniques to get your point across. DO NOT BE FORCED INTO ANSWERING A QUESTION
• Clothes – TV – wear, grey, blues, browns – don’t wear black or white. Pastel shades for shirts and blouses. Avoid patterns.
• Speak slower than you would normally, drink water periodically

• Plan for a crisis – Identify key individual to pool in the event of a crisis
• develop a communications plan
• practice message delivery
• develop a crisis protocol – what events you set in motion to manage the crisis
• frame story by communicating key messages
• never give a “no comment” response
• speak as part of the wider community, not just as Muslims
• gather facts and then respond if a response is needed

Crisis Communications

• check what is required
• give the readers a brief overview of the issue and then give analysis
• give anecdotes
• use metaphors and analogies
• don’t self-promote by mentioning your organisation
• offer deep analysis
• give key facts
• use colourful, visual and snappy language. Be evocative.

Commentary – writing analysis and comment on an issue

On Sunday evening we were driven to The Mayfair hotel for a speech by Political Editor of the Daily Mirror Jason Beatty who urged Muslims to engage the media more than we are doing, he said that everyday, by way of example, he gets an inbox full of pro-Israeli email and not a single email from any Muslims.

Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, some really impressive and dynamic young people around the UK, I was one of the older delegates and I am given a sense of hope that the Muslims of Britain will be in good hands in the future insha’Allah.

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Kamran normally buys from two sellers, one is Uns Fine Crafts (who don’t have much of a selection at the moment) and the other is UK based Silk Road’s End (whose website is currently being rebuilt). Both sellers I know personally, some of the Shayukh also obtain their scents from these two sellers and are regarded as having some of the finest stock of oud, rose, musk and other well known fragrances in both hard form and oil form. I have personally had some really excellent oud from both sellers, exquisite Turkish rose from Uns, Amber 15K, Oud Sufi Special from Silk Road’s End.

For the last few years I have really been into oud (agarwood/aloeswood). Oud, if you have never had it before, can be quite off-putting at first (rather like olives), oud is really earthy, almost smells a bit like a bottled farm-yard but if you stick with it, you are then exposed to the really subtle and complex nuances of this amazing and mystical scent, you soon come to realise why it is referred to as “The King of Perfumes and the Perfume of Kings”.  Every time I have pasted a drop or two of oud on a new initiate, some recoil with a contorted expression of olfactory offence others politely take a sniff, then give me a sideways look that says “what the hell have you just put on my hand dude” and give me one of the those strained but polite smiles through gritted teeth. In nearly all cases, the same people came back to me and say, “wow that is good stuff, where can we get some?” With oud you have to let it settle and mingle with your natural skin oils and then you get a lovely earthy/woody smell with an oh so subtle floral sweetness and a hint of a pine type freshness. Oud is notoriously expensive, the highest grades can be the equivalent of gold and it is very hard to get since all the rich sultans buy it up for their personal stocks. When buying oud, always buy from a seller who knows oud, some general perfume sellers will sell you oud blended with inferior oils and perfumes and pass it off as oud and it will be disappointing and is likely to go stale.

So along comes Kamran with some gazelle musk to give to our other friend Tokeer (also from Peterborough and the guy doing all the good work in distributing the the Dal’ail al-Khayrat), Tokeer shares some out and I am instantly hooked, it was a wonderful exquisite fragrance and I had to get me some! So I drop an email to Khalid from Silk Road’s End and ask him to send me some and it arrived in the post yesterday.

Both musk and oud were beloved to the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace), both have a mystical and an “other worldly” dimension to them and both are very different and yet share some of the same fragrance characteristics and nuances. I described my interpretation of the smell of oud above, the description of musk is the same but the smell is quite different. It doesn’t have the hint of pine of oud, it is probably less “earthy”, a bit more floral and is a sweeter smell although not sickly sweet as I don’t like really very sweet smells. Musk’s pleasant out of the bottle fragrance is immediately appreciable as opposed to oud and so it is something you can wear everyday without fear of assailing your work colleagues’ sensitive nasal tracts.

For those looking to try a perfume other than the run of the mill ones or your usual high street ones, I heartily recommend gazelle musk from Silk Road’s End it costs about £25 for 1/4 of a tola (about 11.5 grams) you will love it and it will be the best £25 you will spend.

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What is brighter than day darker than night, haram if eaten, halal if drunk, man uses thrice in a day, woman uses once in life, it is mentioned 5 times in Quran and starts with meem having 5 letters?

I have seen variations on the wording but the gist is generally the same. I have always believed it to be a hoax and it turns out it kind of is, albeit a lost in translation one. WikiAnswers has the following:

“The riddle was originally in Arabic and was then translated into English.
Due to the many Arabic variations of it as well as differences that have come about due to translation, it is meaningless in English.

When translated properly, it goes something like this:

A 5 letter word, mentioned once in the Quran, beginning with “mim”.
It is whiter than ice (or brighter than the Sun) and darker than night.
Men use it thrice a day, while women only use it once in a lifetime.
It is haram to eat, yet halal to drink.

The answer is Maqabir (Graveyards).
Mentioned in surah “Takarthur” ie. “Hata Zurtum al-Maqabir”
made up of 5 letters begins with “mim”

If a person’s actions are good it is brighter than the sun in the grave, while for an evil-doer it is darker than night.

If the “whiter than ice” version is taken is could mean that the kafan (burial shroud) is whiter than ice, then the grave is darker than night.

Men visit it three times a day (ie. they bury the dead in it during three times viz. the periods between the three forbidden times) while women only visit the graveyard when they pass away.

The meat of the dead cannot be consumed ie. back-biting him is forbidden.

The part about drinking being halal doesn’t seen to have been solved. People have mentioned different interpretations, yet all seem far-fetched.

It is a really silly riddle and has wasted valuable time of many of us.”

Let this “riddle” never darken your inbox ever again!

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“Despite this particular item being at the budget end for this type of rug, I am pleasantly surprised with the thickness, size and sheer weight.

No doubt my family, friends and colleagues (including non-Muslim) will see and handle the rug during visits and I’m certain that they too will be impressed. It is not easy to gauge the true quality from the pictures on your site. Once again, thanks.”
Abdul Rashid Abeed’, UK

“Alhamdulillah my prayer rug has arrived! It’s just beautiful, mashaAllah! I’m very pleased with the design, quality, vibrant colours and generous size – much to my surprise! Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to support traditional craftspeople with this purchase. JazakumAllahu khayran, ameen!”
Iffat Younus, UK

“Masha’Allah I am delighted with my rugs; may Allah reward you for supplying them, they are so beautiful. “
Umm Suhaib, Cairo.

“Just wanted to write and say I am very impressed with the quality of the rug. I recieved it very promptly and I love the natural colours! I shall be recommending you to friends and family. Thank you.”
Tokeer Tufail, Peterborough.

“The rug is a pleasure to look at. I was amazed by the size. It is more than what I expected. It will take some time to get used to praying on it because it is so rich. I am amazed at the workmanship. It looks like it will last me a lifetime and I hope it will somehow improve my salah as well!”
Aisha Barkatullah, Cambridge.

“Alhamdulillah I recieved the rug and have to say im impressed with the craftsmanship and sheer detail- it’s magnificent! A welcome addition to any prayer room. Also an extra special thank you for going out of your way to ensure that it was delivered so quickly! May Allah subhanawa ta’ala put even more barakah in your endeavours.”
Halima, Lancashire.

“I thought the rugs were excellent and exactly what I expected. In fact they were better than I expected. The width and length and sturdiness of the carpets make them look and feel like they are better suited under the feet of a rugged Afghani prince, rather than my soft suburban American feet. In addition, I was impressed by the friendly, honest, and timely customer service. Something you don’t see often any more in this age of automated replies and machine recordings.”
Ahmed Monib, Las Vegas, USA.

“I found the rugs to be of excellent quality, with a unique and original design, making them the perfect ’special’ gift. Keep up the good work at Mihrabi.”
Farhad Malik, Harrow, UK

“The rugs Mash’Allah are very good. There are a few things I noted. Due to its size and width you do get a sense of Kushoo when praying, its almost a perfect size, I can easily spread my arms and sit comfortably.”
Ziad Malik, Harrow, UK

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