Peace be with you! When I signed up for the Crazy Cycle with Families Relief I knew it would be an event to remember, and thanks to all of you I was able to raise over £2200 towards the orphanage! Don’t believe that we did it? Check out the full gallery here! If you have pledged money towards the cause, or are yet to sponsor, the justgiving page will be online for a few more weeks so please do get me to my fifth and final target of £2500! J http://justgiving.com/usayd/ And once again thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement – financial and otherwise!

Peace be with you Haven’t written on here for ages. Why? Because I’ve been training for my 60 mile cycle from London to Oxford! Why? Because I want to do what I can to help orphans in Bangladesh! Okay, well theoretically that’s true. I think I’ve done my psychological training than physical, but hey, I’m doing the cycle next Sunday so wish me luck! Actually, wait, there was something else I wanted to ask for…Oh yea, please sponsor me too! Click Here to Sponsor me!

Peace be with you Sabr, the Islamic term translated commonly as ‘Patience’ is used numerous times in the Qur’an and Hadith. As with other words used in these texts, the meaning has far more depth than the simple closest translation. This week I learnt about a saying of the second Khalif, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (RA) on sabr. He described it as two*: - The lesser sabr. This is where one is faced with difficulty, and they are patient. For example, the loss of something dear to you requires patience for you to get through that difficulty. - The greater sabr. This is where you are being...

Peace be with you. I did this for a show called ‘Pause for Thought’ on BBC Radio 2. It aired around Tuesday 25th March 08. Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Transcript: Ticking away with the day… Sometimes I sit at the computer for hours, I’m sure everyone does it. Just browsing the many websites out there, perhaps see what the latest is on my favourite forums. Then all of a sudden you glance at the clock and think…wow. What...

I recently contacted American TV Channel ESPN: Hi, It appears that Dana Jacobson has been accused on several occasions for ‘hate speech’ against religious groups. Whilst I do not advocate some kind of radical action, I think it is your duty to look seriously into such issues. As a Muslim I am offended that it is okay for presenters on mainstream television to be slandering any faith or belief. If claims are untrue, make that abundantly clear, otherwise you should take appropriate action. They responded: Thank you for writing, Ms. Jacobson’s inappropriate comments were delivered...

I cut my finger on a can of sweetcorn whilst making an omelette, about half an hour ago. I almost fainted! It’s amazing. We think we are supreme, we think we own this small planet and yet the truth is we are so weak. You can laugh at me for admitting to the fact that I get pretty quezy with blood, or you can see the point i’m trying to make. When something happens all of a sudden we go from the strongest most ‘self-reliant’ beings to these hopeless people crying out for protection. This may mean nothing to you, often it takes an accident, illness or just being a witness...

Author: Moazzam Begg assisted by Victoria Brittain Publisher: Free Press (27 Feb 2006) My Rating: 5/5 Enemy Combatant: A British Muslim’s Journey to Guantanamo and Back   Review When I was in Year 10 in January 2005 I did a presentation to my English class on the indefinite detention of potentially innocent human beings in Gunatanamo Bay. Handing out some of the few pictures actually available from the media and articles describing the horrific events that took place in Guantanamo to the class showed some interest, in particular a cutting from a newspaper highlighting the release of...

Well, the summer’s finished. I can’t believe that my 2 month and 20 day holiday finished so quickly! I wrote about how chuffed I was about finishing and probably more importantly my plans for the longest holiday you get in your school life. Well, let’s analyze my list: Get a job? Yes, I got a job. I got the job right at the beginning of the holiday as a customer service agent at Sky, or at least that’s what they told me. Turns out the company I was working for were a bunch of liars and it was actually a sales position. Still it was okay as it was inbound (people calling...