The Thinking Muslim

Until recently, lawyer Tasnime Akunjee was standing to be an MP in the British Westminster Parliament – standing in the seat of Bethnal Green and Stephney. I say until recently, because in order to prevent a split vote he did the honourable thing and stood down – sparking praise across the country. In Britain’s 4 million strong Muslim community, Tasnime’s behaviour is a model for how we should act – in unison to achieve our ends rather than for our individual ambitions.Tasnime is a criminal defence lawyer specialising in terrorism. He has defended high profile clients including Shamima Begüm and Jamal Hejazi – who bankrupted Tommy Robinson.Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly Zoom calls: https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimYou can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalayn

The Thinking Muslim team was honoured to host this exclusive event at Gatton Road Mosque, London with two lucid and outstanding thinkers. Ahmed Paul Keeler and Imam Tom Facchine discussed Muslims in an Age of Crises. Recording from 19th April 2024Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly Zoom calls:   / thethinkingmuslim  You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter:   / thinking_muslim  Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host:   / jalalayn  

Our guest this week has been dismayed at the negative media coverage given to Muslims who place Gaza as a voting concern. Terms like fifth column and insurrectionists have been evoked to claim the Muslim vote should be deeply feared. Peter Oborne writes principally for the Middle East Eye, among other outlets. His books include "The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam” and “The Assault on Truth.”Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly Zoom calls:   / thethinkingmuslim  You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comTwitter:   / thinking_muslim  Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host:   / jalalayn  

To help us navigate BDS, Ibrahim Khan is our guest. He is currently the CEO of Islamic Finance Guru @IFGuru and its sister investment company Cur8 Capital. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford, an Alimiyyah degree from the Al Salam Institute, and an MA in Islamic Finance. Prior to setting up IFG, Ibrahim was a corporate lawyer.Recommended BDS Links - https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Again... - https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch

Imam Tom Facchine is the research director of the Department of Islam and Society at Yaqeen Institute. And a prolific speaker and commentator on Islam and philosophy. He discusses the US empire, American exceptionalism, liberalism and US Muslims abandoning Biden.Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly Zoom calls:   / thethinkingmuslim  You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comHost:   / jalalayn  

The Labour Party is en route to form the next government of the United Kingdom with what most analysts describe as a landslide majority. The Conservatives have resided over a failed government, with Brexit, economic crisis and poor public services now associated with the Rishi Sunak’s lacklustre government. Labour’s leader, Keir Starmer is comfortably ahead in the polls and it is now openly stated that the tories may be out of government for a generation.Yet on Gaza, Labour policy has been horrendous. It has given a green light to Israel from the very start of its genocidal campaign, with its frontbenchers including David Lammy, Wes Streeting, Emily Thornberry and Lisa Nandy making it very clear that they supported a siege of Gaza or the absolute right of Israel to self defence. Labour continued this position despite the carnage and despite the interim judgement by the ICJ that clearly stated Israel was committing a plausible genocide.I have visited many Muslim communities in towns and cities across the UK and it is clear to me that our anger is palpable. There is a consensus forming that we can no longer vote for a party that has given the green light to killing on an industrial scale. To help us make a case against Labour, I have the pleasure today to speak to probably someone who is the most qualified to discuss the party, journalist and commentator  Owen Jones. Owen has been a principled campaigner for Gaza and recently made the unprecedented move to leave Labour. He now calls for an alliance of independents and progressives.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist and the author of a number of book including The Establishment – And How They Get Away With ItJoin our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly Zoom calls:   / thethinkingmuslim  You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch

This interview was conducted before the most recent verdict in the High Court rejecting the right of a student to conduct Muslim prayers in British schools. Over the past few years there has been intense debate about the place of Muslim practice in liberal western societies. Across the west, partly because of the war on terror, politicians talk of unwelcome cultural shifts and the the need to chasten Islam in public life. In many European capitals, theres a debate about whether multiculturalism, a policy coined in the 1960s to integrate migrants, has had its day. Here in Britain, even many on the Labour left today blame the policy for allowing migrants to feel comfortable in their ‘ghettos’ whilst the right wing press talk of ‘no go areas’ and isolationist tendencies. This febrile environment has led to leaders like David Cameron to talk of a muscular liberalism. One that demands much more from those that have origins in other countries. My guest today is Lord Bikhu Parekh. Bikhu is a champion of a pluralist society, one where liberal dogma makes way for genuine multiculturalism where communities engage in a conversation, embracing the possible cultural shifts that may come with that. Bikhu is the emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Westminster and Hull, a distinguished scholar and prolific writer. Pertinent to today’s interview, he wrote ‘rethinking multiculturalism’.Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly Zoom calls:   / thethinkingmuslim  You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch

Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive monthly Zoom calls: https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMu... and help us expand this podcast. You can email Clive on clivestaffordsmith2020@gmail.com Please send your letters to Clive. Make them more than a couple of lines. Clive also needs a team of lawyers to help him in Texas. If you want to help fund Dr Aafia’s legal costs, below is Clive's paypal campaignhttps://www.paypal.com/donate?campaig...The case of Aafia Siddiqui remains an open wound for us all. It symbolises the inhumanity and barbarism of US foreign policy. The incarceration of this brilliant academic and mother of three, has become a marker of its excesses, of which there were many. She languishes in prison, serving an 86-year sentence for an offence that looks barely credible, the attempted murder of two US officials in Afghanistan in 2008. Her whereabouts before that date has been hotly contested, but her lawyers and activists have patched together the conspiracy surrounding Dr Aafias ordeal. Sadly the welfare of her youngest son Suleman – who has not been seen since her detention in 2003 remains unknown. Presumed dead. The last time I spoke with Dr Aafias lawyer Clive Stafford Smith he had returned from her prison in Forth Worth Texas – where she had been reunited with her sister Fozia for the first time in 20 years. If you haven’t watched that programme, I would highly recommend you do to give you the backstory to this horrific case. Clive has just returned from a factfinsding mission to Afghanistan, and he has some considerable updates on Aafias case. Clive has helped secure the release of 86 prisoners from Guantánamo Bay and still acts for the remaining numbers. Since the early days of the War on Terror, he has worked tirelessly to force the Americans and other Western powers to adhere to the rule of law. He has sought to uncover the secret prisons and ghost prisoners that stain the reputation of powerful states – who presented their wars in benevolent terms.