| People of the Qibla: Creating a Sunni-Shia Platform | ||||
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| City Circle Audio |
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Speakers: Dr Musharraf Hussain and Dr M. Saeed Bahmanpour With the heartland of Islam being ripped apart by Muslim-on-Muslim violence, the need for Muslims of Sunni and Shia backgrounds to come together to declare their shared humanity and reject violence has never been more urgent. Since 2003, 52,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, much of it attributable to sectarian killings. With the war rhetoric of the US and the UK now being directed against Iran, the oldest division in Islam is being exploited to rally support against Iran. Recent talk of an "arc of moderation" (reference to Sunni states of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey) to confront the "Shia crescent" (centred on Iran and stretching from Pakistan to the Lebanon) forewarns of how a new front in the `war on terror' is being opened up. Already anti-Shia fatwas have been issued by some Saudi scholars. The manner in which Saddam was hanged showed how close Shia militias are to the Iraqi government and is causing Sunni concern. This is unravelling the important work done by prominent ulema of both traditions to emphasize unity and tolerance in three major declarations in Amman, Mecca and Doha over the last two years. The danger arises then that the bloody sectarianism of Iraq may be spread around the Middle East and further afield with disastrous consequences for all. While great political forces are at play here, it is recognised that such tensions can be used to provoke ancient theological differences, which should be dealt with and discussed in their own right. It is important that British Muslims stand up and condemn sectarian killings and send a message of unity to Sunnis and Shi'as of the Middle East. In the first of two meetings on the topic, City Circle has invited two respected scholars of Islam, Dr Musharraf Hussain, Director of the Karimia Insitute, and Dr M. Saeed Bahmanpour, Director of Islamic Studies, Islamic College of Advanced Studies, to reflect upon how British Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, can recognise each other, and not allow theological differences to prevent them from working in harmony. The meeting will be used to float practical ideas about how British Sunnis and Shias can work together, such as the creation of a new British Sunni-Shia platform. Everyone is encouraged to contribute to thinking through these practical measures. Dr Musharraf Hussein al-Azhari is the director of the Karimia institute in Nottingham, which is a leading British Muslim organisation working on a number of projects ranging from community development, through improving educational achievements of Pakistani children, to adult classes and interfaith work. He has completed studies in Islamic education in a number of countries including the UK, Pakistan and in Egypt at the Al-Azhar University. He is currently one of the Presidents of the National Christian Muslim Forum. Hujjat-ul-Islam Dr Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour is Director of Islamic Studies at the Islamic College for Advanced Studies, and is a lecturer at the University of Cambridge. He has studied at the Islamic seminaries in Qum and also holds BA & MA degrees in sociology from Allamah Tabatabai University in Tehran. All welcome. No entrance fee. TIME: 6.45pm - 8.30pm LOCATION: Main Hall (Ground Floor), 45 Crawford Place, London W1H 4LP.
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