Archive for the 'Islam' Category

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AI fatwas

Published on 31 March 2008 in Islam and Personal computing. 0 Comments

I was somewhat amused to read the controversy regarding a French team working on an electronic Islamic fatwa machine. Here’s a snippet quoting the inventor (emphasis added):

I have consulted with several Islamic scholars and clerics in elevated positions there is no need to mention their names so as to avoid stirring up public opinion however, they have assured me that such a device is not ‘haram’ [prohibited by Islam]. But there are fears and scepticism regarding misuse and causing any misrepresentation or defamation to the figure of the Prophet. There are also fears in terms of Arab and Islamic public opinion and their acceptance of a machine such as this.

Source: Can a Machine Issue Islamic Fatwas? [Asharq Al-Awsat]

Personally I think the dons at Al Azhar ought to lighten up. Obviously, any AI device must be supplied with caveats. Nevertheless I think such a machine, could be very valuable aid for those exploring Islamic jurisprudence for themselves.

Eid Mubarak! (and date controversy)

Published on 21 December 2007 in Islam. 0 Comments

(Belated) Eid Mubarak to all readers.

Those of you who celebrate Eid are probably aware there’s been controversy over the date of Eid again. My own views have been settled on this topic for a while now. Personally I think we should move beyond Ludditism and accept the (scientific) astronomical calculations. But this has to be by consensus: unity is more important. I’m not going to celebrate Eid on the ‘right’ day (scientifically) if most of the community is doing it on the ‘wrong’ day (based on reports of when someone claimed to see the new moon).

The thing people seem to forget is that consensus is not needed simply at a local level. Eid-ul-Adha, in particular, is when many Muslims will feel a spiritual bond with the pilgrims performing Hajj. It is, after all, supposed to be the day after Arafat, when the hujjuj return to Mina and being the days of tashreek. Celebrating Eid on a different day is just ridiculous. And once you accept that principle for Eid-ul-Adha, you really have to be consistent and accept it 12 months a year, including for the start and end of Ramadan. For better or worse that position means acceding to the rulings of the Saudi authorities since they basically control the Hajj. (I was there last year, supposedly we went to Arafat on the ‘wrong’ day – but surely no-one would suggest breaking with with everyone else and doing it on the ‘right’ day instead?)

So, in short, I support the decision of the London Co-ordinating Committee of Mosques (basically London Central Mosque, East London Mosque and the other big non-sectarian ones) to follow the decisions of the Umm-ul-Qurah in Makkah. There may be a few occasions when we should celebrate Eid the solar day before them (as we are about 3 hours west) but we should never be celebrating the day after. Those who feel passionately about celebrating Eid on the astronomically correct date should seek to engage in an educational dialogue with the Muslim world beyond these shores so that a new consensus can be reached.

Cyber absence, radio return

Published on 22 October 2007 in Islam, Journal and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Apologies to regular readers, it appears there have been no posts here for over a month. At least some of you will have noticed it was Ramadan, observance of which takes saps up much time and energy. Actually I had written a couple of posts but they seem to no longer exist. I’m fairly sure I did submit them but can’t find any evidence of this. I have daily backups of the database behind this site but it just doesn’t seem worthwhile to trawl through all of them – perhaps if I’d spotted the problem earlier.

For the last month I’ve been presenting the Saturday afternoon Politics Show on Ramadan Radio in Hendon, North West London. This represented my first time back on the air waves since leaving Imperial College and was actually the subject of one of my phantom posts! Unfortunately we don’t have a podcasting / archival download facility. Nevertheless about 10 hours of debate and interviews is archived somewhere on Radio Reality’s computers. Once I have got an extract from the techies I’ll look into the possibility of publishing highlights.

I thoroughly enjoyed my month on the radio. A few friends who tuned in have very kindly suggested that I should consider going into it professionally. I suspect they’re being a little overly-charitable but in any case I’m not considering a career change at present. Nevertheless I’ll have to find something else fun to occupy my time with.

Meanwhile, a belated Eid Mubarak!

Interactive multi-lingual Qur’an

Published on 9 September 2007 in Internet, Islam and Smartphones. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Just in time for Ramdan… Someone’s come up with Qur’anExplorer.com. The site features an interactive system whereby you can select any down to an individual verse any part of the Qur’an and view Arabic script, listen to audio recitation and/or read/listen to any of several popular translations/commentaries in various Indo-European languages.

Pocket Islam does much the same thing, but as software for your Windows Mobile device.