Episode 1 The Foreword

 The first episode of The Foreword, an alternative English-language podcast about Islam and Muslims.

Talking points:
• How did Islam reach us? How did it get to us?
• The importance of the authorities (Ar. maraaji)
• Why did Muslims move to the Anglosphere and Europe?
• What have the maraaji said about this? What is their position?
• Who is running “Islam in the West”?
• Therefore, what should Muslims be doing if they live in these countries?
• Why do we need an English-language alternative?
Other topics that come up in this episode include: "Islamophobia", rape gangs, migration, the top-down imposition of Shariah law in the west and the impending backlash, 

Further reading:
Authority in Islam 

The Abodes of the Earth
Why do they support Trump? 

The Muslim Boy Who Cried "Clock"
Islam is revelation, not a race or culture
Fatawa That Serve The West
Ben Carson is Right 

Links:
Jurjis
Meeraath

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Living in France

A translation of this fatwa from Naseem al-Sham

Question:

Assalaam alaykum, I would like you to advise me in a fiqhī[1] matter. I am a Syrian citizen residing in France and everyone knows that the French government has declared war, openly and unequivocally, against my country Syria and its people, and the one in charge of our beloved country has declared that France is at war with our beloved country. I have a commitment with the French government in that they give me the right of residence and there is an agreement between me and them, based on the fatwā of my master, the Sheikh, the late martyr, Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān al-Būṭī. I am in France and I do not have any profession or manual vocation. I am not proficient in anything but trade, and by Allah’s grace, I am successful in commercial matters. The issue is that the French government is at war with my country, so is it permissible for me to co-operate with them or take a loan from the bank in order to help my commerce with the knowledge that I am dealing with them as Allah has commanded, i.e. to treat them well, and not take them as allies? Please benefit me and may Allah reward you with every goodness.

Answer (from Sheikh Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):
 
Wa alaykum Assalaam,

You remember the necessity of fulfilling commitments but you forget the ruling for living in Dar al-Kufr or indeed Dar al-Ḥarb.

There is no excuse for dealing in usury.

It is within your capacity to return to your country in order to guarantee that you are far from the violations of the Revealed Law that you are exposed to over there. This is with respect to you, let alone your family if you have a family and your children if you have children.

Related Posts:

Travelling to Germany

Emigrating to Europe

Why do they support Trump?

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[1] (tn): i.e. a legal matter