Thursday, May 27, 2010

Idris Tawfiq - Author (a British Catholic priest who convert to Islam)


Written by Mary Fitzgerald:

Idris Tawfiq, a British Catholic priest who became a convert to Islam, is a source of fascination in his adopted home in Cairo. This article first appeared in The Irish Times. Mary Fitzgerald spoke to him about his personal journey of discovery.

It is a story that intrigues many in Idris Tawfiq's adopted home of Egypt. It is what draws people to his lectures and guarantees people will read his column in a local English language newspaper. It ensures dozens will participate in his online discussions on Islamic websites.

Everyone wants to know about the British man who went from Catholic priest to devout Muslim, or as one website put it, "from the Vatican to Al Azhar".

Idris, an unassuming forty something, understands why his story piques people's interest but insists, for him, the change felt very natural.

"Strange as it might look to millions of people, it seemed a very logical step for me to become Muslim," he says. "People say to me all that time that it must be a massive change, a complete about-face.

"But it's not. I see my life so far as very much a straight line, leading me little by little to where I am today."

A Religious Brother for 15 years, Idris later studied for the priesthood in Rome. Doubts about his vocation eventually led him to leave the priesthood, triggering a period of uncertainty about what direction his life would take.

He decided to take some time off, booking a charter flight to Hurghada, a package holiday resort that hugs Egypt's Red Sea coast. Soon bored of the beach, he headed to Cairo and experienced a culture shock quite different to what he had expected.

For the first time in his life he met and talked to Muslims, observing their rituals up close. Hearing the call to prayer and watching people stop everything to turn towards Mecca left a deep impression.

"That week's holiday more than anything else changed my life," he explains. "It began to sow the seeds of Islam within me. It was the first time I had spoken to, or even met, Muslims. I saw that they weren't sabre-rattling fanatics, they were just ordinary people. More than that, they were very gentle people and faith-filled in a way I had never seen before."

Idris returned to Britain where he taught religion in a secondary school. The events and aftermath of September 11th encouraged him to find out more about Islam.

A chance meeting with Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, at London's Central Mosque, proved pivotal.

"I found myself asking him 'What do you actually do to become a Muslim?'. He answered that a Muslim should believe in one God, pray five times a day and fast

during Ramadan. I interrupted him saying that I believed all this and had even fasted with my Muslim students during Ramadan.

"So he asked, 'What are you waiting for? What is holding you back?' I told him I didn't intend to convert.

"At that moment the call to prayer was made and everyone got ready and stood in lines to pray. I sat at the back, and I cried and cried. Then I said to myself, 'Who am I trying to fool?'"

The formal process of conversion in Islam is simple. In front of witnesses, the would-be Muslim recites the Shahada, or declaration of faith, acknowledging the existence of one God, Allah, with Mohammed as his prophet.

"Many Muslims use the word 'revert' instead of convert, believing that in following Islam they are simply 'reverting' to the true nature of humanity.

Idris formally converted in the venerable surroundings of Cairo's Al Azhar mosque, Sunni Islam's oldest seat of learning. He later took the Muslim name Idris Tawfiq - Idris, the name of a prophet, and Tawfiq, the Arabic word for good fortune.

"People and events led me to Islam," he says. "What made me leave the church was not any problem I had with it. And it wasn't about belief or anything like that.

"I cherish my past in the church, I enjoyed what I did, I love all those people I worked with and treat what they believe with reverence. I just wasn't happy inside."

He falters when asked what he sees in Islam that Catholicism lacked.

"That's a very loaded question," he says, grimacing.

The biggest difference, then?

"I would say that Islam is completely God-centred," he answers tentatively. "It is not about what Jesus did for me and it's not about offering prayers for myself. The whole thing revolves around Allah.

"The other thing is that Islam covers every aspect of life. It's not a going-to-church-on-Sunday religion, it's not even a going-to-Mass-every-morning and leading a good and holy life religion.

"Islam tells you how to greet people, how to eat your food, how to enter a room - how to do everything in life. Whilst Muslims are not saints, Islam encourages Muslims to think about God all the time. Islam, in its essence, attributes everything to God. For Muslims, Islam is everything."

Did he experience periods of doubt leading up to his conversion?

"No, none at all," he answers. "Although one of my barriers to becoming a Muslim was the story of Abraham. The Bible says Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac, the Koran says it was Ismael.

"It may seem odd, but I wrestled with this for a long time. I thought one of them must be wrong, both cannot be right. But at the end of the day, as with any faith, you have to take that leap and accept the essence of what Islam says.

"I have no problem with 'There is no God but God' - I've always believed in that. And Muhammad is his messenger? I have learned and come to understand that core."

Idris is coy when it comes to talking about how former colleagues in the Catholic church responded to his conversion.

"When I left the church, I left them behind," he says. "I don't want to upset anything in relation to what people dearly believe. If people ask me about my conversion I will tell them but I leave it at that. I've kept it low-key."

There is little data available on the number of converts to Islam. One survey in the US claims 100,000 people convert every year. The same research found that for every male that converts to Islam, four women do the same.

A recent study by Yahya (formerly Jonathan) Birt, son of Lord Birt, former director-general of the BBC, used census figures to conclude that there are now 14,200 white converts in Britain.

"I think people who embrace Islam see a calmness and simplicity that many have not experienced before," says Idris. "I don't see it as rigid, it's empowering. Islam is beautiful, sweet and gentle.

"All the values that used to exist in Britain and Ireland 30 or 40 years ago - respect for your parents, your elders - they all exist in the Muslim world still."

He has published a book for non-Muslims, explaining the tenets of Islam. "Islam and the West look at each other with suspicious eyes and there is no need for it. We are all just ordinary people with different beliefs," he says.

"I find it interesting though how many Muslims want to hear me talk too. The majority of my e-mail comes from Muslim university students and young professionals who tell me they like the way I present what they believe in. I tell them that if only we could live as good Muslims, then people in the West would sit up and take notice. They would think that is impressive. We should as Muslims try to give the perfect example."

One of the things that annoys him most, he says, is talk of a clash of civilisations. "There's no clash of civilisations at all, that's nonsense. Islam is at home in any civilisation. It isn't a separate civilisation. If you're Muslim in Britain, you're British.

"This debate in Britain about Muslim loyalty and whether it's possible to be Muslim and British is just silly. I believe that in many ways it's more of a race thing. If I go to London, no one questions whether I'm British or not because of the colour of my skin. The reason many Muslims are not accepted as fully British is not because they're Muslim, it's because they are second-generation Pakistani, or Bengali or Arab. That has nothing to do with Islam."

Like many of the newly converted, Idris cleaves to tradition on issues of doctrine. He refuses to be drawn on contentious issues that are the focus of much debate among Muslim scholars and reformists, preferring to go with whatever the sheikhs of Al Azhar approve.

"I would go with the scholars because I don't feel my knowledge is enough to challenge it," he says. "There are ways of presenting Islamic teaching in a way that is readily acceptable to people, but we can't change it. I would always go with the orthodox teaching, there are enough voices in the world trying to divide the Muslim community already."

When it comes to extremism within Islam, Idris condemns militancy while saying he can understand why some may be drawn to it. "When young Muslims find themselves totally frustrated and there is nothing they can do to stop oppression, injustice, murder and inequality, they are being driven into corners that they find difficult to come out of.

"In a situation where Muslims are under attack and some lash out, I can see why they do it. I'm not approving it, but I can see why they do it. The problem is not coming from within Islam, it's being forced on Islam from outside. We need to tell them there is another way, that Allah will punish these people and they will suffer for eternity.

Young kids, poor misguided souls who do wrong things in the name of Islam, are to be pitied as much as blamed. What they do is wrong, terrorism and all forms of fanaticism and extremism are wrong and are to be condemned. But we must understand where they are coming from and we must try to present to them that there is a different way of responding.

"My Islam, and the Islam of every Muslim I know in Egypt and Britain, is made up of trying to be a good person every day.

"I won't go on the defensive because Islam is too much to be proud of."

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Feedback and Book Reviews

Salam to sisters and brothers,

Your feedback, comments and book reviews are very much welcome.

Thank you.

Jazakallah..

First Things First: For Inquiring Minds and Yearning Hearts

Author: Khalid Baig

Publisher : IBT

Price: RM40.00

Description: A collection of popular thought-provoking articles on a wide range of issues dealing with Islam today. Distilling the wisdom of great scholars of Islam, these articles present Islam without apology. Originally published in the "First Things First" column of Impact International, these articles have been thoroughly revised and updated. Published in arrangement with the Jamiatul Ulama of South Africa.

The Wives Of The Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

Author: Faridah Mas'ood Debas
Publisher : International Islamic Publishing House

Price : RM25.00

Description: In The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad Faridah Debas provides an account of the Prophet’s matrimonial life in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah while dispelling misrepresentations by Orientalists, which are commonly spread by the media in the US and in Canada, where Debas lives.

This book traces the Prophet’s marriages from his monogamous 25 year marriage to Lady Khadeejah, to his multiple marriages to the Mothers of the Believers after Khadeejah’s death. Debas contextualizes his marriages within his noble mission of spreading Islam, and illustrates the wisdom of the Prophet as a messenger of Allah and a devoted, loving husband.

* This is the hardbound version of this book.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Stories of Muhammad Pbuh (2 volumes)

Sold as a set. Get them now while stocks last.

Author: Abu Zahir
Publisher: Darussalam

Price: RM18

Description:
These books are in a series titled Stories of the Prophets. Each book is beautifully illustrated in full color and the story of each Prophet is summarized in order to allow the child to easily grasp the concept while staying fully entertained by the visual beauty of this work.



i. The Stories of Muhammad Pbuh in Makkah; and





ii. The Stories of Prophet Muhammad Pbuh in Madinah

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Talking To Young Muslims


Idris Tawfiq


In this first book in the Ask About Islam series, British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, talks to young muslims about Life and its challenges and about how to live as muslim in a world with so many distraction. Drawing upon his experience of teaching and working with young people all over the world, he addresses many of the problems which Muslim young people face.

Idris Tawfiq is well known for the way he writes and speaks about Islam for young people. He has a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester and a degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. For many years he was Head of Religious Education in different schools in the Uk. More remarkably, before embracing Islam he was Roman Catholic priest.

The Muslim Woman's Handbook

Author: Huda Khattab
Publisher : Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd

Price RM17.00 

A sensitive and sensible look at the main issues with which Muslim women are often faced, not only as a result of ignorant attacks in the media by non-Muslims, but also in situations where they come across Muslims who are not fully aware of what the teach . THE MUSLIM WOMAN'S HANDBOOK

is a practical guide to daily life as a Muslim woman in a non-Muslim society. It tackles such matters as 'Ibadah (worship), menstruation, Hijab, education, work, health, etc. in a down-to-earth manner. These are basic matters, but ones which we need to understand fully. This book is the result of the author's personal experience and observations of the things a Muslim woman needs to know about. Aimed at born-Muslims and reverts alike, THE MUSLIM WOMAN'S HANDBOOK should be on every Muslim woman's bookshelf.

HUDA KHATTAB is a British Muslim writer. Born in Blackpool, Lancashire, she embraced Islam in 1983, and received her BA (Hons) degree in Arabic from the School of Oriental and African Studies (London University) in 1986. She is the author of a children's book, Stories from the Muslim World, and has translated several works from Arabic into English. She is currently the Editor of a monthly newsletter, Usra - The Muslim Family Magazine.

A Muslim Girl's Guide to Life Big Changes


Author: Rayhana Khan
Publisher : Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd

Price RM14.00
Have you ever wanted to know the truth about growing up as a young Muslimah but were too shy to ask an adult? Well this is the perfect book for you!

Written from a `big sister' perspective, A Muslim Girl's Guide to Life's Big Changes explains all, from choosing the right friendship group, advice about school life and social life, to the physical changes you will experience from the age of 9 onwards.

Rayhana Khan has drawn on her solid Islamic upbringing, her role as a teaching assistant at a local primary school as well as her work at a Muslim Girls' Youth club to write this indispensible handbook.

Recommended for ages 9-14.

A Muslim Boy's Guide to Life Big Changes

Author : Sami Khan
Publisher : Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd

Price RM11.00

This book gives brotherly advice on life in general from Islam and friends, school and home life through to the physical changes a boy will experience from the age of 11 onwards.

A to Z of Akhlaaq: Moral Values for Children

Author: Nafees Khan
Publisher: Goodword 

Price: RM11.00

Description: This book is a wonderful gift for the children in your life. Not only is it educational, but fun at the same time. You and your children will start with A is for "akhlaaq" that is manners in our deen and finish with Z is for "zulm", it could be injustice of tyranny.

Fortress of the Muslim

Author: Said Bin Wahf Al-Qahtani
Publisher: Dakwah Corner Bookstore

Price: RM4.00

Description: Invocations from the Qur'an & Sunnah. Translation of Hisnul-Muslim

This is a very beautiful booklet consists of many authentic Dua's (supplications) for a Muslim to supplicate on a daily basis and on special occasions.

Author's Note:

This book is an abridgment of my earlier work entitled, Adh-Dhikr wad-Du'a wal-'llaj bir-Ruqyah mina'-Kitab was-Sunnah. In order to make it small and easily portable, I have chosen only the section on words of remembrance for this abridgment. To achieve this, I only mentioned the text of the words of remembrance instead of the entire Hadith. I also limited myself to mentioning only one or two references from the original book for each Hadith. Whoever would like to know about the Companion who related a particular Hadith, or more information about where it is recorded, should refer to the original work (mentioned above). I ask Allah the Glorious, the Mighty, by His beautiful Names and by His sublime Attributes to accept this as having been done sincerely for His sake alone. I ask Him to bring me its benefits during my lifetime and after my death. May those who read it, those who print it, or have had any role in distributing it, benefit from it also. Surely He, glory be unto Him, is Capable of all things. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet, Muhammad, and upon his family and Companions and whoever follows them in piety until the Day of Judgment.

Said bin Ali bin Wahf Al-Qahtani, Safar,1409

Addin Books on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Addin-Book-Corner/114244025283083

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Nurturing Eaman in Children




Author: Dr. Aisha Hamdan
Publisher: International Islamic Publishing House IIPH (2009)
Pages: 223 Binding: Hardcover

Price RM35.00 USD$10.60

Description from the publisher:
A plethora of parenting books on the market these days covers every aspect of dealing with your children. From the terrible twos to the troublesome teens, you will have no problem finding multitudes of books claiming to point you in the right direction when it comes to raising your children. Whether you’re aiming to raise a baby Einstein, or just looking for some hints on how to handle an unruly tyke or teen, you will no doubt find plenty of advice.

This book, however, addresses an aspect of child-rearing that is vitally important, and is not touched upon in the mainstream selections that we are so familiar with. In her book, Dr. Hamdan clearly and in no uncertain terms explains the importance of instilling in our children a strong connection to their Creator and a love for the religion that He has chosen for us and for them. From this book, you will learn the what, the why, and the how of raising a righteous Muslim child.

About the Author –
Dr. Aisha Hamdan is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences in the College of Medicine at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. She has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from West Virginia University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Islamic Studies from the American Open University. She has been a Muslim for 25 years, has written many articles for Aljumuah Magazine, and is active in various da’wah projects. Her five children were an inspiration for this book.


Our Precious Sprouts

Author: Mohammed Jibaly

Publisher: Al-Kitaab and As-Sunnah Publishing
Pages: 206 Binding: Paperback

Price RM40.00 USD$12.00

Description from the publisher:
Part of the Muslim Family Series of Shaykh Muhammed al-Jibaly. This book is the last in the series, part four.

Basic Duas for Children - Sold Out (Awaiting for new stock delivery)


Author :Sr. Nafees Khan
Publisher :Goodword Books
Page :24
Binding : Paperback

Price RM10.00 USD$3.00

Description from the publisher :
Duas your children can recite at various times through the day, in simple rhyming text that is easy on the ears.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Don't Be Sad

Author: Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni
Publisher: International Islamic Publishing House

Price RM48.00 USD$14.50


Description: At a time in which the Muslims are beset with trials from every periphery and within, comes this heartening book rooted in the commandments of Allah (swt), the Sunnah and the excellent guidance and examples of the Muslims that have come before us.

Don't Be Sad is an absolute must-read for all people. It is full of practical advice on how to replace sadness with a pragmatic and ultimately satisfying Islamic outlook on life. It exposes to the modern reader how Islam teaches us to deal with the tests and tribulations of this world.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Al Qur'an - Flash Site

Salam to Brothers and Sisters,

This site is good to bookmark as it has the Qur'an where you can flip the pages as you read it. It is free and easy to use.

http://www.quranflash.com/en/quranflash.html

Sharing is caring.

Jazakallah.

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