Al-Mahdi Institute - Imam Ali Seminar and Workshop Series 2009-2010

Al-Mahdi Institute
Imam Ali Seminar and Workshop Series 2009-2010
Imām Alī ibn Abī Tālib ('a.s): 'O Mālik! The people are either brothers in religion or your equal in creation'. (Nahj al-Balāgha Letter no. 53)


Tuesday 15th September 2009
Seminar 1
Time: 11:00am-12:15pm
Dr Mohamed Jindani
Ismaili Institute


Tuesday 20th October 2009
Seminar 2
Time: 11:00am-12:15pm
Dr Edward Kessler
Director, the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths,
Executive Director, CJCR and CMJR


Tuesday 17th November 2009
Seminar 3
Time: 11:00am-12:15pm
Dr Matthijs van den Bos
Lecturer in International Studies
Birkbeck, University of London


Tuesday 22nd December 2009
Workshop 4
Time: 09:00am-01:30pm
Dr Fazlun Khalid
Founder Director
Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences


Tuesday 23rd January 2010
Seminar 5
Time: 11:00am-12:15pm
Dr Colin Turner
Reader In Islamic Studies
University of Durham


Tuesday 16th February 2010
Seminar 6
Time: 09:00am- 01:30pm
Oliver McTernan
Director and Co-Founder
Forward thinking


Tuesday 20th March 2010
Workshop 7
Time: 09:00am-01:30pm
Dr. Sajjad H. Rizvi
Director, Centre of Islamic Philosophy


Tuesday 20th April 2010
Seminar 8
Time: 11:00am-12:15pm
The Revd Dr Toby Howarth
Inter Faith Adviser to the Bishop of Birmingham

Tuesday 11th May 2010
Seminar 9
Time: 11:00am-12:15pm
Professor Charles Burnett
Warburg Institute
University of London

Seminars and Workshops will be held in Al Zahra' Library, Main Room
For more details please contact Academic Registrar: hirjia@almahdi.edu
Al-Mahdi Institute 532, Moseley Road, Birmingham B12 9AE
Tel: 0121 446 5047 All are welcome to attend www.almahdi.edu

Jews and Muslims will be able to reject invasive post mortems

From Times Online
April 21, 2009

Jews and Muslims will be able to reject invasive post mortems
Richard Ford, Home Correspondent

Jewish and Muslim families will be able to prevent pathologists from cutting open the bodies of their loved ones for inquest post mortems, the Government announced today.
Coroners will consider faith issues when deciding how to determine the cause of a death and, where possible, will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning rather than an invasive autopsy.

Muslim and Jewish communities object to invasive post mortems because they conflict with religious beliefs about the sanctity of the body. The announcement by the Ministry of Justice is part of the biggest overhaul of the death certification and coroners system for more than one hundred years.

Bridget Prentice, a junior justice minister, said: “The loss of a loved one is extremely difficult for any family to deal with. For some individuals and members of faith groups, the thought of an invasive post mortem can compound the grief and distress, particularly when the procedure is against the tenets of the individual’s faith.”

A trial scheme is already being conducted by Coroner Jennifer Leeming in Salford and Bolton.
Mrs Leeming has been piloting a system where pathologists can use a hospital scanner to determine the cause of death instead of the conventional post mortem.
The MRI scans have been operated out-of-hours by radiographers at North Manchester General Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary with the results sent back to the coroner on a computer disc. The 3D scans, like those used on pregnant women, cost £500, with subsequent scans costing £350 each. Families who opt for them are asked to foot the bill.
Mrs Leeming said the results are “more than 99 per cent” accurate. The area has a large Jewish and Muslim community, but the scan is available to people of all faiths.

However, the Ministry made clear that because an MRI scan may not be the appropriate means to determining a cause of death in every case, the coroner will be required to make the decision on a case by case basis. The reforms to the death certification and coroner system follow a recommendations made by an inquiry chaired by Dame Janet Smith in to the circumstances surrounding the UK’s worst serial killer Dr Harold Shipman.
Shipman, who died in prison, is believed to have murder 215 elderly patients.

The existing coroner system was created in 1887 and despite reviews in 1966 and 1971, little action was taken to modernise it until Dame Janet reported five years ago.
There are about 500,000 deaths a year. In 2007 234,000 deaths were referred to a coroner, of which 100,360 required post mortem examinations - a fall of 20,000 in three years.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6140789.ece

Muslims more patriotic than Brits

Muslims more patriotic than Brits

Thursday, 07, May 2009 04:25
By Ian Dunt

Britain's Muslim population identify with Britain more than the general population, a surprise new poll has found.
A Gallup survey found 77 per cent of Muslims said they "identified with the UK", compared to just 50 per cent of the public at large.
Seventy-five per cent of the Muslims questioned also said they identify with their religion.

"This research shows that many of the assumptions about Muslims and integration couldn't be more wide of the mark," said Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Centre for Muslim Studies. "British Muslims want to be part of the wider community and contribute to society however in many cases it is a harsh economic reality that holds them back and stops them from realising their full potential."

The survey, conducted with the interfaith Coexist Foundation, found far greater trust in institutions among Britain's Islamic community than for the population at large.
Belief in the courts, honest elections, financial institutions and the media were far higher in the Muslim groups, although for obvious reasons confidence in the military was lower.
Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain said: "I hope the findings of this poll will bring about a qualitative contribution to the discussion on British Muslims.

"For too long, we have been subject to cynical opinion masquerading as fact. British Muslims are very much part of this nation's cultural, social and economic fabric. But naysayers will want to tell you otherwise, and will wish to drive a wedge between fellow Britons."
Eighty-two per cent of Muslims said they were loyal to the UK, although this is not felt by the general public, only 36 per cent of whom agreed.

Similarly, 88 per cent of Muslims did not think removing the veil was necessary for integration, but only 47 per cent of the general public agreed with them.
The survey also contained evidence of increased hardship among the Muslim community, with only seven per cent describing themselves as thriving, compared to 56 per cent of the general population.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "This report's findings are good news for the long-term integration of British Muslims.
"However, there are real challenges in the economic marginalisation of communities where Muslims are much less likely to be in work."
Gallup conducted face-face interviews with over 500 Muslims in 18 areas where they constitute 5 per cent of the population. It then compared the results with 1,000 interviews with the general population conducted over the phone.

http://www.politics.co.uk/news/equality/muslims-more-patriotic-than-brits-$1293822.htm