Mohammed Hashas - AlJazeeraTalk - Oujda, Morocco
 Any true student or researcher in history would not deny the fact that the birth of Muhammad PBUH (born 570 – died 632) marked a turning point in human history. With him humanity has come to know a new religion, Islam, and to see the growth of a new nation, a new civilization, and a new phase in human history. Like more than a billion of Muslims worldwide I would like to say few words about this day, taking it for granted that my words are very sketchy and known by any wise man, be him a Muslim or simply a human being. Admittedly, whatever I say here is not enough. I opt for raising questions more than for providing answers.
What I should stress here is that Muhammad PBUH is not like every enemy of Islam thinks of him, as the repeated caricatures describe him in Denmark. What these caricatures demonstrate is that the caricaturists – who are after fame and money- and those who applaud them know nothing about a religion and a civilization that have existed for 15 centuries now. |
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Arwa Walid - AlJazeeraTalk - Leeds
 Are you prepared for "selling yourself" after you finish your degree? Have you worked out what "marketing strategies" you are going to use to impress your prospective employers? Students are bombarded with numerous leaflets and lectures telling them how to make their CVs look impressive, how to relate to incidents which demonstrate their competence to make the employer think they're unique or "one of a kind" and that if he doesn’t employ the guy he has missed a great opportunity of a life time!
Being an Economics and Politics student, the above questions about selling one's self echoed decades of a bitter cold war between the Capitalist and the Communist world where the capitalist world headed by the US won. It was all about labour, wasn't it?! If you don't own capital you can't invest in it and you can't make profit. Therefore your labour is the only thing that you can trade in the market. |
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What happens when it is time to mingle at the after party?
Bushra Hamawy - AljazeeraTalk - Dubai
Wearing Hijab -the Islamic headscarf- while living in Syria, KSA, Egypt, Dubai or in New York, to me, has been an interesting experience. Different countries, same question: Why are people becoming obsessed by what we put on our heads, rather than what we put in our heads!
Conservative Syrians, Secular Syrians, Christian Syrians, Muslim Syrians, Atheist Syrians; it is about time we acknowledge the fact that diversity is healthy, and that -sometimes- we have no better option but to embrace it by being receptive, attentive and respectful to other people’s beliefs. Rather than being offensive, indifferent, and living happily ever after in our comfort zone where people are familiar and pleased with our ways.
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Masooma Nasser - AlJazeeraTalk - London
What do they think of us? What do we think of them? Are we really so different from our fellow, non-Muslim citizens?
We choose to live a life extremely different to a life that western societies hold so dear. But, while we live in these societies, we must incorporate certain societal rules which, will allow us to be deemed as acceptable members of society - even if we are so different. The question is though, to what extent must we abide by such social rules in an effort to integrate, without compromising our Islamic traditions? Do they want us to integrate or assimilate?
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