In an attempt to clear the backlog of questions that come into the studio every week Amal Douglas bravely attempts to answer every single question thrown at him this week. Some wonderful questions, some weird and some very intrusive. Some of the answers will make you ponder and some will make you laugh.

The spotlight on education continues in this interview with educator, schoolteacher and poet Misoon El-Gomati. Touching on getting back to school post covid-19 lockdowns, safety measures, fears, lessons learned, the necessity (or not) of schools and elements of a rounded curriculum.

•  • Was it right to shut schools down in the first place?
•  • Is it madness to open them up again?
•  • Has home education proven more effective than schools?
•  • Can a school ever be a safe environment?

Also, as promised, here are the words of her poem that Misoon recited on the show :

Streets Paved With Gold

The streets of England, this great land of empire, trade and wealth, are paved with gold 

Their upright ladies and gentlemen love their nation and their inhabitants 

They educate and medicate their civilians and their guests for free 

The streets of England, this great land of peacemakers, manufacturers and nation builders, are paved with gold 

Your ancestors who loved their home nation, found themselves inhabitants of this new land 

They educated and medicated these citizens and their guests with their lives 

The streets of England, this great land of slave traders, imperialist imported ideals and arms dealers, are paved with gold 

You were raised upright by your kin and community, taught to love your ancestral home alongside this new nation and its inhabitants 

You’ll be educated and medicated though in reality it won’t really be for free 

The streets of England, this great land of stop and search, points based immigration bills and child migrant programmes, are paved with gold 

These upright ladies and gentlemen who so dearly loved this nation, stigmatised it’s black and brown people, classified us into skilled and beneficial, protected its inhabitants by shipping thousands of its native British children to its former colonies to a life of torture, torment and turmoil

They’ll  miseducate and not medicate certain civilians and their guests, leaving them to languish and long for a land to really call home 

A conversation with Ahmed Peerbux about the recently Local Zakat Initiative (LZI) that is creating a buzz around the UK and beyond.  

https://localzakat.co.uk/

Zakat is the third Pillar of Islam; it is an integral part of Islam. It is a required (fard) tax of 2.5% on certain types of wealth and assets that must be distributed to the needy*. There is a broad consensus among scholars that zakat cannot be distributed to non-Muslims. The verb "zakka" in Arabic means to make grow or thrive, to purify, and to improve. Thus, paying one's zakat encompasses all of these meanings. Not everyone is expected to pay zakat; only those whose wealth meets a certain threshold are obligated. And neither is all of one's income subject to zakat; only the amount of accumulated wealth that goes unused for a full year. The pairing “Establish the prayer and pay zakat” occurs 28 times in the Qur’an, indicating the particular importance of zakat. It is as critical as the prayer, and has been referred to by scholars as the partner of the prayer.  

Zakat is not a voluntary donation or an act of charity. Allah says in surah al-Tawbah:“Take zakat from their wealth to purify them and cleanse them thereby and pray for them. Your prayers bring relief to them – and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” Here, the command

khudh (“take”) is addressed to the taker, not the giver, which implies the authority to take it. One of the first actions of Abu Bakr – the first caliph in Islam after the death of the Prophet ? – after he became Caliph was to fight the tribes who refused to pay zakat , even though some of them accepted the obligation of the prayer. Though‘ Umar and others advised him to have patience with these tribes, Abu Bakr was adamant:“Even if they were to refuse me a hobbling-cord which they used to pay to the Messenger of Allah ?, I would fight them for it. By Allah, I will fight anyone who separates prayer and zakat!

An introductory presentation to the life and times of renowned Pan-Africanist and cultural & political icon, Marcus Garvey. Delivered at Bromley College in South East London.

Whether we are actually post-covid-19 or post-lockdown, or simply the beginning of forced vaccinations and repression remains to be seen, but this concept of the free market seems to tick every single box in terms of rebuilding economies and communities, wealth creation and a route to self-sufficiency that even the most ardent anti-globalisation, fair-trade and environmental activists can support.

in his unique style project director of the Open Trade Network, Amal Douglas explains the concepts behind this initiative and how it was practically applied in this situation. More importantly he spells out how to get involved or the necessary steps to do something similar in your own locale

LINKS

[email protected]

www.opentrade.org.uk/norwichfreemarket

www.globalperspectiveradio.com

Key Supporters and Partner Organisations

Norwich Theatre Royal

Open Trade Network

Ihsan Mosque and Islamic Centre

Norwich Wellbeing Centre/Community Life Enterprises

Norwich City Council

Delivered as part of the 2008 Norfolk Black History Month celebrations.Th

Shaykh Dr Abdalqadir as-Sufi talks about his early years as a Muslim and the great men and women he met, people who were murids of Shaykh Muhammad Ibn al-Habib. We get a glimpse of the extraordinary spiritual levels that many of these people reached by immersing themselves in the Deen of Islam while being guided by a living saint. In doing so we are taught that these insights, knowledges and stations are attainable by ourselves. We, like them, have to step onto the path.

We also get glimpse  of the immense station and favour that Allah, our Creator, the Most High has bestowed upon Shaykh Muhammad Ibn al-Habib and thus why is Diwan contains such wonderful treasures that we must delve into and cherish.