BNP member list

Once again there are reports that BNP member details have been released. I do not condone this, as we all have a right to privacy; in addition, anything which can create martyrs out of bigots is misguided.

Nevertheless, as the data is available, I could not stop myself from doing some basic analysis. Using my newly acquired skills in mapping, I plotted Birmingham & Solihull cases on the map with this blog.

As of Mid-April, there are just over 16000 members (assuming we can trust the genuineness of the data). There are 44 people with Dr as their title; 8 with military titles; 2 professors and a reverend.

Of marriage and divorce - conflict of laws

As an undergraduate, one of the most interesting topics I studied was called conflict of laws, a study of the discrepancy between the laws of different countries (or cultures) in matters (mainly) of personal law. An interesting example of such a conflict is provided by the clash between Muslim family law and English family law.

Take the issue of marriage and divorce. For Muslims, what matters is the nikah ceremony. As this operates outside English law, there is potential for conflict: you can obviate the spirit of English law by conducting just the nikah ceremony. Hence though polygamy is forbidden under English law, most British Pakistanis know of at least one person with more than one wife. In the eyes of English law, such men and women are unmarried, but not in the eyes of the law that matters to such people. Living together while unmarried is anathema to most Muslims.

Further conflict arises in matters relating to divorce. The conflict can be exploited by divorcing parties to make life difficult for each other, particularly where there is much acrimony. In the case where a couple have gone through an English marriage and undergone the nikah ceremony, the man could divorce the woman under English law but refuse the tilak (religious divorce). The woman is thereby trapped; she is unable to re-marry until a long procedure involving the shariah court is gone through. Even then some scholars are of the opinion that such divorces are invalid.

There are also cases where, after obtaining the tilak, the man or woman then refuses to assent to the English divorce. This is common where the party being refused assent is non-British and as had to return to their country of origin after the marital dispute. The British citizen, by refusing to provide an English divorce, is effectively making sure such a person is unable to return to the UK again (as someone’s marriage partner).

The problem with such conflicts of law is that they can be exploited to harm people out of sheer spite and ill-will, and furthermore they lead to hypocrisy and falsehood. For example, there are many Muslim men in the UK who have more than one wife. To them, for people to live together when unmarried is sinful. Yet for whatever reason if they are questioned by British authorities they would claim they have only one wife and if challenged further would claim the other person is a mistress and that they are not married to them! That goes against the spirit of both Islamic and English law.

Again, take the case of a man or woman who refuses to assent to an English divorce but engages in a nikah ceremony. Such a person is also living a lie. In the eyes of friends and family they are married, something which they would deny if asked by the state. This cannot be compatible with the spirit of Islam or English law.

Swine Flu - closing in on us

The swine flu story has now changed completely since my last blog - with my own city, Birmingham, now the worst affected outside the US and Mexico. And the rate of transmission is rapid.

The worst affected are those areas with large Muslim populations. I spoke to a scientist last week who was fascinated by the cultural aspects of transmission - the closer communities are, the quicker the virus is likely to spread. Cohesion is a positive in general, but isolation is necessary to prevent infectious illness spreading.

Swine flu is a relatively mild condition, but as yet no one knows how it will evolve. If it does evolve into something more sinister, the Birmingham experience of the logistics of rapidly distributing anti-virals to deal with large outbreaks does not inspire much confidence. People are angry as they do not know who to turn to for help.

Swine Flu

You could not have failed to noticed the swine flu storm over the last week or so. Some have argued that this is much ado about nothing; others have spoken in millinarian terms of a world on the brink. A lot of my fellow Muslims proclaim glibly but erroneously that they need not fear anything as they do not eat pork.

It is right that any new variant of flu should be treated seriously. The possibilities for mutation are endless - the way to remain on top is to prepare for every eventuality. Flu in general affects millions and spreads easily. Hence this accounts for some of the alarm.

On the other hand, the use of apocalyptic language by scientists and medics is inappropriate. When social scientists say such things, their words can be safely ignored. It is worrying when scientists use such language.

In a related point, many of us have been surprised to learn that pigs are reared in Egypt. I wonder if something similar happens anywhere in Pakistan?

A touch uncomfortable

The sun is out and the streets of Birmingham are buzzing again with shoppers from all over the UK. This year I have noticed two things that make me uncomfortable; they are not new but just a little more accentuated this year.

Walk down, for example Stratford Road or Alum Rock Road, and note how purely religious hyms, verses and poetry are being blasted from cd players. Now in a multicultural and mutli-religious society this makes me uncomfortable, the idea of imposing your religion in this vociferous manner. By its very nature, religion is exclusive.

A word also about fund raisers. Those who give up their weekends to raise funds for the less fortunate of the world are admirable. What makes me uncomfortable is reference to the religion of those whose suffering is the subject of the fund raising. What difference should it make if the suffering are Muslim, Christian, etc. The purpose is to relieve suffering. Period.