In order to justify banning me, the Home Secretary has pulled out of her bag of tricks a truncated statement of mine relative to suicide bombing being a military tactic. The statement was made in a 1994 recording (16 years ago) for Sharjah TV. The 2009 date given which they claim is incorrect. The program was replayed in 2009, as, since I left the UAE in 2003, I have not returned. The original statement was made in the beginning of the Palestinian struggle, when use of this tactic was directed at troops and not civilians – similar to “suicide missions” well known in military operations. Once use of the tactic changed and civilians were targeted, my position also changed. Consequently, in my hundreds of lectures (on youtube and elsewhere) I have clearly condemned suicide bombing as haraam (forbidden) in Islam [outside of military necessity] especially where directed at civilian populations. In fact I was among the first to condemn 9l11 and 7/7 when they occurred.
The Supposed Shred of Evidence for my banning
June 24th, 2010Other Lecturers Banned
June 22nd, 2010A number of other authentic Islamic lecturers have been recently banned from the UK and other Western countries.
This is a very silly policy on the part of the UK and others, as it is we who are enlightening Muslims to the true teachings of Islam to warn them away from extremism and terrorism in the name of Islam. When they ban us, they leave a vacuum which the extremists will fill using what has happened to us as proof of the UK’s evil intent towards the Muslim community.
However, it is all good in the end for Allah will complete His guidance despite their hatred of it. As one of my students said, “Dr Zakir Naik and Peace TV will be the most googled items in the UK these days” – good publicity.
It is clear that the goal is to counter or stop the spread of Islamic awareness in general in the West. Their hopes for assimilation of Muslims are being dashed with the current Islamic awakening. Muslims will remain distinct, and not absorbed like all the other cultures which came and were conquered by the western globalized culture. It is an extension of the Clash of Civilizations concept which I developed in my book by that name.
It is part of the strategy that they prevent clarity from moderate external speakers and justify it with the internal extremists whom they allow to function. The clampdown all over Europe using the niqaab as the rallying point is all part of the bigger plan. But Islam cannot be defeated, it will prevail, as it is THE TRUE RELIGION OF GOD.
Dr Bilal Philips Banned from the UK
June 22nd, 2010Well, the inevitable finally happened. At least the British Home Secretary called Dr Naik in Mumbai prior to his trip and told him not to come. I arrived to London this Saturday morning, 19 June, at 8am only to denied entry and put back on a plane at 11am back to Doha!!! So, I was unable to attend the Qur’aan conference on the 20th as planned!!! Sorry to all who attended the conference expecting to hear from me or see me. Even the conference was harassed by the British National Party and had to change their venue at the last moment. And Allah is the best Protector and disposer of our affairs.
Lecturing in the Maldives
June 13th, 2010
At Radio Atoll
Just came back from a 5 day lecture tour of the Maldives along with Abdur Raheem Green. It was very successful, and we both recorded programs for local Islamic radio station, Radio Atoll, VTV station, and gave numerous lectures outside of the official program. I also met with a group of IOU students from Maldives, which was a treat.
The Book That Shook the World
April 25th, 2010Arrangements have been confirmed for the Qur’aan Conference “The Book That Shook the World” on the 20th of June, London, UK. I’ll be there along with Shaikh Dr. Suhaib Hasan, Sh Haitham Haddaad, Sh Abu Usaamah, Ustaz Hussain Yee, Ustaz Murtaza Khan, Br Yusuf Estes, etc. See you all there, in shaa Allaah.
Music and Dating in Toronto
April 19th, 2010My last official lecture in Toronto was held at Darul Hijrah Islamic Center Sunday night (18th April). This Islamic center is a converted furniture showroom at 2050 Kipling ave. and is one of the newest Mosques in Toronto. They have facilities for boys and girls to play basketball until midnight throughout the week – a welcome addition for the youths of Toronto. Most of the audience at the lecture were youths and the discussion was lively and fully interactive. And, as you might expect, the two biggest question areas were about music and dating. One question was from one of the girls who claimed that she heard it said that it was okay to be in a relationship (i.e. boyfriend-girlfriend) as long as it wasn’t for more than six months! One of the boys asked if it was okay if their parents knew and approved of their relationship!!! Al hamdulillaah the lecture was recorded and will be added to my youtube channel in the coming weeks.
Currently in Canada
April 10th, 2010I left Doha on the early morning of the 8th of April and arrived, via Amsterdam, to Toronto at 4 pm in the afternoon of the same day. Today, I did the Khutbah of Jumu’ah at Salaahuddeen Mosque, al hamdulillaah to a packed house. The topic was on Dajjaal and our preparation for his coming. I’ll be doing a talk on Planning for the Hereafter tomorrow night between Maghrib and Ishaa, and on “The True Path to Happiness” on Sunday, same time – bi ithnillaah. Hope to see those from Toronto there – in shaa Allaah.
BAIS Classes Have Started at IOU
April 3rd, 2010From the 1st of April, Dr Bilal Philip’s Islamic Online University (IOU) has launched the world’s first tuition-free, Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies in English completely online. A major new step towards helping Muslims across the globe fulfill the Prophet’s command to seek knowledge of the religion.
After successfully running a collection of 20 free short courses since 2007 in which more than 20,000 students are currently registered from more than 160 different countries, Dr Bilal has taken the bold step of offering a BA along similar lines.
This path-breaking initiative utilizes the worldwide presence of the internet and advanced open source online learning technology to bring tuition-free university level Islamic education within reach of virtually anyone on the planet who has access to a computer and the internet.
The program has recorded video lectures and weekly live tutorial classes in a virtual classroom setting on the net and its syllabus is based on the BA in Usool ud-Deen (Religious Foundations) curriculum of Madeenah University, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, and other similar institutions. Six subjects are available each semester. Each semester is 5 months, having a mid-term exam after two and a half months and the final at the end of the fifth month. Students are free to access their classes whenever it is convenient for them, however assignments and exams (mid-term and finals) have to be taken at fixed times.
There are no fees for the courses. However, there is a fixed symbolic registration fee and examination fee each semester which is calculated on a sliding scale (from $10 to $50) depending on the student’s country of residence. Enrollment for this semester will continue until the end of April at www.islamiconlineuniversity.com and for further clarification or help, the registrar may be contacted at Mobile :+974 681 99 50 and email: registrar@islamiconlineuniversity.com
Peace Conference Scandinavia 2010
March 24th, 2010I have been invited to Oslo, Norway along with Sh. Hussain Yee, ‘Abdur Raheem Green and Yusuf Chambers for a major Isalmic conference from 27th March until the 31th. My topics are: “In Search of Inner Peace,” “Da’wah in Desert Storm”, “Dajjal – Sign of the Last Hour”. And I’ll also be doing an intensive “Da’wah training course” for those eager to spread Islam in Norway. Hope to see some of the UK crew there – its only an 80 GBP plane ride from London, Heathrow.
Launching the Free BA in Islamic Studies
March 4th, 2010Al hamdulillaah. I’m back in Qatar from the UK where I gave the khutbah of Jumu’ah and a lecture on Caliph Abu Bakr in Islam Bradford Islamic Da’wah center and a lecture at the Camden Center in London on Saturday on “Are we prepared?” and another on Sunday on “Lessons from the Battle of Uhud”. I also recorded a Q&A for Islam Channel (TV) and was to record some programs also for Iqra TV Channel, but time didn’t permit. However, during this period the Islamic Online University did the finishing touches to the BA in Islamic Studies program and rolled it out on the 27th of February – Allahu Akbar. Five days later we already have 380 admissions being processed – Subhaanallaah!!! For those who don’t already know, please go to the website and register ASAP as we do have cap on the total number of applications that we will accept for this semester, since it is our first.