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RAMADAN AND CONSUMERISM
Date:
Sunday 11th Sept 2005
Time: 2.15pm to 4.45pm
Venue: 4nd Floor, Muslim World League, 46 Goodge Street, London, W1T 4LU (entrance on the corner of Charlotte Street); Nearest Tube: Goodge Street (Northern Line)
Guest Speaker: Dr Usama Hasan
According to the Koran, the purpose of the magnificent spiritual
discipline called Siyam (Fasting) has always been for individuals and
communities to attain Taqwa, which can be translated as God-
centredness. The practice of fasting is the closest thing Islam has
to monasticism; in the words of a leading Muslim intellectual, Islam
is "like a society of married monks and nuns." Ramadan offers,
amongst many other Divine blessings, the opportunity to purify
ourselves from the human weaknesses of material want, greed and
consumerism through development of the virtues of patience,
contentment, gratitude and generosity. This short talk will explore
these themes on the basis of the revealed scripture of Islam and
outline ways in which Muslims can prevent Ramadan and Eid becoming
extravagant food festivals. The intrinsic emphasis in Ramadan on
avoiding extravagance, gluttony and consumerism has obvious
resonances with ecological and environmental concerns. There will
also be time a discussion, and after the talk there will be an
opportunity to hear about LINE activities and ways of getting
involved in environmental activities.
About the speaker:
Usama Hasan holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and is also a
formal hafiz of the Generous Qur'an, having completed his
memorisation of the divine revelation at the age of ten. He is
currently a university lecturer in computing science and also an imam
and khatib at al-Tawhid Mosque in Leyton, east London. Recently, he
has begun making the two-mile journey from home to mosque by bicycle
rather than by car, especially for Friday Prayers, in an attempt to
put into practice the "green message" of Islam.
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