Just curious - how many muslims are on mumsnet?

[Galvanise]

Hello/Salaam,

I know mumsnet has a wide and diverse population and I tend to recognise some MN usernames as regulars. Just intrigued to know how big/small a community it may be.

Of course, I respect that there may be those who do not wish to even identify themselves for various reasons - which is fine too.

I am not asking for 'religiousness' levels or any vital stats! Nor is this a muslim-only thread or an 'no non-muslims' thread.
If you really wish to tell me that you are not a muslim, that is fine too :)

:)

What a lovely quote Nailak, I needed to hear that right now! Enjoy your wedding Crescent, I'm off for an early night.

Salams sisters. Hardly I really agree with your point about some Muslim women struggling with the role of wife because of cultural baggage. I stopped working when I had ds (wasn't in my previous job long enough to be entitled to maternity) and I constantly struggle with accepting that and always find myself searching job sites. Its not that I don't enjoy being at home in fact I love being with ds and giving him that security. Also it was a real chore getting up in the mornings to go to work as I didn't really enjoy it and dreaded Monday's. However the idea that you can't be fulfilled unless you are working and the judgement I feel I get from people really makes it difficult to accept even though ds is just 6 months and it would be impractical to start working now. But also because of watching women of my mother's generation being exploited for their selfless devotion so that I find it difficult to put myself in the same vulnerable position even though I love, respect and trust my Dh that he would not do that.

Really loved your quote too nailak. I reallytry and make my reasoning for a lot of things now come back to God. If you look for gratitude from people for your actions you will get it sometimes and not others but if you do things for God He will never let your good actions go to waste.

As usual crescent I enjoy your posts so keep them coming. They definitely encourage me to read up!

As in lots of things I don't know about.

I can really understand your feelings peaceful. Even though I've always said how much I wish I could just focus on home, now the opportunity to do that is coming up I'm starting to panic slightly! However, I have the example of my mother, who was always a stay at home mum, and was greatly appreciated by my dad and also by me and my sisters and brothers once we were old enough to reflect!
I think part of the issue for me is a bit of ego. LIke if someone says, 'what do you do?', I'll be like, 'oh I'm a stay at home mum but let me just give you my CV so you can see that's not all I'm capable of!'.
I think this that's the burden of living in a society where motherhood ad domesticity are undervalued.
Could you do something kind of work from home peaceful?

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

For charity sisters funday at Waterlilly 16th March.

The charity is a mashallah very good one. Run by a sister I know and her husband, it is called al-ansari foundation, and the brother goes personally to Zanzibar. They are currently fundraising for their school for orphans.

Volunteers needed to distribute flyers before event, and to generally help out at the event. Please get in contact if you or anyone you know are interested inshallah.

www.facebook.com/pages/The-Al-Ansari-Foundation

www.facebook.com/events/587503904626113/

obviously would be great if you could go and get your mates to go too!

Hi can anyone recommend a good app for teaching the arabic alphabet

there are a lot of them! on my android i have a few one has bubble game that you pop to match the letters, but unfortunately my phone is not working, i think is called arabic letters tws or something?

You give me hope with your tales of freedom crescent!

Assalamualaikum, just signing in again. Really loved that naseeha of Br Numan Ali Khan, I really enjoy his lectures, saw him a couple of years ago at the Islamic GPU event. He speaks from a place of empathy. Mashallah.

Personally I don't like the term Islamic feminism. It is not feminism. It is just Islam.

I often get called a feminist on Muslim forums! lol It is used as a kind of insult!

However I do think western feminism has a lot going for it, I do agree with the parts of it that agree with Islam. This involves the things you have said above.

I have been that girl who thinks she is empowered by dressing provocatively, and listening to Christina Aguillera Lyrics!

"So what am I not supposed to have an opinion
Should I be quiet just because I'm a woman
Call me a bitch cos I speak what's on my mind
Guess it's easier for you to swallow if I sat and smiled

When a female fires back
Suddenly big talker don't know how to act
So he does what any little boy would do
Making up a few false rumors or two"

read full lyrics here www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/christinaaguilera/cantholdusdown.html

and to be honest those types of role models and lyrics have a powerful draw to young women. They want to be able to flaunt their sexuality, and still have a brain. And they can identify with it. A lot of the stuff feminism addresses is out of the understanding and experience of many.

I really like that cartoon crescent
I remember being involved in a mosque open day a few years ago. A sister who wore the face veil came along so she could answer any questions that non-Muslims had about it.
I remember her conversation with a middle aged white guy, he was trying to express to her what he thought was wrong with it and how he really felt sorry for her, she was having trouble understanding him, they were kind of at cross purposes. Then he said, 'who makes you wear it'? She said 'no-one I choose to'.
He looked completely gobsmacked, then said 'oh, that's alright then' and went on his merry way looking much happier!
It really showed, like the cartoon, how we need to be so careful not to make assumptions about eachother.

What i can never understand is why such importance is put on schools of thought to the extent that it is considered mixing and matching if you go from one to another then back. Yes thy are all great and correct. Yes they should be able to borrow from one another because ultimately islam - the law of Allah is above the schools of thought.

What throws me is that most people actually do not know everything that the 4 main schools say,yet they decide they will follow one and only one no matter what. This is not a criticism of people who follow a school, that is fine to do, but i do not understand it when people are clearly making up their own rules and rituals which none of the great scholars put their name to.

because if you mix and match why are you mixing and matching? is it to folllow Islam or your own nafs, what is desirable to you?

Also if you mix and match within rulings like choose hanafi wudhu and shafi salaah method, then your action may not be valid according to any school of thought, which would take you out of Al sunnah wa jamaah.

Salaam,

Nailak, Not against following any of the 4 schools. Agree that one should especially if knowledge is limited as these 4 schools are established. Not saying to mix and match to follow your own desires, but saying that if one school is more correct on a certain issue with strong evidence, then there is nothing wrong with taking from it. But of course do this, with consensus rather than on individual basis.

one should not blindly adhere to one opinion, in the sense of obliging people to follow it to the letter without any ijtihaad or effort to correct it. the point is that the school of thought study should be taken from one of the four madhhabs. Then, if it becomes clear to one who is qualified to engage in ijtihaad that the madhhab is mistaken on a specific issue, he should reject that fatwa and follow the view that he thinks is correct from the other madhhabs.

Crescent,

I am talking of not following any specific people rather than the classic schools of thought there. Because people are fallible, and we must not hold any personality as infallible other than the messenger of Allah (pbuh)