What does Islam mean to you?
Just a religion you were born into? A way of life that gives you your purpose in life and peace of mind? A religion that is strict and takes all the fun away? A faith that keeps you on the right track? A religion you are embarassed to be associated with? Or a Deen you try to live and spread passionately?
So what is Islam to you?

As you may have already heard - during a recent marathon in Boston, two bombs exploded causing havoc which lead to the injury of more than 170 people and the death of three.The suspected bombers are two Chechnyan brothers. One a 26 year old, amateur boxer who describes himself as a 'very religious' non-drinker and non smoker. During a stand off he was shot.

The other is a 19 year old, who according to his father, was awarded a scholarship to pursue further education in order to become a brain surgeon. During a manhunt he was found hiding in a boat in a homeowner's backyard. Afterall, you can run but you can't hide.   

I know there have been previous topics about this already, like the one I read http://www.therevival.co.uk/forum/general/1312?page=3 BUT it still doesn't answer the question.

1. WHY is it unlawful? 

2. What if you shake hands with the right intention without fear of 'temptation'?

3. If you do it cause you have 'no choice', is it still a sin? I don't mean the other person taking offence, but for the sake of remaining professional and having manners. 

Halal 'pub' keeps with changing times

A SWIFT drink down the local has taken on a new twist – at what is thought to be the country’s first Islamic ‘pub’. Reminiscent of the 19th century temperance bars, the Halal Inn, on Featherstall Road, is a public house which has most of the trappings of a traditional British hostelry, but is missing what many would think is the key ingredient – alcohol!

British taxpayers can well “afford” to contribute to the estimated £10 million cost of Baroness Thatcher's funeral, the Foreign Secretary William Hague said this morning, as MPs and peers gathered to debate her legacy.

Both Houses of Parliament will meet this afternoon in special session to allow tributes to be paid to the former prime minister.

MPs that were abroad at the time of her death and wanted to attend will be able to claim up to £3,750 to reimburse the cost of flying back.

But Mr Hague, who was backed by Baroness Thatcher when he ran successfully for the party leadership in 1997, said the cost of funeral arrangements and other associated expenses were entirely appropriate considering what the former prime minister had contributed to Britain.

Children and young people in the UK are facing a bleaker future under the coalition government than they did under Labour, according tochildren's charity Unicef.

In what amounts to a direct challenge to the government's austerity agenda and widespread tightening of access to benefits, Unicef ranks the UK 16th out of 29 developed countries for overall wellbeing – and warns that teenagers' prospects trail behind their counterparts in many European countries, including Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Portugal.

Continuing high rates of teenage pregnancy, relatively low levels of young people in education, employment or training and problems of alcohol abuse in young teens push the UK down the international league table.

Yes? No? Maybe? And why do you think that?

Are Sharia councils failing vulnerable women?

BBC Panorama has uncovered fresh evidence of how some Sharia councils in Britain may be putting Muslim women "at risk" by pressuring them to stay in abusive marriages.

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In Leeds I met Sonia, a woman who suffered extreme violence from her husband, who punched and kicked her and threw her down the stairs. He also hit their son. When Sonia got a civil divorce, the courts would allow him only indirect access to the children.

Sharia courts are not allowed to interfere in child access matters, but when Sonia went to Leyton Islamic Sharia Council for a Sharia divorce, they told her she would have to give the children up to her husband.

Share your views.

These days, young married couples are an anomaly. In pop culture, they usually get married at a surprise wedding: Think Andy and April inParks and Recreation or Jessa and Thomas-John(who’s not really young) in Girls. Before the bouquet toss, viewers were counting down to the divorce episode, probably because celebrities have taught us that it won’t last. Britney Spears’ first marriage was annulled within hours, and she racked up a second divorce before age 26. At age 22, Jessica Simpson scored a reality television show about her marriage to Nick Lachey: The couple divorced three seasons (er, years) later. Is it any wonder the world scoffed at Miley Cyrus’ plan for three weddings?