|
|
Amina Inloes,
Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies. 730 Answers
|
|
|
|
Mohammed Al-Hilli,
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli, originally from Iraq, has a Masters in Pharmacy from the University of London. He completed his Hawza degree from the ICAS in London under the supervision of Ayatollah Fadhil Milani, and also has an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University via the Islamic College. He is a teacher at the Hawza Programme at Islamic College in London. 8 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi,
Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to religious questions. In the past, he has also spent significant time in India guiding the community. 4499 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Vinay Khetia,
Shaikh Vinay Khetia has studied at various traditional Islamic seminaries in London, Iraq and Syria. He has an undergraduate degree in Religious and Near Eastern Studies from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Religion from Concordia University. He is a PhD Candidate in the department of Religious Studies at McMaster University with a focus on the intellectual history of Islam and specifically Shi'ism. 15 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Rebecca Masterton,
Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been teaching for seventeen years through different media, and has also worked in media for ten years, producing and presenting programs for several TV channels. 116 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Zoheir Ali Esmail,
Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD from the University of Exeter in the philosophical and mystical readings of Mulla Sadra in the context of the schools of Tehran and Qum. 374 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Abbas Di Palma,
Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in London, Damascus and Qom and taught for different institutions in Italy and UK. 208 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb,
Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He used to be a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa Open University. He obtained his Master's degree in Applied Ethics and now is a PhD candidate in Islamic Ethics besides doing his Bahse Kharej in Qom Hawza. 101 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Zaid Alsalami,
Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from ANU, Canberra. He has written and translated several Islamic texts and also prepared educational videos on Islamic rulings and practices. 856 Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Jaffer Ali Ladak,
Shaykh Jaffer Ali Ladak is from Milton Keynes in the UK and has studied at Jami'a Imam as-Sadiq (a) Hawza Imam al-Jawad (a) in Karbala and at Al Mahdi Institute in Birmingham. He is currently completing his Masters Degree in Islamic Law at the Islamic College in London. He has also authored a book on Lady Umm Kulthum, the daughter of Imam Ali (a). No Answers
|
Passed |
|
|
Seyed Ali Shobayri,
Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the Islamic College of London. He also studied at the Hawza Ilmiyya of England and continues Hawza and Islamic studies with private teachers. 164 Answers
|
Passed |
Love of one's homeland, and nationalism/patriotism are somewhat different things.
Love of Allah's creation is a good thing, and it is also a good thing to want to care for and defend your homeland.
Nationalism and patriotism in the modern era are ideological movements. Nationalism oftentimes relates to an arbitrarily drawn set of boundaries which separated formerly related peoples.
Today, nationalism and patriotism have an ugly side which can sometimes lead to hatred of the "other" or the "outsider", worshipping the flag, or caring only about what happens to the people within one's nation-state or ethnic/racial group. (For instance, neo-nazism.)
So it is good to love and develop one's homeland, but it is also good to be cautious about the negative side of modern nationalism.
Regarding hadith, there is a narration that love of one's homeland is part of faith (hubb al-watan min al-iman). However, the narration is weak, and poorly sourced, and some people consider it to have been fabricated so it is not really certain that the Prophet (S) said it, although it is often quoted today. Watan (homeland) here has also been understood to mean the hereafter, since the hereafter is the final home of everyone.
Here are some reflections by 'Allamah Tabataba'i in Tafsir al-Mizan on the nature of a society which might be pertinent. As one can see, a society is inherently neither good or bad (thus, supporting it is not inherently good or bad in and of itself, and most societies have both good and bad):
"The Qurʾan teaches that society is formed from a collection of individuals while being more than merely the sum of its parts. When people form a society, they create a new entity with its own life and identity. A society lives, ages, and dies; feels and decides: grows weaker and stronger; has its own duties; and is capable of both virtue and wickedness, and of attaining both happiness and misery, just like any individual human being. All of this has been explained by a multitude of verses in the Qurʾan, and it is something we have repeatedly pointed to through the course of our previous discussions."