Our new friend (and invited guest blogger) Cameron Peron (co-founder and Managing Partner of Qualeady Ltd., an online lead generation company focused in Western European markets) recently interviewed me.

After reading one of my tweets, his interest was piqued about IslamCrunch. Soon after, we got on Skype and began a new friendship.

Cameron says about IslamCrunch: “One of the most effective uses of the internet, is the ability to promote a movement with upright intentions.  IslamCrunch is an excellent example of a web-property that targets a deep and narrow niche and applies effective communication tools to build a loyal and vibrant traffic base.  It’s one of the most effective projects utilizing web tools to push a religious point of view online today. Read more here…

Jump into the social sharing circle:

Digg the article here.

Buzz up the article here.

Mixx up the article here.

View Cameron’s Twitter stream here: http://twitter.com/cameronperon

We have been invited to represent at the Creativity & Spiritual Path event here in the Bay Area.

Read more about the event here: http://mqu.be/items/view/59/mikael-pittam-will-be-speaking-at-the-creativity-spiritual-path-event

Direct link: http://spiritualcreative.com/bio-mikael.html

If you are in the Bay Area, please try to attend.

Ta’leef Collective Presents:
The Essentials of Islam
with Shaykh Abdul Kareem Yahyaa

The Essentials of Islam is a detailed study of the blessed text, ‘Al-Risalah al-Jami`ah,’ by al-Habib Ahmed bin Zayn al-Habashi (may Allah have mercy on him and spread his benefit), a foundational text that covers what is personally obligatory for a Muslim to know regarding matters of faith, purification, prayer, and some essential points related to our everyday life in accordance with the Shafi’i school.

It is hoped that by the end of the course, students will be able to understand the essentials of making their worship valid, sound and proper in accordance with the Prophetic sunnah.

About the author and text:

Habib Ahmed bin Zayn al-Habashi’s al-Risalah al-Jami`ah is a brief text that covers the essentials that every Muslim must know about faith and practice according to the Shafi’i school.

A descendant of the Prophet, Habib Ahmed al-Habashi was a spiritual guide of the Ba `Alawi path and a great scholar of the Sacred Sciences who studied with the greatest teachers of his time in Hadramawt, Yemen.

Al-Risalah al-Jami’ah has spread far and wide since it was written and is now studied around the world including in Yemen, Egypt, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Hijaz.

The scholars of Hadramawt place special emphasis on this text, making it the first text studied by students of knowledge.

Text: Al-Risalah al-Jami`ah
Fees: $20, includes class handouts
Time: 4 – 6pm
Start date: Sunday, January 25th, 2009.
Duration: 6 weeks
Venue: Zawiya (send email for address and directions)

Registration: “First come, first served”. Limited seats are available. Only 35 seats! REGISTER NOW.

To register, please send an email to admin {at} islamcrunch [dot] com
Please include your name, number of people attending and contact information.

Ta’Leef Collective provides the space, content, and companionship necessary for a healthy understanding, embrace and realization of Islam. Ta’leef Collective is an expansion of the program formerly known as Zaytuna Outreach.

Shaykh Abdul-Kareem Yahyaa’s Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70541755603

The National, an English newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, has published an opinion piece by Rasha Elass, which quotes Imam Zaid’s recent lecture in New York.

Here are some highlights:

“This is our time. This is our place,” Imam Zaid Shakir told his enthusiastic young Muslim audience in New York. “As a community we’re not invisible, but some of us have chosen to pretend that we are.”

“Yes, there are challenges in this post-9/11 America: the Patriot Act… right-wing elements and their surrogates. But we should embrace the challenges,” he said.

And a quote from Dave Chappelle:

“You’re not playing around, America, because you just put a black man with a brown name in the White House.”

Read the full article here: http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090114/OPINION/778135416/-1/NEWS

Here’s a special treat for IslamCrunch readers: an exclusive look at a new project of the Zaytuna Distance Learning Program – the DeenLoad series.

Curing Extremism

The DeenLoad series offers single lectures for download. The first series is titled Curing Extremism with Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.

In this timely download, Imam Zaid, Shaykh Abdal Hakim and Shaykh Hamza diagnose and offer curative solutions to one of the most pressing problems we face as a globalized human society…. religious extremism.

Is Islam intrinsically extreme? Who’s to blame? What is the role that the individual, the community and the society at large can play in combatting and preventing religious extremism?

Find the answers to these essential questions and more in this critical series.

Click the link to purchase the download: http://zikrcast.com/Distance_Learning/deenload.php

We highly recommend the video download. It is high quality video in 640 x 480 mp4 format.

Another special treat: for every person who adds a comment to this post with sincere feedback on why you enjoy or dislike IslamCrunch, will receive a discount code for $1.00 off the sale price. If you leave a video comment, you will receive a $2.00 discount code.

LECTURE OUTLINES

Part 1 by Imam Zaid Shakir

• Particular dynamics of Muslim life in Britain
• What shapes who we are
• Parallels between the ghettos in the US & Britain
• Distorted understanding of “the other”
• The reality of low self esteem amongst the youth
• Fighting with the wrong weapons
• Superficial reactions to social ills
• Changing our perception of western societies
• Taking advantage of the opportunities that Western society offers
• Being a community of balanced
• Forging a new vision of change for our youth
• Doing more to help more

Part 2 by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad

• The bewilderment of this age
• The guiding Ship of Faith
• Unity amidst diversity
• The response of the believers and the response of the hypocrites to trials
• A multitude of choices and conflicting voices
• Following the scholars or ones whims
• The tranquil stability of the believers
• Projecting inner ugliness onto Islam
• Aiding the enemies of Islam with our wrong actions
• Spreading the message of Rahmah

Part 3 by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

• Defining terms & limits
• Living in a culture of extremes
• Causing our own suffering
• To whom is our allegiance
• Interacting with the law of the land
• Understanding civil disobedience
• Studying the Prophetic model of social reform
• Advice for Muslims living in the West
• Perceptions of Muslims in the West
• The question of assimilation and integration
• The potential benefits that Muslims bring to society
• A call to wisdom
• The example of the Bee
• The best defense