Articles

Tolerance in Islam By Asiff Hussein

Muslims are supposed to invite those of other faiths in a manner that will convince them of the truth of the message rather than through vain arguments ridiculing their divinities or by means of brute force. As the Qur’an very beautifully puts it: God is our Lord and your Lord. …

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From where did the Moors come

By Asiff Hussein The origins of the Sri Lankan Moors is a matter that has aroused much controversy in academic circles. While it is generally believed that the Moors are descended from Arabian merchants who espoused local women, there are those historians who continue to argue that the Moors originally …

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The Land of the Matri Clans

by ASIFF HUSSEIN Little is it known that the Moors of the Eastern districts such as Ampara possess a unique form of social organisation known as the kudi system. The system known to the folk here as the kudivali or ‘clan lineage’ extends from Kattankudi in the north to Pottuvil …

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Muslims will dominate, but will Islam prevail?

By Asiff Hussein The latest research shows that the number of Muslims will equal the number of Christians by 2050. What’s more, Muslims will outnumber Christians worldwide around 2070. That’s if we are to believe the Pew Research Center, a think tank focusing on religion that has done a thorough …

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Kataragama – The Land of Khidr

by Asiff Hussein Little is it known that Kataragama, the centre of the Skanda cult among Hindus and Buddhists, has a place in Muslim hearts as well. The sanctity attached to the place by local Muslims revolves round not on Skanda, but a mysterious being called al-Khidr or ‘The Green …

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Unani medicine

Unani medicine – a Greek medical tradition of the Muslims By ASIFF HUSSEIN Unani medicine has a proud tradition that goes back to millennia. Its origins lie in ancient Greece among the founding fathers of modern medicine such as Hippocrates. In fact, the very term Unani (pronounced yu-naa-nee) means ‘Greek’ …

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