Assalamualaikum wa rahmat ulLahi wa barakatuhu!
Welcome back! We have kept you waiting for long, for very long indeed since the last issue came out! Sincere apologies! The list of reasons for this extraordinary belatedness is long and complicated. But we count on the favour of your forgiveness, your patience and your encouragement to gather and present once again a collection that hopes to appeal to the head and heart at once.
Last year we began an exercise in envisioning what The Intellect Magazine means to the people it serves. The present issue reflects our growing sense of how we can meet your needs.
The cover story this time deals with the hidden landmines in the way of Muslim self-actualization. It is a fact that worldwide Muslim communities are fully immersed in a culture that is more or less incompatible with their religious worldview. ‘7 threats to Muslim survival’ pigments major pitfalls on the road to complete surrender to Allah that "Islam" is meant to be.
Given the centrality of the educational challenge we are introducing a regular feature called "Education 101". Sheikh Hamza Wald Maqbul who is qualified in the Islamic sciences and has had comprehensive formal exposure to western as well as traditional institutions of learning sets the keynote for this feature ('What university graduates need to learn about madrasah education').
Apart from the factory model of education, the cover story alerts us to a number of other dangers that besiege us. The electronic habit-making traps are particularly deceptive. On that score, don't forget to read 'The trouble with TV' and the review of Carr's book on how the Internet is rewiring our brains. Then there is the irresistible temptation to buy things without need. That's how you end up spending much more than you calculate-and not just money. 'The electric toothbrush: why the cost you bear is always more than the price you pay' highlights one of the many cultural infections swirling in the global metropolis. Hence the feature title "Urban Pangs". The Fatwa Forum picks up another theme in the cover piece. It is a sobering reminder of the place of 'Sports and entertainment in Islam' from our preeminent religious authority- too late alas to wean us off the cricket World Cup! You will notice that themes of learning, teaching and growing dominate this issue. Zawjah Habib's riveting story of 'internal conversion'('Divorcing the devil') reflects the split-self crisis of identity confronting young Muslims mind-cuffed in schools and colleges around the world. If you have lived through a spiritual crisis and would like to share your account with others, why don't you send your story for publication in "Transformations"?
A broadening of our educational focus should come through two other feature entries. "Parables" and "The Richest Vein" both gesture towards a taste for literature. The maiden piece in "Parables" ('The painting') closes with an intriguing question.
“The Richest Vein” will be our cultural flagship. We are delighted that Dr Iftikhar Shafi, a connoisseur of comparative literature, has agreed to groom our cultural taste. He begins with a mellow invitation to read Rumi ('Listen to the reed...').
In sync with these innovations, we have also bolstered our book reviews. The bottom line in selecting from recent publications is that their "message" chime in with our magazine vision. We welcome suggestions for works you would like to see reviewed in these pages.
From this issue on, you can expect to see a continual 'course correction': the ship should move in the direction of our common choosing. What finally makes it into the press is selected with utmost care and we will strive our hardest to meet your expectations.
At the very least, we pledge to reach out to you more frequently and more regularly inshaAllah.
In the weeks to come, we will also be revamping our magazine website. We want to reach more people and we want more voices taking part in constructing The Intellect.
This issue is decked with many experiments. We sincerely hope you like them. If you do, won’t that partially make up for the delay? Well, we keep our fingers crossed. Let us know how close we come to what you want to see between the covers of The Intellect but also what you would like to see less of! With that, let’s not stand any further in the way of some insightful pleasure that lies ahead of you.
See you soon with the next issue!
Abdul-Ahad Husain
Guest Editor
Please note that correspondence to the editor should be emailed to
editor@intellectmagazine.net