How did a 24-year old Muslim from Agra, India go from waiting tables to playing a central role in the British Empire? The power of love knows no limits. Or so reports The National in a fascinating article on Queen Victoria of England and her Indian Muslim lover.

When Abdul Karim was brought from India to England to serve at a dinner (note- the dinner was at Buckingham Palace and Karim was serving an Indian princess!) he couldn’t have guessed that within a year he would be serving as the closest confidant to Queen Victoria.

And we would not be aware of his influential role if it weren’t for a young author from Calcutta who was writing a book about curry. The author, Shrabani Basu, learned that the queen had ordered the dish to be on the menu everyday for her final fifteen years and thought there might be a reason why, so she decided to do some investigating.

And a good thing she did, or the royal court would have succeeded in burying all records, photographs and correspondence of this incredible, erm, friendship. Thanks to a frail, distant relative of Karim who had kept his diaries, Basu has been able to share the story in her new book Victoria and Abdul.

From Serving Tables to International Policy

Abdul Karim came to serve tables at the golden jubilee dinner in 1887 and within a year was one of the most influential characters in the Queen’s court, much to the dismay of the royal government. After the prime minister stopped Victoria from awarding Karim a knighthood, she moved him into a position as Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

Karim counseled the queen on all kinds of issues, and had a profound influence on Victoria’s attitude towards India. At his advice, she demanded that viceroys in charge of the one-time colony take new measures to reduce communal tensions.

“At a time when the British Empire was at its height, a young Muslim occupied a central position of influence over its sovereign,” Basu said.

How did Karim do it? Well, it seems he was a good friend.

“I am so very fond of him,” Queen Victoria was recorded as telling her daughter-in-law, Louise, Duchess of Cornwall, in 1888. “He is so good and gentle and understanding … and is a real comfort to me.”

Although the court was horrified by the closeness Karim’s relationship with the queen (horrified, but just imagine the same situation today!), Basu doubts that the two were actually lovers.

Friends to The End

The friendship carried on for 15 years until the queen’s death. Victoria had ordered that Karim be given a place among the principal mourners at her funeral, which he was – and then he was promptly sent back to India by King Edward. It was ordered that all evidence of Karim and his relationship with the queen be destroyed.

However, Karim managed to get his diary out of the country and his family, who knew how special that hand-written book was, kept it for an entire century. Now, for the first time, the diary and the wonderful tale it contains has been made public.

Get it while it’s hot!

With so much unrest and strife in the world, not least in the Middle East, it’s good to know that we can and still want to talk to each other. Having spent a little time at the Neve-Shalom Wahat-al-Salam Peace Village, I’ve seen the power of communication and discovered the common cultural crossovers that so clearly exist between the Jewish and Muslim faiths.

I read an article in the LA Times about an initiative that really brought this home and has inspired me profoundly: The West Los Angeles Cousins Club is an LA- based grassroots discussion group made up of 15 Muslim and Jewish women, that meets once a month to explore faith and mutual understanding.

Bridging the Gap

The meetings take place in Jewish and Muslim homes and involve, warmth, conversation and food and customs from both cultures. Club members also attend each other’s religious ceremonies and celebrations: Last August, Rachel Landsman, an orthodox Jew and Club member, invited her Muslim friends to attend her Hassidic Jewish wedding.

Jewish women also attend Muslim holiday gatherings with their “cousins.” The general consensus is intrigue and delight and the discovery of how much common ground exists between the two faiths.

“Sometimes I feel I have more in common with my Muslim cousins than I do with my secular Jewish sisters…” Landsman tells the LA Times. “Just as there are thousands of ways to be a Jew, there are thousands of ways to be Muslim.”

Sensitive Issues

The group leans towards discussing religion and spirituality, rather than sensitive political issues such as the Arab-Israeli conflict.

However, it can be tricky for the women to keep their reactions to news events out of the circle, like when Israel attacked Gaza two years ago. In 2008, a Palestinian gunman killed eight students at a Jerusalem seminary. Soon after, a Muslim convert came to the Cousins Club crying and told her cousins: “This is not my Islam.”

Women from both faiths have had to justify their position to family and community members who are less than thrilled about their choices.

The Road Before and The Road Ahead

The WLCC was launched three Jewish women: interfaith minister Shayna Lester, poet and education consultant Jean Katz and the late author Savina Teubal. Inspired by a similar initiative in Orange County the Cousins Club has just celebrated its 8th anniversary and today has more Muslim members than Jews. Most of the Muslim women hail from Indonesia or are converts to Islam.

Muzaffar “Bibi” Haleem, is a Pakistan-born member of the Club and of Culver City’s King Fahd Mosque. She founded the website Islamicity.com and co-wrote the book “The Sun Is Rising in the West: New Muslims Tell About Their Journey to Islam.”

Rachel Landsman says it is Haleem’s  nurturing ways that most touch her. “Except that she is Muslim, I think of her as a total Jewish mother,” she laughed.

The women end their meeting by holding hands, reciting Jewish and Muslim prayers of healing in honour of any member who was ill and absent. They hug and kiss and go their separate, but perhaps not so different ways, until they meet again next month.

Buon giorno dear readers, another politician’s been in involved in a sex scandal with a beautiful young woman, and che sorpresa, it’s an Italian politician.

Sandwiched between more sinister and significant news on Egypt and Tunisia, you’ve surely seen snippets and tid-bits of tattle about Ruby Rubacuori, (real name Karima el Mahrou). Moroccan-born Ruby allegedly had paid sexual relations with the PM while she was underage and a web of lies, corruption and general hullabaloo ensued.

This particular gorgeous young socialite may be a here today gone domani in the eyes of us who feel we’ve more important things to read and learn about when it comes to world affairs, but she did provoke Berlusconi to call a live TV show appearance on to defend himself. So I guess she gets my thumbs up for making a politician who should  have known better to have to face the music (and lights and cameras) for his actions…

The oft controversial Berlusconi

Cue rational question number one: Aren’t politicians supposed to be role models after all? And err… it’s not the first time Berlusconi’s been caught under a red light now, eco?

Making Il Cavaliere Blush.

What continues to baffle me is the surge in questions about whether this charming young siren is a Muslim. It harks back to Obamagate, when the tabloids decided to label the then President-in-the-making a Muslim.

Those wise and stoic ladies at Muslimah Media Watch have published a great piece about Ruby’s dubious ethnicity and faith. Ms Rubacuori/el Mahrou’s immigration status as a legalized/or not Moroccan is still the subject of much debate, but her sugar padrino Berlusconi got her out of custody by telling police she was Hosni Mubarak’s granddaughter.

Cue rational question number two: Did Signor B. play hooky during geography class when he was a bambino, thereby neglecting to observe that Algeria and Libya lie between Morocco and Egypt?

The Root of Il Problema

According to some news sources, despite having a devout Muslim father, Ruby allegedly converted to Catholicism at the age of twelve.

Muslimah Media Watch do a thorough mining of the European press, from La Repubblica to The Daily Mail and even a few dodgy YouTube vids to assess whether or not the PM’s paramour is perceived to be a Muslim. The overwhelming continental consensus is that Ruby Rubacuori is Moroccan, marvellously attractive but not in fact, a Muslim.

Cue rational question number three: What does it matter? Who cares if she’s Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist or Scientologist? Who gives a hoot if she’s Moroccan, Malaysian, Mayan or from Milan?

Shouldn’t the world really be questioning the behaviour and examples set by those chosen to lead nations and set standards for the generation of tomorrow?

Right rant over. Ciao bellos y bellas…

I don’t know as much about Shi’a Islam as I should, but I love to read and talk to my Shi’a friends about the things that I as a Sunni have in common with them and areas of divergence. Living in a non-majority Muslim country, I’m really glad of the opportunity to meet other expats from all walks within and beyond our faith that I might never meet otherwise.

Ashura: Something different for Sunni and Shi’a

The Guardian this week featured a stunning photo set of Muslims around the world celebrating/commemorating Ashura – the peak of the Remembrance of Muharram. I’ve always been fascinated with this day, as it both a day of celebration for Sunnis and a day of mourning and intense grief for Shiites.

For many Sunnis it is a day to celebrate victory – Sunnis believe Muhammad fasted and recommends others to fast, in honor of Moses’ gratitude to God for freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Special Meaning

Ashura is especially meaningful to Shi’a Muslims as it signifies the day of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad and the third Shi’a Imam, who was killed with members of his family and close friends at the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH.

This has a deep resonance for Shi’a and Alawite Muslims who consider Husayn to be Muhammad’s rightful successor and many make a pilgrimage on Ashura to the Mashad-Al Husayn shrine, in Iraq, which marks Husayn’s tomb.

Shi’a wear mourning clothes and use the time for self-reflection, and pass the day in silence, without music and removed from worldly concerns to concentrate on poems and sermons in order to connect with Husayn’s plight and his sacrifices or the greater good of Islam.

Husayn’s martyrdom is widely perceived by Shi’a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression.

What’s in a Day?

In some Shi’a countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Bahrain, the Commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali has become a national holiday in which many other ethnic and religious communities participate

In India, a Hindu-majority country, which is also home to around 50 million Shiites, Ashura (also known as Moharram) is taken as a public holiday.

“A single tear shed for Husayn washes away a hundred sins.” – Shi’a saying

Princess Hijab is Paris’s most notorious street artist of le moment, but nobody knows who she really is.  There’s no mistaking her art – black marker pen veils daubed onto the glitzy, scantily-clad models, lining the subway walls in the French capital.

Expressionism: Princess Hijab and "Hijabisation"

The Princesses guerilla niqab art, dubbed hijabisation has caught the eye of the mainstream media and found its way into exhibitions around the world.

So who is this underground self-made French monarch of the avant-garde and what is she saying in her bold, black statements? Is it feminism, fundamentalism, faith or a face off on who’s right/whose right that fuels this enigmatic artist?

The Artist Within

The Guardian tracked Princess Hijab down and interviewed her – no small feat, given that the artist lives in the shadows, striking at night and disappearing into normal life by day to protect herself.  Not that I can blame her -  Sarkozy’s (in)famous burqa ban is about to come into full effect, prohibiting women from wearing Muslim veils in public in France and the argument has simmered to boiling point on both sides of the fence.

Who is she? Is our Princess even a she? Even the Guardian journalist isn’t sure, as she tries to sum up her interviewee, “veiled” by a dark wig and hoody that completely conceal her face (rather than the trademark niqab which form the basis of her controversial street art).

Princess Hijab refuses to reveal her gender, roots, or whether or not she is a Muslim:

“The real identity behind Princess Hijab is of no importance,” she tells the Guardian. “The imagined self has taken the foreground, and anyway it’s an artistic choice.”

A Veiled Statement

Princess Hijab penned her first niqabisation In 2006, veiling the album poster of France’s most famous female rapper, Diam’s, who subsequently converted to Islam herself, and now raps from behind a veil.

In the early days, P.H graffitied men, women and children and stuck around to gauge the public’s response; now she does veil-and-runs.

Officials usually rip her work down pretty quick and the artist has become selective about where she strikes. She only does four or five graffiti “interventions” in Paris a year, each of which is photographed and circulated online. Her targets have included Dolce & Gabbana, Virgin bookshops and next in line is trendy low-price fashion chain H&M, whose ads proliferate the tunnels of the Paris underground.

A Perfect Cover Up

When it comes to the nitty-gritty of the matter, Princess Hijab asserts that she is neither projecting a doctrine on how to dress, nor defending any group:

“I use veiled women as a challenge,” she says. “The veil has many hidden meanings, it can be as profane as it is sacred, consumerist and sanctimonious. From Arabic Gothicism to the condition of man. The interpretations are numerous and of course it carries great symbolism on race, sexuality and real and imagined geography.”

A further clue to her identity and motivation is her take on the marginalization of young Muslims and other minorities in France. With the largest Muslim population in Europe, France has made headlines over the past year for its swollen anti-immigrant discourse, and what many view as a pointless burqa ban.

The only question left, is perhaps the biggest one…”Am I religious?” she asks, hesitating. “The spiritual interests me, but that’s personal, I don’t think it bears on my work. Religion interests me, Muslims interest me and the impact they can have, artistically, aesthetically, in the codes that are all around us, particularly in fashion.”

Keeping fit is something many of us ladies aspire to, and as spring springs in the Northern Hemisphere what could be better than a jog to jostle off those extra winter pounds?

If you’re a Muslim woman living in Asir, Saudi Arabia, as of this May, frankly you can forget it.

A Question of Safety You Can’t Run Away From…

The Saudi Arabian Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) has banned women from jogging and doing other physical exercise in certain areas of a town in Asir - Arab News quotes Al-Watan as reporting.

At first glance, you may well be as befuddled as I am by the notion that a Muslim woman jogging could be seen as offensive to any one. So let’s scratch a little deeper below the surface on this bizarre new regulation.

The Al-Mujaradah Haia branch claims it is actually doing Saudi women in Asir a favour.

Who’s Harassing Who Here?

“The Haia did not exactly ban women from physical exercise, it only intervened to guarantee their safety from criminals who frequently harass them as they walk in lonely places,” Haia spokesman for the Asir province, Bandar Al-Mufreh told Arab News.

An anonymous Haia source said (off the record) that CPVP records highlight one particularly street where women are no longer permitted to exercise. Apparently said street is “lonely, poorly lighted, and frequented by drug addicts and other anti-social people.”

Nothing to Fear?

According to Arab News, fitness enthusiast R.S Al-Shahri, begs to differ, affirming that the street is in fact safe and well lit. She insists that around  30 women used to walk there between sunset and Isha prayers.

“But the Haia members banned us from walking on the street when there was nothing to fear,” she said.

R.S added that when she called Al-Mujaradah’s Haia chief Muhammad Al-Shahri for an explanation, he told her that the place was unsafe for women.

Whether it’s safety or modesty that’s sparked the need for the new law, it’s clearly sent Saudi women in Asir figuratively running around in circles.

Remember when top model and society butterfly Jemima Goldsmith converted to Islam to marry cricketer Imran Khan?

Tongues wagged…. “She did it for love…” they said… “It won’t last…” they muttered.

Well it did.  What’s more, there are hundreds of cases of conversion to Islam for love (we’ve covered a scant few them of them here at LB.)

Tony Blair’s sister-in-law is a bit different…

43-year-old Lauren Booth hit the tabloid headlines this week for deciding to become a Muslim. Her decision was based on love, but not a love towards a single Muslim, but of the whole faith.

A Holy Experience

A journalist and broadcaster Lauren (sister of Cherie, Tony’s wife) decided to become a Muslim following a visit to Iran, which she described as a “Holy experience.”

Tony Blair's sister-in-law Lauren Booth

Standing at the shine of Fatima al-Masumeh in the city of Qom, she felt a calling and answered it.  As soon as she returned to the UK, she converted.

Now Lauren, who works for Press TV, Iran’s English-language news channel prays five times a day, wears a hijab whenever she leaves home and visits her local mosque in the UK as often as she can.

Absolute Bliss and Joy

Lauren Booth’s conversion was not a decision she spent months pondering – Islam arrived and touched her. As she describes in The Guardian:

“It was a Tuesday evening and I sat down and felt this shot of spiritual morphine, just absolute bliss and joy,” she said.

Before this life-changing moment, she had been “sympathetic” to Islam and had spent considerable time working in Palestine.

A Life Less Ordinary

Since she converted, Lauren told The Guardian she has not wanted to drink alcohol no longer eats pork and reads the Qur’an every day.

She also hopes her conversion will serve as an inspiration to help her brother-in-law change his perception of Islam.

Magnificent Miss Ceuta, the golden-skin raven haired 23-year old  who has been crowned the most beautiful woman of the Spanish region where she lives is rather… different.

The Spanish, Muslim, soldier come model: Meriem Mustafa Mohamed

With the first rite of passage on her quest to become Miss Spain tucked neatly under her slender belt Meriem Mustafa Mohamed has become a celebrity for a couple of other reasons: She is a Muslim, and what’s more she’s a military woman, having joined the Spanish land army at the age of 18.

Never Judge a Book by its Cover

From tummy-down terrain training to tight skirts and heels, Meriem’s teetering along career path may seem outside the boundaries of the map to many Muslims, yet she insists that her faith and desire to become Miss Spain are by no means incompatible:

“ I just finished Ramadan a little while ago and I’m as involved in the contest as any other contestant. My faith is internal, and it accompanies me everywhere. Including to Miss Spain. It’s a feeling, not a curse.” She told Generaccion.com and other Spanish media.

Interesting rationale….

Beauty and the Media Beast

Since Lebanese-born Rima Fakih became the first Muslim woman to win Miss USA earlier this year, the media has had a banquet with the whole concept of Islam and the pageant.

Many Arab Americans celebrated Fakih’s victory, but some Muslims felt she didn’t represent their religion in a good light.

In 2005 Uzbek Muslim beauty Hammasa Kohistani made history when she was chosen to represent England in the Miss World pageant. The stunning young Hammasa, daughter of Afghan refugees, used her position to speak out against extremism and stereotyping, which I for one thought rather a good thing.

Whatever lays in store for Meriem of Ceuta  – I have to say I tip my hat in her direction for defying stereotypes and breaking the mold with both her unusual career choices. Maybe she’ll pioneer a trend for combats and tiaras….

Turkish Beach holidays that uphold Muslim values? May sound strange at first, but let’s face it, there are some staples that constitute jolly holidays for all and sundry (Sun, sea, sand, r’n'r, time with the nearest and dearest etc) and others that many of us Muslims would rather live without…

Life’s a Beach

British tourists are known for making a beeline for Turkey’s coast  – drawn by the cheap bars, clubs and beaches. But this proud Muslim country has begun spawning a new kind of holiday: catering to Muslims who want to give the bars, bacon and bikinis a miss.

There’s an interesting article in the Guardian about the birth of so-called halal holidays and the agencies behind them. Crescent Tours and Islamic Travels, both opened in 2009 to offer Britain’s two million Muslims a breath of fresh air in a travel market previously dominated by agencies specializing in trips to Mecca or holidays home to Pakistan or India to see the folks.

Holidays with a Muslim Ethos

Muslim women often go to Dubai, Egypt or Morocco but cover up on the beach. The benefit of the new Islamic beach holidays in Turkey is that they don’t have to.

The Club Familia has been designed with an Islamic ethos, serves halal food, skips out on the beer, includes a prayer room and is situated in a quiet bay with an appealing view.

Costa del Solidarity?

Mizan Raja, one of the founders of the London-based Islamic Travels, told the Guardian that his company doesn’t just sell holidays, it also promotes general sense of Muslim ummah (solidarity).

“We are distinctive because all our tour leaders are Muslim community leaders, scholars and academics, and our package also includes a night with local Muslim families,” he says.

Islamic Travels takes groups, which are typically made up of 80% female professionals from fields like medicine or banking, to Bosnia, Spain and central Asia.

Crescent Tours founder Yasser Mohammed says his company is “gaining momentum as people find out about us on the Internet”. Although it’s only current destination is Turkey, it plans to expand to Dubai and Egypt, and will customize itineraries.

Ifta means meat for many Muslims: in fact, as the cookie crumbles, we are eating more of it than ever before  – many of us tucking in every day.

According to an interesting Guardian article, a recent study by the Egyptian cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Centre, found 89% of Egyptians eat more than 2kg of meat monthly. Meat consumption rises with social class: wealthy Egyptians often eat in excess of than 8kg of meat each month. That’s a fair amount of flesh.

So what does Islam say about the great carnivore vs. herbivore debate? According to Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, in days gone by, Muslims were virtually vegetarian:

“Meat is not a necessity in Sharia, and in the old days most Muslims used to eat meat – if they were wealthy, like middle class – once a week on Friday. If they were poor – on the Eids.” He told the Guardian.

Many vegetarian dishes can be found in, for example, traditional Arabic cooking

The Islamic Concern website echoes the sentiment – stating that prophet Muhammad didn’t believe in daily meat eating and warned his followers against constant meat consumption as it could become “addictive”.

The Grass is Always Greener?

Not all Muslims see vegetarianism or even lowering their meat intake as viable option, despite the fact early Islamic leaders and scholars reiterated that animals were to be treated humanely.

A sheikh at the Egyptian ministry of religious endowments told the Guardian: “Animals are slaves for human purposes. They were put here for us to eat, so talk of vegetarianism is un-Islamic.”

Gamal al-Banna, a prominent Islamic scholar who’s often under fire for his “liberal” stance, feels differently. He believes vegetarian Muslims are not breaking any traditions.

“When someone becomes vegetarian they do so for a number of reasons: compassion, environment and health reasons,” he said. “As a Muslim, I believe that the prophet would want the followers to be healthy, compassionate and not destroy our environment. If someone believes not eating meat is that way, it is not like they are going to go to hell for it. It may be the right thing to do.”

Eid Plus Muslims Equals Meat

Although many Muslims argue that slaughtering a sheep is an obligatory part of Eid al-Adha sacrifice, Al Banna claims that vegetarian Muslims can bow out of the ritual and still remain faithful:

“In today’s modern world, ideas and religion change and Islam is no different. We must not remain rigid in our understanding of faith to mean the blind acceptance of anything, killing living beings included. There is no obligation to kill.” – he asserted.

Some Muslims would argue that the prayer said before halal slaughtering adds humanity when animals are killed for food. But vege-enthusiasts once may more have grounds to protest: Today’s “halal” slaughterhouses often feature a pre-recorded prayer on a loop that blares out as the animals are killed.