And those who followed (blindly) will say: “If only we had one more chance to return (to the worldly life), we would disown (declare ourselves as innocent from) them as they have disowned (declared themselves as innocent from) us.” Thus Allah will show them their deeds as regrets for them. And they will never get out of the Fire.” (EMQ al-Baqarah, 2:167)

I hated all foreigners but feared Muslims the most. I grew up in the 1960s in Gateshead, in a predominantly white area; I can't remember seeing an Asian face there. As a family we were not religious. We only went to weddings, funerals and christenings. I was not interested in school, either. You didn't need to stay on because you were more or less guaranteed a job in the mines, steelworks or shipyards.

Countless khutbah have repeatedly discussed the lives of the previous Prophets (as), the miracle of the Qur’an and the Hereafter, all of which are very important subjects, but rarely does the Imam address the prohibition of taking usurious loans such as mortgages, the prohibition of playing the National Lottery or the prohibition of joining the Kufr political process or Kufr British political parties. They also fail to address the situation of the Muslim Ummah globally except through a mere mention in du'a, and many will completely avoid the issue of working to re-establish Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta’aala) Deen on the earth.

The khutbah therefore takes place without leaving any significant impression on the minds of the congregation. These khutbah represent only preaching and Christian-style sermons that bore the audience who eagerly wait for its end. It seems that little or no thought goes into addressing the issues that affect and concern the Muslim community.

Ten Questions about Iraq From the Journalist who who has lived, seen and experienced most of what is coming out of Iraq at the moment.