IGS MAGAZINE Editor: Zohal Shafiq

Vice Editor: Zainab Khan

School Council

Latest Fundraising

School Life

Art Work

Makes You Think…

Exam Tips + Exam Dates

Student Spotlight

My Take On…

GCSE Reforms

Anti-Islam Movie Protests

Dark Matter

Babar Ahmad

Faith And Belief

The Intention to worship…

Islamic Inspiration: Nouman Ali Khan

Entertainment & Lifestyle

Featured Food: Syria

Trend Report

Book Buzz

Upcoming Movies

Contents

"They ask you (O Muhammad) what they should spend in

charity. Say: 'Whatever you spend with a good heart, give it to

parents, relatives, orphans, the helpless, and travellers in

need. Whatever good you do, God is aware of it.'"

– Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 215

Every year, the School Council runs a charity campaign,

organising many events and working hard to raise money

towards a specific cause.

This year, we have decided to direct our efforts to help the

victims of Syria; we believe that it is our duty to help our

brothers and sisters suffering in Syria where more than tens of

thousands of innocent lives have been killed and so many

more injured and made refugees.

The charity organisation we have decided to work with is Syria

Relief, a non-political UK based charity set up September

2011, its aims being:

• The relief of financial hardship among

Syrian people in Syria

• The relief of sickness and the

preservation of health among Syrian

people in Syria

• The advancement of education for the

public benefit of Syrian people in Syria

The Syria Day was a huge success which motivated

students and created a charitable atmosphere within the

school, as the whole school combined to raise funds.

This spirit carried on to the Sponsored Walk where a large

group of students walked to Regents Park Mosque, collecting

money and handing out Syria balloons and leaflets.

They were met with a positive response from the public and

managed to raise over £7000!

Upcoming events include an Eid

Party for students on the 9th of

October and a Sleepover

consisting of a movie marathon

and midnight feast – on the 23rd

November.

There’ll then be a Charity

Dinner on the 7th of December

and an Autumn Fair and

Charity Evening which is yet to

be confirmed.

So far, we have already had a successful Sponsored Walk

and Syria day!

“What does IGS

mean to you?”

The school has said goodbye to some familiar faces, the old Year 11s.

Inshallah they will continue to succeed in whatever they choose to pursue in life,

and we hope they will be good role models for all ages of students, across the

school.

With our farewells to the previous Year 11s, we welcome some new students too,

including the girls in Year 7. Go chat to them sometime, they’re a cheery bunch.

Randomly springing a conversation on a shy person might get awkward though.

You have been warned!

Having just joined the school myself, I find that my new school is like a family. I

am positive that all the other students will tell you so too, however long they have

been at Islamia.

These teachers are preparing you for your educational journeys, and these

students are joining you for other adventures you will go on in the long winding

roads of your lives. This is something important to observe and remember.

Best of luck to everyone throughout the rest of the year, and I hope this article

made you think.

Ilm Connoly: 9a

4) Edexcel provides Sample Assessment Papers - you may notice that some papers

are locked. Don't hesitate to email your subject teacher to help unlock them for you!

Exam

Tips

For those of you having trouble revising…

1) Always look at Examiner Reports, as they give

detailed feedback on specific questions, as well as

specific criteria to gain marks

2) Look for trends in exam papers, and look for things that

ALWAYS come up

3) It's useful to create a table containing all the specific topics that have come up in

past papers - this way you'll be able to clearly identify topics that come up

repeatedly, and topics that haven't yet come up in exams

5) Don't forget to refer back to the question to make sure you are answering the

question asked. The examiner can't give you marks on your knowledge and

understanding unless you display it correctly.!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

We are a group of 6 Year 10 girls who are doing the Wings of Hope

Achievement Award (WOHAA). We are Amina, Deemah, Nawal, Sameera,

Sumeja and Syakirah and we are Devoted Voices! We are currently raising

money and awareness for the Wings of Hope charity. One of the upcoming

events that we are planning is to hire an ice rink at Alexandra Palace and

have a private girls only ice skating session during the December holidays,

so you and your friends can come and enjoy yourselves! So if you have any

questions or comments for us, you can come to any one of us.

Don’t forget! You can also donate to us on our JustGiving website:

http://www.justgiving.com/devotedvoices and you can also donate to us by

text! Just send it to: 70070 and type DEVO98 £1/£2/£3/£4/£5/£10 (choose

which ever one you want).

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far! Especially to Miss

Saba’ for her kind generosity for lending us her library after school and to Mrs

Khalladi for I.T. support!

Facebook: /devotedvoices

Twitter: @DevotedVoices

GCSE Reforms: Fatima Sheekhuna

Imag

e: s

trai

ghte

rlin

e.co

m

After weeks of complaints from students and teachers alike, Michael

Gove announced huge reforms to the education system. O-level style

exams (known as the “English Baccalaureate”) are to be introduced from

2015; all students are to complete the English Baccalaureate in:

Maths, English, 2 sciences, a language and history and geography.

Students will not have to complete coursework or controlled

assessments and will have to sit exams that last as long as 3 hours

after studying a 2 year course. There will only be one exam board, to end

competition between various exam boards. Students will no longer be

allowed to sit retakes for each module as they can now, but will have to

resit the ENTIRE exam. GCSEs will not be available during the E-Bac

and all students must complete the same paper.

The grading system will also be revamped as students will no longer

recieve grades such as A*-G, but will instead recieve ranks from 1-6 (1

being the highest, 6 being the lowest). Due to the fact that ALL students

will be sitting the same paper no matter their capabilities, it means that

only 5% will be able to acheive their desired grades, compared to the

22% that use the current system. So, is the change worth it? Or does the

current system display the maximum potential of students already?

This summer, education minister Michael

Gove came under fire as last minute

changes to the grading system left 20% of

GCSE English students receiving lower

grades than expected. Some teachers

stated that the change had “shifted to a

point that was very questionable.”

However, we should be protesting with dignity, in a way that increases sympathy

from the rest of the world. Not in a way that appals the world and portrays us as vicious

savages. An example of what I’m talking about is when Libya held protests against the

film. Everything was peaceful until the American embassy was burned down, an

American school was attacked and finally, the US ambassador was killed. KILLED. And

people are rejoicing? What would the Prophet say were he alive? He would surely

cry that his beloved ummah is killing in his name and rejoicing. The very things that he

detested.

I firmly that the only directions that accusing fingers should be pointing in is in the

direction of the filmmaker. After all, he is the man who started this. But it seems to me

that most people have been blaming the west. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have

threatened to kidnap and kill Prince Harry, who is currently on his second tour of duty in

Helmand province. I may be mistaken, but, Prince Harry (to my knowledge anyway) did

not direct, act in, produce or have anything to do with the film.

Finally, I personally find that the burning of flags is an act of ignorance. Yet

everywhere you read, it has been a central part of almost every international protest.

Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and even London! Simply because there is a

certain stigma and distrust towards the West it does by no means mean that every

single anti-Islam topic originates from there.

The US has publicly condemned the film, ordered YouTube to investigate and take it off

their site and most importantly they have arrested the director and transported him to

one of their toughest holding cells where he is awaiting trial, facing a life sentence in one

of the toughest maximum-security jails in the US. Justice has been served.

This film has been everywhere. It has made it into some of the most famous

establishments; the White House, Parliament, Senate and many more. It has (rightly so)

raised serious questions on Internet regulation and freedom of speech. The world

has learned that if this ever happens again we will not take such an insult lying down

and we will make our voices heard. But- if it does happen again, I suggest we do it in

a calm, dignified and rational way.

The Anti-Islam Movie: Zainab Khan

The anti-Islam film has been the subject

of news reports, blogs, social networking

sites and much more. The protests that

have taken place in retaliation have

become equally as notorious. I

understand that as a nation and as an

ummah, it is only natural that we should

all be outraged.

Something that it is simple, yet still

interesting and relevant to us is

dark matter. And how exactly is this

relevant? Because us humans, and

everything on Earth; is in fact dark

matter. Bet you didn’t see that

coming.

We all know how everything has a

gravitational pull. Your school books,

your clothes, even you have a force

that is attracting objects around you

towards you – this force of course is

not strong enough to actually pull

objects straight towards you, but it is

present nonetheless. It is gravity that

keeps planets orbiting around the Sun;

that keeps you and me from falling off

the Earth; that keeps galaxies and

stars in place. Anything that has

mass and is classified as ‘matter’

exerts a gravitational force.

In the 1930s, a Swiss astronomer by

the name of Fritz Zwicky made an

observation that some galaxies in the

universe were spinning so fast that the

stars they comprised of should be

flying away from each other. By 1978,

Vera Rubin also made the same

observation from studying 11 spiral

galaxies, including our own the Milky

Way – according to the laws of physics

these galaxies should be flying apart

from how fast they’re spinning. One

would need a lot of gravitational force

to keep these galaxies together when

at such high spends, and the mass of

known visible matter in galaxies is

Put simply, dark matter is a type of

matter that cannot be seen directly

with telescopes – dark matter

doesn’t emit light, or any form of

electromagnetic radiation at a

significant level. It would indicate that

there is much more matter than what

meets the eyes, ‘invisible’ matter

you could call it, and how this

matter cannot be detected. Its

presence can only be seen from how

its gravitational pull affects visible

matter, and it is this dark matter that

creates the extra gravitational force

needed to keep galaxies in place.

Note however, that this is only a

proposed explanation for why our

galaxy is not flying away as it should

be.

Although the actual existence of dark

matter is uncertain, scientists

estimate that if it does indeed exist, it

makes up around 83% of all matter

in the universe. The only thing

known for sure is the extent of how

much we don’t know about the

universe, and the millions of things

out there waiting to be

discovered…

simply not enough to exert this

amount. This puzzled the scientific

community greatly; there seemed to

be some sort of extra gravity coming

from undetected matter.

: Ayunie Anwar

On Friday 5th October, the Royal

Court of Justice passed the verdict

that five terror suspects would be

denied the opportunity to be tried in a

British court. Within a matter of hours,

they were then taken to a military

airbase in Suffolk, and from there

transported in two planes to the US to

face trial. Following the verdict, there

was only one face plastered on the

news- the face of Abu Hamza; but he

was not the only suspect present.

One of these suspects was Mr Babar

Ahmad, a born and raised British

citizen, brought up in the quiet town

of Tooting, just outside of London.

His story begins in the early morning

hours of the 2nd December 2003

when Babar Ahmad was arrested,

brutally beaten, and sent to prison.

He was then placed in detention for

approximately eight years, and has

never been convicted of a crime.

Despite the petition calling for debate

in parliament over Mr Ahmad’s case,

despite exceeding the requirement of

at least 100,000 signatures, this

seemed to make no difference in the

case of Mr Ahmed.

The cause of this was the

involvement of Babar Ahmad, and

Talha Ahsan, in a website, which

What about Babar Ahmad?

was simply one of the few websites

which provided up-to-date accounts

of the events inside Afghanistan as

well as Grozny, the capital city of

Chechnya being heavily bombed by

Russia in the 1990s. However, the

US District Court responded to this

website, claiming that it supported

terrorism and the Taliban, amongst

other things. They then argued that

Babar Ahmad needed to be put on

trial in the US, regardless of the fact

that he’d never been to the US, or

that his website didn’t specifically

target America.

The reason as to why Babar Ahmad’s

extradition was allowed was due to the

2003 extradition Act, which was fast-

tracked into UK law without formal

parliamentary process, scrutiny or

debate, and was signed under the

control of ex-Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

The Treaty allows the UK to extradite,

or send away, any individual in the UK

to the US without any need for them to

provide evidence to support their

request.

Furthermore, the accused cannot

question the evidence provided, as

there is no opportunity within the

extradition proceedings allowing them

to prove, or disprove any evidence.

Although the debate, called for by the

petition, came to the conclusion that

the Treaty should be amended, no

amendments were made in time for

the extradition.

The factor in this situation that makes it

truly puzzling and unjust for me is the

way in which during all of the 8 years

Mr.Ahmad being taken away: news.bbc.co.uk

of detention, Babar Ahmad was

not charged in this country, nor

was he put on trial. Rather than

letting him be extradited to the

US, where Babar feared his

human rights would be grossly

violated, the British legal system

should insist on trying their own

citizens on their own soil, as this is

where all of the alleged crimes

took place.

Ash

faq A

hm

ad (2

00

4): n

ews.b

bc.co

.uk:

Babar’s father described his son’s

case as “ridiculous”

This Treaty gives the US rights to

request extradition upon any one

of us, and in the words of Karl

Watkin, a businessman referring to

the case, “Today it is them.

Tomorrow it could be me.”

Aaminah Ahmad

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]

Sarah Elawad

Many seem to think that worship only includes acts such

as prayer, fasting, Hajj etc. However, this ayah states that the only

reason for us being created was to worship Allah, and if worship only

included prayer, fasting or Hajj it would mean we would need to be

praying 24/7 or fasting everyday of our lives. This is something

completely impossible and we must remember that Allah would never

give us a task if He knew we couldn’t bare it.

’A’isha reported that that once the Prophet came when a woman was

with her. He asked, ”Who is this?” She replied, ”So-and-so,” and told him

about the amount she prayed. He said, ”Stop! You must only do what you

are able. By Allah, Allah does not grow weary [of giving rewards] as you

grow weary, and the Deen He likes best is the one in which there is

constancy.”

So what exactly does Allah mean in the ayah? The word used here is

‘ibaadah’ (worship) which literally means ‘submission’ or ‘servitude’ and

can also be translated to mean ‘obedience’. The scholars defined it as

meaning to obey Allah by doing that which He has commanded and

avoiding that which He has forbidden, whilst loving Allah, fearing Him and

putting one’s hopes in Him. In another sense, scholars have defined it as

a comprehensive word, which includes all words and deeds that Allah

loves and is pleased with, both outward and inward – referring to all good

deeds that are known to please Allah .

From this, we can tell that worship really can be implemented constantly

in our lives. But how can we ensure that our everyday actions count

as acts of worship to Allah; and that we implement the above Ayah in

our lives? There are a few different steps and regards that need to be

taken into account in order to make sure that we are fulfilling our true

purpose in life: to worship Him.

We need to remind ourselves that the acts we are carrying out

are all for Allah. This requires a clear intention of all our actions in

order for us to be pleasing Allah, hence worshiping Him. 1

To sum up, any act can be made an act of worship so long as you

have a clear intention that you are doing it for Allah ’s sake, that this act

brings you closer to Allah , or by committing good deeds and fulfilling our

obligations. How hard do you think it may be for you to be constantly

worshiping Allah?

As I said before, Allah would never expect of us anything that we aren’t

physically able to achieve, and the reality is; our purpose in life is so

easy to achieve and yet we still neglect it.

Achieving closeness to Allah. This can be achieved in various

different ways one of which is simply being aware that through

your actions you are trying to achieve closeness to Allah before

closeness to anyone else.

2

Any act that reminds you of Allah , brings you closer to Allah or is

simply a known good deed in the eyes of Allah – try and commit

as much of them as you can. Such as reciting Dhikr on the way

to work or school.

3

Read more on: iamalima.org/blog

Nouman Ali Khan

Nouman Ali Khan is an American Muslim

convert, once an Atheist, who is the

founder and CEO of Bayyinah Institute –

an institute whose aims are “to make the

appreciation of Islam’s sacred texts

accessible to the world”. He is commonly

associated with many rising and highly

influential Islamic speakers, and is

considered as being in the same league

as prominent speakers such as Hamza Yusuf, Tariq Ramadan, Yusuf

Estes and Zaid Shakir amongst others.

He has given several talks in the UK, notably at the Twins of Faith just

last year. He encompasses real-life and personal experiences, comedy

and modern references, leading to the important fact that everyone is

easily able to relate to his talks and the issues that he raises and

addresses.

He is undoubtedly a truly inspirational person, and I definitely

recommend his talks and his videos – I guarantee you’ll love them! May

Allah Bless Him and grant him success in this Dunya and Akhirah,

InshaAllah.

Background:

• Exposure to Arabic was during his time of study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,

completing his elementary education

• Continued studying Arabic grammar in Pakistan – received scholarship for being

among the best 10 scorers in the national Arabic studies board exams in 1993

• Serious training in Arabic began in 1999 in the US, under Dr. Abdus-Samie (the

founder and formal principal of Quran college, Pakistan); it was under him that

Brother Nouman started developing a keen understanding of Arabic grammar

• Gained further insight through translating Dr Abdus-Samie’s work into English

Im

age:

am

eric

anm

usl

imco

nsu

mer

.co

m:

Featured Food: SYRIAN.

Fatti Dajaj: Chicken fatti (1 hour)

Ingredients

• 1 chicken hindquarter

• 1 cup medium-grain rice

• ¾ loaf pitta bread

• 1 cup plain yogurt

• ¼ cup tahini and 1 lemon

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 2 tbsp canola oil

• 1 clove mashed garlic

• 2 bay leaves Syriancooking.com

Directions

1) Remove the skin from the chicken and cook with some salt,

pepper and bay leaves. Shred when cool enough.

2) Cook the rice adding little salt. Leftover rice works well, just

warm it before assembling fatti.

3) Cut the bread into bite-size pieces and toast in the oven until

completely crispy, but not brown.

4) To prepare the sauce, mash the garlic and then add yogurt,

tahini and lemon juice in this order (otherwise tahini will crumble).

5) Leave the sauce at room temperature and do not heat. Add salt

if necessary.

6) Split your nuts in half (almonds/cashews).

7) To assemble fatti, all ingredients need to be warm enough

except the sauce. This should be a quick process so that the fatti

stays warm, and bread stays crispy.

Start by mixing the rice and bread and half of the chicken.

8) Ladle the chicken stock and half of the sauce and mix lightly.

9) Sprinkle the rest of the chicken on top and pour the rest of the

sauce equally over the fatti.

10) Garnish with toasted nuts, parsley and pomegranate (optional)

Ingredients

• 5 cups toasted pitta bread, torn into pieces

• 2 tomatoes, chopped

• 1 cucumber and 1 green pepper (chopped)

• ½ of a Lettuce, torn into small pieces

• ¼ cup of spring onions, chopped

• ¼ cup of parsley, chopped

• ½ cup of lemon juice

• ¾ cup of olive oil and ¼ cup fresh mint

Fattoush: Syrian salad (30 Mins)

Directions

1) In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, bread, cucumber, tomatoes,

green peppers, onions and parsley together. Toss.

2) In another bowl, combine garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and mint.

Mix well.

3) Pour this dressing over your mixture.

4) You can add many spices and season according to your tastes.

Some people add chickpeas and olives.

Mideastfood.about.com

Latest fashion trends by: Hamna Qurashi

Coriander Hobie is a normal girl. but her life is

thrown into chaos when her mother is murdered.

Her father is consumed by grief. To make matters

worse, Oliver Cromwell is now the ruler of Britain,

and Coriander's father supported Charles. To make

sure he isn't executed, he marries a Puritan woman

who beats Coriander and her daughter Hester.

I, Coriander is a magical and enchanting fairy tale.

When I first picked it up, I expected the opposite. I

was sure I was going to read a heavy, full on sob

story about a poor defenseless girl. However it was

hardly that; it was a really exciting read!

BOOK BUZZ

I, Coriander (Sally Gardner): Hikma

Variant (Robison Wells): Salima

A boy with no family or friends seeks to leave

his recent foster family through applying for a

scholarship at an exclusive private school. He

gets the place and heads off, hoping for

friends and stability.

I loved this book’s pacing, and impossibly high

stakes. The book keeps the readers on their

toes throughout the entire book and keeps

them guessing by raising a lot of questions

that are similar those of the protagonist which

therefore lets the readers think like Benson

and relate with him more. All the characters

were unique and each had their own

humorous nicknames such as 'Mouse' for a

fierce and violent girl.

Movies to look out for…

1. Les Miserables (25/12/12): Upcoming British musical-drama.

The film tells the story of Jean Valjean, a former prisoner who

becomes mayor of a town in France. It stars an ensemble cast

led by Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Eddie

Redmayne and Helena Bonham Carter.

2. Monsters Inc (Late 2012): The family favourite following the

story of Sulley, his one-eyed assistant Mike Wazowski and Boo,

will return in a 3D release. This will be followed by a prequel,

Monsters University, in 2013.

3. Rise Of The Guardians (30/11/12): An upcoming 3D fantasy-

adventure. The story follows Jack Frost who is approached by

the Guardians Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and

Sandman to join them and protect the children of the world. The

film stars Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher and Jude Law.

4. The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey (14/12/12): The series

acts as a prequel trilogy to The Lord Of The Rings and stars Ian

Mckellen (reprising his role as Gandalf), Benedict Cumberbatch,

Aidan Turner, Orlando Bloom and Cate Blanchett.