Asiff Hussein

Asiff Hussein is a Freelance Writer and Author of a number of publications in the fields of Ethnology, Sociology and Linguistics. Hussein served as a Journalist at the Business Desk of the Sunday Times before joining the Sunday Observer where he served in the Business and Features Desks. He has contributed numerous articles on various topics which have been published in the newspapers and on the Internet. He has also contributed to Business Today, Explore Sri Lanka, the Souvenirs of the Moors Islamic Cultural Home and Hamdard Islamicus Journal of Studies and Research in Islam. He also served as the Editor of Islamic Finance Today, a magazine exclusively dedicated to the promotion of ethical interest-free banking and finance. Hussein is the author of a number of publications including The Origins of the Sinhala Language. A Lexical Reconstruction of Sinhala Vocables to their Earliest Known Proto- Indo-European Forms (2002); Sarandib. An Ethnological Study of the Muslims of Sri Lanka (Feb & July 2007 and September 2011), Zeylanica, a Study of the Peoples and Languages of Sri Lanka (2009), Ivilly Pevilly. The Gastronome’s Guide to the Culinary History & Heritage of Sri Lanka (2012); Tolerance in Islam (2012) and Caste in Sri Lanka. From Ancient Times to the Present Day (2013) He has also co-authored Memons of Sri Lanka. Men, Memoirs, Milestones with Hameed Kareem (2006) and co-edited The Muslim Heritage of Eastern Sri Lanka with S.H.M.Jameel (2011). A Sinhala translation of his book on Tolerance in Islam Islamaya Desana Agamika Ivasima was published in 2014. He holds a B.A. Degree in Social Sciences from the Open University of Sri Lanka, a Post-graduate Diploma in Archaeology from the University of Kelaniya and a Diploma in Journalism from the Aquinas College of Higher Studies, Sri Lanka. He is also among the Sri Lankan Alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Programme organised by the US State Department, having participated in an IVLP Programme on Religion and Social Justice in America on a tour that covered Washington, Huntsville, Birmingham, Santa Fe and San Francisco from June 28th to July 16th 2010.

ෂරියා නීති සංග්‍රහය සැබැවින්ම කටුකද?

නූතන ලෝකයේ අපි බොහෝ විට ඉස්ලාමීය වත්පිළිවෙත් අනුව නියම කරනු ලබන දඬුවම් සැබවින්ම කටුක දෙයක් ලෙස සලකමු. මිනීමැරුමකට හිස ගසා දැමීම, කාමමිථ්‍යාචාරය සඳහා ගල් ගසා මරා දැමීම සහ සොරකම් කිරීම සඳහා අත් කපා දැමීම වැනි දඬුවම් සමහර විට වෙනත් යුගයකට අදාළ දඬුවම් ලෙස හා අද ලෝකයට නොගැළපෙන බව දකින්නෙමු. කෙසේ වෙතත් ඉස්ලාමය එවැනි දඬුවම් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට පෙර යම් යම් කොන්දේසි …

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Freedom of Marital Choice in the Light of the Qur’an and A hadith and its Relevance to Muslim Civil Laws – Asiff Hussein

This paper deals with a much disputed aspect of Islamic civil law, namely, the position of the wilayat (marriage guardianship) and the legal capacity of Muslim women to contract marriage in accordance with the rules laid down in the Qur'an and the Sunnah or the Prophetic Tradition. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate that Muslim women are conceded …

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Saudi Arabia – Where the Shariah is a Mockery By Asiff Hussein

The execution of young Rizana Nafeek by the Saudi Authorities for no fault of hers once again exposes the sad state of justice in the Kingdom which purports to follow Islamic Shariah. The poor girl, after languishing as many as seven years in jail, without even being given an opportunity to see her destitute parents or siblings she had left …

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The origins of some Sri Lankan Muslim Foods and Beverages By Asiff Hussein

Sri Lanka’s Muslims are heirs to a rich culinary tradition which has its ultimate origins in Arabia, India and the Malay world. Their cuisine is in a sense ‘international’. Here’s a brief survey of some of their more prominent foods and drinks and their origins. Buriyani A favourite rice dish which figures prominently in local Muslim feasts is the buriyani, …

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