Islam in the Polls
Americans know more about Islam than ever before - and they don't like what they see.
A new CBS News poll conducted in early April suggests that 45 percent of Americans hold negative views of Islam, compared to 33 percent in the tense aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. A Washington Post-ABC News poll in March that also showed a growing number of Americans (46 percent) expressing unfavorable opinions of Islam.
The situation has become so bleak that Muslim religious leaders sought the help of a Nobel Laureate to stem this rising tide of negativity. The Dalai Lama, 71, led leaders from Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Native American traditions at "A Gathering of Hearts Illuminating Compassion" conference in San Francisco recently. The leaders appealed to Americans not to equate Islam with terrorism.
What makes these polls so scary for Muslims is that the queried Americans confirmed that they were better informed about Islam now than they were five years ago.
In other words, despite all the mosque open houses, outreach and interfaith programs, books and articles on Islam, the idea that increased knowledge will lead to greater tolerance toward Islam and Muslims has become more eluive than ever.
Is there a contradiction here?
Not really, if one thinks about it.
Consider the situation from the point of view of an average American.
During the week of April 10-16 (a remarkable convergence of Passover, Easter and the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday), the average American learned that Zacarias Moussaoui, the al-Qaida terrorist, had “no regrets, no remorse” for the nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001.
There is the consistent horror of Sunnis and Shias dismembering each other in Iraq and Pakistan, always when the gathering is large, as during the Friday congregational prayers.
There is also the daily genocide that the Muslim Janjaweed militia wages against the indigenous tribes of Darfur, Sudan, most of whom are also Muslims but of darker skins.
Yes, most Muslims are as outraged by these horrors as the average American in question. But isn’t it too much to expect that he will continue to be reassured by our words (the fanatics are not of us and we are not of them, and besides, every faith has its fanatics) while the horrific deeds continue unabated?
He sees what Muslims are doing to Muslims, how some of them are spewing murderous hatred for the West, and while he may hold his own country responsible for the catastrophe in Iraq, it does not diminish his growing conviction that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence. Talk of peace and harmony can go only so far; he is more persuaded by the grim reality on the ground.
In the same week, however, quiet (and recurring) events of different sorts were taking place throughout America, far removed from the gaze of the mainstream media.
In a crime-infested neighborhood in East Oakland, Calif., for example, two Muslims stand at a street corner, giving out free popcorn and cotton candy to passersby. Their only goal is to spread some cheer and hope to their down-trodden neighbors. With help from their activist friends from the nearby mosque called Masjid Al-Islam, they host year-round soup kitchens for the poor and the hungry.
We also learn that Habibe Husain, founder of Rahima Foundation (http://www.rahima.org/), has received the Human Relations award of California’s Santa Clara County. Her organization has been helping the less fortunate residents of Silicon Valley and adjoining areas since 1993.
In cities such as Sacramento, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Atlanta, local Muslim doctors provide poor and uninsured residents with free medical care. And through organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Muslims also volunteer their time and skills to build homes for the homeless.
Is our average American aware of these “events?” Perhaps not. There is no requirement that he should be, unless he is a beneficiary himself. After all, we Muslims providing humanitarian services are doing so not to enhance our standing in the polls, but as a religious calling to help the less fortunate.
But these acts do teach us an important lesson. While it is undeniable that there is a need to educate Americans about Islam and Muslims, perhaps our efforts will go further if more of us engaged in deeds rather than words.
Most of our mosques have traditionally been heavy on seminars and conferences but after several years, these often turn into a case of preaching to the converted.
Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, an act of charity is worth a thousand sermons. So here’s a humble suggestion to my fellow American Muslims: Let’s cut down on the number of seminars and conferences at our local mosques by about half and replace them with charitable acts that affect the homeless, the needy and the destitute around us. That will require more effort than writing a check or listening to an Imam expound on the same tired topic. But in the end, it will make us better Muslims.
Perhaps it will even improve our standing in the eyes of our fellow Americans.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
The Case of the Afghan Apostate
Islamic Pluralism 1, Religious Dogmatism 0.
This is how I greeted the news that Abdur Rahman has been spared execution and freed by an Afghan court. He is the Afghan who converted to Christianity from Islam 16 years ago. When his apostasy came to light last week after a family squabble, a prosecutor threatened to execute him as mandated by what he claimed to be Afghanistan’s Sharia law.
Many Muslim media carried compelling articles about the illegality and immorality of apostasy-killing as the hapless Rahman’s impending fate filtered out of Afghanistan. The most powerful indictment comes, of course, from the Quran: There can be no coercion in matters of faith (2:256).
By citing a weak and dubious hadith, one that goes against the message of love and compassion that Prophet Muhammad preached and practiced throughout his life, a handful of Afghanistan’s frozen-in-time, pre-Taliban clerics sought to impose the death penalty on Rahman.
But worldwide outrage and a fledgling democracy’s resolve under President Hamid Karzai to do the right thing forced the clerics to retreat.
While Rahman’s travails remind us that we still have ways to go before the interpretation of Islam is loosened from the grips of dogmatists, we can also take some satisfaction from the progress that has been made.
Consider what would have happened to Rahman if the Taliban were still in power. Remember the harrowing video - widely distributed after the 9/11 attacks - of the woman who was publicly executed in a soccer stadium in Kabul, “cowering beneath a pale blue all-enveloping burqa?” Can anyone doubt that Rahman would not have met the same fate, given the Taliban’s record in these matters, particularly the record of its "Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”?
Implementing Sharia, as the Taliban defined it, became synonymous with beatings and killings. Is it any wonder that anytime patriarchal clerics talk of implementing Sharia, it sends shivers down the spines of Muslims in the affected areas, particularly of Muslim women?
Consider also the question of stoning to death (unmarried) people accused of adultery, again based on a weak hadith. Remember the case of the Nigerian woman Amina Lawal, charged with conceiving a child while single? A Nigerian Sharia court declared in 2002 that for her crime of adultery, she was to be stoned to death. (The court couldn’t be bothered about the man who was her “partner in crime.” He was nowhere to be found in the Katsina district in Northern Nigeria where the Sharia court held sway and was also absent from any theological discussion!)
The Quran mentions stoning five times - 11:91, 18:20, 19:46, 26:116 and 36:18 - but it is directed against prophets Shuaib, People of the Cave, Prophet Ibrahim, Prophet Noah, and Companions of the City, respectively. When these prophets and the righteous servants of God began preaching monotheism, people used to polytheism threatened them with stoning. That is as far as the Quran goes.
International outrage across religious boundaries forced the Nigerian court to spare Lawal’s life in 2003.
Hopefully, killing for apostasy and stoning to death (only women need apply) for adultery will soon be a thing of the past as absolutist clerics realize that their hold over Muslim minds and hearts is rapidly dissipating. In the Age of the Internet, ideas travel with the speed of light and millions of Muslims are taking advantage of it to deepen their understanding of Islam and mobilize support for progressive and humane causes. Many new avenues of thought are opening up. One example is the complex nature of the relationship between mosque and state, as opposed to the reflexive and traditional view that the two must be conflated in Islam. Even in conservative societies, Muslims are beginning to recognize that faith is a matter of personal responsibility and not a consequence of authoritarian decree. The days of any religious leader thundering “I am right, you are dead” will soon, let us pray, be over once and for all.
Islamic Pluralism 1, Religious Dogmatism 0.
This is how I greeted the news that Abdur Rahman has been spared execution and freed by an Afghan court. He is the Afghan who converted to Christianity from Islam 16 years ago. When his apostasy came to light last week after a family squabble, a prosecutor threatened to execute him as mandated by what he claimed to be Afghanistan’s Sharia law.
Many Muslim media carried compelling articles about the illegality and immorality of apostasy-killing as the hapless Rahman’s impending fate filtered out of Afghanistan. The most powerful indictment comes, of course, from the Quran: There can be no coercion in matters of faith (2:256).
By citing a weak and dubious hadith, one that goes against the message of love and compassion that Prophet Muhammad preached and practiced throughout his life, a handful of Afghanistan’s frozen-in-time, pre-Taliban clerics sought to impose the death penalty on Rahman.
But worldwide outrage and a fledgling democracy’s resolve under President Hamid Karzai to do the right thing forced the clerics to retreat.
While Rahman’s travails remind us that we still have ways to go before the interpretation of Islam is loosened from the grips of dogmatists, we can also take some satisfaction from the progress that has been made.
Consider what would have happened to Rahman if the Taliban were still in power. Remember the harrowing video - widely distributed after the 9/11 attacks - of the woman who was publicly executed in a soccer stadium in Kabul, “cowering beneath a pale blue all-enveloping burqa?” Can anyone doubt that Rahman would not have met the same fate, given the Taliban’s record in these matters, particularly the record of its "Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”?
Implementing Sharia, as the Taliban defined it, became synonymous with beatings and killings. Is it any wonder that anytime patriarchal clerics talk of implementing Sharia, it sends shivers down the spines of Muslims in the affected areas, particularly of Muslim women?
Consider also the question of stoning to death (unmarried) people accused of adultery, again based on a weak hadith. Remember the case of the Nigerian woman Amina Lawal, charged with conceiving a child while single? A Nigerian Sharia court declared in 2002 that for her crime of adultery, she was to be stoned to death. (The court couldn’t be bothered about the man who was her “partner in crime.” He was nowhere to be found in the Katsina district in Northern Nigeria where the Sharia court held sway and was also absent from any theological discussion!)
The Quran mentions stoning five times - 11:91, 18:20, 19:46, 26:116 and 36:18 - but it is directed against prophets Shuaib, People of the Cave, Prophet Ibrahim, Prophet Noah, and Companions of the City, respectively. When these prophets and the righteous servants of God began preaching monotheism, people used to polytheism threatened them with stoning. That is as far as the Quran goes.
International outrage across religious boundaries forced the Nigerian court to spare Lawal’s life in 2003.
Hopefully, killing for apostasy and stoning to death (only women need apply) for adultery will soon be a thing of the past as absolutist clerics realize that their hold over Muslim minds and hearts is rapidly dissipating. In the Age of the Internet, ideas travel with the speed of light and millions of Muslims are taking advantage of it to deepen their understanding of Islam and mobilize support for progressive and humane causes. Many new avenues of thought are opening up. One example is the complex nature of the relationship between mosque and state, as opposed to the reflexive and traditional view that the two must be conflated in Islam. Even in conservative societies, Muslims are beginning to recognize that faith is a matter of personal responsibility and not a consequence of authoritarian decree. The days of any religious leader thundering “I am right, you are dead” will soon, let us pray, be over once and for all.
Mar. 11, '06
Bangladesh Cracks Down on Militant Extremists
Moderate Muslims around the world, along with their supporters and well-wishers, should be inspired by the recent happenings in Bangladesh. Leaders of two banned militant Islamic organizations, responsible for unleashing death and destruction on an unsuspecting population, were finally cornered in their hideouts earlier this month by law enforcement officials known as Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and taken into custody.
As Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam, respective chiefs of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), await their fate, Bangladeshis are rejoicing. But there is also anger at the havoc these terrorists have wrought and the bad name they have given to a peaceful and progressive society.
On August 17 of last year, for instance, the two organizations were responsible for the synchronized explosion of over 400 crude bombs throughout Bangladesh, killing two and injuring more than 120. More bombings, grenade assassinations and suicide bombings (an unfortunate first for Bangladesh) followed in December, leading to more deaths and injuries and creating a sense of terror throughout the Wisconsin-sized country.
What motivated the terrorists? In the words of their leaders: “To establish Islamic law. It’s a pity that in Bangladesh, where about 90 percent are Muslims, Allah’s rules are not implemented.”
But Bangladeshis realized that their version of Islamic law was nothing but a hodgepodge of misogyny, violence, thirst for power and distorted interpretations of the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. They rejected their call for a Taliban-style medieval theocracy and wished fervently for the government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to bring the radicals to justice. The arrests couldn’t have come sooner.
The young and vulnerable Bangladeshis who were lured into joining JMB and JMJB and engaged in bombings and other acts of random violence have destroyed not only their own lives but also the lives of their dependents. These victims are now speaking out. And they are not mincing words.
Hurrennesa Baby, 16, is the daughter of Nasir Uddin, a JMB member who blasted bombs and killed people last year and now sits in a jail. “Like many others, our family has been ruined as my father was the lone earning member,” she said. “My family is virtually starving. Our friends and relatives have deserted us. They (the militant kingpins) should be hanged in public.” Omar Ali, 65, is the father of detained JMB member Anisur Rahman. “I would like to see the two militant extremists executed as they ruined my family by misguiding my son into exploding bombs on August 17.”
Similar sentiments are being echoed throughout the country.
The events in Bangladesh are a reminder that moderate Muslim nations are working hard to root out extremists who wear the cloak of religiosity but whose goal is to spread anarchy and mayhem in the name of Islam. This message is sometimes lost on some in the West who tend to paint Muslims and Islamic nations in broad brush strokes and pin the “terrorist” label on all because of the actions of a few. A poll released this month by Washington Post and ABC News found that 46 percent of Americans have a negative view of Islam “fueled in part by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim extremists.” The latest Dubai fiasco only underscores this issue. Congress voted 62 to 2 to kill a deal that would have given Dubai Ports World the rights to operate six U.S. ports. United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Dubai is one of its seven emirates - has proven to be one of the staunchest allies of America in its war against terror and fundamentalism. Dubai services more U.S. military ship than any other foreign country. Yet the idea of linking Dubai to U.S. ports caused a huge uproar throughout America. The sentiment behind the uproar can be summarized as follows: “Arabs are coming. The sky is falling. We are about to be terrorized!” How can America ever hope to win friends in the Middle East, far less “spread democracy”, if it stereotypes all Arabs as suspects?
As an American Muslim of Bangladeshi origin, I draw an important lesson from the recent events in the country of my birth: the importance of Ijtihad in the practice of Islam. Ijtihad means informed independent thinking about theological issues, particularly in the context of the times. Many Muslims are sometimes content to practice Islam based on derivative knowledge, blindly following this sheik or that imam. It is important that we think about Islamic issues ourselves first and then seek opinions and guidance from religious leaders. That way, at the very least, we can engage in enlightened debates with them, thereby practicing a religion more resonant with our reasoning and intuition. Imam Reda Shata of the Bay Ridge mosque in New York explained it this way to his congregants: “Islam is a religion based on intellect. Islam says to you: ‘Think. Don’t close your eyes and just follow your emotions. Don’t follow the sheik. Perhaps you have a better mind than his.’ ”
Bangladeshi authorities are now interrogating the two terrorist leaders to find out who financed their organizations, where their members received training and how arms and ammunitions were smuggled into the country. Although the country has its share of problems - bribery, nepotism, red tape, financial shenanigans by the wealthy and the privileged, to name a few - Bangladeshis (population: 145 million) are solidly behind this effort, even though there is quibbling about whether or not the government could have taken such decisive actions months ago. But it is better late than never. Law enforcement officials are confident that Bangladesh will soon be free from the scourge of terrorism waged in the name of Islam.
Bangladesh Cracks Down on Militant Extremists
Moderate Muslims around the world, along with their supporters and well-wishers, should be inspired by the recent happenings in Bangladesh. Leaders of two banned militant Islamic organizations, responsible for unleashing death and destruction on an unsuspecting population, were finally cornered in their hideouts earlier this month by law enforcement officials known as Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and taken into custody.
As Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam, respective chiefs of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), await their fate, Bangladeshis are rejoicing. But there is also anger at the havoc these terrorists have wrought and the bad name they have given to a peaceful and progressive society.
On August 17 of last year, for instance, the two organizations were responsible for the synchronized explosion of over 400 crude bombs throughout Bangladesh, killing two and injuring more than 120. More bombings, grenade assassinations and suicide bombings (an unfortunate first for Bangladesh) followed in December, leading to more deaths and injuries and creating a sense of terror throughout the Wisconsin-sized country.
What motivated the terrorists? In the words of their leaders: “To establish Islamic law. It’s a pity that in Bangladesh, where about 90 percent are Muslims, Allah’s rules are not implemented.”
But Bangladeshis realized that their version of Islamic law was nothing but a hodgepodge of misogyny, violence, thirst for power and distorted interpretations of the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. They rejected their call for a Taliban-style medieval theocracy and wished fervently for the government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to bring the radicals to justice. The arrests couldn’t have come sooner.
The young and vulnerable Bangladeshis who were lured into joining JMB and JMJB and engaged in bombings and other acts of random violence have destroyed not only their own lives but also the lives of their dependents. These victims are now speaking out. And they are not mincing words.
Hurrennesa Baby, 16, is the daughter of Nasir Uddin, a JMB member who blasted bombs and killed people last year and now sits in a jail. “Like many others, our family has been ruined as my father was the lone earning member,” she said. “My family is virtually starving. Our friends and relatives have deserted us. They (the militant kingpins) should be hanged in public.” Omar Ali, 65, is the father of detained JMB member Anisur Rahman. “I would like to see the two militant extremists executed as they ruined my family by misguiding my son into exploding bombs on August 17.”
Similar sentiments are being echoed throughout the country.
The events in Bangladesh are a reminder that moderate Muslim nations are working hard to root out extremists who wear the cloak of religiosity but whose goal is to spread anarchy and mayhem in the name of Islam. This message is sometimes lost on some in the West who tend to paint Muslims and Islamic nations in broad brush strokes and pin the “terrorist” label on all because of the actions of a few. A poll released this month by Washington Post and ABC News found that 46 percent of Americans have a negative view of Islam “fueled in part by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim extremists.” The latest Dubai fiasco only underscores this issue. Congress voted 62 to 2 to kill a deal that would have given Dubai Ports World the rights to operate six U.S. ports. United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Dubai is one of its seven emirates - has proven to be one of the staunchest allies of America in its war against terror and fundamentalism. Dubai services more U.S. military ship than any other foreign country. Yet the idea of linking Dubai to U.S. ports caused a huge uproar throughout America. The sentiment behind the uproar can be summarized as follows: “Arabs are coming. The sky is falling. We are about to be terrorized!” How can America ever hope to win friends in the Middle East, far less “spread democracy”, if it stereotypes all Arabs as suspects?
As an American Muslim of Bangladeshi origin, I draw an important lesson from the recent events in the country of my birth: the importance of Ijtihad in the practice of Islam. Ijtihad means informed independent thinking about theological issues, particularly in the context of the times. Many Muslims are sometimes content to practice Islam based on derivative knowledge, blindly following this sheik or that imam. It is important that we think about Islamic issues ourselves first and then seek opinions and guidance from religious leaders. That way, at the very least, we can engage in enlightened debates with them, thereby practicing a religion more resonant with our reasoning and intuition. Imam Reda Shata of the Bay Ridge mosque in New York explained it this way to his congregants: “Islam is a religion based on intellect. Islam says to you: ‘Think. Don’t close your eyes and just follow your emotions. Don’t follow the sheik. Perhaps you have a better mind than his.’ ”
Bangladeshi authorities are now interrogating the two terrorist leaders to find out who financed their organizations, where their members received training and how arms and ammunitions were smuggled into the country. Although the country has its share of problems - bribery, nepotism, red tape, financial shenanigans by the wealthy and the privileged, to name a few - Bangladeshis (population: 145 million) are solidly behind this effort, even though there is quibbling about whether or not the government could have taken such decisive actions months ago. But it is better late than never. Law enforcement officials are confident that Bangladesh will soon be free from the scourge of terrorism waged in the name of Islam.
Feb. 7, '06
Crazy over Cartoons
A privately owned Danish newspaper with a circulation of 150,000 published 12 crude cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad in an unflattering light, most notoriously as a turbaned terrorist. That was in September 2005. Hardly anyone beyond Denmark noticed them. Then suddenly European newspapers in Germany, France, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland decided that the cartoons were a litmus test for freedom of press and began reprinting them. The right to blaspheme, one German newspaper declared, is a fundamental freedom of democracy. A French newspaper wrote that democratic and secular societies must not be awed or intimidated by any religious dogma and that even God must remain fair game for caricature.
True, but does gratuitous assault on religious sensibilities serve any purpose, other than inflaming religious passions and forcing a bogus showdown between what some pundits pompously call “Islam versus the West?” Where is the journalists’ responsibility? If the media want to start a debate between the conflicting demands of the secular and the sacred, between self-censorship and the right to speak or write one’s mind – and it is an important debate – certainly it can be done more intelligently than by mocking religious icons. As Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post wrote, caricatures of Prophet Muhammad might not be the best starting point for a constructive dialogue.
But if European newspapers displayed errors of judgment or engaged in deliberate provocations, the violent Muslim reaction in the West Bank and Gaza, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Indonesia and other Muslim countries was worse. Peaceful street demonstrations, recalling ambassadors, cutting off trade ties and pulling products off grocery shelves are legitimate ways of showing displeasure but issuing bomb threats against diplomatic personnel, sacking offices and setting foreign embassies ablaze are utterly unjustifiable, unacceptable and most tellingly, un-Islamic. Peaceful disagreement is a tenet of any civilized society and in that sense Muslim mobs have blown it, however difficult it may be for us to acknowledge. We must wean ourselves from the romance of violence, or the radicals will continue to bury any progress made by the moderates.
To their credit, imams in Lebanon, Jordan, Indonesia and other countries as well Muslim leaders in Denmark and France have condemned the violence and warned Muslims not to allow the radicals and the misguided in their midst to distort the image of Islam.
The most important question Muslims can ask in this context is: What would the Prophet have done? Numerous instances from his life show that the Prophet would never have approved of the Muslim violence spawned by the cartoons. The Quran makes this clear when it asks the Prophet to “show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant.” (7:199) President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, where eight protestors have already died, echoed this Quranic teaching when he asked the Afghan people to forgive those responsible for the cartoons. "We must have as Muslims the courage to forgive and not make it an issue of dispute between religions or cultures," he said.
Crazy over Cartoons
A privately owned Danish newspaper with a circulation of 150,000 published 12 crude cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad in an unflattering light, most notoriously as a turbaned terrorist. That was in September 2005. Hardly anyone beyond Denmark noticed them. Then suddenly European newspapers in Germany, France, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland decided that the cartoons were a litmus test for freedom of press and began reprinting them. The right to blaspheme, one German newspaper declared, is a fundamental freedom of democracy. A French newspaper wrote that democratic and secular societies must not be awed or intimidated by any religious dogma and that even God must remain fair game for caricature.
True, but does gratuitous assault on religious sensibilities serve any purpose, other than inflaming religious passions and forcing a bogus showdown between what some pundits pompously call “Islam versus the West?” Where is the journalists’ responsibility? If the media want to start a debate between the conflicting demands of the secular and the sacred, between self-censorship and the right to speak or write one’s mind – and it is an important debate – certainly it can be done more intelligently than by mocking religious icons. As Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post wrote, caricatures of Prophet Muhammad might not be the best starting point for a constructive dialogue.
But if European newspapers displayed errors of judgment or engaged in deliberate provocations, the violent Muslim reaction in the West Bank and Gaza, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Indonesia and other Muslim countries was worse. Peaceful street demonstrations, recalling ambassadors, cutting off trade ties and pulling products off grocery shelves are legitimate ways of showing displeasure but issuing bomb threats against diplomatic personnel, sacking offices and setting foreign embassies ablaze are utterly unjustifiable, unacceptable and most tellingly, un-Islamic. Peaceful disagreement is a tenet of any civilized society and in that sense Muslim mobs have blown it, however difficult it may be for us to acknowledge. We must wean ourselves from the romance of violence, or the radicals will continue to bury any progress made by the moderates.
To their credit, imams in Lebanon, Jordan, Indonesia and other countries as well Muslim leaders in Denmark and France have condemned the violence and warned Muslims not to allow the radicals and the misguided in their midst to distort the image of Islam.
The most important question Muslims can ask in this context is: What would the Prophet have done? Numerous instances from his life show that the Prophet would never have approved of the Muslim violence spawned by the cartoons. The Quran makes this clear when it asks the Prophet to “show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant.” (7:199) President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, where eight protestors have already died, echoed this Quranic teaching when he asked the Afghan people to forgive those responsible for the cartoons. "We must have as Muslims the courage to forgive and not make it an issue of dispute between religions or cultures," he said.
Dec. 8, '05
Sectarianism Bedevils the Muslim World
The rain was coming down hard when the 55-year old pediatrician Dr. Zehra Attari walked out of her Oakland clinic in Northern California on November 7 after sunset to drive to a medical conference a few miles away.
She never made it to her destination. In spite of the best efforts of the Oakland and San Jose police departments, she remains missing.
The Sunday following her disappearance, my son and I were among about 400 Muslims from the San Francisco Bay Area who gathered near her clinic to distribute flyers to pedestrians, local businesses, motorists and bus drivers for leads.
As we anguished over Dr. Attari’s inexplicable disappearance and held candlelight vigils for her, the news of Sunni suicide bombers killing at least 65 Shias (or Shiites) in two mosques in Eastern Iraq during the Friday congregational prayers on November 18 came as a numbing blow.
I found this crime particularly inhuman in light of the fact that Dr. Attari is a Shia and a significant number of us trying to trace her whereabouts are Sunnis.
Some of us like to bury our head in the sands but it is a fact that Muslims have been killing each other for years, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and elsewhere.
But when someone we know disappears in our own backyard and Muslims of all sects – Shias, Sunnis, Sufis and any other label familiar to you – spontaneously gather to pray and search for her, the sectarian strife that bedevils the Muslim world sticks out in glaring contrast and becomes that much more reprehensible.
On the Friday of the Sunni suicide bombing in Iraq, the imam at the mosque I attend in Northern California lashed out at the perpetrators during his sermon. (Iraq is 11 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time, so the news had already reached us.) “I have said this before and I say it again,” the imam said, his voice trembling with anger. “The suicide bombers and their planners are murderers, not martyrs. They are the real enemies of Islam. We must confront and defeat them, wherever they may lurk.”
To read the complete article, please click here
UPDATE: On December 21, six weeks after she disappeared, divers discovered Dr. Attari's car in an Oakland estuary and her body trapped in it. The same ramp - easy to mistake for a bridge, particularly at night and when it is raining - that led to the estuary had claimed two lives three years ago. No barrier was ever erected to prevent a lost driver from driving right into the ocean. Dr. Attari's funeral was held at the OakHill Cemetery in San Jose, on Thursday, December 22, and attended by about 500 grieving family and community members.
Sectarianism Bedevils the Muslim World
The rain was coming down hard when the 55-year old pediatrician Dr. Zehra Attari walked out of her Oakland clinic in Northern California on November 7 after sunset to drive to a medical conference a few miles away.
She never made it to her destination. In spite of the best efforts of the Oakland and San Jose police departments, she remains missing.
The Sunday following her disappearance, my son and I were among about 400 Muslims from the San Francisco Bay Area who gathered near her clinic to distribute flyers to pedestrians, local businesses, motorists and bus drivers for leads.
As we anguished over Dr. Attari’s inexplicable disappearance and held candlelight vigils for her, the news of Sunni suicide bombers killing at least 65 Shias (or Shiites) in two mosques in Eastern Iraq during the Friday congregational prayers on November 18 came as a numbing blow.
I found this crime particularly inhuman in light of the fact that Dr. Attari is a Shia and a significant number of us trying to trace her whereabouts are Sunnis.
Some of us like to bury our head in the sands but it is a fact that Muslims have been killing each other for years, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and elsewhere.
But when someone we know disappears in our own backyard and Muslims of all sects – Shias, Sunnis, Sufis and any other label familiar to you – spontaneously gather to pray and search for her, the sectarian strife that bedevils the Muslim world sticks out in glaring contrast and becomes that much more reprehensible.
On the Friday of the Sunni suicide bombing in Iraq, the imam at the mosque I attend in Northern California lashed out at the perpetrators during his sermon. (Iraq is 11 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time, so the news had already reached us.) “I have said this before and I say it again,” the imam said, his voice trembling with anger. “The suicide bombers and their planners are murderers, not martyrs. They are the real enemies of Islam. We must confront and defeat them, wherever they may lurk.”
To read the complete article, please click here
UPDATE: On December 21, six weeks after she disappeared, divers discovered Dr. Attari's car in an Oakland estuary and her body trapped in it. The same ramp - easy to mistake for a bridge, particularly at night and when it is raining - that led to the estuary had claimed two lives three years ago. No barrier was ever erected to prevent a lost driver from driving right into the ocean. Dr. Attari's funeral was held at the OakHill Cemetery in San Jose, on Thursday, December 22, and attended by about 500 grieving family and community members.
Oct. 7, '05
Religion and Science: Coexistence or Convergence?
Forget Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” theory: “Clash of Religion and Science” has moved to center stage as evolutionists and intelligent design proponents (IDers) bitterly contend the origin of life, spawning legal fights over high school biology curricula in Pennsylvania, Kansas, Ohio and other states. Focus, instead, on the evolving relationship between religion and science and how theologians and scientists from around the world are striving toward common ground. It promises to be not only more rewarding but also more entertaining.
True, religion and science have been ancient adversaries. The Church imprisoned Galileo in the seventeenth century for daring to suggest that the earth was a mere player in the cosmic drama, and not its prima donna as theologians had thought. Two centuries later, Darwin published The Origin of Species (1859) in which he proposed that evolution and natural selection could account for the biological diversity of the living world, including us, precipitating a fierce clash between faith and reason.
Muslims too experienced their share of this conflict. In the 9th century, advocates of reason led by the Mutazalites clashed with the dogmatic Kharajites and, as Muslims historians often darkly summarize, this effectively closed the doors of ijtihad. The “debate” between al-Ghazali representing tradition and mysticism and ibn Rushd representing science and reason in the 12th century was also a turning point in which it was mostly Ghazali’s views that held sway for years to come.
Although there have been more ambushes and skirmishes, there have also been advances in our thinking. Many of us now view religion and science as being complementary rather than contradictory. Science deals with factual aspects of the natural world and religion with the transcendent questions of meaning and purpose. One deals with the “how,” the other with the “why.” The empirical nature of science contrasts with “belief in the unseen” nature of religion and yet most people, including many scientists and theologians, agree that both can work in concert to enrich our material and spiritual lives.
But we must be wary of pitfalls. There will always be scientists who view religion as an albatross around civilization’s neck, and theologians who rail at science as the new God that has driven meaning from life. There will be reductionists who claim that life and its mysteries can all be explained by the laws of physics, and scriptural literalists who insist that the earth is a few thousand years old. Some biologists assert that an atheistic view of life is our only choice because of their belief in the all-encompassing reality of Darwin’s theory, while certain religious leaders are so enamored of their certitude that they do not shy away from pronouncing who will go to heaven and who are destined for hell.
Fortunately, they are a minority. There are many more theologians representing different faiths, for example, who find in evolution evidence of God’s glorious self-disclosure, and many scientists whose research leads them to ask the deeper questions of life – why are we here and what makes life meaningful - that lie outside the realm of science.
It is against this "cross-disciplinary" context that the religion-science dialogue should be framed. Many organizations are doing precisely that, and a popular annual conference called "Science and the Spiritual Quest" that attracts the world's leading scientists and theologians underscores this growing trend.
Intelligent design proponents say that life on earth is “irreducibly complex” to have been created by random genetic mutation and, therefore, Darwin’s theory must be balanced by the recognition of an “intelligence” beyond its scope.
But people of faith do not need “gaps” in Darwin’s theory to experience the Divine; their longing for the Divine is intrinsic and is what gives meaning to their lives. By the same token, the IDers should realize that theirs is not a scientifically-testable theory since it does not meet the criteria of observation, measurement, experimentation and testing. It has no place in a biology classroom, although it can be part of a religious or philosophy curriculum. Pleading acceptance by the scientific community on the basis of ignorance and “gaps” in knowledge benefits neither science nor religion.
A provocative question to consider is this: Is coexistence the last word in the relationship between religion and science, or can the two interact in more mysterious and unexpected ways?
If the past is prologue, then lessons from Islamic history may help frame an answer. From the eighth through the fifteenth centuries, Muslim scientists made discoveries based on challenges posed by religious observances. Determining the proper time of day to offer the five daily prayers, calculating the precise direction toward the kiblah, and predicting the visibility of the crescent moon to mark the beginning and end of lunar months led to the discovery of spherical trigonometry and algebra and significant advances in astronomy. Muslim scientists constructed astrolabes and observatories, emphasizing observations and experiments by which to test theories and their predictive powers. Science became a spiritual quest for them, a way of seeing traces of God’s handiwork in the universe. (A telling example is that of the astronomer, mathematician and poet Ulugh Beg (1349-1449). Considered a genius, he established an observatory at Samarkand and with astounding accuracy charted the course of more than 1000 stars over a period 18 years. Unfortunately, he was murdered by his son who felt that his “secular” interest in science betrayed the spirit of Islam!)
In our times, this scientific-spiritual quest animates many Muslim scientists but one who stands out is the cosmologist Abd-al-Haqq Bruno Guiderdoni, a director of research at the Paris institute of astrophysics and the director of the Islamic Institute for Advanced Studies. Guiderdoni’s main interest is galaxy formation and evolution. Exploring the universe is, in his words, “an act of worship.” (It is remarkable how so many of the leading cosmologists of the world of different faiths are also amateur theologians!) A passionate advocate of the global dialogue between science and religion, Guiderdoni finds inspiration for his quest for truth in the Quran: In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people of understanding (3:190).
An article written almost four decades ago in the IBM journal “Think” by physicist Charles Townes also provides insights into the evolving nature of religion-science relationship. After building the case that the two shared fundamental similarities - revelation in one is epiphany in another, for instance - Townes concluded that the two will eventually converge. “I believe,” he wrote in 1966 in The Convergence of Science and Religion, “this confluence is inevitable. For they both represent man’s efforts to understand his universe and must ultimately be dealing with the same substance.”
But Townes tempered his speculation: “Perhaps by the time this convergence occurs, science will have been through a number of revolutions as striking as those which have occurred in the last century, and taken on a character not readily recognizable by scientists of today. Perhaps our religious understanding will also have seen progress and change. But converge they must, and through this should come new strength for both.”
Townes’s idea caused a renewed stir after he won the Templeton Prize for “Progress toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities” in March this year. A devout Christian, he is also one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth-century, winning the Nobel Prize in physics in 1964 for inventing the maser and the laser.
Convergence does not mean a magical fusion of faith and reason; it means, as Townes implied, a symbiosis that can enrich our practical, intellectual and ethical lives. Such a confluence may, for instance, inspire fresh views on issues like stem-cell research and deepen our understanding of how love, justice, suffering and forgiveness shape human affairs. It may force us to rethink our ideas of “predictable” and “random” events, revealing if there was indeed something to Einstein’s intuitive objections to the probabilistic foundation of quantum mechanics when he said, “God does not play dice with the universe” and “God is subtle but He is not malicious.”
We can ignore the media's predictions about a return to the Dark Ages because of the supposedly high percentage of mindshares IDers have captured, or religion becoming obsolete because of the successes of scientists in genetics and other fields.
Rather, we should be thinking more creatively about how religion and science relate to, and reinforce, each other and actively promote the compelling forces bringing scientists and theologians of all persuasions toward a more holistic view of life in these troubled times. In the unexplored, overlapping region between religion and science, is it not possible that wildflowers of insight will bloom if nurtured with humility and humor?
Religion and Science: Coexistence or Convergence?
Forget Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” theory: “Clash of Religion and Science” has moved to center stage as evolutionists and intelligent design proponents (IDers) bitterly contend the origin of life, spawning legal fights over high school biology curricula in Pennsylvania, Kansas, Ohio and other states. Focus, instead, on the evolving relationship between religion and science and how theologians and scientists from around the world are striving toward common ground. It promises to be not only more rewarding but also more entertaining.
True, religion and science have been ancient adversaries. The Church imprisoned Galileo in the seventeenth century for daring to suggest that the earth was a mere player in the cosmic drama, and not its prima donna as theologians had thought. Two centuries later, Darwin published The Origin of Species (1859) in which he proposed that evolution and natural selection could account for the biological diversity of the living world, including us, precipitating a fierce clash between faith and reason.
Muslims too experienced their share of this conflict. In the 9th century, advocates of reason led by the Mutazalites clashed with the dogmatic Kharajites and, as Muslims historians often darkly summarize, this effectively closed the doors of ijtihad. The “debate” between al-Ghazali representing tradition and mysticism and ibn Rushd representing science and reason in the 12th century was also a turning point in which it was mostly Ghazali’s views that held sway for years to come.
Although there have been more ambushes and skirmishes, there have also been advances in our thinking. Many of us now view religion and science as being complementary rather than contradictory. Science deals with factual aspects of the natural world and religion with the transcendent questions of meaning and purpose. One deals with the “how,” the other with the “why.” The empirical nature of science contrasts with “belief in the unseen” nature of religion and yet most people, including many scientists and theologians, agree that both can work in concert to enrich our material and spiritual lives.
But we must be wary of pitfalls. There will always be scientists who view religion as an albatross around civilization’s neck, and theologians who rail at science as the new God that has driven meaning from life. There will be reductionists who claim that life and its mysteries can all be explained by the laws of physics, and scriptural literalists who insist that the earth is a few thousand years old. Some biologists assert that an atheistic view of life is our only choice because of their belief in the all-encompassing reality of Darwin’s theory, while certain religious leaders are so enamored of their certitude that they do not shy away from pronouncing who will go to heaven and who are destined for hell.
Fortunately, they are a minority. There are many more theologians representing different faiths, for example, who find in evolution evidence of God’s glorious self-disclosure, and many scientists whose research leads them to ask the deeper questions of life – why are we here and what makes life meaningful - that lie outside the realm of science.
It is against this "cross-disciplinary" context that the religion-science dialogue should be framed. Many organizations are doing precisely that, and a popular annual conference called "Science and the Spiritual Quest" that attracts the world's leading scientists and theologians underscores this growing trend.
Intelligent design proponents say that life on earth is “irreducibly complex” to have been created by random genetic mutation and, therefore, Darwin’s theory must be balanced by the recognition of an “intelligence” beyond its scope.
But people of faith do not need “gaps” in Darwin’s theory to experience the Divine; their longing for the Divine is intrinsic and is what gives meaning to their lives. By the same token, the IDers should realize that theirs is not a scientifically-testable theory since it does not meet the criteria of observation, measurement, experimentation and testing. It has no place in a biology classroom, although it can be part of a religious or philosophy curriculum. Pleading acceptance by the scientific community on the basis of ignorance and “gaps” in knowledge benefits neither science nor religion.
A provocative question to consider is this: Is coexistence the last word in the relationship between religion and science, or can the two interact in more mysterious and unexpected ways?
If the past is prologue, then lessons from Islamic history may help frame an answer. From the eighth through the fifteenth centuries, Muslim scientists made discoveries based on challenges posed by religious observances. Determining the proper time of day to offer the five daily prayers, calculating the precise direction toward the kiblah, and predicting the visibility of the crescent moon to mark the beginning and end of lunar months led to the discovery of spherical trigonometry and algebra and significant advances in astronomy. Muslim scientists constructed astrolabes and observatories, emphasizing observations and experiments by which to test theories and their predictive powers. Science became a spiritual quest for them, a way of seeing traces of God’s handiwork in the universe. (A telling example is that of the astronomer, mathematician and poet Ulugh Beg (1349-1449). Considered a genius, he established an observatory at Samarkand and with astounding accuracy charted the course of more than 1000 stars over a period 18 years. Unfortunately, he was murdered by his son who felt that his “secular” interest in science betrayed the spirit of Islam!)
In our times, this scientific-spiritual quest animates many Muslim scientists but one who stands out is the cosmologist Abd-al-Haqq Bruno Guiderdoni, a director of research at the Paris institute of astrophysics and the director of the Islamic Institute for Advanced Studies. Guiderdoni’s main interest is galaxy formation and evolution. Exploring the universe is, in his words, “an act of worship.” (It is remarkable how so many of the leading cosmologists of the world of different faiths are also amateur theologians!) A passionate advocate of the global dialogue between science and religion, Guiderdoni finds inspiration for his quest for truth in the Quran: In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people of understanding (3:190).
An article written almost four decades ago in the IBM journal “Think” by physicist Charles Townes also provides insights into the evolving nature of religion-science relationship. After building the case that the two shared fundamental similarities - revelation in one is epiphany in another, for instance - Townes concluded that the two will eventually converge. “I believe,” he wrote in 1966 in The Convergence of Science and Religion, “this confluence is inevitable. For they both represent man’s efforts to understand his universe and must ultimately be dealing with the same substance.”
But Townes tempered his speculation: “Perhaps by the time this convergence occurs, science will have been through a number of revolutions as striking as those which have occurred in the last century, and taken on a character not readily recognizable by scientists of today. Perhaps our religious understanding will also have seen progress and change. But converge they must, and through this should come new strength for both.”
Townes’s idea caused a renewed stir after he won the Templeton Prize for “Progress toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities” in March this year. A devout Christian, he is also one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth-century, winning the Nobel Prize in physics in 1964 for inventing the maser and the laser.
Convergence does not mean a magical fusion of faith and reason; it means, as Townes implied, a symbiosis that can enrich our practical, intellectual and ethical lives. Such a confluence may, for instance, inspire fresh views on issues like stem-cell research and deepen our understanding of how love, justice, suffering and forgiveness shape human affairs. It may force us to rethink our ideas of “predictable” and “random” events, revealing if there was indeed something to Einstein’s intuitive objections to the probabilistic foundation of quantum mechanics when he said, “God does not play dice with the universe” and “God is subtle but He is not malicious.”
We can ignore the media's predictions about a return to the Dark Ages because of the supposedly high percentage of mindshares IDers have captured, or religion becoming obsolete because of the successes of scientists in genetics and other fields.
Rather, we should be thinking more creatively about how religion and science relate to, and reinforce, each other and actively promote the compelling forces bringing scientists and theologians of all persuasions toward a more holistic view of life in these troubled times. In the unexplored, overlapping region between religion and science, is it not possible that wildflowers of insight will bloom if nurtured with humility and humor?
Oct. 14, '05
Earthquake in South Asia
The devastating 7.6 earthquake that hit Pakistan, Kashmir, India and Afghanistan on Saturday, October 8, has already claimed over 38,000 lives. The death toll will undoubtedly rise once more bodies are retrieved. Particularly in the mountainous, rugged part of Kashmir where winter has made an early and sinister appearance, the misery of the wounded, the homeless and the destitute are beyond words. The “paradise on earth” has turned into a graveyard.
As in other regions of the United States, local mosques and charities in the Bay Area began to mobilize immediately. South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA) of San Jose and Muslim Community Association (MCA) of Santa Clara led drives to collect donations of cash, warm clothes, blankets and other necessary materials. The collections are being sent to Pakistan mostly through Edhi Foundation (www.paks.net/edhi-foundation), and Hidaya Foundation (http://www.hidaya.org/). All donations that SBIA collected on Friday, October 14, at the Jumah prayers at its 3 locations – Downtown, Evergreen and Napredak – were set aside for the earthquake victims.
The tragedy has shaken believers in this holy month of Ramadan. If there is one lesson we should take from it, it is that we must be grateful to God for what we have and not waste our life by chasing after what we don’t. When we read about barely-alive children rescued from under the rubbles whose arms or legs had to be amputated because gangrene had set in, the simple fact that we can breathe and are able to walk should be reasons enough for thanking the Creator. When we read about families huddling under trees day after day against freezing rain and howling winds, we should be thankful for the house we live in and not be consumed by thoughts of bigger, fancier houses because others have it or because we just want it. This lesson must not fade after the heart-rending images of quake victims disappear from the front pages; otherwise, we have learned nothing.
Earthquake in South Asia
The devastating 7.6 earthquake that hit Pakistan, Kashmir, India and Afghanistan on Saturday, October 8, has already claimed over 38,000 lives. The death toll will undoubtedly rise once more bodies are retrieved. Particularly in the mountainous, rugged part of Kashmir where winter has made an early and sinister appearance, the misery of the wounded, the homeless and the destitute are beyond words. The “paradise on earth” has turned into a graveyard.
As in other regions of the United States, local mosques and charities in the Bay Area began to mobilize immediately. South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA) of San Jose and Muslim Community Association (MCA) of Santa Clara led drives to collect donations of cash, warm clothes, blankets and other necessary materials. The collections are being sent to Pakistan mostly through Edhi Foundation (www.paks.net/edhi-foundation), and Hidaya Foundation (http://www.hidaya.org/). All donations that SBIA collected on Friday, October 14, at the Jumah prayers at its 3 locations – Downtown, Evergreen and Napredak – were set aside for the earthquake victims.
The tragedy has shaken believers in this holy month of Ramadan. If there is one lesson we should take from it, it is that we must be grateful to God for what we have and not waste our life by chasing after what we don’t. When we read about barely-alive children rescued from under the rubbles whose arms or legs had to be amputated because gangrene had set in, the simple fact that we can breathe and are able to walk should be reasons enough for thanking the Creator. When we read about families huddling under trees day after day against freezing rain and howling winds, we should be thankful for the house we live in and not be consumed by thoughts of bigger, fancier houses because others have it or because we just want it. This lesson must not fade after the heart-rending images of quake victims disappear from the front pages; otherwise, we have learned nothing.
Sept. 2, '05
Helping Hurricane Katrina's victims
“They are not people in a faraway land. They are our neighbors. If we do not help our neighbors during their times of need, we cannot call ourselves believers.”
So said an imam during the Friday congregational prayers on September 2 at a mosque in the San Francisco Bay Area that I attend. The same sentiment was echoed in mosques throughout America about aiding the victims of hurricane Katrina.
In the Bay Area, we began collecting cash donations immediately after the congregational prayers on September 2 under the auspices of Islamic Relief USA. The initial target was 2 Million dollars. Islamic Relief and Hidaya Foundation organized fundraisers and collected cash and clothes in the parking lots of several mosques in the Bay Area in the following Fridays and weekends. Representatives of these charitable organizations were already on their way to Houston, Biloxi and other affected areas to succor the afflicted.
I witnessed the spontaneous outpouring of sympathy for Katrina victims on Sunday, September 11, the 4th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The sprawling parking lot of the largest mosque in the Bay Area was teeming with Muslims of all ages. Children had brought their favorite toys for children "who have lost everything." Men and women were donating cash and bags filled with new and clean clothes, as well as water bottles and dry food. “This is the least I can do,” said a young man volunteering at the table as he hurried to help unload supplies from the van of another Muslim who had just pulled up.
More fundraisers and collections are planned for the coming weekends.
Helping Hurricane Katrina's victims
“They are not people in a faraway land. They are our neighbors. If we do not help our neighbors during their times of need, we cannot call ourselves believers.”
So said an imam during the Friday congregational prayers on September 2 at a mosque in the San Francisco Bay Area that I attend. The same sentiment was echoed in mosques throughout America about aiding the victims of hurricane Katrina.
In the Bay Area, we began collecting cash donations immediately after the congregational prayers on September 2 under the auspices of Islamic Relief USA. The initial target was 2 Million dollars. Islamic Relief and Hidaya Foundation organized fundraisers and collected cash and clothes in the parking lots of several mosques in the Bay Area in the following Fridays and weekends. Representatives of these charitable organizations were already on their way to Houston, Biloxi and other affected areas to succor the afflicted.
I witnessed the spontaneous outpouring of sympathy for Katrina victims on Sunday, September 11, the 4th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The sprawling parking lot of the largest mosque in the Bay Area was teeming with Muslims of all ages. Children had brought their favorite toys for children "who have lost everything." Men and women were donating cash and bags filled with new and clean clothes, as well as water bottles and dry food. “This is the least I can do,” said a young man volunteering at the table as he hurried to help unload supplies from the van of another Muslim who had just pulled up.
More fundraisers and collections are planned for the coming weekends.
Written on July 20, '05
Muslim Immigrants Weigh Risks of Sending Children 'Home'
A new challenge confronting Muslims living in the West is this: How can we ensure that our young and vulnerable children are able to resist the lure of fanaticism and suicide martyrdom?As an American Muslim, I draw a critical lesson from the anguish and disbelief expressed by the families of the alleged London suicide bombers: Only I, as the parent of two daughters and a son, can really know what's going on in the mind of my child. I'm the guardian of my child -- and of the country I have chosen to be our home.
Although we can never decipher everything that lurks in the minds our offspring, we must be alert to any tell-tale signs of extremism. If my son, for instance, were to display a sudden obsession with religion to the exclusion of almost everything else that used to interest him, I would be concerned. If he were to turn his back on his multicultural friends and started associating with secretive Muslims, a red flag would go up in my mind. If denigrating other religions and dissatisfaction with governments that he deemed godless became part of his talk, I would know and realize I had to act.
As an immigrant parent, I, like many of my peers, sometimes think nostalgically of sending my children to the old country for schooling and religious training. Now I weigh the risks.Three of the alleged London bombers had visited, or were sent to, the country of their parents -- Pakistan -- for religious and spiritual training. Immigrant parents are registering this news in a deeply personal way.
To read the complete article, please visit http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=a5b9c865aaa608f857832f546b0ea4bb
Muslim Immigrants Weigh Risks of Sending Children 'Home'
A new challenge confronting Muslims living in the West is this: How can we ensure that our young and vulnerable children are able to resist the lure of fanaticism and suicide martyrdom?As an American Muslim, I draw a critical lesson from the anguish and disbelief expressed by the families of the alleged London suicide bombers: Only I, as the parent of two daughters and a son, can really know what's going on in the mind of my child. I'm the guardian of my child -- and of the country I have chosen to be our home.
Although we can never decipher everything that lurks in the minds our offspring, we must be alert to any tell-tale signs of extremism. If my son, for instance, were to display a sudden obsession with religion to the exclusion of almost everything else that used to interest him, I would be concerned. If he were to turn his back on his multicultural friends and started associating with secretive Muslims, a red flag would go up in my mind. If denigrating other religions and dissatisfaction with governments that he deemed godless became part of his talk, I would know and realize I had to act.
As an immigrant parent, I, like many of my peers, sometimes think nostalgically of sending my children to the old country for schooling and religious training. Now I weigh the risks.Three of the alleged London bombers had visited, or were sent to, the country of their parents -- Pakistan -- for religious and spiritual training. Immigrant parents are registering this news in a deeply personal way.
To read the complete article, please visit http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=a5b9c865aaa608f857832f546b0ea4bb
June 24, 2005
U.S. News & World Report has published a collector’s edition with the rather ominous title “Secrets of Islam.” In it, I came across this sentence in the article “No God but God” by Thomas W. Lippman: “Fear of God’s inexorable judgment, rather than love of the deity, is the most powerful motivator in Islam.” Really? How did Lippman arrive at this conclusion? He does not say. The uncritical reader may be swayed by the sweeping statement to swallow it but that would be unfortunate. I speak for myself, and for most Muslims I know, when I say that love and longing for the Creator is, in fact, the most compelling aspect of my faith and its most powerful motivator. But I also acknowledge that it would be easy to believe Lippman if one were to listen to the fire-and-brimstone Friday sermons in many mosques around the world. The relish with which imams condemn their captive listeners to eternal damnation for perceived breach of faith (these imams know!) can only evoke the image of an unforgiving and vengeful God. Yet the refrain that shapes a Muslim’s life is: “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!”
But this (and a few similar unfounded assertions) constitutes only a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent production. The subtitle suggests that “Secrets of Islam” is “the essential guide to the world’s fastest growing religion.” In many ways it lives up to its billing. The four sections, “Faith,” “History,” “America,” and “Conflict,” convey both context and perspective and prove invaluable in overcoming easy generalizations about Islam in a world torn apart by the events of 9/11.
For me the test of any publication that attempts to explain my faith is this: If my neighbor were to ask me for a readable, informative and illustrated guide to Islam, would I recommend this collector’s edition from U.S. News and World Report?
Yes, I would.
U.S. News & World Report has published a collector’s edition with the rather ominous title “Secrets of Islam.” In it, I came across this sentence in the article “No God but God” by Thomas W. Lippman: “Fear of God’s inexorable judgment, rather than love of the deity, is the most powerful motivator in Islam.” Really? How did Lippman arrive at this conclusion? He does not say. The uncritical reader may be swayed by the sweeping statement to swallow it but that would be unfortunate. I speak for myself, and for most Muslims I know, when I say that love and longing for the Creator is, in fact, the most compelling aspect of my faith and its most powerful motivator. But I also acknowledge that it would be easy to believe Lippman if one were to listen to the fire-and-brimstone Friday sermons in many mosques around the world. The relish with which imams condemn their captive listeners to eternal damnation for perceived breach of faith (these imams know!) can only evoke the image of an unforgiving and vengeful God. Yet the refrain that shapes a Muslim’s life is: “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!”
But this (and a few similar unfounded assertions) constitutes only a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent production. The subtitle suggests that “Secrets of Islam” is “the essential guide to the world’s fastest growing religion.” In many ways it lives up to its billing. The four sections, “Faith,” “History,” “America,” and “Conflict,” convey both context and perspective and prove invaluable in overcoming easy generalizations about Islam in a world torn apart by the events of 9/11.
For me the test of any publication that attempts to explain my faith is this: If my neighbor were to ask me for a readable, informative and illustrated guide to Islam, would I recommend this collector’s edition from U.S. News and World Report?
Yes, I would.
Written on Sept. 23, '04
Cat Stevens Incident: Pulling the Rug Out From Under Moderate Muslims
I met Yusuf Islam, the former singer Cat Stevens, in the early 1990s when he attended an Islamic conference in San Jose, Calif. I was then the editor of a Muslim magazine and interviewed him about his views of the Muslim world.Among other things, we talked about his alleged support of the late Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa (religious ruling) of death against Salman Rushdie for his novel "The Satanic Verses." The singer-turned-teacher, who converted to Islam in 1978 and founded a Muslim school in London in 1983, said he was frustrated that the media quoted him only partially on the subject. He told me that although he advocated a ban on a book he considered blasphemous, he also reminded Muslims to keep within the limits of the law of the country in which they lived. He expressed regret at the violence that erupted in several Muslim countries and cost many lives following the publication of the book. Under no circumstance, he said, were people to take law into their own hands.
In other words, while he supported the seriousness of the fatwa in principle as a warning against anyone maligning the prophet of Islam, he did not wish for Rushdie's head.I recall this meeting with much sorrow, because my government has decided that this soft-spoken man has suddenly become a threat to America, so much so that he cannot be allowed entry into the United States.
How did the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrive at this conclusion?Islam, after all, had visited New York in May of this year to promote a DVD of his 1976 MajiKat tour and launch his charity organization called Small Kindness. In just four months, the singer had apparently metamorphosed into a threat because of his alleged past support of certain terrorist organizations.A provision in the USA Patriot Act states that anyone who uses his position of prominence to endorse terrorism or terrorist organizations may not enter the United States.
This was what a DHS spokesman was referring to when he said that Islam was denied admission to the United States "on national security grounds."Islam has denied link to any terrorist organizations. He is an unabashed supporter of Palestinian rights and has made humanitarian contributions to charities that he felt were building schools and orphanages in the Occupied Territories. But he is also on the record stating that he has never knowingly supported any terrorist groups, past, present or future. His Web site (www.yusufislam.org.UK) gives a summary of his unequivocal opposition to terrorism, and includes a condemnation of the recent massacre of teachers and students at the school in Beslan, Russia.
Just last month a similar fate befell a Muslim scholar widely regarded as a progressive thinker. Author of "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam" (Oxford University Press, 2003) the Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan was scheduled to teach at the University of Notre Dame's Institute for International Peace Studies this fall. At the last minute, the DHS revoked his visa, under the same provision used to bar Islam from entering the United States.Ramadan, too, has denied any link to terrorist organizations and has challenged his detractors, including the DHS, to prove their case. Notre Dame officials and prominent American scholars have vehemently protested the government's decision. Members of a Jewish student group at the Notre Dame Law School have joined in the protest.
Regarding the “charge” that he is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and supposedly by association (and obvious stereotyping) an extremist, Ramadan has asked that he be judged on his own life and not by his genealogy.
Time and again, sane voices remind us that to defeat the terrorism unleashed by groups like Al Qaeda, America must build the trust of moderate Muslims around the world. The recently released 9/11 Commission Report states as much (p. 375-376): "The small percentage of Muslims who are fully committed to Usama Bin Ladin's version of Islam are impervious to persuasion. It is among the large majority of Arabs and Muslims that we must encourage reform, freedom, democracy, and opportunity ...." The report recommends that the United States "offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors ... If we heed the view of thoughtful leaders in the Arab and Muslim world, a moderate consensus can be found."How can Muslims help reach a "moderate consensus" if America continues to arbitrarily pull the rug from under their feet? How can we fight the real terrorists if Muslim teachers and scholars who preach pluralism and peace continue to be demonized before the whole world?
It is activists and scholars like Yusuf Islam and Tariq Ramadan, both of whom denounced the Muslim extremists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks and demanded that their leaders be brought to justice, that America should court in order to marginalize groups like Al Qaeda. Instead, we American Muslims are left wondering if our government is really serious, or even interested, in building our trust.
Cat Stevens Incident: Pulling the Rug Out From Under Moderate Muslims
I met Yusuf Islam, the former singer Cat Stevens, in the early 1990s when he attended an Islamic conference in San Jose, Calif. I was then the editor of a Muslim magazine and interviewed him about his views of the Muslim world.Among other things, we talked about his alleged support of the late Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa (religious ruling) of death against Salman Rushdie for his novel "The Satanic Verses." The singer-turned-teacher, who converted to Islam in 1978 and founded a Muslim school in London in 1983, said he was frustrated that the media quoted him only partially on the subject. He told me that although he advocated a ban on a book he considered blasphemous, he also reminded Muslims to keep within the limits of the law of the country in which they lived. He expressed regret at the violence that erupted in several Muslim countries and cost many lives following the publication of the book. Under no circumstance, he said, were people to take law into their own hands.
In other words, while he supported the seriousness of the fatwa in principle as a warning against anyone maligning the prophet of Islam, he did not wish for Rushdie's head.I recall this meeting with much sorrow, because my government has decided that this soft-spoken man has suddenly become a threat to America, so much so that he cannot be allowed entry into the United States.
How did the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrive at this conclusion?Islam, after all, had visited New York in May of this year to promote a DVD of his 1976 MajiKat tour and launch his charity organization called Small Kindness. In just four months, the singer had apparently metamorphosed into a threat because of his alleged past support of certain terrorist organizations.A provision in the USA Patriot Act states that anyone who uses his position of prominence to endorse terrorism or terrorist organizations may not enter the United States.
This was what a DHS spokesman was referring to when he said that Islam was denied admission to the United States "on national security grounds."Islam has denied link to any terrorist organizations. He is an unabashed supporter of Palestinian rights and has made humanitarian contributions to charities that he felt were building schools and orphanages in the Occupied Territories. But he is also on the record stating that he has never knowingly supported any terrorist groups, past, present or future. His Web site (www.yusufislam.org.UK) gives a summary of his unequivocal opposition to terrorism, and includes a condemnation of the recent massacre of teachers and students at the school in Beslan, Russia.
Just last month a similar fate befell a Muslim scholar widely regarded as a progressive thinker. Author of "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam" (Oxford University Press, 2003) the Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan was scheduled to teach at the University of Notre Dame's Institute for International Peace Studies this fall. At the last minute, the DHS revoked his visa, under the same provision used to bar Islam from entering the United States.Ramadan, too, has denied any link to terrorist organizations and has challenged his detractors, including the DHS, to prove their case. Notre Dame officials and prominent American scholars have vehemently protested the government's decision. Members of a Jewish student group at the Notre Dame Law School have joined in the protest.
Regarding the “charge” that he is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and supposedly by association (and obvious stereotyping) an extremist, Ramadan has asked that he be judged on his own life and not by his genealogy.
Time and again, sane voices remind us that to defeat the terrorism unleashed by groups like Al Qaeda, America must build the trust of moderate Muslims around the world. The recently released 9/11 Commission Report states as much (p. 375-376): "The small percentage of Muslims who are fully committed to Usama Bin Ladin's version of Islam are impervious to persuasion. It is among the large majority of Arabs and Muslims that we must encourage reform, freedom, democracy, and opportunity ...." The report recommends that the United States "offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors ... If we heed the view of thoughtful leaders in the Arab and Muslim world, a moderate consensus can be found."How can Muslims help reach a "moderate consensus" if America continues to arbitrarily pull the rug from under their feet? How can we fight the real terrorists if Muslim teachers and scholars who preach pluralism and peace continue to be demonized before the whole world?
It is activists and scholars like Yusuf Islam and Tariq Ramadan, both of whom denounced the Muslim extremists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks and demanded that their leaders be brought to justice, that America should court in order to marginalize groups like Al Qaeda. Instead, we American Muslims are left wondering if our government is really serious, or even interested, in building our trust.
Written on Sept. 8, '04
To Muslim Extremists: Not In the Name of Muslims
Muslim extremists often cite the Quran, out-of-context and contrary to the Holy Book’s spirit of mercy and compassion, to justify their crimes. Thus, for instance, in the 4-page document that investigators found in Muhammad Atta’s luggage in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist ringleader invoked no fewer than 18 verses from the Quran to exhort his band of brothers to commit violence that took nearly 3000 lives.
Since the September attacks three years ago, we American Muslims have observed with increasing alarm and frustration how a minority of Muslim fanatics continued to wage one brutal terrorist act after another around the world – Moscow, Bali, Karachi, Madrid - leading to hundreds of lost and shattered innocent lives, all in the name of Islam and the Quran.
It became clear to us that we had a supremely important role to play in fighting these fanatics: We had to clearly and unequivocally condemn the killing of innocents, particularly when Muslims were the perpetrators.As the world recoils from the horrifying images of bloodied, lifeless children being carried away by shell-shocked parents and rescuers from a Russian school in which Muslim Chechen radicals killed more than 300 people, our role becomes that much more urgent ... American Muslims are speaking out boldly against these fanatics in their mosques. Ordinary Muslims are reflecting on their faith and looking into their souls for a more inclusive view of Islam and its implications for humanity.
American Muslim women, in particular, are asserting themselves with a fervor unthinkable in the pre-9/11 days. The blind acceptance of the teachings of misogynistic imams and scholars is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. They are discovering new and holistic readings of the Quran that do away with gender apartheid and that calls for social justice and greater participation of women in the management of mosques and Islamic schools.A group called “The Daughters of Hajar,” known as Hagar in the Bible and Jewish history, a national organization dedicated to empowering Muslim women actively challenges women to pray in the main hall and to boldly use the front door in mosques in which they were required to enter by a back door.
Other groups warn Muslims of the danger of bloc-voting in national elections. Yet others decry the religious narcissism of the self-appointed guardians of the faith and exhort them to shun anti-Semitism and practice humility, kindness and intellectual honesty. Ours is a community in which ordinary Muslims are beginning to explore their own understanding of the Quran and their relationship with the Creator, as opposed to allowing others to do it for them. A thinking, expressive and active community is the best antidote to the poison of fanaticism and nihilism that plagues the Muslim body today. Words get around at lightning speed in the Internet age. When Muslim extremists realize that the Muslim Ummah (community of believers) will not stand by their criminal acts and, if called upon to do so, will also fight them, they may have second thoughts about embarking on suicidal missions in the name of Islam. The lives of civilians and school children will ultimately depend on it.
To Muslim Extremists: Not In the Name of Muslims
Muslim extremists often cite the Quran, out-of-context and contrary to the Holy Book’s spirit of mercy and compassion, to justify their crimes. Thus, for instance, in the 4-page document that investigators found in Muhammad Atta’s luggage in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist ringleader invoked no fewer than 18 verses from the Quran to exhort his band of brothers to commit violence that took nearly 3000 lives.
Since the September attacks three years ago, we American Muslims have observed with increasing alarm and frustration how a minority of Muslim fanatics continued to wage one brutal terrorist act after another around the world – Moscow, Bali, Karachi, Madrid - leading to hundreds of lost and shattered innocent lives, all in the name of Islam and the Quran.
It became clear to us that we had a supremely important role to play in fighting these fanatics: We had to clearly and unequivocally condemn the killing of innocents, particularly when Muslims were the perpetrators.As the world recoils from the horrifying images of bloodied, lifeless children being carried away by shell-shocked parents and rescuers from a Russian school in which Muslim Chechen radicals killed more than 300 people, our role becomes that much more urgent ... American Muslims are speaking out boldly against these fanatics in their mosques. Ordinary Muslims are reflecting on their faith and looking into their souls for a more inclusive view of Islam and its implications for humanity.
American Muslim women, in particular, are asserting themselves with a fervor unthinkable in the pre-9/11 days. The blind acceptance of the teachings of misogynistic imams and scholars is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. They are discovering new and holistic readings of the Quran that do away with gender apartheid and that calls for social justice and greater participation of women in the management of mosques and Islamic schools.A group called “The Daughters of Hajar,” known as Hagar in the Bible and Jewish history, a national organization dedicated to empowering Muslim women actively challenges women to pray in the main hall and to boldly use the front door in mosques in which they were required to enter by a back door.
Other groups warn Muslims of the danger of bloc-voting in national elections. Yet others decry the religious narcissism of the self-appointed guardians of the faith and exhort them to shun anti-Semitism and practice humility, kindness and intellectual honesty. Ours is a community in which ordinary Muslims are beginning to explore their own understanding of the Quran and their relationship with the Creator, as opposed to allowing others to do it for them. A thinking, expressive and active community is the best antidote to the poison of fanaticism and nihilism that plagues the Muslim body today. Words get around at lightning speed in the Internet age. When Muslim extremists realize that the Muslim Ummah (community of believers) will not stand by their criminal acts and, if called upon to do so, will also fight them, they may have second thoughts about embarking on suicidal missions in the name of Islam. The lives of civilians and school children will ultimately depend on it.
Written on Oct 3, '03
Enough Is Enough:
A Blueprint for Enlightened Friday Sermons in Our Mosques
Let’s face it: the average Friday sermon in American mosques is often a complete waste of time, reflecting the abject failure of our imams and scholars to articulate the critical issues facing American Muslims. Instead of alerting us, say, to the dangers of religious chauvinism or reflexive anti-Americanism, what we often get are lectures on the obvious and the irrelevant on the one hand, and a hodgepodge of conspiracy theories and victimhood grievances on the other.
The predictable hectoring, the hair-splitting arguments, the opportunistic invocation of the moral high ground, all these and more often make us wonder if our leaders can ever deal intelligently with the complex religious and political issues of our times, instead of glossing over them with platitudes or denial.
A large percentage of the sermons fall in the category of preaching to the converted. The five daily prayers are important for our spiritual growth, we are solemnly told. Or, without zakat, our wealth becomes a catalyst for our downfall. Or, fasting during Ramadan cleanses the body as well as the soul. Reminding us of the basics of our faith is, of course, useful. And occasionally we hear a sermon so eloquent and persuasive--on the transcendence of prayer, for instance, or the spirituality of caring for others--that it opens eyes and touches hearts.
But these are the exceptions.
More often, the sermons contain nothing new even for newcomers to Islam. It isn’t uncommon for Muslims flocking to the Friday prayers to hear, week after week, passionate lectures on the importance of consuming halal meat, or for women to wear hijab, or for sighting the hilal to mark the beginning and end of Ramadan.
If an imam tires of the obvious, he relishes taking us on guilt trips. We don’t pray, he may lament (what are we doing here then, O wise one?) and we don’t read the Quran and we don’t fast and we don’t remember Allah often enough and we don’t visit sick Muslims in hospitals and we don’t do this and we don’t do that, on and on and on.
To read the complete article, please visit http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2003/10/enough_is_enoug.php
Enough Is Enough:
A Blueprint for Enlightened Friday Sermons in Our Mosques
Let’s face it: the average Friday sermon in American mosques is often a complete waste of time, reflecting the abject failure of our imams and scholars to articulate the critical issues facing American Muslims. Instead of alerting us, say, to the dangers of religious chauvinism or reflexive anti-Americanism, what we often get are lectures on the obvious and the irrelevant on the one hand, and a hodgepodge of conspiracy theories and victimhood grievances on the other.
The predictable hectoring, the hair-splitting arguments, the opportunistic invocation of the moral high ground, all these and more often make us wonder if our leaders can ever deal intelligently with the complex religious and political issues of our times, instead of glossing over them with platitudes or denial.
A large percentage of the sermons fall in the category of preaching to the converted. The five daily prayers are important for our spiritual growth, we are solemnly told. Or, without zakat, our wealth becomes a catalyst for our downfall. Or, fasting during Ramadan cleanses the body as well as the soul. Reminding us of the basics of our faith is, of course, useful. And occasionally we hear a sermon so eloquent and persuasive--on the transcendence of prayer, for instance, or the spirituality of caring for others--that it opens eyes and touches hearts.
But these are the exceptions.
More often, the sermons contain nothing new even for newcomers to Islam. It isn’t uncommon for Muslims flocking to the Friday prayers to hear, week after week, passionate lectures on the importance of consuming halal meat, or for women to wear hijab, or for sighting the hilal to mark the beginning and end of Ramadan.
If an imam tires of the obvious, he relishes taking us on guilt trips. We don’t pray, he may lament (what are we doing here then, O wise one?) and we don’t read the Quran and we don’t fast and we don’t remember Allah often enough and we don’t visit sick Muslims in hospitals and we don’t do this and we don’t do that, on and on and on.
To read the complete article, please visit http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2003/10/enough_is_enoug.php
Written on Feb. 8, '03
When the Call Comes: A Pilgrim's Progress
About 2.5 million Muslims from around the world - 45 percent of them women – will be congregating in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, this month to perform the hajj, the once-in-a-lifetime obligation for believers.
Over 10,000 American Muslims are expected to be among the pilgrims seeking to turn over a new leaf in their lives through the demanding rites of the hajj. Many are driven by a sense of urgency in a world mired in hate, bigotry and war. “This may be our last chance,” goes a morbid sentiment. “Who knows what greater calamity will befall humanity by the time the next hajj comes around?”
I am familiar with the feeling. I performed the hajj in 2002. I had planned to do it earlier but one thing or the other always came up, suggesting that my intention was perhaps flawed. Then came September 11, 2001. Terrorists claiming Islam as guidance struck America, taking 3,000 innocent lives. The attacks brought rage, resolve and a vivid sense of mortality. Life, we learned anew, was fleeting. Be grateful for what you have -- health, family, freedom. Fulfill your obligations before it is too late. I had to travel to the birthplace of Islam to understand what my faith meant to me and how I, as a moderate Muslim, could help reclaim it from my radical co-religionists. Nothing less than the soul of Islam was at stake.
And so it came to be that on a warm night in February 2002, I am among a group of American Muslims at the Jeddah airport on the coast of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, patiently waiting for customs clearance. We had flown the previous day from San Francisco and, at Frankfurt, had changed into ihram (purification), consisting of two pieces of unstitched white cloth. The women wore simple white dresses with head coverings. The modest clothing signified our equality before Allah and the leaving behind of all worldly ties.
The formal pilgrimage is several days away but we have come early for familiarity with the ancient rites and extra time for reflection and remembrance of Allah in the hope that we will be at the peak of our spirituality during the hajj.
A new day has literally dawned by the time we clear customs and board the buses to take us to Makkah, 50 miles away. Approaching the holy city, we begin to recite the talbiyah (invocation) of pilgrimage: Here I am at Your command, O Allah, here I am. Here I am at Your command. You are without partner. Yours is all praise and grace and dominion. You are without partner.
We are to chant this refrain throughout the pilgrimage.
To read the complete article, please visit http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2004/01/when_the_call_c.php
When the Call Comes: A Pilgrim's Progress
About 2.5 million Muslims from around the world - 45 percent of them women – will be congregating in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, this month to perform the hajj, the once-in-a-lifetime obligation for believers.
Over 10,000 American Muslims are expected to be among the pilgrims seeking to turn over a new leaf in their lives through the demanding rites of the hajj. Many are driven by a sense of urgency in a world mired in hate, bigotry and war. “This may be our last chance,” goes a morbid sentiment. “Who knows what greater calamity will befall humanity by the time the next hajj comes around?”
I am familiar with the feeling. I performed the hajj in 2002. I had planned to do it earlier but one thing or the other always came up, suggesting that my intention was perhaps flawed. Then came September 11, 2001. Terrorists claiming Islam as guidance struck America, taking 3,000 innocent lives. The attacks brought rage, resolve and a vivid sense of mortality. Life, we learned anew, was fleeting. Be grateful for what you have -- health, family, freedom. Fulfill your obligations before it is too late. I had to travel to the birthplace of Islam to understand what my faith meant to me and how I, as a moderate Muslim, could help reclaim it from my radical co-religionists. Nothing less than the soul of Islam was at stake.
And so it came to be that on a warm night in February 2002, I am among a group of American Muslims at the Jeddah airport on the coast of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, patiently waiting for customs clearance. We had flown the previous day from San Francisco and, at Frankfurt, had changed into ihram (purification), consisting of two pieces of unstitched white cloth. The women wore simple white dresses with head coverings. The modest clothing signified our equality before Allah and the leaving behind of all worldly ties.
The formal pilgrimage is several days away but we have come early for familiarity with the ancient rites and extra time for reflection and remembrance of Allah in the hope that we will be at the peak of our spirituality during the hajj.
A new day has literally dawned by the time we clear customs and board the buses to take us to Makkah, 50 miles away. Approaching the holy city, we begin to recite the talbiyah (invocation) of pilgrimage: Here I am at Your command, O Allah, here I am. Here I am at Your command. You are without partner. Yours is all praise and grace and dominion. You are without partner.
We are to chant this refrain throughout the pilgrimage.
To read the complete article, please visit http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2004/01/when_the_call_c.php
TIME Letters, Oct. 21, '02
(The Legacy of Abraham)
When Jews, Christians and Muslims shed their exclusive claims on Abraham and recognize that he is the patriarch of all three faiths, maybe these cousins can coexist in peace. But that requires courage and compassion. Are we up to it? - Hasan Zillur Rahim, San Jose, Calif.
(The Legacy of Abraham)
When Jews, Christians and Muslims shed their exclusive claims on Abraham and recognize that he is the patriarch of all three faiths, maybe these cousins can coexist in peace. But that requires courage and compassion. Are we up to it? - Hasan Zillur Rahim, San Jose, Calif.
Written on Sept. 5, '02
American Muslim: My Faith in USA Is Unshaken
Many American Muslims I know feel more besieged now than when terrorists attacked America a year ago.In the aftermath of the attack, President Bush took pains to defend Islam as a religion of peace and Muslims as patriotic citizens. He visited mosques, met with Muslims in the White House and warned against hate crimes. Most Americans heeded the President's call and sympathized with their Muslim neighbors and co-workers.
A year later, however, the shrill voice of bigotry can be heard from various sources ...
In the year after Sept. 11, the Justice Department's policy of domestic surveillance, racial profiling and detention without representation has steadily encroached on civil liberties, increasing Muslim fear and vulnerability.
Yet I do not share the despair and pessimism of many of my fellow Muslims. I remain optimistic about America. I believe in the inherent strength of its judicial and civil systems, tested and toughened by time, to filter out the aberrations of the day.My optimism derives from the many hopeful signs I see in America. Let me cite just two.
The death of reporter Daniel Pearl at the hands of fanatics in Karachi, Pakistan, was barbarity at its extreme. But in an open letter to the people of Pakistan, Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl, wrote: "For the past seven years, Danny's articles ... showed readers the hardships and aspirations of people in Islamic countries, as well as the intricate nuances of their religion. Thus, when he declared to his captors: 'I am Jewish!' what he said in fact was: 'I respect Islam precisely because I am Jewish, and I expect you to respect me and my faith precisely because you are good Muslims.'"What humanity! What magnanimity! This is the true spirit of America.
My other example concerns a U.S. postage stamp. On Sept. 1, 2001, the postal service issued a stamp in celebration of the two major religious holidays of the Muslim calendar, Eid al-fitr (feast of fasting) and Eid al-adha (feast of sacrifice), designed by the renowned American calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya. Ten days later, the terrorists struck. Passion ran high among some Americans against the use of the stamp.But the stamp was neither withdrawn nor redesigned and it sold reasonably well, largely through word-of-mouth advertisement. Then, on June 30, the cost of a first-class stamp increased to 37 cents.
Would the 34-cent Eid stamp be reissued at the new rate?
Yes, it would be, on Oct. 10, 2002, announced the Postal Service recently.To some, the stamp story may suggest a small triumph for tolerance. I find in it a reflection of America's big-heartedness.I use my optimism as the basis for suggesting to my fellow Muslims a more positive role we can play in our country. By and large, we seem more intent on monitoring who is maligning us and less on the contributions we can make to America that our numbers -- 6 million strong -- and our high level of educational and professional successes warrant. Surely we must speak out when the religious belief of any group of people is attacked and their constitutional rights violated.
But we must not let that divert us from the many ways in which we can enrich America, in social, educational, economic, environmental, and other spheres.Here, I find myself remembering President John F. Kennedy's recommendation to "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."These words should resonate with new meaning for American Muslims. Kennedy's call for public service led, among other endeavors, to the Peace Corps. It can equally inspire us in these trying times to serve America in the best way we can -- not to "prove" our patriotism, for no such proof is needed -- but because it would be the right thing to do.Kennedy's concluding words from the inaugural address can serve as a beacon for American Muslims: "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
American Muslim: My Faith in USA Is Unshaken
Many American Muslims I know feel more besieged now than when terrorists attacked America a year ago.In the aftermath of the attack, President Bush took pains to defend Islam as a religion of peace and Muslims as patriotic citizens. He visited mosques, met with Muslims in the White House and warned against hate crimes. Most Americans heeded the President's call and sympathized with their Muslim neighbors and co-workers.
A year later, however, the shrill voice of bigotry can be heard from various sources ...
In the year after Sept. 11, the Justice Department's policy of domestic surveillance, racial profiling and detention without representation has steadily encroached on civil liberties, increasing Muslim fear and vulnerability.
Yet I do not share the despair and pessimism of many of my fellow Muslims. I remain optimistic about America. I believe in the inherent strength of its judicial and civil systems, tested and toughened by time, to filter out the aberrations of the day.My optimism derives from the many hopeful signs I see in America. Let me cite just two.
The death of reporter Daniel Pearl at the hands of fanatics in Karachi, Pakistan, was barbarity at its extreme. But in an open letter to the people of Pakistan, Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl, wrote: "For the past seven years, Danny's articles ... showed readers the hardships and aspirations of people in Islamic countries, as well as the intricate nuances of their religion. Thus, when he declared to his captors: 'I am Jewish!' what he said in fact was: 'I respect Islam precisely because I am Jewish, and I expect you to respect me and my faith precisely because you are good Muslims.'"What humanity! What magnanimity! This is the true spirit of America.
My other example concerns a U.S. postage stamp. On Sept. 1, 2001, the postal service issued a stamp in celebration of the two major religious holidays of the Muslim calendar, Eid al-fitr (feast of fasting) and Eid al-adha (feast of sacrifice), designed by the renowned American calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya. Ten days later, the terrorists struck. Passion ran high among some Americans against the use of the stamp.But the stamp was neither withdrawn nor redesigned and it sold reasonably well, largely through word-of-mouth advertisement. Then, on June 30, the cost of a first-class stamp increased to 37 cents.
Would the 34-cent Eid stamp be reissued at the new rate?
Yes, it would be, on Oct. 10, 2002, announced the Postal Service recently.To some, the stamp story may suggest a small triumph for tolerance. I find in it a reflection of America's big-heartedness.I use my optimism as the basis for suggesting to my fellow Muslims a more positive role we can play in our country. By and large, we seem more intent on monitoring who is maligning us and less on the contributions we can make to America that our numbers -- 6 million strong -- and our high level of educational and professional successes warrant. Surely we must speak out when the religious belief of any group of people is attacked and their constitutional rights violated.
But we must not let that divert us from the many ways in which we can enrich America, in social, educational, economic, environmental, and other spheres.Here, I find myself remembering President John F. Kennedy's recommendation to "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."These words should resonate with new meaning for American Muslims. Kennedy's call for public service led, among other endeavors, to the Peace Corps. It can equally inspire us in these trying times to serve America in the best way we can -- not to "prove" our patriotism, for no such proof is needed -- but because it would be the right thing to do.Kennedy's concluding words from the inaugural address can serve as a beacon for American Muslims: "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
Written on Jan. 9, '02
American Muslims Struggle for the Soul of Islam
American Muslims are at a crossroads after the Sept. 11 attacks. By and large, we had long been a docile and silent lot, content to let a few leaders and imams do the talking, keeping misgivings private. Not any more. Now, the soul of Islam is at stake. At mosques, homes, at a wedding celebration, on the telephone in these difficult weeks, fellow Muslims -- moderates who find in Islam a balanced way of life -- seem to be strengthening their resolve to win the day against those few who incite hatred and distort the faith. Muslims in America -- including women - are used to speaking freely. The habit of comparing ideas -- even religious ideas -- surrounds them in schools and public forums. Now, everything from the power of imams, the role of women in the faith and the dissonance between immigrant Muslims and black American Muslims is being debated. Globally, these American voices will prove important in the way Islam defines itself in coming years.
Mertze Dahlin, a founder of the South Bay Islamic Association of San Jose, Calif., embraced Islam more than 45 years ago. Of Finnish descent, Dahlin is not a spokesperson for any one ethnic group, but has worked with local newspapers and politicians against stereotyping since the l970s. Since Sept. 11, Dahlin said, Muslims are debating theological issues and scrutinizing received political opinions they once took for granted. Even Friday sermons have changed. "Before, the imams would talk about how to be good, to pray, and such stuff," Dahlin says. "But we heard all this when we were children. Now they are talking about how Islam can help us cope with our day-to-day life in America. It is more relevant." One of the things imams now stress is not to hide Muslim identity, "no matter how tough it may get," Dahlin says. Many Muslims are newly reaching out to their wider communities, where Islam may remain mysterious or be feared. "After 9/11, we became more visible. Many of us are visiting schools, churches and synagogues to explain Islam."
For Dr. Khalid Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Education and Information Center in Newark, Calif., Friday sermons haven't improved enough. Most imams remain silent on ethical and behavioral issues, he said, in part because they are poorly trained to explore such topics -- Muslim religious schools, called madrassas, teach mostly by rote. Moderate Muslims must become "more vocal and blunt" about what they expect of their leaders and more vigilant against extremists. "We cannot say one thing inside the mosque and another thing outside," Siddiqi says. "For any event inside a mosque, including the Friday sermon, we should invite people from churches and synagogues." But Siddiqi, too, sees a bright side after Sept. 11. At social gatherings, many who talked "mostly about stocks and fluctuations in their wealth" now speak about Islam and their responsibilities as Muslims. Siddiqi's daughter Hana, who is studying for a graduate degree in Middle Eastern studies at New York University in Manhattan, was close to "ground zero" on Sept. 11 and still has nightmares about it. Typical of many American Muslim women in their 20s, Hana insists Muslims must "improve themselves" with regard to the treatment of women, who are "definitely oppressed." She blames not Islam, but "men on power trips," including imams and mullahs who quote unsubstantiated and out-of-context hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) to justify sexist behavior. Such tactics will no longer work, she says, because the stakes have become too high. "We need new interpretation of the Quran and the hadith in the context of our times," Hana says. "We are as qualified as the men for this task."
Beena Kazi, a junior at the University of California at Davis, would start with basics. Often microphones don't work in the women's sections of some mosques, and carpets are old and stained compared to the men's section. Board membership at most mosques is entirely male, an unchallenged tradition that has no basis in Islam. Kazi is working to change that, encouraging women to run for mosque boards. Fellow students, Kazi observes, are scrambling to learn more about their faith since Sept. 11. "For two years there was this Muslim girl in my class who never visited the campus mosque. One day after Sept. 11, she asked me to take her to the Friday prayers. Other students had been asking her about Islam and she realized she had to learn about her faith herself before she could answer them. She felt accountable."
Some of the discussion that shapes American Muslim thinking takes place in mosque open houses and interfaith dialogues. Dr. Anwar Hossain, an engineer from Dublin, Calif., said he has noticed more debate at such venues on issues such as democracy and Islam, something he said imams rarely speak about. But Hossain says some still try to position Muslims vis-a-vis the West as "us versus them." "We raise our families here, but claim American society is corrupt. This is hypocrisy," Hossain says.
Soul searching among U.S. Muslims doesn't end at debate about extremism, democracy or the role of women in the faith. African-American Muslims are bringing their experience as a minority race and minority religion in America to the discussion. Bilal Ibn Muhammad directs the All Muslims' Islamic Communications Center in San Jose, which produces a weekly TV program on Islam. He sympathizes with the plight of Muslims being rounded up for questioning by the FBI, but regrets that immigrant Muslims are not coming to African Americans like him to learn about resistance in the face of racial profiling. "As much as I hate to say it, it comes down to race," Muhammad says. "Immigrant Muslims look down on us. They think we do not know enough about Islam."
In Muslim America, there is tension, anxiety, questioning and impatience with dead-end dogma. And there is optimism -- a new hope that out of the conflict of ideas will emerge the courage and strength to vanquish the extremists.
American Muslims Struggle for the Soul of Islam
American Muslims are at a crossroads after the Sept. 11 attacks. By and large, we had long been a docile and silent lot, content to let a few leaders and imams do the talking, keeping misgivings private. Not any more. Now, the soul of Islam is at stake. At mosques, homes, at a wedding celebration, on the telephone in these difficult weeks, fellow Muslims -- moderates who find in Islam a balanced way of life -- seem to be strengthening their resolve to win the day against those few who incite hatred and distort the faith. Muslims in America -- including women - are used to speaking freely. The habit of comparing ideas -- even religious ideas -- surrounds them in schools and public forums. Now, everything from the power of imams, the role of women in the faith and the dissonance between immigrant Muslims and black American Muslims is being debated. Globally, these American voices will prove important in the way Islam defines itself in coming years.
Mertze Dahlin, a founder of the South Bay Islamic Association of San Jose, Calif., embraced Islam more than 45 years ago. Of Finnish descent, Dahlin is not a spokesperson for any one ethnic group, but has worked with local newspapers and politicians against stereotyping since the l970s. Since Sept. 11, Dahlin said, Muslims are debating theological issues and scrutinizing received political opinions they once took for granted. Even Friday sermons have changed. "Before, the imams would talk about how to be good, to pray, and such stuff," Dahlin says. "But we heard all this when we were children. Now they are talking about how Islam can help us cope with our day-to-day life in America. It is more relevant." One of the things imams now stress is not to hide Muslim identity, "no matter how tough it may get," Dahlin says. Many Muslims are newly reaching out to their wider communities, where Islam may remain mysterious or be feared. "After 9/11, we became more visible. Many of us are visiting schools, churches and synagogues to explain Islam."
For Dr. Khalid Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Education and Information Center in Newark, Calif., Friday sermons haven't improved enough. Most imams remain silent on ethical and behavioral issues, he said, in part because they are poorly trained to explore such topics -- Muslim religious schools, called madrassas, teach mostly by rote. Moderate Muslims must become "more vocal and blunt" about what they expect of their leaders and more vigilant against extremists. "We cannot say one thing inside the mosque and another thing outside," Siddiqi says. "For any event inside a mosque, including the Friday sermon, we should invite people from churches and synagogues." But Siddiqi, too, sees a bright side after Sept. 11. At social gatherings, many who talked "mostly about stocks and fluctuations in their wealth" now speak about Islam and their responsibilities as Muslims. Siddiqi's daughter Hana, who is studying for a graduate degree in Middle Eastern studies at New York University in Manhattan, was close to "ground zero" on Sept. 11 and still has nightmares about it. Typical of many American Muslim women in their 20s, Hana insists Muslims must "improve themselves" with regard to the treatment of women, who are "definitely oppressed." She blames not Islam, but "men on power trips," including imams and mullahs who quote unsubstantiated and out-of-context hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) to justify sexist behavior. Such tactics will no longer work, she says, because the stakes have become too high. "We need new interpretation of the Quran and the hadith in the context of our times," Hana says. "We are as qualified as the men for this task."
Beena Kazi, a junior at the University of California at Davis, would start with basics. Often microphones don't work in the women's sections of some mosques, and carpets are old and stained compared to the men's section. Board membership at most mosques is entirely male, an unchallenged tradition that has no basis in Islam. Kazi is working to change that, encouraging women to run for mosque boards. Fellow students, Kazi observes, are scrambling to learn more about their faith since Sept. 11. "For two years there was this Muslim girl in my class who never visited the campus mosque. One day after Sept. 11, she asked me to take her to the Friday prayers. Other students had been asking her about Islam and she realized she had to learn about her faith herself before she could answer them. She felt accountable."
Some of the discussion that shapes American Muslim thinking takes place in mosque open houses and interfaith dialogues. Dr. Anwar Hossain, an engineer from Dublin, Calif., said he has noticed more debate at such venues on issues such as democracy and Islam, something he said imams rarely speak about. But Hossain says some still try to position Muslims vis-a-vis the West as "us versus them." "We raise our families here, but claim American society is corrupt. This is hypocrisy," Hossain says.
Soul searching among U.S. Muslims doesn't end at debate about extremism, democracy or the role of women in the faith. African-American Muslims are bringing their experience as a minority race and minority religion in America to the discussion. Bilal Ibn Muhammad directs the All Muslims' Islamic Communications Center in San Jose, which produces a weekly TV program on Islam. He sympathizes with the plight of Muslims being rounded up for questioning by the FBI, but regrets that immigrant Muslims are not coming to African Americans like him to learn about resistance in the face of racial profiling. "As much as I hate to say it, it comes down to race," Muhammad says. "Immigrant Muslims look down on us. They think we do not know enough about Islam."
In Muslim America, there is tension, anxiety, questioning and impatience with dead-end dogma. And there is optimism -- a new hope that out of the conflict of ideas will emerge the courage and strength to vanquish the extremists.
Written on Nov 29, '01
U.S. Muslims Must Tackle Question of 'Mosque and State'
It has never ceased to amaze me that the same religion, whether Islam, Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism, can magnify the noble tendencies in one person and the evil tendencies in another. It is a mystery as old as time. But in this modern era, where progress in almost all fields of human endeavor has been enormous and the pace of change rapid, it seems to me that fusing politics with religion magnifies the evil tendencies. Keeping the two separate magnifies the noble ones. Western critics have raised certain questions about Islam in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack on America that call for soul-searching and thoughtful response by Muslims. Chief among them is the issue of "mosque and state."
Does Islam promote rule by theocracy, or can there be a separation between political institutions and places of worship? Traditional Muslim theologians have suggested an integration of the two. Modern Muslim men and women must revisit this view, and add or amend to it with their own knowledge and understanding. American Muslims must take the lead in this effort because here, we have more freedom and opportunity than Muslims in other parts of the world. In America, we need not fear fatwa (religious ruling) from anyone, and we can practice ijtihad (independent reasoning) to make the teachings of the Quran resonate with new meaning for modern times. We understand how an enlightened Islamic life is possible in a pluralistic society. We are informed by history, but are not hostage to it.
As one of these moderate American Muslims, I look first to the Quran for guidance on the question of mosque and state. The Quran, of course, is a book of moral guidance, not a treatise on statecraft. As such, there is no mention in it of theocracy, monarchy or democracy, to name just a few forms of government. The Quran gives an outline only and not the details of statecraft, since rigid institutions cannot respond to changing political, social and economic conditions. The divine words in the Quran duly note the constancy of change. However, the Quran does contain general references to the sanctity of faiths, and the importance of tolerance, diversity and consultation. The right to defend one's faith is important to all Muslims. But the Quran mentions diverse faiths when noting this fact: "If God had not enabled people to defend themselves," one verse reads, "all monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques in which God's name is abundantly extolled would have been destroyed." And religious faith is not to be forced upon anyone, even in a state where a majority are Muslim: "Let there be no compulsion in religion."
One of the most eloquent interpretations of these ideas, in my opinion, came not from any imam, but from ex-heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who said: "Rivers, ponds, lakes, and streams. They have different names, but all contain water. Religions have different names but all contain truth." Tolerance is paramount in the Quran, so much so that it tells us, "If anyone kills one innocent person, it is as if he has killed all humanity." And among many verses affirming human diversity, two are: "If God had so willed, He could have made you a single people," and, "We made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another." With such diversity of faiths and peoples, how do we all get along? In a chapter called Shura (Consultation), one verse offers a clue: "Blessed are those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation." Within such broad guidelines, and framed by the moral principles summarized by Islam's "five pillars" -- belief in one God, prayer, fasting, charity and (if possible) pilgrimage to Makkah -- our faith requires Muslims to carefully consider the dynamics of changing times to arrive at peaceful and progressive solutions for governance. The sanctioned practice of ijtihad challenges Muslims to come to conclusions on such issues as behavior, civic responsibility and government through argument and reason -- not through dogma.
Therefore, while the words of the Quran are immutable for Muslims, what they suggest in the context of different times and environments can vary, depending on Muslims' understanding and insight and their widening horizons. So while the Quran never speaks directly to the separation of mosque and state, every time I read it, it tells me separation can be a good thing. I cannot offer any "proof" of this, other than to note that nations that have prospered in the last hundred years have done so by untangling the religious from the political, while nations that have stood still or regressed insisted on their inseparability. The Taliban's rule in Afghanistan is the most recent example. Blindly following the past or closing the door on reason violates the spirit of our faith. It's time for American Muslims to bring a spirit of inquiry into our scholarship, knowing that religion, like science, is full of enduring and unsolved mysteries.
U.S. Muslims Must Tackle Question of 'Mosque and State'
It has never ceased to amaze me that the same religion, whether Islam, Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism, can magnify the noble tendencies in one person and the evil tendencies in another. It is a mystery as old as time. But in this modern era, where progress in almost all fields of human endeavor has been enormous and the pace of change rapid, it seems to me that fusing politics with religion magnifies the evil tendencies. Keeping the two separate magnifies the noble ones. Western critics have raised certain questions about Islam in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack on America that call for soul-searching and thoughtful response by Muslims. Chief among them is the issue of "mosque and state."
Does Islam promote rule by theocracy, or can there be a separation between political institutions and places of worship? Traditional Muslim theologians have suggested an integration of the two. Modern Muslim men and women must revisit this view, and add or amend to it with their own knowledge and understanding. American Muslims must take the lead in this effort because here, we have more freedom and opportunity than Muslims in other parts of the world. In America, we need not fear fatwa (religious ruling) from anyone, and we can practice ijtihad (independent reasoning) to make the teachings of the Quran resonate with new meaning for modern times. We understand how an enlightened Islamic life is possible in a pluralistic society. We are informed by history, but are not hostage to it.
As one of these moderate American Muslims, I look first to the Quran for guidance on the question of mosque and state. The Quran, of course, is a book of moral guidance, not a treatise on statecraft. As such, there is no mention in it of theocracy, monarchy or democracy, to name just a few forms of government. The Quran gives an outline only and not the details of statecraft, since rigid institutions cannot respond to changing political, social and economic conditions. The divine words in the Quran duly note the constancy of change. However, the Quran does contain general references to the sanctity of faiths, and the importance of tolerance, diversity and consultation. The right to defend one's faith is important to all Muslims. But the Quran mentions diverse faiths when noting this fact: "If God had not enabled people to defend themselves," one verse reads, "all monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques in which God's name is abundantly extolled would have been destroyed." And religious faith is not to be forced upon anyone, even in a state where a majority are Muslim: "Let there be no compulsion in religion."
One of the most eloquent interpretations of these ideas, in my opinion, came not from any imam, but from ex-heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who said: "Rivers, ponds, lakes, and streams. They have different names, but all contain water. Religions have different names but all contain truth." Tolerance is paramount in the Quran, so much so that it tells us, "If anyone kills one innocent person, it is as if he has killed all humanity." And among many verses affirming human diversity, two are: "If God had so willed, He could have made you a single people," and, "We made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another." With such diversity of faiths and peoples, how do we all get along? In a chapter called Shura (Consultation), one verse offers a clue: "Blessed are those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation." Within such broad guidelines, and framed by the moral principles summarized by Islam's "five pillars" -- belief in one God, prayer, fasting, charity and (if possible) pilgrimage to Makkah -- our faith requires Muslims to carefully consider the dynamics of changing times to arrive at peaceful and progressive solutions for governance. The sanctioned practice of ijtihad challenges Muslims to come to conclusions on such issues as behavior, civic responsibility and government through argument and reason -- not through dogma.
Therefore, while the words of the Quran are immutable for Muslims, what they suggest in the context of different times and environments can vary, depending on Muslims' understanding and insight and their widening horizons. So while the Quran never speaks directly to the separation of mosque and state, every time I read it, it tells me separation can be a good thing. I cannot offer any "proof" of this, other than to note that nations that have prospered in the last hundred years have done so by untangling the religious from the political, while nations that have stood still or regressed insisted on their inseparability. The Taliban's rule in Afghanistan is the most recent example. Blindly following the past or closing the door on reason violates the spirit of our faith. It's time for American Muslims to bring a spirit of inquiry into our scholarship, knowing that religion, like science, is full of enduring and unsolved mysteries.
Written on Oct 11, '01 and carried by several newspapers
Silence of the Imams - Muslim Clerics Must Challenge Extremist Views
We American Muslims seem frozen in a defensive mode, forever having to explain to the public that Islam is a religion of peaceand tolerance after the occurrence of some horrific event. The Sept. 11 attacks on the United States were not the first strikes on Americans byterrorists claiming Islam as their guiding principle -- only the most deadly.If these defensive apologies continue indefinitely, we risk hypocrisy. But a new report on U.S. mosques suggests one way we moderate American Muslims can reclaim our faith from the few extremists among us.By far the most comprehensive survey of mosques ever conducted in the United States, "The Mosque in America: A National Portrait," was released last April by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington, D.C. It hints that the problem may lie in the structure ofthe mosque that gives its board of directors -- not its imams -- decision-making authority.According to the report, there are a total of 1,209 mosques in the United States, with an average of 1,625 Muslims affiliated per mosque, which translates to a "mosque-going" population of about 2 million. The total Muslim population in America is between 6 and 7 million people.A significant finding of the report is the number of Muslims who attend the Friday Jum'ah in their local mosques. The average Friday attendance per mosque is 292, which means that about 350,000 Muslims perform the Jum'ah throughout the United States every week.
The Jum'ah number is significant, because most American Muslims get an opportunity to listen to their imams on the important religious, social, and political issues of the day week after week, only during the Friday services. No other religious gathering has the regularity and thecumulative effect of the Jum'ah in helping to shape the views of American Muslims and impress upon them the tolerant message of Islam.Unfortunately, the imams often squander this opportunity.When Osama Bin Laden declared in 1998 that it was okay for Muslims to kill American civilians to realize his nihilistic vision, there was no widespread condemnation of him and his followers by Muslim clerics in the United States, particularly during the Friday sermons. Did the imams' silence imply approval? No, but a strong unequivocal stand in 1998 could have alerted American Muslims to be more proactive in identifying those plotting to harm the United States.In a majority of the mosques, according to the report, the decision-making authority rests not with the imam, but with a board of directors. Board members are usually educated professionals with moderate views who have a keen sense of the positive role Muslims can play inAmerica. However, in selecting imams, directors are often not as careful and thorough as they ought to be, even when recognizing that improper choices can alienate moderate Muslims and splinter communities.
I have lived in the America for more than two decades and as a practicing Muslim have rarely missed the Jum'ah prayer. I have visited mosques from sea to shining sea. There have been occasions when I listened to sermons that were deeply moving and instructive, but they were exceptions rather than the rule. In most cases, the imams preach the obvious and theirrelevant, or worse, resort to incendiary and opportunistic political rhetoric that engages neither the intellect nor the imagination.
One staple subject is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is a topic that animates Muslims and rightly so, for all Muslims believe that Palestinians must have a separate homeland if there is to be a lasting peace in the Middle East. But I have seldom heard rational discussion on this issue from Muslim clerics.
A reason for this unhappy situation is that many of the imams, educated in religious institutions abroad, have little or no knowledge of American history and its political process. Comfortable in their cocoons, they have a limited view of the world and cannot frame the salient issues ofthe day in the light of Islamic principles of tolerance, justice, freedom, and sanctity of life.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 atrocity, it is clear that board members must learn to take this responsibility with utmost seriousness. In particular, they should favor imams educated in America who are fluent in English and are voices of moderation, who can talk to the media on issues ranging from education and the environment to threats of global terrorism, andwho can sustain a constructive dialogue with Americans from all walks of life not just during a crisis, but also in peaceful times.
When enlightened imams lead mosques and inspire their congregations to actively promote what is right and oppose what is wrong, the risks of some deviants pulling off malevolent deeds are either minimized or made easier to identify and thwart. Only then will America and the world begin to appreciate the true, peaceful message of Islam.
Silence of the Imams - Muslim Clerics Must Challenge Extremist Views
We American Muslims seem frozen in a defensive mode, forever having to explain to the public that Islam is a religion of peaceand tolerance after the occurrence of some horrific event. The Sept. 11 attacks on the United States were not the first strikes on Americans byterrorists claiming Islam as their guiding principle -- only the most deadly.If these defensive apologies continue indefinitely, we risk hypocrisy. But a new report on U.S. mosques suggests one way we moderate American Muslims can reclaim our faith from the few extremists among us.By far the most comprehensive survey of mosques ever conducted in the United States, "The Mosque in America: A National Portrait," was released last April by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington, D.C. It hints that the problem may lie in the structure ofthe mosque that gives its board of directors -- not its imams -- decision-making authority.According to the report, there are a total of 1,209 mosques in the United States, with an average of 1,625 Muslims affiliated per mosque, which translates to a "mosque-going" population of about 2 million. The total Muslim population in America is between 6 and 7 million people.A significant finding of the report is the number of Muslims who attend the Friday Jum'ah in their local mosques. The average Friday attendance per mosque is 292, which means that about 350,000 Muslims perform the Jum'ah throughout the United States every week.
The Jum'ah number is significant, because most American Muslims get an opportunity to listen to their imams on the important religious, social, and political issues of the day week after week, only during the Friday services. No other religious gathering has the regularity and thecumulative effect of the Jum'ah in helping to shape the views of American Muslims and impress upon them the tolerant message of Islam.Unfortunately, the imams often squander this opportunity.When Osama Bin Laden declared in 1998 that it was okay for Muslims to kill American civilians to realize his nihilistic vision, there was no widespread condemnation of him and his followers by Muslim clerics in the United States, particularly during the Friday sermons. Did the imams' silence imply approval? No, but a strong unequivocal stand in 1998 could have alerted American Muslims to be more proactive in identifying those plotting to harm the United States.In a majority of the mosques, according to the report, the decision-making authority rests not with the imam, but with a board of directors. Board members are usually educated professionals with moderate views who have a keen sense of the positive role Muslims can play inAmerica. However, in selecting imams, directors are often not as careful and thorough as they ought to be, even when recognizing that improper choices can alienate moderate Muslims and splinter communities.
I have lived in the America for more than two decades and as a practicing Muslim have rarely missed the Jum'ah prayer. I have visited mosques from sea to shining sea. There have been occasions when I listened to sermons that were deeply moving and instructive, but they were exceptions rather than the rule. In most cases, the imams preach the obvious and theirrelevant, or worse, resort to incendiary and opportunistic political rhetoric that engages neither the intellect nor the imagination.
One staple subject is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is a topic that animates Muslims and rightly so, for all Muslims believe that Palestinians must have a separate homeland if there is to be a lasting peace in the Middle East. But I have seldom heard rational discussion on this issue from Muslim clerics.
A reason for this unhappy situation is that many of the imams, educated in religious institutions abroad, have little or no knowledge of American history and its political process. Comfortable in their cocoons, they have a limited view of the world and cannot frame the salient issues ofthe day in the light of Islamic principles of tolerance, justice, freedom, and sanctity of life.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 atrocity, it is clear that board members must learn to take this responsibility with utmost seriousness. In particular, they should favor imams educated in America who are fluent in English and are voices of moderation, who can talk to the media on issues ranging from education and the environment to threats of global terrorism, andwho can sustain a constructive dialogue with Americans from all walks of life not just during a crisis, but also in peaceful times.
When enlightened imams lead mosques and inspire their congregations to actively promote what is right and oppose what is wrong, the risks of some deviants pulling off malevolent deeds are either minimized or made easier to identify and thwart. Only then will America and the world begin to appreciate the true, peaceful message of Islam.
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