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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/06/03 at 21:57:24 |
| [slm] ;-)s and :-)s The following article is from the Message International (june-july issue) What kind of islam will last in America? -Yahiya Emerick Have you ever heard about the debate concerning the establishment of an indigenous type of Islam in North America? It basicacally goes something like this: the way Islam is lived and understood varies greatly from country to country and region to region, therefore, Islam, too, must also have its own unique expression in North America. I must confess it is an issure nearly everyone I know has pondered over and speculated about from time to time. These days the topic comes up with ever-greater freqencey in some circles but not always in a way that any single majority of Muslims can agree with. First the very issue of what Islam really is inevitably comes up. What are Islamic teachings? Which sect is most right? How does Islamic knowledge vary from person to person and what is (or should be) the effect of culuture on this spiritual tradintion? What sources do we accept? Who are our scholars and spokesmen? What does Islam require from us and what do we get in retun? These preceding quesions are enough right there to demonstrate the hopelessness of our finding any kind of unity in our lifetime. But this does not deter any us from pondering the possibilites of fusing Islam into the culture of this land. This, of course, opens a whole new can of worms. What is the culture of this land? Southerners don't sharte the smae vaules as Northeresterners. West Coast culture is vastly different from the Midwest. Add to that the changing demographics of the US. and Canada and you wonder if your children might need to study Spanish in shcool. Not to metniton the changing values fromt the older generations to the new, young rebel teens with their hip-hop purple harr nad nihilistic defiance of all authority. The image of the classy WASP, white, refined and educated, lifing a country club lifestyle appeals to some among us, but that is a rapidly changing reality. Now, who are the muslims who are supposed to make an American-style of Islam? to be contnd.... ma salaama. P.S. Inshallah i will write more of this article when i can.... |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| Maliha |
| 08/06/03 at 22:14:55 |
| [slm] :'( :'( :'( you can't leave us hanging like that! aight sis, post the rest of the article...and I will tentalize you with a... *drum roll* please.... Special DUAH ;D ;D sis, Maliha :-) [wlm] |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/08/03 at 12:47:32 |
| [slm] Alright already...mi goodness... :) lol.......... wow sis Maliha...can't wait for your "drum roll" a special treat of yours! ;D ;D ;D ;D I am continuing only for you my impatient sis Maliha :P :) Now, who are the Muslims who are supposed to make an American-style of Islam? I see Christian towns and neighborhoods, dotted with churches and interweaving their religion with their official public life. I see Jewish neighborhoods, and towns with synagogues and Torah Institutes every other block. I even have found Hindu enclaves here and there around New York City. But to this day I have not seen or heard of a single town that boasts a majority Muslim population. The most I have found is a couple of streets worth of houses in central Detroit, the same in Atlanta and an odd place like this here or there. To be forthright, nearly all Muslims are foolishly living in isolated, unitary family situations in a sea of non-Muslims. Do we expect that most of our members won't eventually assimilate? Do we even still believe in the myth of a second generation after us? We cannot establish an "American" Islam for the simple fact that we do not have many American Muslims. "But yes we do," you might protest. "Look, our pollsters say there are seven or ten or twelve million of us!" But take a closer look: we have a mixture of people hailing from every Muslim country, living the same generally unIslamic lifestyle that they did when they were "back home”. Add to this the fact that they live isolated from other Muslims (and thus all hope of tarbiyah) and you can readily see how the Muslim migrants in the 1920's and 30s were able to just disappear in the melting pot. (I know there are a lot of African American converts to Islam and I applaud them for they are not getting much help from anybody and yet they persist and grow, but they also have a lot of challenges keeping their youth on the straight and narrow as well.) We just don't live around each other and when we do happen to congregate, it's not on the basis of faith, but on simple ethnic identity, devoid of all religion. To this day I have no clue as to why Muslim immigrants from India gravitate towards Hindu neighborhoods in New York and elsewhere, or why Muslim Arabs move to place dominated by Christian Arabs. The result is that our mostly luke warm Muslims are diluted even further by basing their identity in America more on their race than on their faith. We have statistical numbers of immigrants but how many of them can rightfully be counted as Muslims? Remember the definition of a Muslim is a person who looks to the Qur'an and Sunnah for guidance. How many fit that category? Are we just counting Muslim style names? Bean counting is no substitute for the real McCoy! Because of this, many of us committed Muslims have begun to look down on thing Islamic when there was no reason to link Islam with what people do to begin with. Whenever I hear someone jokingly making fun of the low morality of "Muslims" they have dealt with, then, I always correct them and say, "Don't say it is Muslims who are bad. Rather say it was a cultural person who cheated you. A Muslim and a person who happens to carry a Muslim name are two different species." I remember having an argument with a man one day who said, "Once a Muslim always a Muslim." I pointed out all the verses in the Qur'an that speak about going back on faith after having once attained it and he finally agreed with me, but then when the topic came up of whether or not the children of immigrants are still Muslims if they don't practice Islam at all, he got very emotional. He said that children from Pakistani parents are always Muslim no matter what. "Even if the children don't practice Islam at all?" I asked. "Yes," he replied. Then I asked him if the children of African American converts to Islam are always Muslim, too, even if they don't practice Islam. On this he waffled, revealing a slight racist streak. But I'm sure you are getting my point: there is not creature called an American Muslim from which to make an American Islam. We have disjointed groups of immigrants and converts all of whom have little in common other than most have Muslim style names. To make matters worst, for all the converts we are making, we are losing more than that to assimilation each year. So we don't agree on what Islam is, we don't know what kind of culture it is that we have to adapt to and we don't have a sufficient body of Muslims from which to propel this movement forward. There you have it. Creating an American Islam is s currently unfeasible. Other cultures developed their understanding of Islam from large, stable populations over centauries and have their roots in great events in Islamic history. We do not have any of the pieces of the puzzle in place. I’m not writing all of this to make you gloomy, however, for I am quite the optimist. I see great possibilities here, but as long as we are distracted by pipe dreams we wind up wasting our resources and getting frustrated with each other. Still, this issue of wanting an American style Islam has its poponents and while many have purely noble intentions, the loudest voices for change seem to come from a particular kind of individual. It is a very telling lesson to examine what they really want. Let’s take a look, then, at one type of motivation for creating an “American” Islam. There are those whose motivation for a “new” Islam is purely for selfish reasons. Come on, think about it for a moment and look at their arguments. They basically revolve around money and lifestyle. They want fatwas that say mortgages are halal “because of hardship” and they want to make selling haram things allowed “because there are no other occupations.” The realty seems to support there contention for there are legions of semi-observant Muslims (and even a few otherwise good ones) who live in homes with interest payments, own stores that sell Lotto and beer and engage in financial transactions with Riba attached. I have personally heard many Muslim in such straits voicing their opinions that they have no other way and thus Allah will forgive the (or at the very least they claim they will stop doing the haram things as quickly ad they can). Look, I know none of us is perfect, and Islam doesn’t expect us to be, but there are certain lines that are not to be crossed. But there are quite a few people doing just that and Islamic teachings regarding money and occupations are pretty much ignored what impunity by a huge percentage of our local co-religionists. I remember reading a hadith in which the Prophet said that the flesh that is grown on haram earnings will not enter paradise. There are also numerous Qur’anic verses also on the subject of good and bad financial transactions and those are also clearly being ignored. The solution, then, many now assert, is to look for some scholars-for-hire to issue rulings saying every haram thing we do in America is now okay because of all the “hardship” we face here. Well, that would solve a lot of problems but then there is the nagging problem of Islamic source material that constantly calls people to other rulings. Thus, only the people who want to modify their religion will partake in the new “financial freedom” while another group will call them hypocrites and disavow them. Of course the growth of Shariah-compliant financing mechanisms can definitely solve the problem by giving people a way to buy their houses through partnership agreements with mainline banks. But, these new offering still require a few hefty down payments and are not available everywhere. What do we do in the meantime: pay rent and stay poor or get a mortgage and court hellfire? It is a Damocletian choice and I have a lot of sympathy for people in this predicament, but I would never call for changing my religion to suit my needs. Sorry sis Maliha…to be continued again… this article is just too long! My hand is hurting now… :) ma salaama |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| Musafir |
| 08/10/03 at 00:57:45 |
| [slm] Why do one need " Americanized Islam " I thought and believe Islam was and is Allah's Deen not like a Microsoft Software which could be customized to suite need of place and person, although it could be beautified by 'adding' little spices of different culture but by-itself nothing could be 'deducted' to suite one's taste So the question remains Why do one need " Americanized Islam " [wlm] |
| 08/10/03 at 01:00:29 |
| Musafir |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/10/03 at 14:25:05 |
| [slm] brother musafir, did u read the article (so far what i have posted?). If so then u should be able to come up with an answer... but if you want my opinion in general (not regarding the article) i am going to say that there is no such a thing as "Americanzied Islam." to give you a simple example... Islam is by defination what it is... meaning Peace...now to have Americanized Peace doesn't make sense, does it? Peace is just Peace. isn't it? i am sorry if i am mistaken... nowdays ppl have so many different definion of Islam/Peace... beats me!!! Regarding the article...I think that the gentleman (writer) is trying to tell us to UNITE...all the cultures to come together under the banner of Islam. In my opinion thats the essence of this article, your understanding of this article maybe different than mine In my opinion, the main thing is that we all need to unite...asap... ma salaama |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| Musafir |
| 08/11/03 at 00:58:31 |
| [slm] I am bit surprice at your answer - every one know that Islam means peace but as you read further you'll understand by what i mean by 'Americanized' " ...." you'll see the peace plan in Middle east is ' Americanized, you'll see the peace plan put to Far east countries ike N korea and Indonasia etc are Americanized, i can name you counties where the leaders and thier thoughts are 'Americanized' and looking @ the movement in American Administration's plans for 'so called ' Muslim' countires its heading for an 'Americanized Islam, by the way if you go through the article " 88,000 Mosques, One Sermon" you'll know what i mean by the Americanized version of Islam" One World Order" belive it or not :o ??? ::) we are headding for Dajjal Era :'( :( :( :( Hope every one reads Surah Kahaf every friday 8) [wlm] |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| Taalibatul_ilm |
| 08/11/03 at 03:53:00 |
| [slm] Islaam means submission, coming from istislaam. Salaam means peace. They have the same origin. It is not about an Americanized "peace" or not, it is about submitting or not, wherever you are. |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| Musafir |
| 08/11/03 at 04:47:20 |
| [slm] no offence but i did not get your Ilm brother [wlm] |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/11/03 at 13:44:57 |
| [slm] which brother? Taalibatul_ilm is not a brother...its a :-) :) and i think you are mistaken about my answer...thats ok... maybe ppl all over the country is creating "Americanized Islam" but what i am saying is that islam is just islam...meaning peace...Americanized peace doesn't make sense to me... and no...we don't want Americanized Islam...we are happy with our regular Islam... :) ma salaama |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| timbuktu |
| 08/12/03 at 20:26:48 |
| [quote author=IMuslim_4Ever link=board=ummah;num=1060217845;start=0#2 date=08/08/03 at 12:47:32] ................ want fatwas that say mortgages are halal “because of hardship” and they want to make selling haram things allowed “because there are no other occupations.” ............ The solution, then, many now assert, is to look for some scholars-for-hire to issue rulings saying every haram thing we do in America is now okay because of all the “hardship” we face here. Well, that would solve a lot of problems but then there is the nagging problem of Islamic source material that constantly calls people to other rulings .................. What do we do in the meantime: pay rent and stay poor or get a mortgage and court hellfire? .......[/quote] this particular problem is not only with the "Americanized" Muslims, but also with most of the people in Muslim countries. Our incomes & expenditures are suspect. When i looked to build a house, i had to find money from several sources, 2 of which were interest based. I have often wondered that it does not say in the Quraan & Hadith that i have to have a large house with lounge & drawing & dining rooms. I do not know of the Sahaba, but we know how the ummahat-ul-momineen lived. I have concluded that this was an unnecessary sin, & not trusting in Allah, giving in to the Dajjali system. & yet, when my investments & savings were wiped out by the stock market crash & inflation, i tried to think it through again - in this paper-money inflation is built in. But a friend pointed out that hyper-inflation was also present in the days of Sahaba & Tabi'een. So, it boils down to my own lack of trust in Allah (swt), who has looked after me all my life. Despite this i trust the interest-bearing system more than HIM. that is a frightening thought, & my mind refused to think any further on this issue. |
| 08/14/03 at 00:37:31 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/13/03 at 14:05:42 |
| [quote author=timbuktu link=board=ummah;num=1060217845;start=0#9 date=08/12/03 at 20:26:48] So, it boils down to my own lack of trust in Allah (swt), who has looked after me all my life. Despite this i trust the interest-bearing system more than HIM. [/quote] [slm] i don't understand the above statement...may you plzz explain what you mean? btw, i took two different kind of loan in order to cover my college expenses...the deal of the loans are to pay berfore six months of graduation (from college).. . they have this thing call grace period and won't charge interests before that...is that ok then for me to take those loans? what if i can't pay them by the required time period? Is it going to be haram? i have no other way to pay my college tuition...so i have to take the loans...i just hope its not haram... as for houses...i rather would rent houses (when i live on my own) than buy with mortages... ma salaama |
| 08/13/03 at 14:06:21 |
| IMuslim_4Ever |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| timbuktu |
| 08/14/03 at 00:02:31 |
| [slm]all praise is only to Allah, the most Beneficient, the Most Merciful. may Allah (swt) make all that we do for HIS sake only. may He forgive us all & lead us along the right path, & not leave us at the disposal of our nafoos even for a second. sister IMuslim_4_Ever, this in reply to your query: [quote]timbuktu wrote: "So, it boils down to my own lack of trust in Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala), who has looked after me all my life. Despite this i trust the interest-bearing system more than HIM. " IMuslim_4_Ever queries: "i don't understand the above statement...may you plzz explain what you mean? ........ is that ok then for me to take those loans? what if i can't pay them by the required time period? Is it going to be haram? i have no other way to pay my college tuition...so i have to take the loans...i just hope its not haram... "[/quote] Allah (swt) has been very kind to me. in fact, i think HE has performed miracles to save me from certain disasters: i have faced certain death a few times in my life: * a lynching armed mob after burning a few houses turned to my friend & me, but Allah saved us. * Many, many years ago the doctors told me i will go blind in 6 months. After looking everywhere for a cure, when the six months were nearly up, i tried to kill myself. Before that, i read Surah Yaseen to myself, & Allah not only saved my life, but also still kept my eyes functioning, & has given me the highest & very enjoyable education & fulfilling jobs in these intervening 36 years. * i was caught up in a civil war, the army had just moved in & they were shooting anyone who was not docile. A soldier tried to break open a shop. As i tried to stop him, he put his bayonet to my chest & would have shot me, but did not. * Once my family & i were in our car. My wife was driving & suddenly this bus came in front of us, & there was no way we could have escaped, but the next second it looked liked someone just picked our car up & set it along a separate path. I have faced certain disgrace & worrisome litigation, & yet i remembered to say astaghfaar, & within minutes Allah turned the tables on my enemies. There have been many times life has looked unliveable & the doors closed upon me. i have felt enclosed by the walls of circumstances & yet, out of nowhere, a new opportunity & a better life has opened up for me. Despite all the ups & downs in this warring, ppl-hostile sub-continent, not a single day has passed when i did not have a square meal, or a concrete roof over my head. This is more than some ppl in the US can afford. On another board, i read storias from two women, one a muslim divorcee & mother, & the other a christian trying to learn about islam & take the leap. & i never knew that such poverty existed in the USA. despite having been orphaned at an early age, 7 of my siblings & me have received education at least to masters level. The most important blessing has been that, while in the West, i had become a muslim only in name, abstaining only from shirk & zina, & doing nothing that muslims have been enjoined to do, & then i remembered Allah, & asked HIM that this is not what HE had sent me in this world for, & that i wanted to come back to Islam, & Allah (swt) changed my circumstances, sent me back to this country, & gave me a job where i could feel making a contribution. my elder brother was working in a fairly high position in a very, very big conglomerate, but he did not have a car. The Chief of the organisation, normally resident in the West, came for some meetings, & as the meeting concluded, all the senior officers stayed on to ingratiate themselves with the boss, but my brother left, as he had no transport of his own. Then, as is the custom, his colleagues started backbiting about his not wanting to take loan on even a token interest. The chief asked for my brother's personal file, & when he saw that my brother had written he would neither take interest on his provident fund, nor pay interest on any loans he is given by the company, the chief sanctioned an interest-free loan for my brother. It was the first & only interest-free loan in the history of that firm. my brother was building his house about the same time i thought of building mine. Whereas i looked for loans, interest-bearing or otherwise, my brother wondered where the money would come from? His company laid off several employees, & he was one of them. His severance pay was enough to cover the cost of his house. & after he had completed his house. he got a job. when someone has been so blessed, why should he go & disobey Allah, & give in to the dajjali system? Satan whispers in our ears what will happen tomorrow. What will happen when you retire? So we look for suspect incomes, we put money in suspect schemes. I should have known better, & should have trusted Allah, & not money or ownership of a big house, or invested in interest-bearing schemes. i rationalized my investment in saving schemes by my observation that the paper-money system is a rip-off, because inflation is built into it. I know now that my nafs has taken me over. Given the same circumstances, i will not make a different choice. Now i understand: on the Day of Judgment, mujrimeen will say "give us some more time, let us go back. This time we will obey Allah". & they will be refused because Allah knows that their behavior will not be any different from the previous one. to me it seems i am the same. i know Allah (swt) has given me so much & protected me throughout, & yet i disobey HIM. because perhaps i think money makes the world go round. & that is wrong. There must be a way to cleanse my heart, & to atone for this sin of trusting in money rather than in Allah. about your college loan, sister :-), i am not a mufti. but i will tell you one dua. say it three times after every fard salah. & as many times during the day as you can remember. Allah (swt) will arrange so your loan is paid off without you feeling a burden, inshaAllah: [center]Allah-ummakfini bihalalika un haramika wa aghnini bifadhlika amman siwak[/center] of course, your niyya should be that you want to pay off this loan as quickly as possible, & you want to avoid taking or paying interest. when i started doing this, my loan repayment became easy for me, & overall my finances have improved. & the disagreements between my wife & me have decreased tremendously :) |
| 08/14/03 at 01:01:10 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| BroHanif |
| 08/14/03 at 16:16:32 |
| Salaams Another classic work by brother timbuktu, excellant. Also Sis or anyone who's experiencing debt read Suray Wakiah before you retire to sleep, it keeps poverty at bay. Sis IMuslim_4Ever have you thought of asking cousins/friends for a little money ? Perhaps yo could also get ajob that might cover some of your costs or fees? I don't know how the system works in the Stats but over here the UK govt does help out a little. Very little. Salaams Hanif |
| NS |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/15/03 at 11:49:05 |
| [slm] Subhanallah, bro Timbuktu, seems like you have experienced soooooo much! No wonder you are so wise and all :) thank you very much for sharing what you did. Alhumdulillah that Allah [swt] always helped you. May Allah [swt] reward you more for your kind advice and the wise posts that you alwz write. Ameen summah ameen. "Once my family & i were in our car. My wife was driving & suddenly this bus came in front of us, & there was no way we could have escaped, but the next second it looked liked someone just picked our car up & set it along a separate path." [/quote] by timbuktu This is just amazing!! Subhanallah!! Allah [swt] is the MOST Merciful and the MOST Caring!! I have been saved such way once, too. I was walking from school (homeward), and while I was crossing the road a car came right near me! The car was about 8 inch away from my body! It touched my legs and stopped! There wasn't any noise of the car as it stopped¡Kit was like someone just kept it there. I was shocked at first, and then kept on running toward home About my loan, Inshaallah I am going to recite that duaa..thank you. And yes, my niyya is to get rid of the loan as early as I can. I tried not to get loan..but I had no choice BroHanif, I don't feel good asking ppl for help.. Help only comes from Allah [swt] and I don¡¦t mind asking Allah [swt] for help though :) :) thank you for you kind advice. Inshaallah I am getting a job, and I will work hard to pay off my loan. You know what, I don't like money...not too much...I would like to have as much as I need, and my need shouldn't be too much though...Pray for me you guys. I hope I never be ungrateful and I hope I always recite duaa to thank Allah [swt] for all the things that I have. ameen Alhumdulillah Alaa Kullihal ( I thank Allah for everything) I hoped I wrote the duaa correctly...I am not good with Arabic. Correct me if you guys know that duaa...that duaa is to recite all the time...in time of sadness...happynesss...alz thanking Allah [swt].... Ma salaama |
| 08/15/03 at 11:55:10 |
| IMuslim_4Ever |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| timbuktu |
| 08/16/03 at 19:38:57 |
| [slm] thanks BroHanif & sister IMuslim_4Ever, may everything we do be for the sake of Allah (swt). sister, your post would not have needed an answer, except duas, but you raise an important point, & thats about Arabic. but before that let me congratulate you on recognising how Allah saved you too. In fact, if we reflect on the many ways HE looks after us, we will know we can never thank HIM enough. There is something by Sheikh Sa'adi on this. If I can recollect it, i will try to post it. I do not know about others, but i feel uncomfortable with transliteration. The sounds that Huroof (letters of the alphabet) make are very important, so is the tanween (the vowels, as it were the fatha, kasra, dhamma. in Urdu we call it the zabr, the zare, the paish, & the double of these). In the dua above where I have written "un", it should be read as in unlike, unbelieveable, etc. I copied the Arabic from a pdf file, but it did not paste as Arabic, so I am looking for some other way, coz think the Arabic is important. OK, here it is: [center][size=4] Ç ááåã Ç ßÝäì ÈÍáÇáß Úä ÍÑÇãß æ ÇÛääì ÈÝÖáß Úãä ÓæÇß [/size][/center] Reading the Quran & AHadith, in fact any Arabic, correctly is very important. For us non-Arabs, the a'araab have been added, & that makes it easy for us. But reciting the Quran with the correct pronunciation is "fard-ain" (obligatory), so we have to struggle for it. I had let it slip, but now that I have realised its importance, I am trying. & I suggest you devote some time to it as well. If you have difficulty in typing, I give below a link to an Arabic on-line keyboard. it is very simple & easy to use. Somewhere it should be able to add the a'araab, but i havn't discovered it yet. [center]http://www.naseej.com/text/key/key.html[/center] The dua that you have written is correctly written. & may Allah (swt) grant you (& all the rest of us) HIS bounty in Halal ways, & make it sufficient for you (& all of us), & give us HIS love, & that of HIS prophet [saw]. may HE grant all of us the best in both worlds, & give us all shelter under HIS throne on the Day of Judgment, & Firdaws-e-a'alaa in the company of the prophet, with our near & dear ones. aameen |
| 08/17/03 at 21:11:01 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/17/03 at 19:58:55 |
| [slm] thank you bro timbuktu, the arabic link is a big help. :) ... well, i didn't finish posting the article..so here goes some more... i wonder if anybody is paying attention to the article... if not..please do so...cuz i think its really good article... thank you all... Now what about the people who operate haram businesses or work in them? Well, I’m not one of those people who believe in driving everyone away who isn’t following Islam as good as I think they should. Doesn’t the Qur’an advise us to forgive and overlook their faults, as we want Allah to do the same for us? Though this may seem controversial, I believe gentle persuasion and a kind of tolerance toward our brothers and sisters is stronger than being angry and spiteful to them if we find them doing wrong. Rather, if we see Muslims working in haram ways, we must ask ourselves if we, ourselves, have established a truly inclusive and vibrant Muslim lifestyle yet? Have we developed communities where most people from the police to public school teachers are Muslims or where you find house after house populated with Muslim families? The face is we need every Muslim we can get in the long run and if we can help strengthen a person’s heart with taqwa and noble teachings, and hide the faults of others, people will bring about change in their lives and finances all by themselves. Internal motivation is more powerful, and lasting, than outward pressure. (That’s why I think the “Religious Police” in some Muslim countries is the stupidest idea I have ever heard.) Now, what about the people who want a new interpretation of Islam for the sake of adopting a new lifestyle in a new land? There are many Muslims, both immigrant and native born (and the children of immigrants) who want an “American” Islam so they can partake of the social fruits of modern American life. To be blunt, they want the dating, the liberal clothing, the prom, the dance club, the intermixing, the wealth and the high life associated with being around successful people. They want a Muslim Dawson’s Creek or Friends. If you’ve ever spent any appreciable amount of time with Muslim teens you’ve seen the writing on the wall. They all know the hottest new bands. They keep up with the latest clothing trends. They have all the gadgets and gizmos and they are shooting for lucrative careers that will enable them to live a fast, glamorous life. You don’t have many who want to lead a life of pious poverty like Abu Darda! I still remember reading a quote in Islamic Horizons magazine a year or so ago in which a prominent Muslim scholar from California lamented, “We have lost 95% of the youth>: Did they die or go off to Tibet? No, they stopped being a part of the Muslim community and take no care for Islam in the conduct of their daily affairs. In short they are useless as far as Islamic purposes of goals are concerned. A few youth survive as Muslims here and there but they are constantly under pressure to give in to the high life as well. Forget about the youth, how many Muslim adults leave the country club lifestyle to pay little heed to Islam! Even some Masjid going Muslims, which is an extreme minorities of our supposed multi-million individual population, daringly sport the latest hotrods and gold watcher as if it was okay to show off wealth ostentatiously. Have you ever gone to a typical Indo-Pak wedding? My gosh, who are they trying to impress! And the lavish graduation parties and other ceremonies leave the conscientious Muslim jus speechless. At the very least, where are the poor people who the Prophet said should always be invited to parties? Nope, just the Armani and Versace crowd, thank you very much. If traditionally Islam has been against dating, wealth flaunting and music and dancing, it is the lifestyle imitators who boldly say, “Hey we live in America. Islam must accept these things. There is a certain kind of brazen boldness in this new battle cry, almost like a devil-may-care attitude in a large chunk of our “community” as they openly participate in the public life of this culture. (A culture that conservative Christians tend to call Satanic!) more to come later...i am lazy you can tell, rt? ;) ma salaama |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| paula |
| 08/17/03 at 20:23:27 |
| [slm][size=2][font=Verdana][color=Navy] [quote]well, i didn't finish posting the article..so here goes some more... i wonder if anybody is paying attention to the article... [/quote] Enjoying your article here Sister. Jazak Allahu Khairan. I'm kind of looking forward to the rest of the post here. Anxious to digest it as a whole. It's great you've taken the time to make it available. Smile... Some other great advice/comments intermingled within too. Enjoyable [/color][/font][/size] [wlm] |
| 08/17/03 at 20:29:16 |
| paula |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 08/17/03 at 22:25:10 |
| [slm] thanks sis...sorry if i sound demanding... :) you know i am enjoying the article myself...i read along when i type...so like you i am curious to read the whole article... :D :D i am just too lazy to sit down and finish typing it.... anyway, some comments, like the one about Indo-pak wedding are very very true! our (me being one from there) weddings are just too much! dont' u think so? ma salaama |
| 08/17/03 at 22:26:46 |
| IMuslim_4Ever |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| timbuktu |
| 09/24/03 at 03:59:52 |
| [slm] sister IMuslim_4Ever has forgotten us, I thinlk. sis, if you found this article on the net, can you post its link thanks |
| 09/24/03 at 04:01:02 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| laurie |
| 09/26/03 at 17:56:01 |
| Hello, I hope you don't mind if I participate in this fascinating conversation. I am not a Muslim, but I have tremendous respect for Islam. I wonder if the African American Muslim population isn't the closest thing to an Americanized Islam? Since we are talking about people primarily born in the U.S. (not that being born here is better or worse, just that people born here don't have to face the struggles common to most immigrants. Often times I think immigrants want to hold onto some of their ideals of the motherland as well as language, customs ect..). Black people have an ancestory that usually includes non-Christians, sometimes Muslims, who were forced to give up their native/African religions. I wonder if Black American reverts are not only seeking Allah, but also reclaiming a piece of their heritage? I wonder if people who migrate here from the M.E., when they choose to live close to Non-Muslims, :-* :-* who are also from the same part of the world, are doing so not because they share the same race, but because these are people whose ways, perception of the world ect. is similar to their own. Therefore these people whose religion is different, become a source of comfort during a time of transition. What do you think? Islam is a religion that does vary from region to region. Part of this variance depends on culture and history. I wonder if African American Islam is not influenced much in the same way. Of course this would include the after affects of slavery and on-going racism. Peace Laurie :-* |
| Re: What kind of islam will last in America? |
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| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 09/28/03 at 13:54:51 |
| [slm] i didn't forget you guys... i am really sorry for not finishing this article...college is just getting on my nerve :) too much studying to do!! wallahi.... Inshallah by end of this week i am going to type the whole article... dear laurie thank you for joining... you brought up somthing interesting...rt now i have to go...i am gonna come back here when i am less busy and we can talk further... take care... and welcome to Jannah... hopefully u will like it here...nice meeting you :) ma salamaa |
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