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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| The Imam of Bedford Stuyvesant |
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| jannah |
| 06/14/05 at 10:02:47 |
| slm, This is a cool article on Imam Siraj in Aramco World.. check it out!!! http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200503/the.imam.of.bedford-stuyvesant.htm he summer heat draws people onto the Brooklyn street. Shopkeepers in doorways call to passersby about caps, socks and belts for sale. Young mothers push strollers heavy with plastic shopping bags slung over the handles. Delivery trucks veer around potholes, jockeying for position with chrome-detailed sports cars thumping hip-hop. It’s Friday afternoon, and the promise of the weekend lightens the air. At the corner of Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street sits a freshly painted green and yellow building with a new sign that reads “Masjid at-Taqwa,” a transliteration of the Arabic for “mosque of God-consciousness.” In an instant, the end of afternoon prayers transforms the streetscape as women in colorful robes and bright headscarves pour from the mosque’s back door. The sidewalk is awash in color: An emerald robe with intricately embroidered sleeves; a yellow shalwar kamees trouser-and-tunic set peppered with white splotches; candy pink with lime green accents. In 1991, Wahhaj became the first Muslim to offer the invocation before a session of the US House of Representatives. In 1991, Wahhaj became the first Muslim to offer the invocation before a session of the US House of Representatives. Men exit the front of the mosque, several hundred of them, many wearing knit skullcaps, some with only socks on their feet, shoes still in hand. Men in do-rags, sports jerseys and fatigues linger alongside others in embroidered tunics. A bearded man in cargo blue jeans and a Yankees cap wears a black T-shirt with the word “Muslim” in white letters that form the shape of a city skyline. He greets a friend with a wide-armed embrace and calls him “my brother.” Clusters of congregants stand before the Abu Bakers [sic] Bakery, which offers cheesecake below the message: “There is no god except Allah.” There’s no trace, these days, of the more than a dozen crack houses whose denizens threatened residents, business owners and worshipers alike on these streets in the 1980’s. In those days pedestrians rushed rather than strolled, and shopkeepers either left or took cover behind bulletproof glass. One man, Siraj Wahhaj, has led this transformation. He is Masjid at-Taqwa’s founder and imam, or spiritual leader. Praised as one of the most dynamic and charismatic Muslim leaders in the United States, Wahhaj travels widely, lecturing and preaching at Islamic centers, conventions, fundraisers and universities. In 1991, he became the first Muslim to lead a prayer before the us Congress. But most days, his focus is much closer to home. Read the rest at the above link |
| salaam |
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| se7en |
| 06/15/05 at 09:48:28 |
as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, what's sad is that even someone like imam siraj did not escape accusations of association with terrorism ::) these tactics are targetting the very people that are making the U.S. a better place. my friend's father was one of the many brothers who took care of the neighborhood around Imam Siraj's masjid... from the stories he tells, it was not quite as simple as 'patrolling' the neighborhood.. these brothers often times put themselves in a lot of danger, and had to face the brunt of violence from people.. but they stood their ground and helped change a neighborhood of decay into one of vitality.. I think one lesson we can learn from this effort is that WE are the ones who have to enact change. "be the change you wish to see in the world" salaamu alaykum :) |
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