Al-Nu’man ibn Bashir (RA) reported: Rasoolullahﷺ said, “The example of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” [Muttafaqun Alaihi, Bukhari, Muslim]
We Muslims as an Ummah counting backwards from post WW2 nation states to the Khilafa Rashida which was our first experience of statehood for Muslims, have lived in Empire in one form or another. One ruler with absolute power. People must obey. No participation in decision making. Change of leadership, almost always violently. Fratricide was the norm and declared legal by Suleiman Al Qanooni. Yet another reason to study history.
Our history is the history of conquest and its economics – though actual conquests stopped over 300 years ago but the hangover remains. Our Muslim country economics has gone the same way – we have replaced state income from spoils of war to oil revenues. Local people never had to produce or show enterprise. They were on the dole and remain that way. Our wealthy countries are bank accounts, not economies. We compete in building structures, not minds. Ask how many of our speakers talk about conquests, wars, bravery, and how many about social work, industry, creating products or services? We live in the past, as if the present doesn’t exist.
I believe that we must wake up and get out of our Empire mindset and realize that it was a glorious phase in our history, but it is over. Today we must draw inspiration from the use of knowledge, technology, systems and markets. We must learn a whole new set of skills and contribute in new ways to be viewed as productive and contributing members of society. Power and influence are derivatives of contribution, not consumption. We must actively learn from our great history by interpreting it in the modern context. It is not about regression but about progress standing on the shoulders of giants.
I submit to you that most of what is happening to us today is because of our isolationist, myopic, and insular attitudes. We live as if there is nobody else in the world. Let me give you some metrics. Ask: How many of us greet people first and how many ask for a Fatwa about whether it is permissible to say wa alaikum salam to a non-Muslim who greeted you with Salam? How many of us speak the language of the country fluently enough to be able to represent ourselves in public fora? How many of us sit on school and other boards, and are in local government? How many of us volunteer in public programs for different social causes? How many of us volunteer in protests against different social evils like drugs, racism, gun violence, global warming, wars and nuclear weapons? How many of us participated in Black Lives Matter marches? How many of us participated even in the pro-Palestine protests and how many debated whether it is Halaal or Haraam to protest? How many of us vote and how many debate about voting? How many of us have local people as friends? In this country I don’t mean ABCDs or ABCAs but Caucasian, African or Native Americans. How many of us attend Jury duty and local Townhall meetings? I can add to this list but will leave you to do that. Shall I also ask, how many of us drive too fast in residential areas because we are late for Juma and park on neighbors’ lawns and block their driveways? Power and influence are the result of consistent contribution, not consumption. Nobody cares what we own. They care about what we give to those in need. Power comes with territory. Contribution defines territory. You want power? Contribute.
Today almost everything that is happening to us is because we are seen as net consumers, not contributors. To give you an example, in the 2011 Motor Show in Qatar, the star attraction was the VW Tuareg with custom 22-inch wheels, roof rails, rub strips, and other details–all plated in 24 carat gold. Though the VW Tuareg is a high-performance car which won the Dakar Rally, the focus at the Motor Show was not on engineering but bling. Ask why? This is not only about rulers and other countries. Just look around you at what we do in our local society here in West Springfield and ask, ‘What is the Muslim contribution to general society?’ What is the answer? Isolation breeds ignorance. Ignorance inspires fear. Fear results in violence. That is what we are seeing in different parts of the world today. Our isolationist, exclusivist, non-contributory attitude, combined with the fact that we are visibly, racially, culturally, ethnically different and can’t or don’t communicate with local people is the ideal combination for the Islamophobic grist mill to generate hatred using the material we give freely.
This is not a physical fight. It is an psychological battle where the dominant narrative must be countered with an experiential narrative that people can compare to, which cancels and contradicts the narrative of hate. When people see anti-Muslim things on the TV or social media, their experience of Muslims, our manners, communication, contribution, and helpfulness must contradict that message. Only we can create that because it affects only us. A picture is worth a thousand words. An action is worth a million. Only actions can drown out the cacophony of anti-Muslim propaganda. Not words.
Allahﷻ ordered us to get involved in the general community, not only with Muslims, and work for the promotion of good and the prohibition of harm. This applies to all good and all evil that happens in society. Allahﷻ said:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ
A’al Imraan 3: 110 You are the best community ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah.
There are two things that we must learn to do urgently. First, we must learn to appreciate and show gratitude to Allahﷻ and to people for what we enjoy in these lands. In this country we can dress in full Islamic costume, pray anywhere in peace, say anything we want in our sermons, eat our Halaal meats, insist that Pizza Hut cuts our pizza with a clean knife that has not been used to cut any other meat, receive worldclass medical treatment, worldclass universities open to everyone regardless of race or religion and a host of other freedoms. In this country universities have Muslim chaplains. I am the Muslim chaplain in two of them. Their dining halls have Halaal food. They pay for prayer spaces and mats and host Iftar parties in Ramadan. Compare this to what happens in Muslim countries. I don’t need to elaborate as I am sure we are all aware. Truly may Allahﷻ bless America.
Second, we must learn how to present our culture to Westerners. For this we must learn to communicate – learn the language and how to use it. It is not about converting people. It is about helping people understand how Islam continues to remain as relevant and valid today as it was 14 centuries ago. It is to help them to see Islam as a solution to modern problems and a bulwark against social evils. It is to help them to see how the Islamic way will make them successful in this life while creating a society that is based on compassion, sharing, justice, and equality. It is to introduce Allahﷻ to them in ways that touch their hearts and bring tears to their eyes. It is about winning hearts, not arguments. It is about dialogue, not debate, collaboration, not competition. It is about presenting to them the beauty of the Islamic way in all that we say and do, in our spaces both public and private which will attract them and change their opinions. It is about educating the ignorant and opening the eyes of the blindfolded.
Imam Az-Zuhri (R) the great Muhaddith, who was one of the teachers of Imam Malik bin Anas (R) said that Islam spread the fastest after Fatah Makkah because for the first time, the non-Muslim was able to see the life of an ordinary Muslim, up close. People came into Islam not for wealth and power or because of complex theological debates or because they were forced, but because they were impressed with the grace, harmony, and tranquility in the life of ordinary Muslims. I ask myself what has changed? How is it that we live among non-Muslims, we enjoy all the benefits of their societies and systems, yet what do we do to win hearts? This must be a conscious effort on our part. A part of our normal behavior. A part of our conscious training of our children and all those in our circle of influence.
We must build bridges, not walls. For that it is essential to monitor our conversations. Especially our internal conversations when we speak to ourselves. Do you hear the voice of dividing or joining? If you think and speak about people disparagingly, it becomes impossible to respect them and their ways. Remember that there is much good in everyone. There will be places and points of disagreement. But those must not become triggers to trash everything. When we do that, we choose to become ignorant bigots, just like those we criticize for trashing us, our religion and our culture.
I want to point out that exclusivity comes at a price which is always paid by the minority. The result is isolation, suspicion, othering and demonization, which in times of stress can result in violence against us. Participation is critical to survival and in a country where you can do that with total freedom while retaining your cultural and religious norms, it is essential to participate or risk others deciding your fate.
It is essential to participate in society and become valuable and irreplaceable. We have a religion which is relevant for all times, which promotes all that is wholesome and good and prohibits all that is destructive and toxic. Islam came to change our focus. And to guide us to the truth – that in the end we will pay for what we did or chose not to do.
The mindset we need to create is to move from – ‘What can I get out of society? – to – What can I contribute to society?’ Because return is proportionate to contribution, not consumption. I remind myself and you that when we meet Allahﷻ, we will not be asked, “What happened?” We will be asked, “What did you do?” It is for that day, that we must prepare ourselves and that day must be our focus.
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