Assalamu aleikum. What Muslims are doing to ourselves in the U.S. is terrible. There are actually fake "masjids" here in the U.S. that complete their not only their khutbahs but their "Friday prayers" as well before the time for Zuhr has even begun! And the majority of meat purchased by "Muslims" here is not halal, it comes from Wal-Mart and other haraam sources. In most cases, Muslims here don't even know what hijra MONTH it is, much less the date. This is largely the product of our failure to pursue daw'ah in a vigorous fashion. For example, there is no Muslim equivalent of the christian Gideon Society that leaves bibles in motel and hotel rooms as they travel on business. Granted, actual copies of the Holy Qur'an could not be placed in motel rooms - but prepared Islamic literature and/or translations of the meaning of the Holy Qur'an in whole or in part could. And there are plenty of Muslims in hotel/motel management who could and probably would facilitate this. When we project our deen forth (1) We show that we are not intimidated by the conditions of the society in which we live (2) We reinforce the imaan within ourselves and (3) last but certainly not least, insha'Allah we get blessings from Allah (S.W.T.) for such effort even if it does not succeed. Our failure to interact with the larger society to promote the views of our deen keeps us back. Case in point: other than a few token remarks on Terri Schiavo, the Islamic position against removing her feeding tube has not been forthrightly and assertively put forward. Just check http://news.google.com and use search terms - schiavo muslim - or schiavo islam. And most of the few references that ARE there are duplicates of each other. Muslims should be taking leading roles in fighting homosexual "marriages". Our failure to do so is leading to the passage of state constitutional amendments that reinforce existing laws that not only prevent homosexual "marriages" but which also further obstruct polygamy (the usual language of such amendments is that marriage is defined as being between "one" man and "one" woman). It is a matter of great wonder why we should even think that we should expect our appeals to Allah (S.W.T.) to be answered when we are ourselves so internally deficient in the practice of our deen and fail to externally promote the deen and its values. May Allah (S.W.T.) forgive us all, both in this world and in the next. --- In islamcity@yahoogroups.com, "abdeen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Al-Tirmidhi Hadith > Hadith 269 Narrated by > Ziyad ibn Hudayr > Umar said to me: Do you know what demolishes Islam? I said: No. Whereupon he > said: It is the slip of a scholar and the dispute of the hypocrite by the > Book, and the commands of the misguided rulers which demolish it. > Transmitted by Darimi. > abdeen > > -------Original Message------- > > From: islamcity@yahoogroups.com > Date: Sunday, March 27, 2005 9:16:40 AM > To: islamcity > Subject: [IslamCity] WESTERN MUSLIMS ARE DYING TO FIT IN By Dr. Mohamed > Elmasry* > > > From: International News > Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 5:14 AM > Subject: WESTERN MUSLIMS ARE DYING TO FIT IN By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry* > > > WESTERN MUSLIMS ARE DYING TO FIT IN By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry* > March 17, 2005 > > > I am very worried about the future of my Muslim brothers and sisters in > Western countries. > Why do I feel this way? > It is because I see an increasing and alarming pattern in news reports that > point to a very dangerous phenomenon – the crisis of a people who are > literally dying to "fit in." The inevitable end result of such behavior is > usually a loss of identity, self-respect and – you guessed it – losing the > respect of others. Worse still, those who are dying to fit in will remain > marginalized. > We are all too familiar with the plight of youth from who are dying to fit > in at their schools. Those who are openly rejected by various "in" groups > because of skin color, race, physical features, size, religion, gender, > drug/alcohol/sexual abstinence, or even high academic achievement, pay an > even higher price when they try to fit in. > The situation of Western Muslim minorities is not so different from that of > ostracized students dying to fit in with their prevailing peer culture. For > example, an American Muslim woman announces that tomorrow she will lead > congregational Friday prayers before an audience of TV cameras and reporters > > But is prayer leading -- admittedly an exception to 1400 years of Islamic > tradition -- really the highest priority for an American Muslim woman? Since > Islam does not have a hierarchical Church, mandated to approve or disapprove > such a change in practice, every Muslim can do what he / she thinks it is > right. > So why the wide publicity? It is because the woman and her supporters are > dying to fit in with Western ideas of "progress," ideas which assume that > her not taking a prayer leading role would somehow be discriminatory. > Growing instances of Muslims dying to fit in, and losing so much in the > effort, are deeply connected to ways in which North American Muslims have > been steadily losing their civil liberties since 9/11. > In fact, they are replacing Blacks as the ethno-cultural group most targeted > by racial profiling through police and other civil authorities; and sadly, > they are replacing Jews as the group most singled out by hate-crime > perpetrators. In today's sad reality, not a single place of worship in > Canada or the U.S is spied on more than mosques. > And so, as my people are losing their basic rights to worship in peace and > safety at mosques across America, one of my sisters in the faith feels she > must promote her desire to lead prayers in front of the cameras. It is sad > for her, and sad for us, because she is dying to fit in. > In another example, a Canada Muslim Liberal senator has called for the > legalization of prostitution. Why, brother, is this such an important issue > for you? What about child poverty, homelessness, security certificate > detentions, the injustices of our anti-terrorism law, etc. etc.? Are all > these issues less important? > Recently, the Canadian branch of an American Islamic organization sent > condolences to families of the four RCMP officers murdered by a deranged > Alberta gunman. It would seem logical and sensitive to do this: after all, > Canadian police officers are our sons and daughters too, as well as our > neighbors and friends. We Canadian Muslims are not foreign to them. > But was there something less benign about an American-based Muslim group > sending out condolences on this sad occasion? Was it also a desperate public > relations move, trying to show that we Muslims are not terrorists, or > terrorist sympathizers, and that we care about the welfare of this country's > law-enforcement professionals? This should go without saying, brothers and > sisters; to overstate such concerns is another submission to the syndrome of > dying to fit in. > Now before you jump to the conclusion that I have cast doubt on an > expression of genuine sympathy, this same American Muslim NGO has never > called on Washington to bring American troops home from Iraq. Is it also > dying to fit in? > > And I wonder why not a single American Muslim organization -- including the > one I've just referred to -- ever speaks out to assert that it is against > Islamic values to leave millions of Americans without adequate health care, > or that the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, or that the U.S. > carries a higher public debt than any other nation on this planet. And I > keep wondering; is this the cost we are really paying for dying to fit in?. > > During the recent public debate in Ontario on whether to use Islamic > (Sharia) law in family arbitration cases, a number of Canadian Muslims > expressed shame over the word Sharia, others defended the usage of the word > but felt it had significant shortcomings, and others rejected it totally. > Are these people also caught up in the phenomenon of dying to fit in and > thereby losing some basic principles of faith? > > In another unsettling development, some Muslim women in Canada recently > organized a beauty pageant. To justify her participation, one of the young > participants > said she wants to show "we're not terrorists, we don't bomb people." What > else is she showing about wanting so badly to fit in? > > Last week, Spanish Muslim leaders issued a fatwa (religious ruling) > declaring Osama bin Laden an infidel. Hello?? Almost full four years after > 9/11? This all-but-redundant fatwa says much more about their desire for > social approval that it could ever say, at this late date, about condemning > extremism! > > Yes, brothers and sisters, I'd like to fit in too. But how? > > The sensitivity of North American Muslims to all forms of discrimination has > seen a manifold increase since 9/11, especially among our youth. Simply put, > the ideal of a just society has completely vanished from their consciousness > > > Having to feel and act as a "foreign minority" greatly reduce the > effectiveness of Canadian Muslims in addressing the key social and political > issues of this country. Above all, it seriously hinders both social and > political integration. It is only when the religious self- identification of > a minority is based on positive individual and collective values that any > minority can survive within a dominant culture, especially that of the > Western world. > > Instead of dying to fit in, Canadian Muslims can contribute tremendously to > our multicultural society by speaking out against discrimination and > deprivation wherever they occur -- among our First Nations people, refugees, > the poor, the needy, children, the sick and the elderly. > > In fact, Canadian Muslims who feel "foreign" because of their religion are > significantly less active in the social and political life of this country > and feel less politically effective than those who do not feel socially and > psychologically subordinate. > > The source of political effectiveness for Muslims living in Western liberal > democracies is not to act foreign, nor does it lie in dying to fit in. Being > whole people, being who we are without shame, intimidation, or inferiority, > is the only positive way out of the mental ghetto created from our misplaced > attitudes of religion-based subordination. > Let us reject dying to fit in ... and instead live to contribute. > > * Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, a professor of computer engineering at the University > of Waterloo, is national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress. He can > be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > ********************************************************************* ****** > {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with > wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, > and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who > has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are > guided.} > (Holy Quran-16:125) > > {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes > in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] > invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and > says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) > > The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if > Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of > camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] > > The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever > calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who > follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." > [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] > ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- > > All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in > any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or > approved otherwise. > > If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a > daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change > your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0Z9NuA/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
