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This interview with Imam N. Bilal Muhammed of Kansas City demonstrates the balanced perspectives that characterize the community, leadership, example and vision of Imam W.D. Mohammed.
Peace, Curtis Sharif
Houston, Texas
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/10935747.htm.
Posted on Sat, Feb. 19, 2005
An imam for our times
“The Muslim is to be aware of the presence of God in everything.” N. Bilal Muhammed
Since the terrorist attacks of
But these Muslims are not a monolithic group. Many are immigrants from the
The Al-Inshirah Islamic Center at 3664 Troost is a mosque that attracts primarily such converts. Its leader, or imam, is N. Bilal Muhammed, who converted to Islam about 25 years ago and has been the mosque's imam for 14 years. He's also employed full time as a firefighter for
Many African-American Muslims were attached to the Nation of Islam, a nontraditional sect founded by Elijah Muhammad but now run by Louis Farrakhan. But most Nation of Islam followers eventually embraced orthodox Sunni Islam under the guidance of Muhammad's son, W.D. Muhammad.
When Bilal Muhammed converted to Islam, it was to the traditional form of the faith, not to the Nation of Islam. He gave up his birth name, which he prefers not to make public. Bilal was the name of one of the Prophet Muhammad's companions whose duty was to call people to prayer.
To understand how such an Islamic leader sees the post-9/11 world, The Kansas City Star interviewed Muhammed. His responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Q. To what do you attribute the growth of what many people call militant or extremist Islam?
A. I think extremism has grown from lack of understanding and education among the Muslims, which has sometimes led to tyrants being over the Muslim public and pressuring the Muslim public. Also some of the Muslim public will see the West as contributing to support of tyrants. Palestine-Israel is something that breeds extremism, too.
Is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a big issue for your people here?
It's not a major issue. Our hope is that both of those people can live there in peace. … When there are extreme acts that happen from both sides, we will sometimes address the need for Muslims to be balanced. After 9/11, a lot of our sermons were about having the balance and following the example of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who forbid killing innocents and noncombatants.
The No. 1 solution for Muslims to come out of their
One source of religious tension is a belief that “we hold all the truth and others are going to hell.” Do you believe non-Muslims are in such eternal danger?
No, not at all. First, there's a verse in the Qur'an that says … all who believe in God will have their reward with God. There are sayings of the Prophet Muhammad that there will be large numbers of followers of the different prophets. So how Muslims could think that God wouldn't allow any other people in paradise, I don't know. Now some people who are extreme will say, “Well, that was Christians before the Qur'an was revealed.” But I don't buy that. I think most of us don't buy that.
So if I, as a Christian, want to ensure that I get into heaven, would you say I'm not helping myself by converting to Islam?
I would say you don't have to convert to Islam.
But you'd like me to?
I'd say if you wanted to and thought it was best for you to convert to Islam, then do it. But you don't have to convert to Islam to earn paradise. I would say that's a judgment for Allah, not for Bilal.
What's your experience of how American Muslims, who come from various places, get along?
My experience is that there is deep love for the believers. Now there are some people who haven't evolved, who may bring baggage with them from all communities, including the African-American community. But … African-American Muslims generally have their specific agenda. Most of our mosques are located in urban areas, and we want to be a part of helping develop the urban areas.
They (immigrant Muslims) have their agenda, too. They've come from a whole different culture, and I'm sure they have their own set of difficulties and problems they have to work with…
What does sharia (Islamic law) mean to you, and how does it fit into life in a country with a secular government that protects freedom of worship?
Sharia means to me that we are not disobedient to the commands of Allah in the Qur'an, first of all, and that we are not disobedient to what the prophet has left us. Can we carry out and impose penalties for people who violate that? No, we can't do that here in this society. But … if people violate certain things, the law of the land will take care of it. Sharia … for us (is) the law of the Qur'an, and for us it's No. 1… But some of the things we can't do because we're not an Islamic government.
Do you want the
No, I don't. I want the
I ask that because some people say that what Muslims really want is to convert the country and make it an Islamic state.
Yeah, I've heard that, but sometimes it's fanaticism speaking out.
You're a convert to Islam. Tell me about how and when you embraced the religion.
I was (at) Southern University in
So for some reason I intervened and said, “Let's hear what they've got to say. Let's hear what's going on from their perspective.” So a Muslim saw that and came to me later and said, “I have something that you might be interested in.” He gave me a copy of what was called then the Bilalian News. It used to be the old Muhammad Speaks.
I took it and read it. It introduced me to a whole new perspective about religion and began to introduce me to the Qur'an. From that point on, I became familiar with the concept of God, which was big for me because I had grown up in the church and wasn't comfortable with the concept of God.
What church?
I went to a couple of churches, mostly to a Baptist church here in
You bought into traditional Islam and not the Nation of Islam?
Right. I became a student of Imam W.D. Muhammad. The whole way of looking at the Qur'an and what Islam is to be for mankind became my path of study.
What was the difference between what you understood about the concept of God in a Christian tradition versus in Islam?
In the Islamic tradition, the thing that stood out most was the fact that God, Allah, was not favoring any people, any culture, any ethnic background, any race, any pedigree. The faith really has something to do with everything in your life. The Muslim is to be aware of the presence of God in everything and never separate it from any of his thinking or his or her actions.
Sunni Islam doesn't have a formal system of clergy. How does one become an imam and why you decided to do that?
One becomes an imam first by being a sincere, serious, devout follower of the Qur'an and the life example of Muhammad. … You take a path of study. There are a lot of branches of discipline for Islam. You become known as the person who can help in any of those areas. You never try to be leader. But you are supposed to be prepared in case the community needs you as a leader. The need arose and the community chose me.
Describe what goes on here at the mosque in a typical week.
The big thing, of course, is the Friday jummah (or prayer service). We have classes during the week. There's an Arabic class and one called “Lessons From the Life of the Prophet.” And there are youth group meetings. On Saturdays there's a weekend school with students from 18 years old on down. On Sundays we have a class that's more informal, and a lot of times we'll have guests. We have weddings here and funerals.
How many people are attached to this mosque?
We talk about how we may have a different crowd every Friday. We probably have about 150 to 200 solid members.
Muslims in good health and with the financial ability are required to make a pilgrimage to
I have been, thank Allah. It was everything that I wanted out of that journey. It was 2002. Being there in the holy precincts, visiting the house that Abraham built, and having the reverence that one should have was just gold, just so beautiful.
What was so moving about that experience?
One of the main things that sticks out is seeing the different peoples from all over the world and seeing the reverence they had. And it didn't matter whether they were from a privileged lifestyle or a poor lifestyle.
How do you prepare a sermon for the Friday jummah, how long does it last, and what are you trying to do in these sermons?
I prepare by trying to find a subject that will benefit the community, make us more God-conscious and make us aware of our community and individual responsibility. They're generally 45 minutes, maybe 50 minutes. Here lately I've been getting a little better, and they're shorter than 40 minutes. Just for the record, I have had people tell me that I've gone a little too long.
There is no group of people of faith that has not gone through conflict, including my own congregation. How have you dealt with conflict here?
We have had some conflict. The conflict that I have is that all of us who are leaders are told to look first at what God tells us in the Qur'an and then look at what our prophet may have said that may help our situation. So the conflict comes in sometimes when one or two people are familiar with this but the group might not be familiar with it. So, because it is a democracy, the group may want to decide something without looking at that.
You're an imam but also a firefighter?
I am. For the city of
Is your work here compensated so you're in effect a part-time employee of the mosque?
Yes, that's right.
It's said that firefighting is one of the most dangerous professions. Is it more dangerous than being an imam?
Most definitely. If it's not, the imam is taking it way too seriously.
To reach Bill Tammeus, call (816) 234-4437 or send e-mail
Visit his Web log at billtammeus .typepad.com.
The Muhammed file
Name: N. Bilal Muhammed, age 48.
Position: Imam, or leader, Al-Inshirah Islamic Center,
Education: Attended
Another current job: Firefighter for the city of
Family: Married for 22 years to Kalina Muhammed. Six children and guardian of a seventh.
Sunnis and Shiites: Islam consists of two major branches. About 90 percent of Muslims are Sunnis. Shiites make up about 10 percent and are the majority in
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{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]
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