IN THIS ISSUE
The Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI) is seeking representative of Indiana Muslim communities and organizations to attend a quarterly meeting with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels office at 10 am December 8, 2006 in room 101 at the Indiana Statehouse, 200 W Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
To confirm attendance please RSVP by December 2, 2006 to siddiquisa@gmail.com including your name, position with organization, name of organization and the city in which you live.
The Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI) will be launching an online yellow pages listing Muslim Hoosier owned businesses. Each business will receive a free listing on the online yellow pages that will help Muslim Hoosiers to find Muslim owned businesses in their area. To receive a free listing in the yellow pages businesses should send the following information to siddiquisa@gmail.com:
Name of business:
Name of contact:
Address:
Telephone:
Email:
Website:
Type of business:
Services offered:
The Muslim Alliance of Indiana Chamber of Commerce (MAICC) announces the completion of the investment phase of its second major project for the 2006 year. MAICC brought together investors to establish a hotel and convention center in the city of Greenwood. "The Candlewood Suites and Greenwood Conference Center will be the first Muslim owned convention center in the state of Indiana providing not only the city of Greenwood with am important addition to its infrastructure but Muslim Hoosiers with an important resource for their activities," stated Shariq Siddiqui, Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana.
The $13 million hotel is the second project of the MAICC. The MAICC brings together Muslim entrepreneurs together to encourage economic development projects. The MAICC is not a formal chamber of commerce but simply seeks to connect Muslim Hoosiers together for the purpose of growing the number of Muslim Hoosier businesses in Indiana.
"This hotel and convention center will upgrade the infrastructure of the city of Greenwood, provide new investment into the city and provide needed jobs. This new hotel will increase the tax base at the city, county and state level," stated Siddiqui. "Muslim Hoosiers are contributing to make Indiana a stronger, safer and more vibrant state and this investment project is an example of the how Muslims play a positive role with in our state."
"We appreciate the MAI Chamber of Commerce bringing the investors together to make this convention center a reality," stated Syed Ali, Managing Director of the new hotel.
"It is my hope that the MAI Chamber of Commerce continues to bring about such positive outcomes to help Muslim Hoosiers," stated Dr Ibad Ansari.
The Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI), Shariq Siddiqui, met with six Muslim Mayors from the African nation of Mali. Siddiqui was invited by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) to meet with the Muslim mayors to educate them about the Muslim community of Indiana. ISNA routinely hosts international guests from the Muslim world to educate them about Muslims of Indiana.
"It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with these Muslim mayors and talk about the great strides that Muslim Hoosiers are taking in making Indiana a stronger, safer and more vibrant state," stated Siddiqui.
"Programs like these allow Muslim Americans to provide a bridge to the Muslim world," stated Dr Ibad Ansari, President of MAI.
Muslim-Americans are invited to an IMPACT General Meeting Thursday November 30th, 7:30-8:30 pm in the Persimmon Room, IMU, Bloomington, Indiana IMPACT works to empower Muslim-Americans through participation in the American political system. Join IMPACT to hear about their activities, to discuss our strategy for the coming year, to empower Muslim-Americans
IMPACT is Indiana's first Muslim Political Action Committee. IMPACT raised funds for the 2006 election and supported a number of campaigns nationally as well as locally.
For information or to join, please contact Nancy Anderson: naanders@aol.com
For the month of Dhul Hijjah the Astronomical New Moon (conjunction) will occur on Wednesday December 20, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. GMT (i.e., 9:00 a.m. EST, and 6:00 a.m. PST ). On Thursday, December 21, 2006, the new crescent will be sightable in Australia, South East Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Americas. Thus the first day of Dhul Hijjah will be Friday, December 22, 2006.
Based on its criteria to use astronomical calculations for determining the dates of Islamic Lunar Calendar consistently throughout the year, the Fiqh Council of North America has decided that Eid-ul Adha in North America this year will be on Sunday, December 31, 2006 (Dhul Hijjah 10, 1427).
The decision of the Fiqh Council of North America about using astronomical calculations to affirm the month of Ramadan is appreciated by many as well as being hotly debated and misunderstood by some others. We would like to explain our position for those who have some misgivings.
The Fiqh Council is not negating any Sunnah of the beloved Prophet (PBUH). We are saying that the actual sighting with the naked eyes is not required. If the moon is born and enough time has passed after conjunction to make the moon visible then we accept it whether the moon is sighted by the naked eyes or not. This is the reason why we have maintained that if the new Moon was born at 12:00 Noon GMT (or 3:00 PM in Makkah), this Moon will be around 12 to 18 hours of age by the time it reaches the North American Matl'a upto IDL (International Date Line). The Fiqh Council is not going with the birth of the new Moon only; it is rather going with the possibility of its sighting somewhere within the Western Hemisphere.
The Fiqh Council maintains that actual sighting is not the objective but a means to establish the objective. The objective is to start the month of Ramadan with certainty. That is why Muslims used to sight the new Moon on the 29th day of Ramadan and not on the 30th day of Ramadan. The Ahadith requiring actual moon sighting are not generic. They are restricted as they require the sighting only on the 29th day of Sha'aban or Ramadan and not on the 30th day. No jurist has ever required sighting the new Moon on the 30th of Sha'aban or 30th of Ramadan because the certainty is already achieved that the new Moon is there. If someone argues that Muslims do not sight the new Moon on the 30th day because the Prophet (PBUH) said," Complete 30 days in case of obscurities." It will be argued that the Ahadith put the condition of completing 30 days in case of cloudy weather. What if it is not cloudy on the 29th day of the month? Are the Muslims required to sight the Moon on 30th of that month? The answer is "No". Therefore, all the Muslim jurists agree upon the fact that sighting the new Moon is a means and not the objective of the month of Ramadan.
Currently, the actual sighting method is causing a lot of difficulties for Muslims all over the world. Different countries are claiming sighting on different dates and starting the month of Ramadan and celebrating Eid on different days. In the West Muslims face more problems due to starting Ramadan at different timings and celebrating Eids on different days. The trouble is so great that even the family members are divided on the issue and young Muslims are utterly confused about this aspect of Islamic community. The issue of Moon sighting is causing problem of discord among Muslims and is a bone of contention all over the Muslim world. Therefore the argument that the Prophet (PBUH) adopted this method for the sake of making things easy for the Muslim is no more valid. This method has been playing havoc among the Muslim especially in the West for decades and is one of the main sources of disunity and rift within the Muslim community..
The astronomical calculations especially about the birth of the new Moon are absolutely precise. They can be adopted as a means of affirming the new month to avoid the problems connected with actual sighting with the naked eyes. Here we are referring to the astronomical calculations to prove the possibility of sighting and not the birth of the new Moon in an effort to try to fulfill the Sunnah in letter and in spirit. These astronomical calculations are already being used in acts of Islamic worship such as directions of Qiblah, five daily prayers, Imsak and Iftar timings, the acts of worship which are more significant and frequent than sighting the crescent. The Qura'nic verses and the Prophetic commandments clearly indicate some means to accomplish the aspired objectives. For instance, The Qur'an connects the Imsak timings with the white and black thread at the dawn time. Presently we go by our watches based upon the astronomical calculations. The Hadith connects the Iftar timings with seeing the night coming from the East. Currently we break fast without sighting the night coming from the East but by our watches. The Qur'an and Ahadith connect the five daily prayers timings with the shadow and movement of the Sun. According to the Ahadith Angel Jibreel himself taught the Prophet (PBUH) timings of these prayers and connected them with the shadow of the Sun. The entire Ummah somehow goes by the astronomical timings of the watches and not with the letter of the Qur'an and Hadith texts. There is a consensus among the Muslim jurists that these means are permitted to determine the Salah, Imsak and Iftar timings and nobody makes fuss about them being against the Sunnah or against the crystal clear texts of the Qur'an. It is strange that some Muslims are stuck on the text of Moon sighting and not about the other texts which are more frequent and authentic. The Qur'an and Hadith texts are religious texts and must be respected without exceptions.
We also know that the Prophet (PBUH) himself affirmed the new month by just counting the 29 days and without sighting the new Moon, as the Ahadith in al-Bukhari, al-Muslim and all other authentic sources report. Eight of the known Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) including his beloved wife A'ishah, her sister Asma', Caliph U'mar, his son Abdullah bin U'mar, Abu Hurayrah, Anas, 'Amr bin al-A'as and others (May Allah be Pleased with them) used to start the month of Ramadan if the horizon was obscured on the 29th days of Sha'aban without completing the 30 days of Sha'aban (see more details in my paper on ISNA.net). They used to just count 29 days of the month of Sha'aban and start the month of Ramadan without actually sighting the new Moon or completing the 30 days of Sha'aban. Many Successors followed them in this and a whole school of Islamic Fiqh, the Hanbali school, is based upon this position in the matters of affirming the month of Ramadan in case of obscurities. That is why Muttirrif Ibn al-Shakheer, the known Taba'ee, refers his opinion of permitting use of astronomical calculations to Abdullah bin U'mar and not himself. The issue of calculations was discussed even in the first century of Hijra and has been discussed throughout Islamic history. The majority of the Classical jurists rejected the use of calculations because the calculations were not precise in their times. The calculations were usually connected with astrology and magic. Moreover, due to lack of high speed internet, telephone and other means of communication, each locality used to go by its local sighting and the Ummah did not suffer because of going with the actual sighting the way we are suffering in our times. The Fiqh Council is trying to save the Ummah this enormous wrangling and bickering while trying to stick to the letter and the spirit of the Sunnah as much as possible. We believe that our position of possibility of sighting is more precise than the actual visibility requirements. The calculations about the possibility of
sighting are more precise than the calculations about the actual visibility. In reality there is no science that can give us precise visibility calculations. No astronomer has ever claimed that there is such a thing called science of accurate or authentic visibility. Even the Muslim astronomers disagree between themselves about the true criterions of the actual visibility because the visibility depends upon many variable factors. These factors are not predictable or are not 100% sure. That is why those who follow actual sighting are confused for years as to which astronomer to follow and which and how many witnesses to accept..
We feel comfortable that our new position of possibility of sighting is more precise and can help the Ummah unite in the long run, Insha'Allah. Moreover, the Fiqh Council is not imposing its decision upon anyone. It is our opinion based upon the solid Islamic principles but people have choices. We encourage every Muslim to follow the majority decision in their local area Masajid and celebrate Eid with their local communities. Muslims must show unity during the month of Ramadan and at the occasions of Eid at least locally if not nationally or internationally. That is the true spirit of Islam.
Riding the newcomer wave, Saqib Ali of North Potomac beat out Republican challengers David Nichols, Gary Scott and Bill Witham with what political observers called a vigorous grassroots campaign.
"As far as I could see, he followed the book on how to win an election," said Gene Counihan of Montgomery Village, a state delegate from 1982 to 1994. ''I saw him on the campaign trail more than anybody. He was out door-to-door; he had impressive literature. He wanted it."
In September, the 31-year-old software engineer Ali was added to the heavily favored Democratic slate with Sen. Patrick J. Hogan and Dels. Nancy J. King and Charles E. Barkley for the November general election after beating incumbant Democratic Delegate Stern for the seat.
Newcomer Ali not only beat out Stern, but also showed he could hang with the political veterans.
King won 28 percent of the vote, Barkley fetched 27 percent, Ali came in with 25 percent and Stern took 18 percent, according to unofficial results.
"Our campaign had a lot of energy. It had that underdog feel that struck a chord with people and resonated," Ali said on election night. ''When you talk to real voters, not the insiders, they care if you pay attention to them. They remember that you listened to them. People appreciate new blood."
Ali is the first Muslim-American in the Maryland General Assembly.
Legislators are not required to give their religion in state records, but researchers and librarians at the Maryland State Archives do not recall a previous Muslim-American official, they said.
"This is huge," said Mohammed Babah, president of the Muslim Community Center of Maryland, a nonprofit organization. ''I believe we have a voice now, a voice that is not of suspicion, a voice that will show the Muslim view."
"After 9?11, Muslims were under the microscope," Babah said. ''To elect this man shows the confidence that the country has in the majority of good Muslim people. This is reassuring."
Ali did not run on the tenets of religion.
During Ali's campaign, at least one man made Ali's religion an issue when he protested with derogatory signs outside Ali's North Potomac home and headquarters last month.
"If we win today, we'll prove that's an anomaly," Ali said on election night. ''And we'll continue to talk, not about whether I'm a Muslim or a Hindu or a Christian or a Jew, but about roads and schools and how to improve them."
District 39 covers Montgomery Village, North Potomac, Washington Grove and parts of Germantown. Its horseshoe-shape around Gaithersburg encompasses 110,000 voters of growing diversity and economic backgrounds.
Counihan suggests that the district's diversity also helped pull Ali into the political arena, among other significant advantages, such as the teachers' union endorsement and Ali's last name ranking him top on the alphabetical ballot.
Ali is one of nine new faces in Montgomery County who unseated incumbent lawmakers.
Islam, Christianity and Judaism have much in common, and some of the same characters and stories can be found in each tradition. For instance, all three faiths honor the patriarch Abraham.
While Mary and Jesus have no role in Judaism, they are essential to Christianity and important in Islam.
If an Islamic nativity scene could be created, it would be quite different from a Christian one. There would be no manger. Mary would be seated under a palm tree, and there would be a stream nearby and dates on the ground.
In a recent talk at the Newman Catholic Center, David Bertaina discussed the Islamic view of Mary, including stories that are told about the birth of Jesus.
Bertaina, who is finishing his work on a Ph.D. from Catholic University of America, spoke to about 35 people. He's living in Chico now because he has family here.
He said there are many references to Mary in the Koran and that she is also discussed in two other Islamic sources: the Hadith, a collection of stories, and the Tafsir, commentaries on the Koran.
The stories of the Hadith seem to have emerged from "a common Semitic milieu" involving Christians, Jews and Muslims in the years after Muhammad founded Islam in the 7th century.
Mary has a special status in Islam, Bertaina said. She's mentioned 34 times in the Koran, more than any other woman.
She is described as exceptionally beautiful and embodies all of the womanly virtues, he said. She is a model of piety and obedience to God. Both she and Jesus are depicted as sinless.
There are stories about her birth and childhood. Bertaina said Islamic commentators describe her miraculous intellectual and spiritual development, which occurs in a single day. "By the age of 9, she fasted all day and was more pious than all the priests," he said.
Although females were not allowed to serve in the temple, an exception was made for Mary. In fact, Bertaina said, commentators describe how she lived in a room in the temple and was miraculously provided with fruit out of season, which came from heaven.
In Islam, as in Christianity, Jesus is the product of a virgin birth. However, in Islam he is not considered divine. He is not the same as God but was created by God.
According to the Koran, when Mary was ready to give birth, she took refuge by a palm tree. Her labor pains were intense, and she cried out that she wished she had died and been forgotten, Bertaina said. However, she is granted a miraculous gift to comfort her. A voice tells her that God has provided a stream for her to drink from and that if she shakes the tree trunk, dates will fall, and she can eat them.
After the birth, the Koran says, some people accuse Mary of having had a child without being married. But Jesus speaks from his cradle, defending his mother by saying he is a prophet and implying his birth was miraculous.
Mary's name is so ancient that its meaning is difficult to determine, Bertaina said, although some commentators think it means "she who worships" or "the servant."
Bertaina gave a series of lectures at the Newman Center this fall on Islam and Eastern Christianity. A specialist in Semitic languages, he is completing a dissertation on literary dialogues that took place between Muslims and Christians from the eighth to the 13th century.
"That was a time when they were more willing to talk," he said.
Bertaina will teach a class on Islam at Chico State University in the spring.
Staff writer Larry Mitchell can be reached at 896-7759 or lmitchell@chicoer.com
"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those nearest to God.'"
The quote is from verse 45 of chapter 3 in the Quran.
It is well known, particularly in this holiday season, that Christians follow the teachings of Jesus. What is less well understood is that Muslims also love and revere Jesus as one of God's greatest messengers to mankind.
Other verses in the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the direct word of God, state that Jesus was strengthened with the "Holy Spirit" (2:87) and is a "sign for the whole world." (21:91) His virgin birth was confirmed when Mary is quoted as asking: "How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?" (3:47)
The Quran shows Jesus speaking from the cradle and, with God's permission, curing lepers and the blind (5:110) God also states in the Quran: "We gave (Jesus) the Gospel (Injeel) and put compassion and mercy into the hearts of his followers." (57:27)
Another verse in the Quran reaffirming God's eternal message of spiritual unity: "Say ye: 'We believe in God and the revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.'" (2:136)
The Prophet Muhammad himself sought to erase any distinctions between the message he taught and that taught by Jesus, who he called God's "spirit and word." Prophet Muhammad said: "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one."
When Muslims mention the Prophet Muhammad, they always add the phrase "peace be upon him." Christians may be surprised to learn that the same phrase always follows a Muslim's mention of Jesus or that we believe Jesus will return to earth in the last days before the final judgment. Disrespect toward Jesus, as we have seen all too often in our society, is very offensive to Muslims.
Muslims and Christians do have some differing perspectives on Jesus' life and teachings. But his spiritual legacy offers an alternative opportunity for people of faith to recognize their shared religious heritage.
America's Muslim community stands ready to honor that legacy by building bridges of interfaith understanding and challenging those who would divide our nation along religious or ethnic lines.
We have more in common than we think.
A former Catholic, Canadian-born woman who is a widely respected scholar is arguably the most influential Muslim in America.
Ingrid Mattson, the recently elected president of the 43-year-old Islamic Society of North America, is the first convert, first non-immigrant and first woman to lead the largest Muslim umbrella organization on the continent. Her rise to prominence comes as more women and native-born Muslims are defining the faith, making Islam more of an American religion.
"There certainly has been a very strong tendency in Muslim societies to consider it better for women to not assume public office, although (Muslim) women have been political leaders, religious leaders and scholars," said Mattson, 43, who will speak tonight and Saturday at a conference of Muslims in Santa Clara about the life of the prophet Muhammad.
"The fact that our community has decided that being female is not a barrier is the result of many years of scholarship and education on the part of a number of scholars and teachers in our community."
The soft-spoken Mattson is not afraid to challenge long-held assumptions among believers. She wears a head scarf and loose clothes, and she is a forceful advocate for women's rights. She wields a powerful administrative role in establishing American Muslim institutions, and she's hands-on in shaping the minds of the nation's Muslim chaplains.
The Islamic Society of North America serves as an incubator for an array of Islamic institutions around the country, building the infrastructure for a faith that is relatively young in the United States.
Prominent mosques in Fremont and Santa Clara as well as a Muslim domestic violence hot line in Palo Alto have their roots in ISNA or its members.
Mattson's ascendancy underscores the complex roles of Muslim women in America. They have founded and operate several nonprofits and institutions, particularly in the Bay Area. Many sit on the boards of their mosques, especially those run by African Americans, the single largest ethnic bloc of American Muslims.
But there are mosques that physically exclude women, segregate them behind walls or block them from leadership. Mattson's rise has been celebrated by many Muslims as a harbinger of the future.
"Muslim organizations have been dominated by an immigrant group of men that has had a hard time passing the torch to the next generation," said Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, founder and past president of the Muslim Women's League, based in Los Angeles. "She represents that change."
Mattson's coming of age brought her to Islam. Growing up in Kitchener, Ontario, her family lived near a Catholic complex, including a convent, church and school. But at age 15, the once-pious child had more and more questions, and the nuns who taught her had fewer answers. They sent her to a priest, who couldn't satisfy her either. God disappeared.
"Religion wasn't ever to me about dogma," she said. "It was more about how I felt, my own spiritual connection. How much my inability to grasp Catholic theology had to do with my fading spiritual connection, I don't know." She stopped attending church.
In her senior year of college, she went to Paris and befriended several Senegalese, who happened to be Muslim. "As I got close to them, I wanted to know more about them," Mattson said. She returned to Canada and began reading the Quran.
Certain verses gripped her, explaining God to her in new ways. The verses "brought me to believe in God, which I didn't," she said. "It just opened this complete, new universe of meaning to me."
Mattson had never heard of a Muslim before going to Paris. But within a year, she became one. She believes her Christian upbringing -- and a sister who converted to Judaism -- frees her from inter-religious barriers others might have. She thinks her perspective will allow her to better mediate between a minority faith and Christianity in the United States.
"I feel very privileged," she said. "I'm sure I have my own barriers, but I think I'm able to be pretty open to people ... about who they are and what they believe."
After college, in 1987, Mattson volunteered in a refugee camp in Pakistan. There, she met and married her husband, Aamer Atek, an Egyptian engineer and fellow volunteer.
She went on to earn a doctorate in Islamic studies from the University of Chicago. Since 1998, she has taught courses on Islam at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.
In 2001, she was elected to the first of her two terms as the Islamic Society's vice president, foreshadowing her current position.
When Mattson was elected president in August, it was because "she was the most qualified," said Ameena Jandali, a Berkeley resident who was on the five-member election committee overseeing the process. "It wasn't a matter of gender."
Mattson's most important role may be as the director of the nation's only Islamic chaplaincy program, also at Hartford Seminary. Mattson is responsible for helping train a generation of leaders who will counsel the most vulnerable believers: those in colleges, prisons, hospitals and the military.
Her students' stories about her help reveal her perspective on Islam. In one class three years ago, she stood before her students, urging them to question the authenticity of a quote long attributed by Muslims to the prophet Muhammad.
"If God had told anyone to bow to anyone but him, then he would tell women to bow to their husbands," Muhammad reportedly said, according to one hadith, a religiously sanctioned compilation of the sayings and deeds of Islam's revered prophet.
Several students disagreed with Mattson's questioning of the verse. They said she was introducing subjectivity into centuries of tradition that had validated the quote.
But Mattson calmly gave them criteria to weigh a hadith's authenticity -- whether it is congruent with the Quran, congruent with Muhammad's other sayings and logically a part of Islamic teaching.
Mattson said the quote didn't pass muster with the Quran's call for gender equality, or Muhammad's body of teachings. Questioning had nothing to do with subjectivity, she said. In fact, Islamic tradition required it.
"She's thought-provoking," said former student Sohaib Sultan, 26, now a chaplain at Wesleyan and Trinity colleges in Connecticut, recalling the scene. "She makes us think outside the box. But by her own calm demeanor, she shows how we can have differences of opinion and at the same time respect each other."
Mattson said her quiet confidence in conflict is the product of her childhood.
"My ability to remain calm is the fruit of having grown up in a large family -- four brothers, very opinionated, a huge extended family," she said. "I was smaller than everyone. I couldn't yell louder. I just had to be calm."
She wants her students, particularly women, to leave her classes with the same quality. She verbally pushes them, and some students initially think she's mean.
"If they're a woman and they're trying to make a point, they have to learn to hold their ground, to articulate a point without getting upset," she said. "If they can't handle me challenging them, they can't handle the rest of the world."
Muslim leader in Santa Clara
Ingrid Mattson will speak tonight and Saturday at the Seerah Conference, a discussion about the life of the prophet Muhammad. The event is open to the public and will take place at the MCA Islamic Center, 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara. For more information, go to www.isnawest.org.
E-mail Matthai Chakko Kuruvila at mkuruvila@sfchronicle.com.
Sometimes we take things for granted and behave as if we created ourselves and acquired everything we have from our own efforts.
It is He who brought you forth from the wombs of your mother when you knew nothing, and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections, that you may give thanks to God. (Qur'an 16:78)
Thus the concept of giving thanks immediately raises the question, to whom, for what, and how should we express our thanks. We thank God for everything we have, for everything good that happens to us.
Everything good that happens to you (O Mankind) is from God; everything bad that happens to you is from your own actions. (4:79)
We thank Him for creating us as humans, the best of creation, with intelligence and five portals to decide what is right and wrong.
Have we not given him (mankind) two eyes, a tongue and a pair of lips, and shown Him the two highways of good and evil. (90:8-10)
Our Creator, who sustained us through nine months of helpless intrauterine life, continued to provide us with food and other materials to sustain us throughout our life.
O you who believe! Partake of good things which we have provided for you as sustenance, and render thanks to God, if it is truly Him that you worship. (2:172)
Thus we thank God not only for creating and sustaining us, but also for guiding us, for accepting our prayers and for forgiving us when we wrong ourselves. Thus it is impossible for us to deny the favors of our Lord.
For how long, you will deny the favors of your Lord. (Qur'an: Surah Ar-Rahman)
We thank God for our own gains.
Whoever is thankful (to God) is in fact thankful for his own self. But if anyone is ungrateful, God is self-sufficient and glorious. (31:12)
We thank God for giving us, to live and prosper a spacious land of freedom and opportunity, where 'the weak and oppressed could migrate to.' (See Qur'an 4:97)
We should thank Him by remembering Him, not on just one day a year but in our daily life.
Remember Me, I will remember you, thank Me and reject Me not. (Qur'an 2:152)
Presented during Interfaith Thanksgiving service.
Dr. Shahid Athar is the past chair of Interfaith Alliance of Indiana. Email sathar3624@aol.com .webpage www.islam-usa.com
Volunteering is the lifeblood of any community. It is because of volunteers that communities are able to run organizations, social services, conferences, playgroups, drop-in centers, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, open libraries, run schools, set up blood banks, and the list goes on. Paid employees only make up a small part of the social services network; without volunteers such endeavors would come to a standstill.
As Muslims, our role isn't just to make our salat and fast and pay zakat. We are encouraged to take on a broader role by working to improve the communities we live in; we should be visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, teaching people to read, helping people who have no one to turn to. It is by translating our love of Allah into good actions that we strengthen our faith. Islam is a faith of action and we need to demonstrate our faith by working to make the world a better place.
In Islam there is a strong ethic of volunteerism. This does not simply extend to running study circles or fundraising for the masjid. As Muslims, we see our role as world citizens. The idea of working for a better society or community shouldn't be limited to the Muslim community but should extend to the broader non-Muslim community as well. Because we live in that community too, whatever weaknesses are present affect us also.
The idea of inviting others to Islam (Dawah) takes on myriad forms. The obvious one is educating people specifically about Islam and the principles enshrined therein. But the less obvious form is through doing good works and setting an example. This is where volunteerism plays a role.
- As a community, Muslims need to cultivate a culture of volunteerism. There is a persistent notion that volunteers are essentially free labour. Their efforts are not appreciated and, indeed, are often criticized. We need to shift our perception and see that it is because of volunteers that so many of the services we need are available. Entire mosques have been built through the efforts of volunteers, conferences are run by volunteers, Eid prayers are organized by volunteers, schools are run, in large part, by volunteers, Muslim newspapers and magazines are written for and published by volunteers, and so on.
- It is also important to note that volunteering should be a priority. Typically, Muslims see volunteering as something that should be done when you have nothing else to do. This should not be the case. If people generally see volunteering as something secondary and less important, the quality of the effort is greatly diminished. Volunteering must be at least as important as other pursuits.
Volunteering should be done by professionals. This is not to say that unless you have a graduate degree in mathematics, you shouldn't help with an after-school tutoring program. Rather, if you have that graduate degree or are a teacher, you should be the one who should take the initiative in starting the tutoring program. Your skills will be invaluable to that program. If all the math tutors are people who have weak math skills, the effort will be a waste of everyone's time and resources. Not to mention the students who will continue to fail their math tests.
It is exceedingly important to avoid volunteer burnout. In every community there are a core group of volunteers and the Muslim community is no different. We all know the one Muslim brother or sister who helps out at all the events and is always working at breakneck speed. This is not fair. It is of no help to leave all the work to a few frazzled people while the rest sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labour. The core group eventually burns out. They have other obligations -- family, work, social activities. When they are worn out and drop out, the whole community feels their absence.
Volunteering has many benefits. Because of people's willingness to work for free, many services can be offered at a lower cost or even for free; there is far more flexibility in the delivery of services since more people are available to help; volunteering gives individuals a broader sense of community; and people also feel a greater connection to one another when they are involved in volunteer activities.
There are also personal benefits for the volunteer. We understand that our primary motivation for helping others should be our love for Allah but that doesn't mean we can't benefit from our volunteer activities. Many volunteers have learned invaluable skills and have made personal contacts that have helped them in securing employment later on. Also, for students, volunteering is an excellent way to build up a resume and gain a wide range of experience that can certainly help when it comes time to apply to college and university.
There are also some important rules to remember when volunteering:
- No volunteer is to brag about giving his time, effort, energy, knowledge and memory when he is doing it fee sabeelillah (in the way of Allah).
- No volunteer should accuse the employees that they are receiving money from the general budget of the community, while he is doing it for free.
- No volunteer should accept a job or a title for the sake of show, or else it will become hypocrisy.
- No volunteer should accept a title or a job when he knows that he is not qualified for the job.
- No volunteer should accept a title, while knowing that he has no time to volunteer for such a job.
Monroe County Religious Leaders, of which I am a member, has been struggling to have a positive impact on a number of issues - from clean campaigning (oh well, we did try), to universal health care to Islamophobia. I write to address the latter.
Islamophobia is a prejudice against or demonization of Muslims, which manifests itself in general negative attitudes, violence, harassment, discrimination, and stereotyping. Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, told a U.N. conference in 2004: "When the world is compelled to coin a new term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry, that is a sad and troubling development. Such is the case with Islamophobia."
With continued reports, including local, of behavior that reflects various levels of Islamophobia, the religious leaders of MCRL are committed to standing together against hatred of any kind and to teaching the various faiths that we represent in ways that do not set one faith group against another.
We all need to understand that one can be faithful to one's beliefs without holding any negative regard for those who do not share those beliefs.
We do not need to define ourselves against others!
At St. Thomas Lutheran Church, we recently completed a study series entitled "Living the Questions." This 13-session program is published by the Center for Progressive Christianity and takes great pains to encourage Christians to live more fully into their doubt and accept their questions of faith and life rather than foreclose those questions through the use (or misuse) of dogma and doctrine.
This is not meant to be a commercial endorsement. It is, rather, to affirm that a Christianity that fully accepts our divinely-created humanity with all its messiness strikes me as exceedingly healthy. All too much evil is rationalized on the basis of religion that is marked by an inhuman and unholy certainty.
I propose that all people of faith pay less attention to the hateful rhetoric of those with much to gain from it - whether preachers or politicians - and seek instead to embrace those ways of knowing God that open us up rather than close us off, ways that acknowledge God as love and grace rather than hate and judgment, ways that are less concerned with dogmatism and more with how we live together, and ways that are less anxious for answers than with living into the questions.
Rev. McKee is pastor of St. Thomas Lutheran Church, 3800 E. Third St., Bloomington.
Since delivering the speech in which he quoted a 14th century Emperor who said the Prophet of Islam had given nothing positive to humanity and had commanded followers to use violence to spread their faith, Pope Benedict XVI has been subjected to bitter Muslim reaction around the world. Benedict has responded by saying he regretted the consequences of his misunderstood words, but he did not retract his statement--perhaps rightly so. After all, he had simply cited an ancient Emperor. It is Benedict's right to exercise his critical opinion without being expected to apologize for it--whether he's an ordinary Roman Catholic or the Pope.
But that doesn't mean he was right. Muslim attention has focused mainly on the lecture's association between violence and Islam, but the most important and disputable aspect of it was Benedict's reflection on what it means to be European. In his speech at Regensburg, the Pope attempted to set out a European identity that is Christian by faith and Greek by philosophical reason. But Benedict's speech implicitly suggested that he believes that Islam has no such relationship with reason--and thus is excluded from being European. Several years ago, the Pope, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, set forth his opposition to the integration of Turkey into Europe in similar terms. Muslim Turkey has never been, and never will be, able to claim an authentically European culture, he contended. It is another thing; it is the Other.
As I have written before, this profoundly European Pope is inviting the people of his continent to become aware of the central, inescapable character of Christianity within their identity, or risk losing it. That may be a legitimate goal, but Benedict's narrow definition of European identity is deeply troubling and potentially dangerous. This is what Muslims must respond to: the tendency of Westerners to ignore the critical role that Muslims played in the development of Western thought. Those who "forget" the decisive contributions of rationalist Muslim thinkers like al-Farabi (10th century), Avicenna (11th century), Averroes (12th century), al-Ghazali (12th century), Ash-Shatibi (13th century) and Ibn Khaldun (14th century) are reconstructing a Europe that is not only an illusion but also self-deceptive about its past.
What the West needs most today is not so much a dialogue with other civilizations but an honest dialogue with itself--one that acknowledges those traditions within Western civilization that are almost never recognized. Europe, in particular, must learn to reconcile itself with the diversity of its past in order to master the coming pluralism of its future.
The Pope's visit to Turkey presents an opportunity to put forward the true terms of the debate over the relationship between Islam and the West. First, it is necessary to stop presenting this visit as if it were a trip to a country whose religion and culture are alien to Europe. Selective about its past, Europe is becoming blind to its present. The European continent has been home to a sizable population of Muslims for centuries. While visiting Turkey, the Pope must acknowledge that he is encountering not a potential threat but a mirror. Islam is already a European religion.
Rather than focus on differences, the true dialogue between the Pope and Islam, and between secularized societies and Islamic ones, should emphasize our common, universal values: mutual respect of human rights, basic freedoms, rule of law and democracy. Though most of the media attention is directed at a marginal minority of radicals, millions of European Muslims are quietly proving every day that they can live perfectly well in secular societies and share a strong ethical pedestal with Jews, Christians and atheist humanists.
Let us hope that the Pope will be able to transform his former perception of the threat of "the Other," of Islam, into a more open approach--by strongly highlighting the ethical teachings the religions have in common and the ways they can contribute together to the future of a pluralistic Europe. Benedict XVI should be free to express his opinions without risk of impassioned denunciation. But the least one can expect from the Pope--especially in this difficult era of fear and suspicion--is that he help bridge the divide and create new spaces of confidence and trust.
o Tariq Ramadan, a research fellow at Oxford, is the author of several books on Islam, including To Be a European Muslim
Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI) calls upon Muslim Hoosiers to donate funds to Indiana's oldest full-time Islamic school, School of Knowledge (MTI) located at Coldspring Road in Indianapolis. MTI has over 150 students in PreK3 through 12th grade. The school seeks the support of the Muslim community of Indiana to offer affordable education to Muslim families. Checks should be made out to School of Knowledge or MTI and mailed to 2846 Coldspring Road, Indianapolis, IN 46222.
The Legacy Institute is conducting a seminar on Hajj this Saturday, December 2nd, 2006.
This multimedia seminar will go over the fundamentals of Hajj, and will help those performing Hajj.
What: Hajj: Journey of A Lifetime - A Seminar
Instructor: Shaykh Tewfik Choukri
When: Saturday December 2, 2006 at 7:00 PM
Where: Legacy Institute
Attendees: Please study basic Hajj rites and principles prior to attending this event.
This seminar is not meant to be an "all you need to know" session. Thus, come prepared after doing some homework on your own!
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact Legacy Institute at 9721 Kincaid Dr, Fishers, IN 46037
Tel: (317)842-7300
info@legacyin.org
www.legacyin.org
MUSLIM ALLIANCE OF INDIANA is dedicated to empower Muslims through social engagement and developing awareness of public issues among Muslims and connecting 280,000 Muslim Hoosiers with the leadership.
To learn more about past activities and accomplishments, please visit at www.muslimalliancein.com
To be involved with MAI mission, please contact muslimalliancein@yahoo.com
To strengthen and disseminate the vision, please forward this message to others in Indiana or send email list to muslimalliancein@yahoo.com
This is intended for Muslim Hoosiers and friends promoting peace and harmony, mutual respect and making Indiana strong. If you want to be off this list, please advise.
Thank you.
