We are Muslims!

[jodyraye]

Thought I'd post this article since it was so good! Perhaps it belongs in the religion forum, but open board seems to have more readers.


Islamic Center of Irvine Jummuah Khutbah
July 29, 2005
We are Muslims...Period!
Br. Sadullah Khan


To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture
that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between
them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain
desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To
each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If
Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but
(His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as
in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is
He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;
[Qur'an 5:48]


Terms
A debate has been going on within certain circles of the Muslim
community about defining or redefining Islam and its followers.
Several terms have been designed to make a distinction among
Muslims' various political persuasions. Terms that are in fashion
currently are moderate Islam, progressive Islam, enlightened Islam,
modern Islam, extremist Islam, liberal Islam, conservative Islam,
reformed Islam, orthodox Islam, fundamentalist Islam..

The London/Egypt bombings have triggered new fears, heightened
security measures and sparked another round of finger-pointing.
All civilized people have condemned the terrorism, unequivocally,
including British and Canadian Muslims. Yet there is a tendency
in some quarters to never lose an opportunity to lay a collective
guilt trip on all Muslims. The new McCarthyism usually takes the
form of a demand: "What do you have to say about ...?"

"Islamic Muslims"
In his first 2004 presidential debate, Senator John Kerry began
the night in the favor-of-the-day. Answering his first question,
Kerry explained that America needed to isolate the "radical
Islamic Muslims. The statement sounded redundant-even uneducated.
A Muslim is, by definition, a follower of Islam, and is therefore,
by definition, "Islamic". Also it suggests that a Muslim who is
too "Islamic" is then by definition "radical". In fact, Mona
Mayfield understood these rules well when she defended her
husband - wrongfully accused of participating in the Spain
bombing.

A mosque administrator there took a similar approach to defend
Mayfield. "He was seen as a moderate," the administrator told
reporters. "Mayfield …did not, as some devout Muslims do, pray
five times a day at the mosque." The implication here is that
Brandon Mayfield's guilt or innocence was in some way related to
how many times he prayed at the mosque. The administrator even
went on to assert, "Mayfield was on the less religious side if
anything." These 'less religious' icons of what an 'acceptable'
Muslim should look like can be found all over the media. What is
interesting is that these terms emerge from the limitations of
our own readings of Islam controlled by our own social-political
experiences.

Defining Terms
When asked to define these terms, their proponents say
that "moderate" or "progressive" Islam opposes violence, accepts
the universal charter of human rights, promotes gender equality
and recognizes the idea of pluralism. Dialectically, what they
are implying is that there is an Islam that does not recognize
the value of non-violence, that rejects universal charter of
human rights and that opposes the idea of gender equality and
pluralism.

ISLAM IS … What it always has been
Islam is a faith given to human beings to live their lives
according to certain values originally defined by the Divine.
People have a choice to reject them or accept them because
they are responsible for their own actions. Islam (PEACE)
opposes violence, accepts the universal charter of human rights
(first documented charter of human rights still existent was
Constitution of Madinah), promotes gender equality (SPIRITUALLY,
SOCIALLY, POLITICALLY, ECONOMIC) and recognizes the idea of
pluralism (first 4 Muslims included male and female, old and
young, rich and poor, local and foreign). For Muslims to live
in non-Muslim countries is not a new situation.

Muslims have always been accustomed to living with people of
diverse faiths. Islam is in fact an ecumenical religion, not only
accepting but guaranteeing a structural pluralism. Allah, instead
of promising Muslims to become the dominant religious community on
earth, wants them to compete with each other in piety and good work
[Quran 5:48].

Islam was meant from the outset to be a universal religion and
today Islam is a truly global phenomenon. It is the second largest
denomination even in places in world and fastest growing religion.
Yet increased contact has not reduced prejudice against Islam and
Muslims. Besides "media bias" this is partially the Muslim' fault.

ISLAM- Live it, do not only Perform it
There is no better way for Muslims to promote the message of Islam
than living Islam and not just performing it. Walk the walk, not
just talk the talk. Islam should not be preached as much as it
should be practiced. Our neighbors will not know we are Muslim by
the number of times we pray or fast but by our honesty,
truthfulness, compassion, reliability, cleanliness, sense of justice
and civic responsibility. Hence Islamic emphasis on Good
Neighborliness.

You Are As Good as You are a Neighbor

Serve Allah, and associate not anyone with Him; and do good … to
parents, to kinsfolk, to orphans, to those in need, to neighbors
who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your
side, the wayfarer … [Q4:36]


We operate in communities sometimes for years taking our neighbors
for granted; often never realizing that the `people next door' can
become our greatest ally, or our most vocal opposition. They have
concerns about what we do and how we do it and how it impacts their
health and safety. When ignored or kept uninformed, our neighbors
can force seemingly minor issues into major problems. On the other
hand, neighbors can become our greatest supporters, almost an
extension of the family. Neighbors are often like a looking glass
or a mirror.

Someone once came to the Prophet and asked,

"Inform me about something that will cause me to go to heaven?


The Prophet replied: ßä ãÍÓäÇ "Be a muhsin/good doer.
The man asked, "O Prophet, how will I know that I am a good
person? The Prophet replied, Óóá ÌíÑÇäß "Ask your neighbor. If your
neighbor says you are good, then indeed you must be good."


The Prophet had a Jewish neighbor who used to throw daily trash
at the door of the Prophet. When this did not happen for some
days, the Prophet went to visit him. He asked the Prophet the
reason for the visit.


The Prophet said: "I did not find what you usually leave at my
door so I thought you may be ill and I therefore came to visit
you." The Jewish neighbor asked, "Does your religion teach you
to do that, O Muhammad?" "In fact, more than that," replied the
Prophet. The Jewish neighbor went silent for a while, then said;
"I bear witness that I believe in Allah and I bear witness that
Muhammad is Allah's messenger."

In the case of Islam, the truth, as perceived by Muslims based
on their general readings of the Quran, is that Islam is a
divinely revealed faith that commands its adherents to follow
the principles of monotheism, justice, equality, and peace in
all aspects of their life.

OTHERS DEFINE US?
Why should the deviation of some extremists cause some Muslims
to redefine Islam. As they commit the crime against themselves
and others, they drag with them the reputation and image of the
religion they claim to venerate. They not only violate its basic
teachings, but disfigure the message of "mercy to the worlds"
into a justification for cruel, cowardly and repulsive behavior.
In this way, hearts that were supposed to be opened to the word
of God got closed and minds that were hoped to have been opened
to the light of guidance are shut.

Reflect
This religion of ours is based on reflection.. The message is
"Li qawmin yaaqiloon," "Li qawi yatafakkarun" which means "to
people who think/reflect/exercise their intellect". It is in
the absence of thinking that people can be misled, blinded by
emotions, brain washed, tunnel-visioned and deprived of wisdom.

Sometimes, we, the people of common sense, try to find what
they see in the text because we also can read and grasp the
meaning of the textual verses. But you know, when we read the
holy text we feel good and become full of love for our fellow
human beings and for every living creature. It makes us cling to
life more and more. This is what the text does to us, people of
common sense. But when those who are bitter, read the holy text,
they become angry and become full of hatred and they see death as
their only deliverance. The difference between our understanding
and their understanding of the text is that we understand the
meaning of the text as we see it, but those so embittered have
this nefarious ability to figure out some meaning beyond the
actual meaning. You see, they put too much meaning into
everything to the point that the word meaning becomes meaningless
at the end.

Individual Accountability
In Islam, each person is individually responsible, accountable
and answerable to God. We are born individually, we die
individually and we will be called for the Day of Judgment
individually. Each is accountable up to his or her own
individual capacity to understand. This ought to protect
against mob reactions, herd mentality, and cultist belonging
or blind following. No group, party, association or tribe will
protect or speak for a person on that Day.Islam is a call to
life and success, not a call to death and despair. The Quran
says:


"O you who have obtained to faith, respond to the call of God,
the Apostle, whenever he calls you unto what will give you life..."
[Quran 8:24].

We seek life, not death, but if death comes, we hopefully accept
it as the will of God who designed the end of the worldly phase.
We practice life, we promote it and celebrate it. We don't go out
seeking to die, and needless to say, we don't deliberately bring
death on ourselves or on others who are innocent.

Task At Hand
We have two tasks at hand.

First, internally--we have to challenge those who are deviating
from the foundation of Islam.

Second we have to communicate to the rest of the world the real
foundation on which our faith stands. It is better that we spend
our time and resources in these areas rather than wasting our
energy in coining and re-coining terms that confuse us and others
as well. It is not a prudent strategy to say that because of the
deviations of others, we are changing our self definition and
coining a new term to describe our relation with our faith. Our
commitment to our faith is based on the criterion of right and
wrong.

Live and Die by Islam
Islam is Islam; anything else is something else… We live by the
principle of belief / shahaadah, (`alayha nahya..), we die by the
shahaadah (wa alayha namut) and with it we hope to meet Allah
(wa `alayha nalq-Allah). When we do what is expected of us in
Islam, we will notice qualitative change in our own attitude as
well as the attitude of the people in our faith.

Let us imbibe the following spirit in order to reflect genuine
Islamic character…

The Creator has advised me with nine duties
The duty of … Sincerity in private and in public
Justice in anger or happiness
Moderation in times of scarcity or abundance;
Forgiving those who wrong me
Generosity to those who deny me
Relationship with those who break off with me;
To let my Silence be contemplative
my Speech mindful
and my Looking insightful.
[Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)]


There is no doubt that all sovereignty (inil-hukmu illa lillah)
rests with Allah. It is, however, equally true that it takes
people to translate that sovereignty into policy.