Summary
The 50 minute lecture workshop starts with the question:
What is the present status of Muslims in the world ?
- Disunited
- Oppressed
- Lack of Identity
- Lack of Education
- Lack of Power
- Lack of Faith
- ...
| "I remember
a discussion with Shaheed Mutahhari in Tehran, may god bless
his soul, he said the Christians developed when they left Christianity,
why? Because the spirit of Christianity was restrictive and
dogmatic. We Muslims deteriorated as soon as we left Islam,
why? Because we became dogmatic." |
 |
Then asks what will it take to elevate Muslims out of this bleak
condition?
- Faith
- Leadership
- Self-sacrifice
- Education
- ...
What chance do we have of putting these into practice?
Then he explains the historical background to what caused the Muslims
to be in this present poor state.
|
"Leadership
was not in tune with society - they were blind and narrow
visioned - the classical example of the Iranian monarchs during
the Mongol attack: He was informed that the Mongols had taken
Khorasan - he didn't do anything. They had taken northern
Iran - he didn't do anything. They are still far from Isfahan
where he lives and They came and circled Isfahan - still I've
got my own palace. Once they got to the gate of the palace
he started taking istikhara to see if he should do something
or not - by then it was too late they were already inside."
|
| "We are
not prepared to self-sacrifice - putting Allah first. Friday
Prayer starts - we all know the importance of Friday Prayer,
but we are not prepared to participate, why? Because in that
one hour we can make extra bucks - why should we go to Friday
Prayer." |
And then he moves to the history of revivalist movements in Islam:
- Modernist movement
- Salafi movement
- Mahdi movement
- Intellectual movement
The lecture concludes on the subject of "hope for the future".
Question-Answer
Session
The lecture is followed by 60 sizzling minutes of
Questions and brutally honest Answers - absolutely unmissable!
Contact us
if you wish to obtain a
Video (PAL VHS) or Audio Tape of the event
| "A friend of mine went to
Shepherds Bush Mosque about two weeks ago, morning prayer
he went to sajud, another brother came and put a chair over
his head. Because he was Shia in a Sunni mosque. This is what
happens if we don't have unity." |
Question:
Sunni-Shia divide, is there any bases for us to unite?
| "We cannot let the west abuse
us and turn one against the other. At the moment the Shia-Sunni
case has become the easiest way of creating disharmony between
the Muslims. You only need to send a representative to the Afghanis
and tell them that on the other side of the mountain the Iranians
are coming that's it, or go even within Karachi in Pakistan,
tell one mosque that the Shias are coming to kill you and go
tell the Shias that the Sunnis are coming - that's all it takes
-as easy as that. Its because there is general ignorance about
each others point of view." |
| "We have to confront injustice
no matter who that person is, if you see individuals within
your own community trying to destroy unity you have to work
to stop them if you see a scholar saying the Shias are this
the Shias are that or the Sunnis are this and that then stand
up.." |
|
"Last April, I was invited
to give a lecture in Newcastle. After the magrib prayer a
brother came to me and said "Maulana, I am a Shafi, could
I ask you to tell me how you really pray?". I had just
done the magrib prayer, he said "no, tell me how you REALLY
pray". "This IS how I pray". "No we have been told that you
pray differently ..."
These kind of problems can be resolved
on a personal interaction where the Sunni brothers and sisters
come to my house and they see in close quarters the way we
live I go to their house and see in close quarters the way
they live, my children associate with their children and their
children associate with my children then we will be able to
understand each other that most of the problems that have
been created for us - this illusion of animosity, doesn't
exist. What we need is to interact, believe me unity will
not be possible if we sit here and talk for eternity and expect
someone else to create unity."
|
Question:
Its the maulanas that cause the disunity - what do we do?
| "Who pays for the maulanas?
The fault lies with you who select the maulanas and pay for
them. I mean no disrespect to any maulana, but there is an expression
"You pay peanuts, you get monkeys". If you get the
cheapest one around - you don't want to sacrifice any of your
wealth for it, so what do you get? Second, third rate maulanas
that do nothing else but motivate dogma." |
|
"How many of you who have children
actually motivated them to go to university and become maulana
after?
--- audience silent ---
Not even one - this is the problem
that you are automatically giving higher priority to other
kinds of jobs rather than being a maulana. It doesn't mean
that if you tell your children to become maulanas that he
isn't well developed but you don't, that's the impression
that you have got from this job - its the lowest of the low,
the eccentrics they will do and become maulanas when they
have nothing else to do. If that it the impression then this
is what you get."
|
| "We are facing a number of problems
with traditional Islamic centres. We need to reorganise our
selves, even the elders require education that they are living
in a different world in a different environment in a different
culture and require a different attitude towards things and
if they are not prepared to adjust and somehow educate themselves
its better for them to stand aside for a younger generation
to come in where they will be able to work better." |
|
