Living Islam in America - a Khutbah

     Allah has said in His most glorious book, the Holy Qur'an:

    "Wa inna Allaha rabbee wa rabbukum. Fa' booduhu hadha siratun mustaqeem."

    "Indeed Allah is my Lord and your Lord so serve Him. That is the straight way." (19:36)

    And indeed that is the straight way for anyone who will listen.

    Human beings are funny creatures. We celebrate when times are good and we cry when things get tough. And in both of those situations, strangely enough, we forget about what life means, we ignore its lessons and we never realize that we will have to leave it shortly.

Can you imagine how foolish a tender flower in spring would be if it thought it would live forever. The fall comes upon it even when it is in its full strength, only to be followed by the cold grip of winter's relentless death march.

    We are now beginning to see the plants shriveling in the cool fall air, even as only a month ago everything in nature was green, healthy and vibrant. In a few weeks you're going to see the trees losing their leaves like gray hairs falling off of one of us!

    We see the four seasons pass year after year and the effect it has on the world around us, but we don't take the lesson that we ourselves are passing from stage to stage just a surely.

If you have ever held a little baby in your arms, know that one day, that baby will be an adult who will be sprinkling dust on your freshly dug grave. If you have ever heard a sweet melody carried over the air by the voices of faint people in the distance, know that one day those voices will be replaced by others and that they will be silenced for you.

    And even though, in the inevitable turning of the great cycle of life, there will come others after us, they will not be us and we cannot live on through them. We are here, in this world, alone with the illusion of company.

    We are silent, with the illusion of noise and we are poor with the illusion of plenty.

As Allah states, "Everything that is with you must vanish." and, "You will come to us naked and alone."

    Life is short. Yes, indeed it is. Life is a reality and an illusion all at once. Only people who lift their eyes from the ground and take a look around ever recognize it.

    When you're poor, all you think about is getting rich. When you're rich, all you think about is securing your wealth from loss and finding happiness. You may even begin to realize that a person doesn't need a lot of money to be happy, although the poor will never believe you. And many were the wealthy who gave away everything they had to go on the search for truth and many were the poor who gave up the road to riches for a far more valuable treasure.

    The Blessed Prophet Muhammad said it clearly, "True wealth doesn't come from having a lot of things. True wealth comes from a contented mind, a worry-free mind."

    Many people lose their minds and go crazy trying to find out what they should do and how they should live, never realizing the answer is so simple. Imagine the odd behavior of a man from Ireland who spent his whole life in India working for the British East India company just so he could save enough money to retire in his beloved Ireland.

    Or another man who spent his whole life roaming the world to find the truth in the most difficult-to-get-to places, only to find that his answer was in his own home?

    Why should we leave what is right with us when there are no answers out there anywhere? All the answers to all the questions are within easy reach. Some people make the "quest for truth" their drug so they can forget their inability to solve the one question they cannot answer: "Who am I?"

    You hear about the people who travel to the Himalayas to find the truth or to the Andes mountains or to the desert. Some people look for the truth on the beaches of the Bahamas but all they get is sun-burned!

    My brothers and sisters, Islam gives us the answer. But we look everywhere else but within it.

    The only way to open our eyes to this fact is to realize that: Knowledge of Death is the key to either success or failure.

    People who are afraid to face the question of their own death look for anything they can to make them forget the whole issue.

    We see all around us people who go to bars and get drunk, people who take drugs, people who lose themselves in one made-up cultural trend or another. You know- the people who wear certain kinds of clothes, listen to a certain kind of music, talk a certain way or whatever. Then they say, "This is who I am. I'm being me. I'm expressing what's inside of me."

    No, what they're doing is following slavishly another uniform, another conformity so they can feel a part of something. So they won't feel alone. "If I dress and act like this particular crowd, I'm accepted by them. Therefore, I'm not alone." their inner voices say.

    What are we afraid of? We try to so fill our daily lives with activity and noise that we never have to confront that one all consuming question that has fueled the greatest fear known to man. The fear of the ultimate failure. Our inability to conquer death. But so few know it is also the cap on the path of success as well, if only it is understood properly.

    The Muslim is not exempted from this dilemma. We are, after all, human beings like anyone else. Just because we have Muslim names doesn't mean that we're specially protected from any fears. If we aren't careful, we can be afraid of death too. What is the root of this fear we all can have?

    Muslim psychologists in previous centuries developed the key scale to measure this. They said, "The further a person is away from Allah, the more he will be troubled, filled with stress and plagued by worry."

    In other words, the further you are away from Allah, the more mental illness you will experience.

    Allah has said, "There are some people who serve Allah as if they were perched on the edge. When times are good they accept it calmly. But when some trouble happens they cover their faces in pain. They lose both this world and the next and it's such a clear loss!" (22:11)

    My brothers and sisters, Allah points out to us something we should all be afraid of. And that is living with a lack of focus. Not knowing who you are, what you want and what you're here for.

    A person who goes through life not knowing these things is never certain about anything. They really are living only on the edge.

    Not a day goes by without each and every one of us learning something new. And I believe that one of the greatest lessons in life is that without direction, there's no point in going forward.

    Can you imagine going on a trip with your family to visit some relatives in a distant city, but no one knows how to get to their house?

    Would you just get in the car and drive down any old road and hope you get to where you want to go? What if you had a road map but you kept it in the glove box and never even consulted it?

    If anyone acted that way, not only would they drive in circles, but they would exhaust themselves in their foolish attempt. What would you say about such a person or family? You would say they're nuts!

    You would say they're bound to end up somewhere they don't want to be!

So why do we live our lives that way!

    Everyday we get up with no idea about what we're getting up for for! What? I have to go to work or school? Why? So I can make money to eat and feed my family. Why? Because I have a responsibility to those around me. Why? Because if I don't take care of them they will die. Why? Because people need things to live? Why? Because we're not able to survive if we don't take care of each other.

    Hey, I got news for you. You can go to work and school as much as you want but it won't keep them from dying one day anyway. So all your working and schooling only will put off the inevitable for a few years.

    So after realizing all that, don't we see that there is more to our lives than just gathering supplies? If I woke up one day and was an old man and realized that all I did with my life was grab as much as I could from this world, then I would feel as if I had wasted my whole life.

    None of us would want to feel that way. So what keeps us from treading the path that Allah, the Creator of the Universe, has laid out for us? What prevents us from trying to become better and more spiritual in our lives? What keeps us living like there is no tomorrow and acting any old way that we see fit?

    Could it be that deep down inside we are a little afraid of what living right may mean?

Could it be that if we opened up our eyes and raised them up from the toil of our daily lives that we would see up ahead the last door that we have to go through, coming closer and closer?

    Are we afraid of what's on the other side? Isn't is so much easier, our fear tells us, to act like a bunch a squirrels, only looking at the nuts on the ground that we want to hoard?

Yes, we say to ourselves, Live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself. But we are living all of our today's and tomorrow is never taken care of.

    We are like the man whom Allah says walks around, only looking at the ground right in front of him, never raising his head to look upon the beautiful horizon.

    Islam teaches us that to be aware of Allah, to live a life directed towards faith and goodness and that to be a sincere, trying believer is the best focus to have. Anything else is a waste of time.

    Islam teaches that death is not the final door. It is merely a portal to another realm of existence. We were born into this world and given the opportunity to become the best that we can be. With our mind, heart, ability to understand and courage we can become stronger and more valuable than anything else in the universe.

    But with our earthly passions locked within our being, we could also descend to the level of the worst thing in the universe. To guide us in our quest, Allah has sent His messengers to the world at different times and places. Some people listened, others did not.

    In the end, Allah sent one final message that He would never let be lost. That message, known as the Reading, or the Qur'an, is an ocean of knowledge for anyone who would unlock its depths and cascading shores.

    You see, a Muslim is not a depressed person. We're not supposed to say, "Well, I accept that I'm going to die so let me sit around and sit without a smile on my face."

    On the contrary, Islam is about realizing the greatest joy you will ever know. Imagine being freed from all the worries about why you're alive. Imagine knowing for certain who you are and why you are and what you must do in this life.

    Imagine being directed to goodness and learning to avoid immoral and self-damaging conduct. Imagine knowing that there are people in this world that, yes, you can trust. That is Islam.

   As one famous Muslim poet once wrote, "I am joyful in the world because the world is joyful in Him." (Rumi)

    Living a good, Allah-centered life is the most joyful thing you can ever find. Being freed from fear is the basis of true happiness and the greatest fear Islam releases you from is the fear of leaving this life and what it means. In exchange, all we are asked to be is believers in Allah and morally-oriented people.

    Why is it wrong to be just a lousy person who abuses everyone around them and lives in a greedy, self-centered way?

    Once a famous Muslim teacher was walking in a royal garden when he noticed that a man was sleeping under a tree. When he came closer, he immediately recognized that that man was the Sultan, who was a well-known trouble-maker who used to oppress people, yell at them and bring suffering to others.   The teacher thought for a moment and said, "It's good that he can't cause any pain to anyone while he's asleep."  Then he added, "What is the use of a person if he is better asleep than awake?"

    Then the thought occurred to the teacher, "If a person is better sleeping, than awake. Wouldn't it be better if he was dead and not alive?"

    Now most of us are not really that bad, but are we far enough from that example? Indeed, what a pointless life we can make for ourselves. Sometimes I laugh when I hear about big movie stars or celebrities who give money in charity.

    They give a million here a million there and it's always reported with such great fanfare and noise. But how many of us realize that for every million they give, they waste ten times that much on high living and expensive lifestyles! Can you imagine! If they were really filled with the spirit of helping their fellow man, they would keep one million and give the rest away!

    But they would never do that. If you have a hundred dollars in your pocket and you gave away ten cents in charity, and walked all around holding that dime up and made everyone see what you were giving, would that be an example of a noble spirit? It would be a foolish sham. And we are fooled everyday and we don't realize it!

    My brothers and sisters, anyone who wants to know why they're here can know. Anyone who wants to live a life worth living can achieve their goal.

    We think that it's hard to live as Muslims, as believers in Allah, in this time and place but it's really not. What is going on today that hasn't gone on in the past?

    You say we don't have a truly Islamic state anywhere in the world right now? So, the Blessed Prophet lived for over a decade in the heart of the idol-worshipping stronghold and managed to not only teach Islam to his family and neighbors, but the foundation of Islam was laid in the hearts of his followers in an unbreakable way.

    You say there are so many bad influences all around us? What do we have today that they didn't have in former times. Alcohol, drugs, nakedness, bad behavior and stupidness are as old as humanity itself!

    You say that it's hard being a Muslim in America or in the modern world. Well, what is your definition of being a Muslim and why should "modern" matter at all?

    Think about it? Is your definition of Islam involving following some ethnic culture, maybe the one you grew up with? Well, I tell you what, if I moved my extended family to China, it would be hard to keep my relatives and children from becoming just like the Chinese in language, food preferences, dress and values.

    Being a Muslim is not about dressing like they do in Egypt, Bangladesh or Nigeria. Being a Muslim is not about liking Samosas and Kabobs. Being a Muslim is not about marrying someone who is the same color and ethnic group as you. If you try to preserve these things, you will fail every time. And if you think those things are part of Islam, then you may very well think that if your kid likes pizza, baseball and baggy jeans that you have failed to give them Islam.

    None of those things have anything to do with being a Muslim or not. Islam is not in the cultural expression! Islam is in the heart, behavior and values. It is a lifestyle that can be lived by anyone, anywhere and for as long as they're alive.

    A Muslim living here in America should follow Islamic guidelines in dress, so baggy jeans and a loose shirt are actually wonderful- as opposed to tight jeans and tiny shirts! The boys should then add a kufi, turban or some other kind of hat, preferable without a brim so it won't interfere with Salah. The sisters add a hijab and there you go!

    As far as food, we teach ourselves and our children how to avoid haram things and then we all relax.

    As far as lifestyle, we teach each other the beliefs and practices of Islam and we follow them. How hard is it to pray five times a day? Laziness is what gets in the way most of the time for most of us. Nobody tells you not to pray. Nobody tells you not to be a Muslim.

What about temptations? Sure, there are many temptations around. How do we avoid them? For starters, why don't we avoid the places where the temptations are? Avoid that known drug hang-out; stay off that street where the bad people are; don't go into that neighborhood. And if the temptations on TV or radio, then limit your exposure to the television and radio!

    What about learning? Every book, video, cassette tape or whatever that we can imagine are available. If you live in New York here, all you need to do is go to Atlantic Ave and 4th Ave in Brooklyn and all the materials you could ever want are there. Find what interests you. Find what will help you.

    What about our interaction with this society? Allah tells us, "And keep your hearts content with those who call on their lord and never move your faces from them." Stick with other Muslims whenever possible! That doesn't mean that you have to be friends with every Muslim, but try to find some you would like to be friends with and stick with them. If you have non-Muslim friends, then you must set the tone of the relationship, not them. You're purpose with them must be to present a good example of Islam so that maybe, one day, they might be your Muslim friend too!

    And no, don't think in your head that being with Muslims mostly means to stick with people of your same ethnic group. If anything, most of us have been doing that for too long! That was our first mistake. Get out in the Ummah a little and meet Muslims of different backgrounds and colors. Build a multi-ethnic network of real committed Muslims. Avoid the hypocrites, and you know who they are, and stick with the good people, and I'm sure we all know at least some. In this way you are around people who will benefit you not only in similar interests, but also in Eman.

    Don't place unrealistic or self-centered goals on your children. Don't tell them what they're going to be when they grow up. You know how so many parents tell their kids that, "You are going to be a doctor." But the parents don't have the intention of wanting to make their children a helper of humanity, they're only thinking about the money. "I want my child to be rich and being a doctor seems to be the correct route for that."

    So we pass on to our children the attitude that: "I need to be rich and that is the focus of my life." We are pulling the rug out from under them Islamically with our worldly-oriented expectations.

    Let your child be who they want to be. Teach them that Islam is the most valuable thing to gain in this life and that whatever career they choose, they will be the best at it as well as the best Muslim.

    And as far as living Islam in the modern world being difficult...why should that anything to do with Islam and what is modern anyway? Three hundred years ago they said they were living in modern times and three hundred years from now they will say they're living in modern times.

    Is Islam against progress? No. Is Islam against computers, space-ships, telephones or planes? No.

    So what is this imaginary problem with Islam and modern times? Sure, there are Muslims in the world who are so backward that even running water is amazing to them, but there are still places in America were people live like that, especially in Appalachia and northern Louisiana. What does that have to do with anything?

    And sure, there are some Muslims with such odd ideas that we just shake our heads in wonder, such as those who have a hatred of women and want to make their lives miserable. But we're not them and they are not us and Islam doesn't teach their kind of garbage ideologies anyway. Their cultures were backward before Islam and they remained backward because they never understood Islam even to this day!

    But don't get depressed just because of a few misguided Muslims in the world. In the heart of this, the most technologically advanced society in the world, almost everyone reads their horoscopes or calls those 1-900 psychic lines for their "future". Superstition here is alive and well and women are attacked here in a different way. They are made into objects for the unrestrained consumption of men so much so that there is no concept of respect for womanhood here anymore.

    And don't think that the Muslim world is the only place where people have backward ideas because there are millions of Christians and Jews, mostly here in the West, who believe that the world is only six thousand years old!

    So what's the problem? The problem is that we like to blame everyone else without ever realizing that the fault almost always lies with ourselves. The enemies of Islam didn't destroy the Islamic state. Muslims themselves destroyed it. The society doesn't corrupt our children. The corruption begins in the home with our own hands. The influences of society just build on what we ourselves allowed to develop in our children with our own poor behavior and morals.

  My brothers and sisters, it's not hard to live as a Muslim in this or any other country. You can do anything you want, the only question is, are you willing to do it? You wanted to have a Masjid, so you got together and built one, despite any setbacks. You wanted some form of a Sunday school program, so you made one. But is the Masjid just a brick building with a name? Is the school really a baby-sitting service in disguise?

    If we're serious about Islam, we need more than buildings and programs. We need change within ourselves. In Surah 49 Allah mentions that there is a clear difference between just being a Muslim, and being a true believer. Have we done anything about that? And if you don't feel you've made progress, do you get filled with despair? Do you take a setback or a failure as your final answer and give up, or do you realize that for a Muslim, there are no failures? Yes, for a Muslim there is no such thing as failure. There is only results. If you are not getting the results you want in your pursuit of Islam, then, modify your approach until you are experiencing the true inner peace that Islam promises to you.

    Allah wants you to be guided to the truth and has given you the tools of success. If you have an English translation of the Qur'an that is hard to read, get one that is easy. If you think there are no good Muslims around you, get involved in youth programs, Masajid, da'wah activities or whatever and I guarantee you that you'll find some nice people. And even more importantly, are you nice yourself, or are you a cold fish just like the rest of them to your fellow Muslims? Sometimes the fault lies within us as much as it does within others.

    If you wonder how leisure time and cultural enjoyment fit into Islam, look for expressions of those things and participate. As far as reading and literature, how many of you know that the Muslim world has been producing for over 1400 years the best poetry, stories, essays, travel stories, joke books and spiritual writings you can ever imagine. These days those books are being translated into English all the time. Some authors I would recommend you to look for are Al Ghazali, Rumi, Iqbal, Shah, Shirazi, Al Jahiz, Ibn Battutta, Fareedudeen Attar and Al Sharawi.

    We can live as healthy, committed Muslims in every age and place in the world. The key to success comes down to us. A famous Muslim was once asked how we can become a great and successful community again, and he replied, "The same program which made Muslims in earlier times successful is the only one that can make us successful today."

May Allah help us to open our eyes to what is right in front of us and may He give us the strength to help ourselves. 

    Allahumma Ameen.

Demanding Professionalism in Our Mosques

    Where do you go if your son is rebelling? What do you do when your daughter wants to marry someone against your wishes? Your uncle is feeling depressed lately. Who can help him recover? Your spouse is too materialistic and is neglecting the spiritual life of your family? Who can help?

    If you have ever been faced with issues similar to these, then you have probably tried to get help in the one place where you would expect to get it: the Masjid. Perhaps you called or paid a visit to the Masjid office in the hopes of finding a sympathetic ear, or maybe you met with the Imam or director to discuss what's ailing your life.

    But if your experience is like most people in most places, you wound up having to look elsewhere for assistance. You just couldn't find the support you needed in your local house of worship. Maybe no one answered the phone; maybe your calls were never returned or, if you did manage to get a personal meeting, perhaps the Imam or director spoke little English or merely used the opportunity to lecture you on fiqh issues. Hardly a solution to real life problems!

    If we say the Masjid is the focal point of the community and open its doors five times a day for prayer, shouldn't the Masjid be open for other needs the believers have as well? But what I've seen all too often is that those who build and operate the Masajid have little expertise in organizing a life-giving institution. Just because someone can make a million dollars living off medical insurance billings doesn't mean he can run a spiritual and communal project!

    What I'm telling you is not the disgruntled ramblings of an emotional person. I'm quite happy being Muslim no matter what the strengths or weaknesses of my community are. After having visited countless Masajid across the country, I wish merely to call your attention to a most pressing issue; that of the need for professionalism in the Masajid.

    I don't know how many of you are "reverts," or, people who have accepted Islam, but if you are reading this, do you remember what going to church or the synagogue was like in earlier years? Put aside for a moment the faulty theology and mistaken notions that were taught in those places. Remember what the structure was like. If you needed counseling, the minister or rabbi was well qualified and available. If you had children there were fun and interesting youth activities throughout the week. If you were poor you may have received help. If you merely needed a good book on your religion, there was a wonderful, staffed library on premises. Do you see where I'm going?

    Nearly every single Masjid built and operated in North America has been built, funded and operated by immigrant Muslims. (With the exception of a large number of African American Masajid.) After extensive interviews with immigrant Muslims, it seems the perception of the Masjid "back home" is of a place to make salah, do janazah, 'Eid celebrations, etc... Family and personal matters are handled through other channels: relatives, friends, youth clubs, etc... After all, everyone's a Muslim so the Masjid is just a small feature in the spiritual and social life of the community.

    Enter the new world: the immigrant builds a Masjid with the good intention of having a place for the community to gather and make Salah and do Eid, etc... But when members of the community have needs that only a Muslim would know how to deal with, bingo! There are no Muslim relatives in great abundance. The few Muslim friends one may have are all busy making money and there are no Muslim youth clubs or community activities beyond dinners once a month or fundraising events. So where does the community member go? He or she seeks out non-Muslim help at best or leaves the problem unsolved at worst. The Masjid has no place in their life.

    Even if the Masjid has a few pitiful programs to enhance the life of its members, more often than not, they're staffed only sporadically by people who just came from a village back home. They are not professional in their manner according to Western standards- they may not even show up on time to anything- and they are not equipped to deal with the issues confronting the Muslim minority experience. I'm not saying all volunteers in the Masajid are similar to this description. Don't get me wrong. But in all my time as a frequenter of Masajid, I've only met about nine or ten truly competent people.

    Contrast the above scenario with the average church or synagogue. The institution is built to serve as a community center right from the start. Youth programs are a priority and are well-planned and fun. Women are represented on the board and on all committees. Volunteers are chosen for their trustworthiness and reliability. They are made to feel that their job means something and they are well-coordinated and friendly. 

    The minister or rabbi speaks English fluently, even if they are an immigrant, and knows Greek, Hebrew or Latin on the side. In order to be the leader of the community, the minister or rabbi had to undergo extensive training which included, besides the religious subjects, counseling, administration, management, music and singing, public speaking, research, etc.... culminating in the award of a D.D. (Doctorate of Divinity).

    I'm sorry, but the little certificates from madrasahs all over the third world do not prepare an Imam for the task of leading the Muslim community in North America.  Before you take offense at this statement, consider this: what is your definition of an Imam?  Islamically, the Imam is supposed to have some authority over the community. He is to be elected by the Muslims and given respect and listened to. But in nearly every Muslim community I've been exposed to, the Imam has no authority, little respect and merely leads the prayers and recites some du'as. At the most he may teach some classes here and there on Qirah or Aqeedah. Even if he is a hafiz the situation is still pretty much the same.

    If this is your definition of what an Imam means, then you need to remember all the complaints we have about why the Muslim world has declined in the last five hundred years. Islam was relegated to the Masjid. Imams were prayer leaders and little more. Islam had little hold over a person's personal or social life. This is how Islam is viewed in Muslim countries; this is one reason why the immigrant Muslims had to leave their countries to begin with. Their homelands are, by and large, screwed up.

    So why do we want to set up our Masajid here on the same model that caused our destruction over there? I can't figure it out. Ministers and Rabbis are considered authority figures in their respective communities and generally have the allegiance of most members. Our Imams are usually under-educated and have no authority with little backing from anyone. 

     Some wealthy patron, pretending he knows how to be a Nasjid director, is almost always the real power in the Baitullah. And it's real hard to tell such a director that his local Muslim community is drifting away from the faith when he lives in a mansion and drives a Mercedes. He'll say to himself, "I made a fortune, therefore, I know what's best for the local Muslim community."

    Meanwhile, all around him, the youth are becoming kuffar, the women are forgetting Islam, the elderly are being abandoned in homes, the people who want to convert are disillusioned and the men are 'Eid Muslims only, if that. Everyone turns to the non-Muslim society for support, help, entertainment, money and even spiritual meaning. Until and unless we inject professionalism in our Masajid, then our community will continue to shrink even though pundits cry about there being six million of us.

    We need trained staff, even if you have to pay them. We need Imams with professional training in many subjects related to human relations and we need a process of inclusion that would make women, the youth and the luke-warm Muslims feel a part of the over-all life of our Masjid. In short, the Masjid is not just a place of prayer that we can build to heal our guilty feelings of doing haram business dealings- it's a place for Muslims and their lives. By its very nature and what it must mean for the community, it must be run professionally, and not like a club.

A Welcome Place

    When I saw he was very receptive to Islamic teachings I began to get excited. Here was a man who spent his entire life living for little more than himself, now he wanted to live for a greater ideal, a higher goal. He could very easily become a Muslim. I knew I had to move carefully. One misstep and he might turn away and remain unfulfilled and lost.

    I thought of what to do next. I was only one person. I knew he needed to see more, to know more, to understand more. I realized then that my problems were just beginning.

    If you can identify with this scenario then you may already know what problems naturally follow. If you cannot conceive that there would ever be any difficulty with introducing someone to Islam, then read on and be enlightened. Certainly light can dispel the darkness that has hidden the truth to many.

    We've all dreamed of bringing someone to Islam. Every time we've had the chance to share our faith with others we thought about the potential for a new Muslim being born. The Blessed Prophet once said that to bring someone to Islam is better than the whole world and everything in it. It's especially of interest to those of us who have accepted Islam ourselves. We know what life is like before Islam: stupid, meaningless and empty. We know our fellow Americans need it desperately.

    But no man is an island and Islam cannot operate in a confined space. To achieve the full benefit of Islamic practice, one must live Islam, come into contact with other Muslims and have access to uplifting and inspiring "Taqwa Builders" such as books, gatherings, salah in jama'ah, etc...

    Let's say, just for a moment, that you convinced someone to consider Islam a bit closer. Let's say you've peaked their interest and you've reached them at the right time in their lives. What do you do next? If you were a Christian, you might introduce the person to your Bible-study group or bring them to your Church where they can be drawn into the life-blood of the thriving institution.

    But as a Muslim, you know that we, as a community, don't have relevant, interesting study groups. Instead, we have boring meetings where a bunch of old guys sit around and argue about fiqh issues, middle eastern politics or the evil Americans. Scratch that. You can't take your convert-to-be there.

    What about the Masjid? Surely I could take him or her there? Well, not if it's a her, in most cases, because many of the Masajid tend to be very anti-female places where sisters are shoved into back closets, stuffy basements or tiny places far away from anything important. (In the old country, women didn't even go to the Masjid anyway. "Ah, the good ol' days," they reminisce.)

    But your prospect is a male, good, that solves that problem. So you bring him with you to evening prayers one night so he can get a feel for the place Muslims meet. If you're blessed with a well-organized Masjid, then you're okay. But if you're Masjid is like most, it is disorganized, has no real full-time secretary, is dirty with papers and things lying around and, perhaps, there are people living in it and sleeping around here and there or hoards of unsupervised children are all over the place, running amok.

    Your friend is open-minded so looks past all the third-world habits he sees flaunted and sincerely wants to learn. You're lucky, because most educated Americans of all races wouldn't want to stay in a place that reminds them of a welfare building.

    You make Salah and perhaps your friend joins in. He loves the experience. Afterwards, you introduce him to the Imam and some of the brothers. They're friendly, warm and decent people. Then everyone decides to sit together for a small meal in the Masjid and your friend hesitates. He feels shy. He's off his own turf, after all, and is completely dependent on you at the moment for his sense of center and place.

    A large sheet is spread and the brothers sit down around it. A community bowl is placed in the center and then everyone begins eating. Your friend takes a few tentative bites and begins to relax. He even exchanges a word or two with the brothers and is on the verge of opening up. Then, something strange happens. Slowly, imperceptibly, the words floating in the air begin to lose their English flavor and drift over into Urdu or Arabic or Bengali or whatever. After ten minutes, everyone is speaking a foreign language and laughing and ribbing each other.

    Your friend starts to feel uncomfortable again. No one talks to him, no one looks at him. You try to engage him in small conversation or even try to translate discreetly what they're talking about. But after a few minutes of translating the useless banter of what's going on in so and so's old town in the dusty old country, you see it's not worth trying anymore.

    You finish the meal and the brothers depart. A Muslim sister passes by along the edge of the room carrying a food pot to the kitchen. She looks timid and skulks like a thief who hopes to go unnoticed. None of the men salute her or offer to help. They merely throw their plastic plates in the garbage and filter out of the Masjid and go home.

    You try to keep the interest of your friend. You don't want it to end here. You look around near the Masjid entrance for some literature you can give him. There are no booklets, flyers or anything like that. All there seems to be are piles of donation forms from about twelve different relief organizations.

    You're getting nervous. You know follow-up is the key. Your friend shifts his mind to going home. You can almost see the invisible block erecting itself again. You don't want to start at ground zero again. You tell him you want to check and see what upcoming programs are available to attend. You go to the bulletin board. It's a mess. Papers announcing programs held three months ago still remain. Ads for carpet cleaners and halal meat stores jostle with each other for space.

    After a frantic search you're eyes brighten for a moment. You find notice of an upcoming event. But after seeing who the speaker will be you become disappointed. The scholar in question is legitimate, but he hardly speaks good English and often puts audiences to sleep in record time. He never even speaks about anything relevant. You don't ever want to take anyone interested Islam there-- you wouldn't even go yourself, equating it with a horrible punishment.

    You and your friend make ready to leave. You pass by the locked door to the library. A thought comes and then goes just as quickly. No one attends to the library around here and it's full of books a seeker of knowledge would never understand anyway.

    Hoping for the guidance of Allah upon your friend, you bid each other good night and he travels off in his car to his home. Either he has a lot to think about or he feels he found another dead end in his quest for a spiritual center.

    As you turn onto the highway you can't help but wonder: what if your Masjid were just a little different? What if it was set up for da'wah like nearly every church in America is. What if it were clean, well-maintained, staffed with a friendly secretary and set up as a full service center for the community? 

    What if those people who have lived in this country for ten years or more would open up and at least speak the language of the people around them when they were present? What if there were good, relevant programs for Muslims and non-Muslims alike given by people who were inspiring, eloquent and aware of the issues we face in the modern world?

    Then, just then, you think to yourself, people like my friend would be accepting Islam all the time. If you can identify with anything I've written in this article, then resolve to do something about it. If your Masjid is good and run in a professional manner for da'wah and community support, then please give your address to every Muslim in your city or suburb so they can steer clear of the Masajid which fall far short of decent management and organization.

    If a Muslim businessperson can go to Indonesia and within ten years everyone in the village is Muslim, what are we doing who have been here for decades? There are hardly any converts attending our Masajid, second-generation kids find it irrelevant to be involved there and women are given little, if any voice in our community affairs.

    Time and time again I have seen middle-aged, wealthy men who made big kuffer-bucks in every haram way, filling the Masajid and talking about establishing Islam in this nation. Meanwhile, their kids are outside talking about music, girls, dancing or whatever, their wives are at home watching godless TV programs and their relatives lost Islam long ago. All this happened right under their noses, by the way.

    If we truly want to establish Islam here then we have to build community Masajid which serve the community and are relevant to both Muslims and non-Muslims. I wouldn't want to be those people on Judgment Day who built a Masjid in this life but then made it a dead structure by their own hands. Allah help us take the Masajid out of their control before there are no more Muslims left to fill them!

Building a better Da'wah Program - Reprint of an Old Article

    "So brother," he asked me, "how did you become a Muslim?"

    Now this isn't a rare question for one who embraced Islam. In fact, it seems this was the most often asked question in my first two years of entering the faith. Alhumdulillah, "born" Muslims always have a keen interest in how others have found their way into the fold of Islam.

    Partly this is a reaffirmation of their own identity, ("Hey, if others are choosing it then it must be good") and partly it is often an unusual phenomenon not seen in the countries from where the average Muslim came. ("Hey, converts are like aliens from outer space in my country.")

    Whatever the motivation, I sometimes lament being the only "revert" in a crowd or at a meeting. I don't have any prejudicial feelings towards my fellow compatriots in the deen, I merely wish there were more people who accepted Islam around me so I could experience the feelings of reaffirmation and say, "Alhumdulillah" too.

    It's really amazing when you think about it. We have perhaps the least organized community in the world- even the Hindus are more organized world-wide- yet we are gaining "reverts" faster than anyone else. Some attribute this to the Mercy of Allah, others add that it is a testament to the truth of Islam.

    But what if we were more organized? What if we had million dollar da'wah centers for the total work of spreading Islam? What if we rented out stadiums and did Billy Graham style conversion drives? What do you think? I tell you that in my gut I am convinced we would have so many "reverts" that we would be surprised if we met someone who wasn't Muslim.

    Islamic teachings beat Christian hodge-podge doctrines any day of the week. You and I know this. Hinduism, Bahaiism, Buddhism and the new age movement have nothing on us. They can't even touch our coat-tails. So how can we utilize our resources to rival everyone even further and build the size and strength of our community?

    To begin with, we have to get our act together and organize national standards for da'wah workers, literature and programs. Let me illustrate why: Have you ever attended the following type of da'wah gathering? The mostly-Muslim audience shows up late, the speaker can't speak English right, the sound system squeals horribly, the refreshment table is filled with warm milk-tea and half-eaten doughnuts and the da'wah literature, if there is any, is poorly written gobbledygook which wouldn't convince a mouse that it likes cheese.

    I'm sure you can relate to such experiences. For all the good intentions, the entire atmosphere was skewed. Non-Muslims, if they could read the hand-scrawled announcements taped on telephone poles, leave with the feeling that there's nothing for them here.

    But what would national standards encompass? It's nearly impossible to get anyone, especially our leaders, to agree on anything. So to solve this problem, I'm going to pretend I have the ear of every Muslim in the country and I'm going to impose national standards right now. So listen up everyone and take notes!  (I also wrote a book with more details about this topic called How to Tell Others about Islam.)

    First, nobody will be allowed to speak in front of non-Muslims, or Muslims for that matter, unless they can speak the language of the people clearly. We don't want any thick accents, no Englabic or Urdulish. Only clear, understandable English. No exceptions no matter how "big" the man is.

    Second, the only topics that will be allowed in any gathering where non-Muslims are addressed will be limited to subjects about life, our purpose, Allah' guidance/forgiveness, the Qur'an and its role in life and the example of the Blessed Prophet. There will be no lectures on fiqh, politics, tassawuf, Unani healing or the psychothematic paradigms found in the writings of obscure Persian or Urdu poets. No exceptions no matter how "big" the money behind the event is.

    Third, women will be allowed to address non-Muslim and Muslim audiences on any of the above approved topics with the addition of the role and rights of women in Islam. (Men will not be allowed to speak at length about this topic but can mention it. You figure out why.) Women will be allowed to decide what they wish to speak about and will be given authority in the planning and carrying out of the da'wah program. Women should appear in proper, fashionable dress that fulfills Islamic requirements, but try to avoid ostentatious cultural garb here!

    Fourth, all programs will be planned well in advance. Sound systems will be checked and rechecked many times for quality reception. Reliable people will be assigned duties in advance and will be briefed many times as to their function. Ushers will be present (not eleven year olds) and the program will not exceed two hours. Everything will proceed on time and the program will begin on time no matter how many "big-shot" community members are late. (Remember: today's big-shots are tomorrow's people of the grave. Don't fear them or the money that is temporarily in their hands.)

    Fifth, all children under twelve- and babies- will remain at home. The only exception to this rule is when on-site day-care is available. In such a case, under no circumstances will these children be allowed in the main program area.

    Sixth, only da'wah materials approved by native-English speaking Muslims will be distributed. For a current list of approved da'wah literature, see the book, "How to Tell Others About Islam" available from most Islamic bookstores. (or from noorart)  If you don't have your materials read for accuracy and readability first, don't use them.

    Seventh, no da'wah program or effort can be initiated unless the following three criteria are met: 1) good, friendly da'wah workers must be utilized. 2) A follow-up plan for interested prospects must be developed. 3) A mentor program linking "reverts" with designated "mentor" families must be established.

    Eighth, No door-to-door da'wah or street corner shouting will be allowed. We are not Jehovah's Witnesses nor do we want to be stigmatized as similar to them.

    Ninth, all the latest techniques for mass-da'wah efforts must be studied and tested. Everything from mass-mailing, TV advertising, telethons, self-improvement seminar-type activities, videos, home-study courses, gimmicks, sloganeering, etc.. must be looked at in a specially created da'wah institute which will be established to facilitate the National Standards in Da'wah effort.

    Finally, every Muslim and "revert" will be encouraged to move to areas where the majority of the population are Muslims. Islamic education programs for "reverts" and youth must be established that are fun and interesting, and the community must make every effort to find the "revert" a job, if they need one, a good husband or wife, if they're single, and a recognized place in the life of the community.

    There, I've done it. National Standards have been enumerated. Now if you don't wake up and take a good look at how you're spreading Islam (or trying to) then you'll still find a new "revert" as an unusual, special thing to be admired and praised. I would rather find "reverts" as common as water, myself.

Just what are the Youth Thinking? - Adapted from an older article.

    It seems that the most interesting topic of discussion amongst Muslims these days is the education of their children. Hardly a meeting of Muslims passes without some reference to the declining hopes we have for their spiritual and moral development. Many of us are well aware of the types of pressure this society and its culture exerts on our youth, but how many of us realize what the Muslim youth themselves are concerned about? 

    It may be that Muslim parents are faced with a double adversary in their struggle to keep their children on the straight and narrow. In addition to a fight with crass materialism and extremely bad publicity (terrorism being wrongly assigned to our religion), Muslim parents are also facing a ferocious generation gap as well.

    Many years ago I was asked to be a volunteer teacher in the local Masjid's Sunday school program. At first, (and at second) I declined the offer but was eventually corralled into the system by a very dedicated and persuasive brother. I was, understandably, very apprehensive for I didn't think I could feel comfortable with teenagers, (I was, after all, not much removed from their age group to begin with,) but Allah blessed me with the stubborn determination to at least give things a good effort, so, with no prior experience in teaching, in I went armed with Ghulam Sarwar's awesome book: Islam Beliefs and Teachings!  (And this was before the advent of smartphones when kids still had the discipline to read books!)

    Now I may have technically been the one giving the instruction, but I began to feel early on that they were giving far more to me than I was to them. The youth opened up to me and told me what they really felt, what they really wanted, as well as what they consider to be the most pressing problems facing their age group. Many Muslim parents would be shocked at what their children are thinking!

    They may even seek to deny that any cause for complaint is valid. But that is up to Allah to judge. I only wish to let you know how your sons and daughters are interpreting the world around them. Lest you think what I am about to say is from an isolated group of youth, I also have worked with youth groups cutting along ethnic and economic lines in a variety of places. So brace yourselves for what is to come.

    The most frequently voiced complaint I have heard from the youth is that they feel their parents are trying to impose an alien and foreign culture on their American born and raised children. The youth say that they have to act in an unnatural and artificial way when they are at home, and that it is only when they are away from their parents that they are in the "real world." There was one girl in my class who lamented that her parents were accusing her of becoming a "Christian" because she couldn't read Urdu. It was encouraging for me, however, when she herself said that Islam is not about what language one speaks, but about belief in Allah.

    On the extreme side, I know of one boy's parents who kept him a virtual prisoner in their home to keep him from picking up features of American culture. This has nothing to do with Islam, it's not even good parenting. But the love and commitment some people have for their own national culture is stronger than their love and commitment to Allah and their children's welfare. Understandably, this boy told me he couldn't wait until he was old enough to leave them. How many are the Muslim families that are plagued by a conflict over culture!

    During one of my final classes that spring, I asked the students if they noticed some discrepancies between the pure Islam they were learning and the behavior of Muslims around them. My point was merely to try and explain why Muslims were in a state of disarray by leaving Allah's path, but I was instantly overwhelmed by tales of parents failing to practice what they preached.

    The complaint of the youth here was that mom and dad demanded a higher standard from their children than they were willing to follow themselves. One girl lamented that her mother forbade her from listening to American music but then listened to Pakistani music herself with abandon. Allah said, "O you who believe! why do you say what you don't do? It is hateful in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not." (61:2-3)

    There is no doubt in my mind that the Western educational system is a sham. It produces functional workers like replacement parts, but fails to nurture students into competent, thoughtful beings. Which leads me to a third major issue that the youth dwell upon, and that is that parents expect their children to be top achievers and good believers, while only encouraging them in the first half of that formula. 

To illustrate: One day one of the boys was bragging about his academic prowess in school, which was considerable. But when I had the chance to meet his father, he had nothing but negatives to say about his son's behavioral problems. His boy had no sense of Islamic manners even though he was as smart as a three-piece suit. The public school system does not lead a person to have faith in his or her Creator, it just churns out batches of spiritually neutral graduates like so many cookies on a baking sheet. Only a full-time, well-organized Islamic school has a chance at delivering the best of both worlds.

    To further elucidate, I once knew a young senior in high school who had enough Eman and Taqwa to power the whole Muslim Ummah. He was such a powerhouse of sincerity that I felt lightheaded around him. He told me he wanted to study to be an Imam and his only goal was to be an Islamic scholar. This young man was born and raised in America and he loved Islam to his very core! Guess what? His parents crushed his dream and forced him to enter dental school. They told him he wouldn't make any money being a scholar and that they would only pay for education they deemed financially profitable. Their real motivations became self-evident: the world comes first, the next life can wait. (Last time I heard, America was in short supply of Islamic scholars and that the job market was good for this type of calling.)

    Perhaps the most contentious issue raised by youth all over the country is the one involving marriage. Whole books could be written on just what I've been told and shown by Muslim youth. I'm telling you, but still most Muslim parents will probably remain heedless: as long as your child's spouse is a Muslim, you had better let them marry whoever they want, regardless of race, ethnic group or profession. The worst nightmare expounded by every teenager and college age student I've met is that their parents are going to marry them off to some semi-literate, culturally backward person who just came from "the village" back home.

   The youth know the saying of the Blessed Prophet when he advised that the most important consideration in choosing a mate is Taqwa (awareness of Allah) and if you put that aside in favor of ethnic and financial preferences, you could be marrying your child to someone who is Muslim in name only and who will kill Islam in your future family tree.

    Of course my young friends griped about many other things, but those were of the type that parents everywhere are "guilty" of, such as not giving enough weekly allowance or allowing enough freedom. That's a normal part of the parent-child relationship. But what I mentioned in the preceding is neither a normal nor healthy situation for young people, especially Muslims, to find themselves facing. Such issues tend to make fresh minds cynical and tired. It's the greatest threat to the survival of the next few Muslim generations here.

    I'm not going to offer any ways or solutions to rectify the feelings of our youth in this article. Consider me a conduit from which you get information about the "other side" which you may use in your deliberations. One thing I can say, again from personal experience, is that as long as the Masajid of this nation remain antagonistic to youth and are not user-friendly, their will be little to no progress in our efforts to pass Islam to our second and third generations. Ponder well and may Allah bring forgiveness and healing between the generations. Ameen.

    "O you who believe! save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is human beings and the stones (of false idols and objects of devotion)!"(66:6)

Moving Beyond Theory - Reprint of an Old Article

    "In Islam, you..." "Islam teaches that the state is..." "A Fatwa issued by a scholar in..."

    This is what you hear on a daily basis when you travel in Muslim circles. There is always someone propounding on what Islam teaches, how Islam shapes our behavior and what Islam says about halal/haram issues. This is all well and good. However, as is my habit, I'm going to poke some holes in our usual assumptions so we can see what we really need to do to improve ourselves.

    Picture this: you're in a Muslim convention, Masjid or at a local function where there are a lot of people. Some people are talking about politics, others about "religion" while others are gossiping about whatever (or whoever). Some of the people will be recognized "scholars" or known for their Islamic learning. They may even be distinguished by distinctive clothing, or they're just wearing expensive suits and ties.

    You sort of feel like you're in a Muslim society. There's "Salam" every where you turn and you can reasonably expect a certain conformity in behavior and modes of expression. Group activities such as the Salah and dinner solidify this feeling. Maybe there will be some speeches of interest to the attendees and maybe a little bazaar with books, clothes or whatever.

    But for all the knowledge, for all the hierarchies based on religious" knowledge and for all the talk of what Islam says about this, that or the other thing, the simple truth remains that when everyone leaves, they are returning to a world dominated by non-Muslims and their culture. Even if you were in Egypt, Arabia or Malaysia, the dominant culture is not necessarily "Islamic" as much as it is based on tradition.

    So the woman who asked a question about women's rights "in Islam" to the speaker on the podium, and received an answer that women's status "in Islam" is wonderful, will leave the gathering and return to the "real" world where Muslim women are either not welcome in the Masjid near them or are at best a tolerated evil there.

    The man who talked to his brother about building an Islamic community will return to his home where he is the only Muslim in the neighborhood. Likewise, the kids who were forced to sit in the lecture hall by their parents are going to return to their public school to see their girl/boy friends, talk about the latest Madonna album and laugh and joke like any other non-Muslim.

    For all the talk about building brotherhood or sisterhood, there will be none of it outside the convention hall or lecture forum. For all the talk about "in Islam this" or "in Islam that", the truth is that outside the place, their is no "in" anything except kufr.

    I know of a sister who wanted to divorce her husband. She knew about the divorce procedure in the non-Muslim court system, but what about in Islam? She went to one big Imam from a wealthy Arab country and laid out her case. She was often beaten and abused by her husband and he didn't even support her or their children. She was the one who worked and paid the bills, in addition to being hit all the time! This "Imam" gave her a religious ruling telling her she should just stay married to him and never mind the beatings.

    So the sister went to another Imam from a poor African country. He was more sympathetic and advised counseling for the couple. The husband refused to come to his office for counseling and the Imam tried his best to contact this man and even sent a message that he would be willing to come to their house and counsel them there. The man didn't budge. He wanted no part of any counseling. The Imam could have pursued the matter, but he was also counseling hundreds of other Muslims who had social problems. The wife finally gave up and decided a secular divorce was her only option. She couldn't find a way to arrange an Islamic divorce.

    Of the several Masjids that I've had close associations with, one startling factor I've always taken note of is the lack of Islamicity in many of the sisters. (Not all sisters so don't get mad at me.) You know, the wealthy women who wear the dynamite Shalwars, ultra-high heels, gold jewelry and expensive hair-dos. (Hijab is unheard of for many women.) Their main activity seems to be gossip, endless gossip. Although the Prophet counseled us to never talk about others, all they do is feast upon the rumors, gossip and "juicy" tid-bits of info on this or that person or family.

    I've known many sincere sisters in these different Masjids, some were converts, others were immigrants who had strong Islamic awareness. One complaint they would give is the lack of real sisterhood they felt. Many were sick of the gossip-mongers (who often held power positions in the women's activities in the Masjid) and they felt powerless to stop it. A few sisters I know of tried to confront the gossip-mongers, but they were treated so cruelly and viciously that they haven't returned to their respective Majid's yet.

    I remember one of the sisters asking me, "Who is my community?"

    Here's the problem: We always talk about the theory of Islam; what Islam teaches in regards to personal, social and political behavior. But we never seem to move beyond the theoretical. If Islam says a person shouldn't back-bite, we parrot this phrase from our mouth. But then we engage in back-biting as if we never recognized it was wrong! We say that the Imam is the leader of the community, but then we "hire" Imams from third world countries, bring them here to lead prayers and teach Arabic, but then give them no respect or authority whatsoever!

    My favorite issue is that of the "scholars" who have their heads in the sand. You know, all those guys with degrees from Madinah, Syria, India or wherever, who act and talk as if they were in 13th century Baghdad or Damascus. They'll wear their little "scholar's" uniforms, issue fatwas left and right, talk about the theory of Islam and act is if they are part of a monolithic Islamic state which is functioning and healthy.  Yet, they are devoid of a practical plan or conception for how to revive Islam.

    But there is no Islamic state anywhere in the world, the level of knowledge among Muslims about Islam is extremely varied, there are no authorities to verify or study the merits of fatwas, Muslim countries were conquered completely and are now places where Islam is suppressed and many "scholars" are more influenced by their cultures than by Islam.

    Think about the Taliban, for example, where they have forbidden sisters to work, study or even go out without a tent on their heads.  As one Taliban spokesman was quoted as saying, "This is our culture for over a thousand years."

    There are also a lot of Arabs, Indo-Paks, Africans and converted Muslims, both black and white, who also are influenced by their cultural values over Islam as well. I mean really now, a lot of Muslim Americans have taken it as an article of faith that "Rap" music is an integral part of Islam, when that is just a cultural expression from one geographic location.  I wonder if white converts will invent Islamic Bluegrass music!  Humans need both spirituality and a sense of belonging to a community.  A community is a mix of values, both outward and inward.  Every unmoored and drifting Muslim now asks where they belong. The simple plea remains: "Who is my community?"

Muslim Schools - A View from the Inside - Reprint of an Article from 2005

  "Most parents send their kids here for reasons other than Islam." Lamented the principal of a large Muslim school. "A lot of our students have older brothers and sisters who have gone out of control. They smoke, use drugs, sleep around and disobey their parents."

   I knew from my own experience that what he was saying was true. In my first year of teaching I had the chance to meet the families of many of my students in the Muslim school. What I saw shocked me. The older siblings were completely and thoroughly non-Muslim in their behavior and demeanor. One girl had an older brother with an arm full of tattoos! The girl, who had seven older siblings that went through an urban public school told me that her parents were sending her to the Muslim school because they wanted "at least one good one."

   On another occasion, I happened to be standing in the school office talking to the secretary when a middle-aged, Indo-Pak couple came in with their teenage daughter. She was wearing tight jeans, no Hijab and a lot of make-up. Her face (and the words of her parents) said it all: she's been around.

   Her parents, as it turned out, wanted to enroll her in the Muslim school because they didn't want her to become "Christian." Oh... the parents also mentioned that she had a boyfriend and that they didn't want her to "get into trouble." She was enrolled in the ninth grade and therefore would be in my Islamic Studies class. As it happened, she didn't know how to pray, she never made Wudu in her life and she knew nothing of Islamic teachings. She was, for all practical purposes, a non-Muslim with a Muslim sounding name.

   Do you see a pattern emerging here? After having been involved with Muslim education for the last seven years as a teacher in Sunday schools, summer schools and full-time Muslim schools, I have had the chance to observe the immigrant Muslim community very closely. I wish I could say the indigenous Muslim community, but the immigrants have not seen fit to spread Islam to native-born Americans, but that's another story.

   The idea behind Muslim education is simple: our children identify with those around them so they should be schooled with other Muslim children in an environment that is friendly to Islam. The theory goes that when they graduate they will be practicing and believing Muslims, ready to take their rightful place in society.

   This goal should be the first and foremost priority of every Muslim in the world. After all, what's more important: being rich in this life but losing your soul to eternal punishment, or somehow getting by in this life and gaining Paradise in the next? In my voluminous experience, most Muslim families have chosen the first option.

   Muslim families are, by and large, more concerned with their child being rich than with them going to Paradise after this short life is over. The depth of this statement is sickening when I consider all the wealthy families I've seen who practice little to no Islam but go crazy if their child gets lower than a 95 percent on any test. Their child could be cursing, smoking, dating, fighting, cheating or whatever, but all that really matters is that the kid's going to get into medical school.

   So why have Muslims here and there opened Muslim schools? They usually provide a different level of education than most public schools and they're sometimes not operated in a standard manner. (Remember, I'm speaking as an insider.) The answer is simple, the families are losing their children. Not losing them away from Islam, necessarily, because Islam is the first thing most families will do away with. It's much worse.

   The children are rejecting the ethnic culture of their parents and adopting the American culture they experience everyday. The mother and father want their child to be like them: eating kabobs, wearing a shalwar or jilbab, speaking Urdu or Arabic and identifying with the customs and ways of the old country with respect to marriage, family structure and social interaction. Who cares that the kid's not praying or wearing Hijab, they're not Pakistani or Indian or Arab anymore! Horrors!

   Of course, a few, a very few, families want to send their children to a Muslim school so the children will be staunch believers. Such families know what the most important ingredient in a person's life is. Sure, their children will grow up to become doctors or engineers or whatever, but the main priority in the household is that whatever they do, they will do it as practicing Muslims. But such families are not the majority in a Muslim school project.

   The vast majority of students who come to Islamic schools are from families where Islam is either not practiced or is mixed in with cultural ways and never fully explained to the children. By the time the parents notice their children have different values from them it's too late. The children are thoroughly "Americanized" (whatever that means) and love pizza, Power Rangers, video games and alternative music. They date, disrespect their elders and dabble in alcohol or whatever. Perhaps the older siblings are so completely corrupted that the parents want that "one good one."

   Do you know how many parents have come to me in the last seven years begging me to "save their child?" One man enrolled his three children in my summer school and they were so wild and unruly that the teachers asked me to remove them, and they were all under nine years old! These monsters were cursing, throwing things and fighting with all the other children around them with no regard to any manners or respect.

   When I called the mother to take them home she came in a mini-skirt and Mercedes. The father called me and when I told him that our small summer school program couldn't handle this type of serious discipline problem, he sobbed that his wife, who was a non-Muslim, was turning his children into "Christians." I suggested to him that he should spend more time with the children but he brushed that idea aside saying that he owned three businesses and was always away from home. He wanted the summer school to teach his kids the "Moslem religion." Hey, we all dig our own graves and decide what really matters.

   So what about the schools themselves? A typical Muslim school is started by a group of concerned parents who quickly attract big-name players who are eager to soothe their consciences over their haram business dealings. These doctors, businessmen, engineers and other professionals develop a project outline and raise funds. Usually they have to go outside to Arabia or other foreign sources for the bulk of the money because local donors are a bit scarce. (Abu Bakr donated all he had when the cause of Allah needed it. I've seen millionaires give less than a thousand dollars at fundraising dinners. Then they intone that being wealthy is allowed in Islam. But not if you're not willing to part with the money when the cause needs it!)

   After the school is built, the original concerned parents are muscled out of the Board of Directors and the qualifying criteria for a seat on the board becomes tied to the size of a person's bank account. (Don't disagree with this statement because you know it's true.) Then the school advertises for teachers and a principal.

   The starting salary that the school is willing to pay is somewhere below the poverty level. Of course they could pay competitive wages but who wants to sell their Mercedes Benz or mansion just to augment the salary of a poor Muslim teacher?

   There are two types of people who work in a Muslim school: those who care and are willing to sacrifice for the cause and then those who can't find a job anywhere else. There are no exceptions to this rule. In my experience, the usual ratio between those who care and those who can't find a better job is about three to ten. For every ten teachers, three will care about Islam and the other seven just happen to be biding their time until a better job opens up.

   Many teachers are unqualified to teach according to local public school standards and most don't know how to relate to American-raised children. In all my years of teaching I have only seen perhaps twenty out of a hundred Muslim teachers who knew how to teach kids. The rest would either bore the kids with lectures, yell and curse at them or stand mute in the class as the kids took over.  (I guess the same holds true for public schools in inner cities.)

   The administration of the school usually fares no better. Most schools are run in the drab, third-world methodology where one man dominates like a lord in his castle. No one is important but him and nepotism and favoritism are rampant. If you're just off the plane from the old country and your so and so's cousin or aunt or brother-in-law, you've got a job. If you're a true believer in Allah, behave as a sincere Muslim and love kids you're likely to feel like a misfit in this type of environment.

   So with all these difficulties in Muslims schools, again, why are they popping up all over? Many parents look at the schools as the savior of their children after the children have embraced "American" values. But is this the way to establish Islam here? Reacting when it's too late? Our communities are not even communities to begin with. For most Muslims, they are the only Muslims on their street or in their neighborhood.

   The term "community" is used but how can we say "our local Muslim community" when all there is are scattered families here and there who happen to drive to the Masjid for dinner parties once a month? That's the first level of danger. We're isolated from each other and interact with non-Muslims most of the time.

   The second danger is that some of our Masajid are being operated by people who would be considered hypocrites in the Medina of the Prophet's time. They have haram earnings, they look for fame and status and they feel nostalgic surrounded by people of the same ethnic group as they. The Masajid are ethnic clubs by and large! Those of you who have accepted Islam know what I'm talking about! Therefore, our Masajid are dead structures with next to no meaningful da'wah or community support being conducted.

   The third problem then, becomes our children. Out of the six million or whatever Muslims that our foolish pollsters claim to be here in North America, perhaps only half a million fit the definition of a Muslim according to the Qur'an and Sunnah. Many of the second and third generation kids are gone. That leaves only a few hundred thousand Muslims who will take over when the older generation dies off.

   Out of those kids, only perhaps two percent have any contact with a Muslim school where they can develop a sense of belonging to a community. What the immigrants fail completely to understand is that they grew up surrounded by Muslims so it's much easier to feel like a Muslim, even if you don't practice Islam very much. Our children are growing up with almost no Muslims around them and are therefore identifying themselves as non-Muslims!

   Despite all the problems associated with a Muslim school, then, one fact remains. In my experience, it is the only place where you can give da'wah to the next generation and show them what it means to be a believer. I've seen problem after problem in the structure of Muslim schools, but at the same time, I've seen the awareness of Islam and Eman blossom in even the most lost of children.

   I was telling a parent the other day that the only ones, by and large, who will be Muslims after us, are those who went to Muslim schools. He objected and said that the local Sunday school was providing all the Islamic education the kids needed. Well, I visited that Sunday School on numerous occasions and found the children to be more non-Muslim than the non-Muslims!  The teachers were sincere but helpless, the children were noisy and disinterested and the principal ran from problem to problem like he was in a soccer game.

   Again, we all dig our own grave and decide what is really important. I just hope there will be a Muslim community twenty years from now when the old people, who grew up in Muslim countries, die off. In my experience, the only children who remain Muslim are those who had very strong Islamic tendencies in their family or those who went through Muslim schools. So while Muslim schools are not perfect, it's the only way that many children will be saved from the Hell-fire. It would be nice if the Muslim community got serious about its schools and its future. In some places they are.  What about your neighborhood?