Turning of tides?
This afternoon, I sat behind two thin marble pillars, with the movable-glass geodesic ceiling of the masjid opened just a bit to let in the cool, gray sky and I was honestly surprised and inspired.
Situated on an exposed slab of floor just between two sets of Saudi-issued, brown palm-fiber carpets - complete with the double-sworded emblem - I listened incredulously to something I did not think I would hear coming from the pulpit of the Friday sermon in a 99% Sunni Arab masjid funded by Saudi Arabia.
Maybe I underestimated the true sense of intra-Islamic pluralism that others feel and believe in; or maybe I overestimated the controls that Saudi Arabia extends to the pulpits of the masajid that it has funded in foreign lands; maybe I am just judgemental and racist. Probably some of each.
Whatever the case, the imam admonished with urgency against intra-Islamic sectarianism in a way that I have only heard in personal conversation and not from arguably the most important platform in the day-to-day life of the ummah.
In an eloquent rhetoric of both intellectual and spiritual depth, the imam wove together aqidah, juristic principles of warfare, and political strategy of the neoconservative movement and warned that our infighting only led to our weakness.
"On the day of judgement, Allah will not ask you if you are shi'a or sunni," he reminded emotionally, "He will ask if you are a Muslim and will examine your hearts." He went on to urge an end to all labels and to intra-Islamic unity, unquestioning in the face of opposition.
I don't know if it was there or I expected it to be there, but I almost tried to see if there was a murmur across the crowd as he made the above impassioned plea. I don't know if a lot of brainwashed Muslim masses are truly ready to embrace shi'a and sunni as simply Muslims, period; but if the message doesn't start coming from the pulpits, then it will never penetrate the pews, so to speak. Looking at Iraq, it is already quite late, but maybe not too late.
I don't think he was saying that we have to agree with each other in terms of the points of difference - whether it be shi'a or sunni, sufi or salafi - but what he was saying is that it is completely unacceptable for those labels to mean something to the point of disunity and mutual annihilation.
I think I can safely say I have seen all combinations of those four: sunnis who hate shi'a; shi'a who hate sunnis; salafis who hate sufis; and sufis who hate salafis. It is, furthermore, fair to say that I have seen none of them result in productivity.
I loved Seyyed Hossein Nasr's point on this matter, (and if you don't know who he is, it is because, as Shaykh 'Abdullah Adhami said in London last weekend, his being shi'a wrongfully affects his scholarly impact), when he said in response to a question on what he thinks of shi'a sunni differences, "who do you think wants you to think about that?"
Photo is taken from the website of La Fondation Culturelle Islamique and is the room where I was sitting when the khutbah took place.
posted by Wanksta at 12:41 PM
9 Comments:
ganksta!
great post. honestly, this issue has been something that has irked me for quite some time. and i can think of countless discussions surrounding topics of differences regarding sunnis, shias, salafis, sufis....etc. i dunno about you, but sometimes i feel like the conversations are ways to justify the current disunity among muslims. and it shouldnt be. i am not discouraging dialogue, on the contrary, it promotes unity through understanding -because without understanding, unity is pretty much unattainable. however, (this could be pessimism getting the best of me) i am sure it is difficult for many individuals to engage in such discussions, especially those who are unable to disregard certain ideas and/or preconceived notions about someone who may carry a different 'label' than them. this inability to disregard is dangerous because it could potentially lead to an unhealthy discussion that would only perpetuate the lack of unity among the muslim ummah and i feel that this happens a lot. but hey, i could be wrong.
so are we all ready to embrace each other? i have no idea, but i would like to think so, because in times like these where islam is under such scrutiny we need to unite. come to think of it, it shouldnt only occur in times like these; unity should always be there -anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
btw, "who do you think wants you to think about that?" how powerful is that? gave me chills.
p.s. sorry all for being all over the place and the slightly long and somewhat incoherent sentences. its waaay too late to be awake. =)
yeah, i really love that quote because it is so foreboding and creepy. i think the deeper implication is that such disunity is from the Devil, himself. more superficially and visibly, however, it is obviously from external powers that be.
think about how the landscape of the Arab world and Indian subcontinent came to be within the last 100years.
the khatib reminded, as well, of how peacefully we not only have lived in history as shi'a and sunni and whatever and what not, but even with the Jews and Christians. this violent disunity is an externally imposed concept and a historical aberration that we have to cast off.
I agree with you, Taqee, and Aliyah about the quote. The power in those 10 words exceeds would could be said in 10,000.
I've never understood this tension between different "kinds" of Muslims. To me, Islam is Islam and a Muslim is a Muslim. He is my brother, purely because he said La Illaha Illa Allah wa Muhammad Rasoul Allah; past that phrase, it's all petty. I mean, the basis upon which Islam divided into sects is so insignificant to what Islam really is that I have a hard time understanding what the big deal is. Why do people constantly put emphasis on what is different between us and not on what is the same?
I hate to always bring this Egyptian proverb whenever I post something on anyone's blog, but it makes a lot of sense and it is applicable in many situations: "I and my brother against my cousin; and I and my cousin against the stranger."
Simple enough. As Aliyah said, unity within the Muslims should be a constant thing, but if it isn't, and it won't be because the world is no where near what it should be, then it needs to be its strongest when we are under attack.
Good for this imam. If it were me, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops, too.
i thought this might give you a laugh: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/15082006/80-132/breast-implants-save-israeli-s-life-rocket-attack.html
i am definitely unable to formulate a take-home message on that last one, yo.
as for the comment before, that proverb is telling. is it lyrical in its original Arabic version?
Not as lyrical as one would want it to be, but lyrical enough for slang Egyptian:
"Ana wa akhooya 3ala ibn 3ammi, wa ana wa ibn 3ammi 3ala elghareeb."
Yes, yes, I know Egyptian Arabic is weird. I can just see you shaking your head after reading the above quote. Fricken linguistic purists. Leave us alone. :P
no doubt that our infighting is leading to our weakness and division when we need to be united. never before has there been a greater reason to come together.
however, coming together does not mean and should not mean overlooking our differences. also, "He will ask if you are a Muslim and will examine your hearts," has to be THE most washed out tafseer of the ayah: "But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart" 26:89. If it was that simple Omar (RA) would not be crying about his fate on the day of judgment.
Good message overall, however has a slightly over simplified, almost deceiving approach.
Anonymous: Word to your moms. I think it goes without saying that belief is in the heart, on tongue, and manifest on the limbs. I think my paraphrase of the khatib was not just, because nobody learned will claim that there is no nuance between the shades of belief that are manifest in Muslim sects today and from the past. That being said, I hope nobody has been deceived into thinking they just have to say "la ilaha illallah," and it's all jellybeans and gumdrops thereafter.
also, Anonymous, please note the 8th paragraph where it is acknowledged that differences are not insignificant in and of themselves, but should be insignificant in the face of opposition.
Post a Comment
<< Home