Having been in these discussions before, we could easily end up having a long drawn out debate. Without scholarly guidance, we tend to fumble and at times, make matters worse. I didn’t want to have this discussion leave everyone with a sour taste. I jumped in immediately and offered my perspective on how we should approach a different faith before we start lambasting a group that we don’t understand.

My adopted uncle and mentor, Uncle Zainul CC’ed me on this thread. I had to pipe in as it is very worrying to see how easy it is to be led like sheep with a veil over our minds. If you don’t feel like reading my back story, please skip to “LONG STORY SHORT” below.

I am a convert and I came into this religion of Islam voluntarily without coercion or worldly intentions (marriage, wealth, power, politics, etc.)

Before Islam, I was a Roman Catholic (baptism, confirmation, catechism, confession, just short of being an altar boy) and I wanted to explore other religions as I felt there was something out there, something I needed to find to have inner peace.

Now there were 2 ways I could have explored the other religions (I did look into the various Christian denominations, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, etc.).

1. Go to authentic sources, learn from the normative scholars and texts and read about why the followers are satisfied with their faith.

2. Go to haters, enemies of the faith, critics, people who like to cry a lot, moan & groan, dissatisfied with their faith and/or people who have an ulterior motive to degrade the faith.

Thinking logically, with common sense, which method do you think I chose and we should all choose before we make judgment about the faith of others? (Unless you can create water molecules at will, move clouds, stop the sun from rising, I think we should leave judgment to the One who can)

From this email thread, it looks like there are people from a variety of faiths. Would you want your faith to be analyzed with method #2 above? When has propaganda ever been a benchmark? Real facts, real sources, real discussions. Professor Google, Father Wikipedia, Imam Yahoo, Reverend Fox News, Rabbi CNN are not authentic, normative scholars.

LONG STORY SHORT
Don’t believe everything you read online, don’t be led astray without using your own analytical skills and realize that we have bigger problems to worry about.

Global poverty, shortage of potable water supply, easily prevented diseases in an areas that do not have enough medical supplies & treatment, putting ALL children through school, rapidly aging generation that needs medical supplies & care, Mother Earth annihilation. THIS AFFECTS ALL OF US. All faiths. All ethnic backgrounds. All wealth brackets (the rich can do their part). All ages. Work together. Commonalities will strengthen us. If we see each other in the Afterlife, just imagine the hugs and camaraderie we will be having.

With peace,
Mikael Pittam
http://about.me/mikaelpittam

“Know that the path of the Sadat of the family of Abi-’Alawi is the straight path of Allah. They are among those to whom He has granted the favours of His obedience and that of His Messenger, and the company of the Prophets, siddiqin (truthful), shuhada (witnesses), and salihin (pious), and they are the best of companions.”

Read more about Bani ‘Alawi here: Biographies

Bonus: also available a basic Shafi’i fiqh text used by teachers for those beginning the path - Fiqh eBooks [click on Safinat al-Naja - The Ship Of Salvation]

Much thanks to Ustadh Ramy Abu Farouk Najmeddine for posting this on his website: http://www.ustadh.com/

JANSING: Meanwhile, the controversy prompted Time magazine to ask, Is America – if America is Islamophobic. A time poll found that 46% of Americans believe Islam is more likely than other faiths to encourage violence against nonbelievers. And a small college in Berkeley, California, may become the new battleground in America’s uneasy relationship with Islam. Zaytuna College in Berkeley is the first accredited Muslim college in the U.S.. The first classes were held this summer. I’m joined by Zatuna College founder Hamza Yusuf Hanson. Thanks very much for joining us, good morning.

HAMZA YUSUF HANSON [FOUNDER, ZAYTUNA COLLEGE]: Thank you, good morning.

JANSING: Yeah, classes began this summer, I think people are just starting to hear about this. Tell us a little bit about the mission of the college, why did you find it – found it?

HANSON: Well, first of all, just to clarify, it’s not actually accredited. It’s – we’re in the process of accreditation and that takes a considerable amount of time. But, I mean, basically the idea behind it is the Muslim religious community is quite extensive now in the United States and every religious community in America eventually develops institutions in order to train people and teach people and colleges, Harvard began as a seminary, Yale began as a seminary, so we tend to forget that actually many of our greatest colleges began as religious institutions.

JANSING: So, let me ask you why you think that there was a need for a Muslim university. As I understand it now, if you want to be an imam and you want to have a mosque in the United States, you have to leave the country to study, right?

HANSON: Well, that’s the problem. I mean, we have foreign imams that often come to the country and many of then are very fine, decent people but they don’t understand the nuances of the American society. They haven’t studied the traditions of our own country. And it’s important, I think, to have those two elements. You have to have people that are Muslim, but – here teaching. But also people that understand the culture that they’re living in, understand the community itself, the young people, the immigrant children that are born here, they’re Americans, they’re not from Cairo, they’re not from Rawal Pindi in Pakistan, so, it’s really important.

JANSING: And in fact, you, yourself, grew up Christian, as I understand it. Both in Walla Walla, Washington and Northern California. Do you understand the unease among many Americans, and we are seeing a lot of it come out with this mosque controversy?

HANSON: I – know you, I think there’s a lot of fear and some of it’s justifiable in that over the last ten years there has been a concerted effort by a certain segment. It’s a very small minority, but their powerful and vocal, to demonize the Muslim community. Abdul Rauf, who – Feisal Abdul Rauf, who’s the imam there, is an extremely gentle person and to frame him as an extremist means that the whole community is mad because, you know, if you take somebody like that or Daisy Kahn, I mean these are people that have spent their life in interfaith dialogue and really trying to attack the very ideology that I think people are afraid of.

JANSING: You know, you heard that poll, 46% Of Americans see Muslims as more likely than other religions to be violent against nonbelievers. I wonder what your reaction is to that poll and what can be done to turn it around?

HANSON: Right. I would look at, there’s a paper on Google called ‘Body Count,’ which shows that Islam, actually, out of the seven major religions, the only religion less violent, historically, is Hinduism. And I think people tend to forget Muslims historically have lived very well with people. You know, I think Muslims are not redefining America here. And there’s a lot of fear that they are. I think that we’re reasserting the original definition of this country, which is about religious freedom. So it’s really important.

My own great, great-grandfather, Michael O’Hanson, his greeting to America coming from Ireland was the nativist, anti-Irish, Catholic, anti-Catholic Irish riots in 1844 in Philadelphia. But those riots actually led to the consolidation of the city of Philadelphia and the Irish Catholics now are fully enfranchised. One out of every four Americans has Catholic roots in this country now, even though they were 1% of the population at the founding of the country. So, I think Muslims now are new kids on the block and every community that comes to this country, you know, they have to really find their place at the table and I think that’s what Muslims are negotiating now. America is a process of negotiations. And I think-

JANSING: And you, as you say, are part of that renegotiation process with this new university. We have to leave it at that. But Hamza Usef Hanson, thank you so much for being with us today.

HANSON: Okay, well, thank you very much.

Source: MediaPolitics

The perception that Muslims are a violent community is baseless and against the historical facts, said Hamza Yusuf, an Islamic scholar from the US, during his lecture at the Qurum Amphitheatre on Thursday.

Hamza Yusuf is here on an invitation from the Diwan of the Royal Court to deliver a series of lectures in Muscat on Islam-related issues.

In the second of the series of his lectures, Hamza Yusuf spoke on perceptions about the Islam and the Muslim world. He said that the world history of last 2,000 years prove that Muslims were hardly involved in violence against others. He said that misdeeds of a handful of people can not be used to judge as the practice of the people of a particular faith.

On issues like rights of women in Islam, he said that there was no doubt about women abused in all civilisations. Islam is the religion which gave women their rights, liberty and complete freedom to use her wealth as she wanted. This religion gave women respect and dignity in the society, said Hamza Yusuf.

He said that it is not important to accord priority to what others think about Islam and Muslims. Instead, it is important that we should know what Islam is all about, he said.

Hamza Yusuf was born in a Greek Orthodox family in Walla Walla, Washington, and grew up in Northern California. He is the founder of the Zaytuna Institute. At the age of 17, he embraced Islam. Later, in the educational institutions in the UAE, he studied Islamic jurisprudence.

Source: http://1.mqu.be/SHY_Oman2010

Tweeted from: @sandalatweets

On April 4, 2010, this world lost a spiritual leader, Habib Abdul Qadir Al-Saggaf. We cannot express our loss and sorrow. Instead, here is a biography of the Habib. Below, you will find a eulogy from Sidi Yahya Rhodus, courtesy of Seekers Guidance.

al-Qutb al-Habib Abdul Qadir Ibn Ahmad al-Saggaf

The spiritual Emperor of the People of the House and progeny of Alawi (may peace be upon Him) Abdul Qadir al-Saggaf, the son of Ahmad al-Saggaf (may Allah exalt His family), the living Pole of the AhlulBayt is the unsung Shaykh of al-Habib Umar bin Hafidh. He presently resides in Jeddah, where he has lived for many years.

Unlike his contemporaries, such as al-Habib Mashhur al-Haddad (may Allah show him mercy), Abdul Qadir al-Saggaf was less transient and thus received Shuyukh from all over the world; the Masters and Honourables of the family of Hashim in order they may acquire just a fragment of his light and wisdom. He is known not for innovations or controversies, but strictly for his unrivalled station amongst the People of the House and Trustees of Allah. It would be very unfortunate for a scholar to be unaware of Abdul Qadir al-Saggaf, which is not disobedience, but purely a lack of connection with such a profound human being.

There is not much to mention concerning this individual if we were to speak in earthly terms which does not seperate him from any other of the highest and most elite Islamic scholars; and in adherence to the example of the Messenger of Allah (May infinite blessings be sent to him and his family), the divulgences of the higher realm must be treated with care and prudence. Although it is very difficult to remain within those boundaries as the legends that navigate around the name of Abdul Qadir al-Saggaf involve the tendency to break the limits of reason. It would be wise instead to quote al-Habib Umar bin Hafidh, who epitomised his Guide’s rank, when famously in a gathering, he stood and pointed at the noble descendent and firmly declared “By Allah! There is no man in the universe like him! By Allah! There is no man in the universe like him!”

It is no secret that the station of Abdul Qadir al-Saggaf comes through his nearness to the Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bring us nearness to the final messenger in order we may honour him), dedicating his life to the example of the Messenger (Peace and infinite blessings be upon him) and gaining connection with his ancestor, the Emissary of God. However, carrying the preserved and unhampered lineage of al-Sayyid Abdur Rahman al-Saggaf (May Allah extol him) and al-Faqih al-Muqaddam (Peace be upon Him), it is obvious that his birth right was complemented with incomparable honour, that we are not worthy to question.

A pillar which signifies ones nearness to Allah is humility, and Abdul Qadir al-Saggaf never fell short of this quality. He is renowned for his efforts to make people feel at ease, never feeling comfortable if the people around him were uncomfortable. He respected people, and thus he was respected, he asked for prayer and made sure his guests felt welcome – even his students. A major element of his honour is derived from his subservient nature and immense shame before Allah. May Allah exalt the people of humility.

In the mid 90′s, al-Qutb Abdul Qadir al-Saggaf was known to be very frail, with nearly half his body on the verge of paralysis. His current state is described only as…annihilated. His next of kin describe him as “gone…”, he does not speak anymore, and spent the latter part of the 90′s in a state of weeping and sleepless nights. There is no vocal transmissions from the Sheikh anymore, only his unworldly presence. al-Qutb al-Habib Abdul Qadir is undoubtedly, a charismatic authority in every shape and form, in every realm, in every dimension. May Allah give us the strength to convey his honour well in’sha’Allah.

Source:

http://users1.nofeehost.com/saqqaf/ Thanks to Kidragon

Shaykh Yahya Rhodus expresses his condolences on the death of the spiritual luminary and renown scholar, Habib Abd al-Qadir bin Ahmad al-Saqqaf who passed away earlier this week. He shares a brief biography of Habib Abd al-Qadir and gives key insights from his life.

On the Passing of Habib Abd al-Qadir bin Ahmad al-Saqqaf – Shaykh Yahya Rhodus from SeekersGuidance on Vimeo.

Source:

On the Passing of Habib Abd al-Qadir bin Ahmad al-Saqqaf – Shaykh Yahya Rhodus

Facebook links:

• Habib Abdul Qadir Al-Saqqaf Facebook Page
• Habib Abdul Qadir Al-saggaf Group
• Tariqah ‘Alawiyyah
• The Habaib / Ba Alawi Tariqa

Here are some ideas on how you can honor Malcolm X on his death anniversary, during Black History Month and throughout the year.

On Twitter: make #MalcolmX as the trending topic. Encourage all your followers to share a quote of Malcolm or link to some of his resources and include the hashtag #MalcolmX. Here’s an example – http://twitter.com/sueetness/status/9420396588

With the written word: start a study circle and read the autobiography of Malcolm X.

On screen: organize a group viewing of various speeches of Malcolm X. Include a discussion session.

Share with us on how you plan to honor Malcolm in your community.

Source: Remembering Malcolm X

With 2010 as well as 1431 upon us, Muslims have twice the motivation needed to set goals, resolutions and most importantly, intentions. Here’s a guideline for making resolutions for the new year, new decade, new you: http://bit.ly/2010_1430

After joining every social network in the universe, posting dozens of photos as well as adding thousands of friends and strangers, you realized that your online presence needs consolidation. You need a one-stop place to show the world who you are and what you do. Even though there are quite a few build-it-yourself homepage solutions, Flavors.me gives you beauty, simplicity, flexibility and most of all: “tweet appeal.”

Flavors.me has three features that makes your own page fun and cool. Besides pulling in your social feed, you can customize your main content. Here’s your chance to tell the world about your plans for world peace or how much you love posting comments on this article. Also, you can use your own image for your background. Best of all, it’s all so easy. With so much flexibility and ease-of-use, you can try different layouts, styles and colors.

Here’s my Flavor: http://flavors.me/mikael

Read the article for the interview and invite code: http://bit.ly/flavorsme

Here’s a screen shot of my article featured on Flavors.me feedback page:

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Here is the link to the original article: http://technorati.com/blogging/article/nirvana-achieves-a-higher-gtd-getting/

Read the rest of my Technorati articles here: http://technorati.com/people/mikaelpittam/

And my Examiner.com (San Jose Muslim column) articles: http://bit.ly/sjmslm

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A while ago, a good friend, and fellow thinker, Sakiya Sandifer, asked me to compose and article on the recent and tragic shootings at Fort Hood military base. As I watched the news, the words “killer,” “Muslim,” “terrorist,” and “Islamic” seemed to roll across the screen as it made its way in the context of conversation being offered by the journalist. It appeared, in a continuing trend, that the media was looking to take the actions of alleged “Muslim” gunman’s act of terror, and immediately try to connect his actions to a fundamentalist, violent, radical, but extremely profitable and marketable form of Islam. I affectionately call this making doe on the “Muslim Problem.” For those who are new to this…

Welcome to the world of the Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex (AMI Complex) my friends…or maybe not.

If you want to know what the “Muslim Problem” is I would submit to you as Example A, an interview conducted by CNN morning host, John Roberts in the time following the shooting. Roberts interviewed someone who worked with alleged shooter, Nidal Hassan. What was puzzling about the interview was the interviewee, hadn’t seen, nor spoken to Hassan in nearly five years. Roberts, oblivious to the fact the interviewee really had not contact matter, made the situation worse by asking the interviewer if he had noticed the shooter exhibiting radical Islamic characteristics or behavior. The invited guest simply answered the question by informing Roberts that he had no contact with Hassan in five years, and wouldn’t know what he was up to. I’m glad this guy got it because Roberts was caught up in the AMI Complex. The problem here extends well beyond the Roberts’ desperation to make this a terror plot of radical Islamists, and attaching Islam as the culprit in this situation. It’s more important than that. This attitude illuminates the present strategy in place that makes it not only acceptable to do this, but sadly mainstream in its nature. It is indicative of the Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex, AMI Complex for short.

Now, if you want to know what this term means, you have to invest in the history of business, and the business of profiling for profit. Stop here if you can’t think beyond the mid 70’s, because you’ll learn as great as America, and it’s citizens are, on the extreme that’s how dysfunctional, and sinister they can be as well. Scratch that. It’s all the dynamic of human existence. The AMI Complex is easy to understand if you can reason that any Industrial complex, despite what you put in front of it, uses innovation to create profitability for the market, and it’s shareholders. The Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex is no different except that the geniuses of this market have innovated on fear, intolerance, intimidation, and distortion of information to grow their market. They then maintain their market by presenting their “systemic solutions” to deal with the problems. They are a culture of experts on the problems they produce. Let’s face it hating on the Muslim image has become big business, just as terrorists have found the can make money, and expand their opportunities by attacking the U.S. Government.  These terrorists would include Al-Qaeda, the KKK, militias, and those who religious folks that actively pray for President Obama’s assassination, and the uninformed chants of the uninsured, “I don’t want healthcare reform, because I don’t want government interfering with my Medicare.” I give it up to the Healthcare Industrial Complex, that’s a classic. The hits just keep coming.

For a minute, let’s examine Nidal Hasssan. There are those who would say that his religion made him commit these horrible acts. Here’s a question. What ever happened to the idea of “crazy?” It’s still happens you know. Check this out. Nidal Hassan chose a career in mental heath industry. Anyone knows that the Mental Un-Health Industrial Complex has a market, and mission that make mental illness profitable. Prozac anyone? Could it be possible that Hassan made the short walk from physician to client? I say, “yep.”

Would anyone be surprised, or care, if a drug dealer somehow wound up hooked on drugs? How about a doctor that prescribes medication, Oh My God! getting hooked on prescription drugs. Did you ever hear about the white kids that hung with black kids, and wound up calling themselves niggers? Let’s stop choking the “proverbial chicken” here and fess up.

The level of defense contracts, celebrity punditry, profiling, and other actionable negatives against the Muslim Image, and the concept of Islam as a religion of terrorist, as opposed to submission to God, is PROFITABLE for everyone…that’s not Muslim. IF Muslims every find a way to get in on the AMI Complex, and make money off their negative image, we’d be able to build more mosques than there are McDonalds. Seriously, the AMI Complex is profitable. It’s comparable in a way that the industries that produce hair products for black people is profitable…for everyone who isn’t black, and doesn’t have black hair.

Let’s get back to facts and reason. The recently executed John Allen Muhammad never got full value in the AMI Complex, because he wasn’t the right kind of Muslim. He was Muslim but by all accounts wanted to kill his wife, not attack the United States. He was of no value to the Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex. According to market segmentation, he was a just a crazy nigger that wound up going into the “Prison Industrial Complex.”

And now for my dismount…

As far as Nidal Hassan’s situation, he was a troubled individual. His peers in the military knew it, documented it, but didn’t fully address it as a mental health issue. Being real, isn’t mental health their business? I mean psychiatrist have to have psychiatrists to keep each other in check; so I’m not sure what went astray in this situation. The cost of looking the other way, or possibly just the Muslim way, cost the lives and well-being of innocent people, and their families.

I’m Muslim, but I ain’t crazy. If I were crazy, wouldn’t it make sense to address my mental state verses my religious beliefs? Oops forgot. I’m not the right kind of Muslim (Black) so I don’t have significant value to the AMI Complex Folks either.

This idea of a profitable market for treating Muslims, and Islam in a negative way should not be new to anyone that understands, and has a faint grasp of historical context. The tendencies of any selfish, and non-humane Industrial Complex, regardless of the noun you put out in front of it, are dangerous. Let me refresh your memory.

Drug laws of the mid-eighties gave rise to mass arrests and mandatory sentencing to insure deliverance of inmates for the “Prison Industrial Complex.

Manipulators of education initiatives conspired to  guarantee a poorly trained workforce feeding the “Cheap Labor Industrial Complex.”

The constant, and healthy doses of fear of invasion, and more terrorist acts helped fuel the billions of dollars to feed the “Military Industrial Complex.”

The devaluing of Africans as objects rather than human beings, or creations of God gave the permissible oppression to grow the “Slavery Industrial Complex.”

In closing, I grieve at the senseless loss of life, and health attributed to Hassan’s actions. After due process, if he’s guilty he should be punished, and will be. The one thing we can’t lose is our sensibility to look comprehensively at the situations in front of us. To do this we would acquiesce that inside all of we to harbor a/an (place your type of complex here) Industrial Complex.

The truth my brothers and sisters, when you really think about it…It’s not that COMPLEX at all.  Oh and hey, if you every think I’m losing my mind, you’re free to join me.

P.S.- I wonder what new complex will claim Tiger Woods’ latest situation. Let’s just wait and see hmmm.

[Editor's note: This guest post is by our mentor and big brother, Preacher Moss. Find him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/preachermoss and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/preachermoss. Follow his Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Preacher-Moss/79402084297]