Question “Sheik Effendi, when we behold the glory of the rising sun and the endless sky full of stars, we feel and know thereby that the Creator is and that He is very Great. But sometimes in the life of a person there occurs very sad and terrible events : people whom we love die – parents, brothers, friends. When tragedy comes into our lives, how can we keep our faith in Gods Mercy, how can we feel that He cares about what is happening to each and every one of us?”

Now our distinguished guest has asked a very important question that every single person in the world must be asking in his heart.

His eyes have been opened to the Infinite Gory of the Creator by the wonders He Almighty has created for that purpose. Therefore, he is praising the Creator and he is saying that these wondrous sings in the cosmos, and the perfection and harmony of the intricate movements of heavenly bodies, of the balance of nature etc, may cause a person to awaken to the Majesty of the Creator, Sustainer and Guide of All Creation.

He recognizes, as do all believers, that the Lords Endless Mercy pervades the Universe, for without it neither we nor any other creature could exist and take its sustenance. He sees that we are swimming in Allah’s Mercy Oceans. But he asks, as do so many people, how to reconcile our belief in Allah’s Mercy with the bitterness and horror we feel at the death of loved ones and other seemingly merciless events in the world. He is asking how we can deal with the doubts that creep into our minds in respect to that mercy, how to deal with that voice that says to us : “If Allah is so merciful, how can He allow such events to happen?”

Yesterday we spoke of the creation of Adam, and we said that, according to tradition, the descendants of Adam have been granted the most honourable station possible among creatures of this world: the rank of deputies of their Creator.

Every creature may ask to be in possession of such a high rank, but Allah Almighty cautioned them all, asking: “Who among you is prepared to pay the price and carry the burden of that most honoured rank. Who can carry that heaviest of ranks on their shoulders?” Yes, all creation was shown the nature of that rank, and its responsibilities. As Allah Almighty states in the Holy Qur’an:

“Verily, We offered that trust to the heavens, the earth and the mountains; and they refused to accept it, and they feared it, But man, he took it upon himself to bear it. Surely he was sinful, very foolish.”

And He Almighty revealed to creation all that was involved in that trust; so that no creature could plead he had been burdened beyond what he himself had accepted. The result was, that when faced with such a choice, all of creation refused to take it upon themselves, saying that that were afraid in the face of such an awesome challenge. But man said: “I can carry it. I am ready to make the necessary sacrifices, I am ready to pay the price.”

Here then, is your answer. If you lay claim to that honour, if you value the nobility of your rank as “Crown of Creation”, if you consider that which sets you apart, from dogs and monkeys to be worth preserving, worth sacrificing for, then you must be prepared to agree with your Lords decrees; that is the price you pay for that most honourable rank. You must not reject what He wills in directing the course of life in his Creation . He does as He Wills, and it is for us to be patient in matters that are beyond our sphere of influence ( like the inevitability of death ), for the sake of our Lords love, as He has given His Love to the Descendants of Adam above all creatures.

Look, our Lord asked the Prophet Abraham, Peace be upon him, to slaughter his son for the love of his Lord. In this story is a lesson for all of us. He Almighty ordered Abraham: “Slaughter your son for Me. The price of My Love is even more than the sacrifice of love that you harbour for your son. Give that love (which is now for your son) to Me also: by slaughtering him, give it to Me.”

Then Abraham made ready to obey his Lord, despite Shaitan’s repeated attempts to dissuade him. Thus ( by proving his readiness to carry out his Lords order) Abraham proved his steadfastness in obeying the divine command. But the Lord, who is not in need of the blood of our sacrifices, but accepts the sincerity with which they are offered, prevented the knife from cutting. He almighty ordered the knife: “Don’t cut!” Then Abraham tried to cut his sons throat, but the knife wouldn’t cut, would not even make a scratch, though he had sharpened it himself with the greatest care. Repeatedly he drew the knife across the delicate throat of his son, but with no result. At last Abraham threw down the knife, and in order to show Abraham the power if his Will, He Almighty made that knife cut through a big rock like a knife cuts through cheese. The an Angel appeared to the astonished Abraham, saying: “Oh Abraham, don’t think that your knife is dull! You have proved your sincerity, now take this ram and slaughter it….”

He Almighty has given His Divine Love to the descendants of Adam, and we have responded to our Lord, saying: “We are true unto You, oh our Lord.” Then He Almighty said : “I am going to try you, to examine all of you to see who is true in his claim of loving Me.” Who can withstand such a trial as Abraham? But in all of our lives there are also trials, and by being patient in the face of them we gain our Lords endless love.

One of the most famous of Islam’s saints was the King of the land of Balkh, Ibrahim bin Adham. He abandoned his kingship for his Lords sake and went away to live on what he earned by performing tasks of menial labour, and devoted his spare time, and all his heart, to his Lords worship.

When he abdicated his throne, and went away he left behind him a pregnant wife. After twelve years the boy and his wife had born began to inquire after his father. The boy set out in search of his father, and successfully traced his movements until he finally came across him in Mecca. Ibrahim bin Adham knew that the boy was his son the first time he laid eyes upon his noble face. He said : “You are my son.”

The boy said “You are my father.” Then Ibrahim prayed to his Lord: “Oh my Lord, You know best that, up until now, all of my love has been exclusively for You. Now I see that some of my love is going to this boy. Oh my Lord, all I want in this life is that my heart be purely for You: therefore I implore You to please transform this love in my heart for the boy to be love for You.”

Then Allah Almighty took the soul of that boy to his Divine Presence. The love that the boy had for his father was transformed into Divine Love so that he went to the Divine Presence totally pure.; and the love that Ibrahim bin Adham had for the boy also penetrated to the realm of Divine Love. Merged into the Divine Love Oceans of his saintly heart.

Allah Almighty is “Al-Ghayyur” or “The Jealous God”. He calls us to merge all the love we feel into His Divine Love; to take the love we feel for our loved ones and transform it into a love that will penetrate into the realm of Divine Love. This is the meaning of His requiring a “pure heart” (qalbun – salim) from His servants, for all that you love in those dear ones, is but the attraction of a ray of the attributes of your Lord which you see in them, which shines through the familiarity between you and them and reaches your heart.

Those loved ones will die, and so will you; but if that love reaches to the ultimate recipient of all Love, then the goal of human love has been attained, and it is acceptable and lovely in the Divine Presence. But if we fail to surrender to our Lords decree of mortality for all His creatures, and hate Him for putting us in a temporary existence of passing images, states and feelings, life becomes a bitter pill too bitter to swallow. In such a case life itself becomes a sorrow ocean, as He Almighty calls all of His servants, one by one, back to His Divine Presence and away from us and this world.

He is our Lord, the sole Sustainers of our existence. He has rights over us and tries us to see who will be true and hold to the love of their Lord. Therefore, all manner of events may occur: lovely people may die, young people may die, brothers, sisters, wives and husbands may die, will die, must die. Everyone you love will die. Then He looks to see what you will do: can you transform your love and make a tragedy a cause of increasing your love for your Lord? So few people understand this, and that is why they can’t see the Divine Wisdom in sorrowful events. They don’t recognise that our Lord is beckoning us to Love Him wholly and exclusively; therefore they suffer.

Everything He Almighty has given to the Descendants of Adam is temporary, not worthy of that ultimate love. You must give your love to the One who is always in existence – from pre eternity to post – eternity.

“Glorified is the ever – living (Lord), for whom there is no Death”

Therefore, you must awake to these realities and not ever think that events represent the decrees of a merciless Lord. No! For in these apparently merciless events is contained boundless mercy, as our Lord rewards us in accordance with the severity of our trials: the recompense is more and more of His Love.

At any time sorrowful and unliked events may (and will) descend upon you. Your Lord makes them a means of approach to Him that He may pour out everlasting Love Oceans on His beloved servants.

This is a very important point, and a very heavy one. We must comprehend these wisdoms and their import, but such a realization will evade us as long as we are thinking that these are just some words. That Divine Love must be tasted. As much as I may repeat the words: “Honey, honey, honey…..” or describe the characteristics and flavour of honey, you are not going to taste it, not going to be satisfied. These realities must be tasted, and unless you have reached that point you cannot understand more than these words.

- 01.07.1983

True love of Prophet (AS)

Sheykh Abdul Kerim Effendi – Sohbet – General Zikr – 15h Safar 1431 – 1/30/2010 from Yursil on Vimeo.

• It's bidaa to say Mawlid is bidaa. #
• "Mawlid is Bida" @ Islamic Center of Basking Ridge – another disappointing 'khutba'. #
• you don't know poverty until you see Indo-pak poverty. children running around nude, looking to get water from the fresh rain in puddles. #

Setting the record straight.

–

Dimitri Ehrlich: I know that your music is based on the Sufi tradition, but what is your personal religious affiliation, if any? Do you meditate or pray?

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: I am not Sufi, but I spent a lot of time since my childhood with the Sufis, and I deeply studied them. Sufi music, especially, is a kind of prayer. If you sing in this manner, you will become closer to God, very close. That’s basically what I do.

What is your inner, mental experience when you are singing? What do you think about, or don’t you direct your mind in any specific way?

When I sing traditional spiritual songs, I always concentrate on who it is that I’m singing about. For instance, if I am inspired by the Holy Prophet, I concentrate on the Prophet. In my mind, there are many things, but when I sing, I sing for God, and for Holy Prophets, for Sufi saints. When I sing, their personalities are in my mind. I feel like I am in front of them. I feel their personalities, and I pray. I feel like I am in another world when I sing. I am not in the material world while I am singing these traditional Holy messages. I’m totally in another world. I am withdrawn from my materialistic senses; I am totally in my spiritual senses. And I am intoxicated by the Holy Prophet, God, and other Sufi saints.

Is there a different sort of prayer or meditative mode associated with songs concerned with Allah, Mohammed, and the Sufi saints, respectively?

When I sing for God, I feel myself in accord with God, and the house of God, Mecca, is right in front of me. And I worship. When I sing for Mohammed, peace be upon him, our Prophet, I feel like I am sitting right next to his tomb, Medina, and paying him respect and admitting to myself that I accept his message. When I sing about the Sufi saints, I feel like the saints are in front of me, and as a student, I am accepting their teachings. And I repeat again and again that I accept it, that I am really their follower.

I know that Sufism is essentially a mystical sect of Islam, but are there also strains of other religious thought involved with the liturgy or philosophy of Sufism?

Every religion has its own way of describing God. For instance, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhs-they all have their own way of following God. Sufism basically describes God and teaches how to come closer to God. So basically, I follow the Islamic form of Sufism to find my way to God.

I know that when you were sixteen you had a visionary dream in which your father, a great qawwali singer who had recently died, came to you and told you that you had been given his musical gift and should devote your life to qawwali. Since that dream, how has your understanding of your music changed?

Since the age of sixteen, when I started singing, I have had the same message to deliver to people about Sufism. But some changes have come accordingly as I grew and my experiences grew. Of course you really go to greater depths as time passes, more and more and more, and you grow and grow with the songs.

So how would you define your message?

My message is the message of humanity, love and peace. The goal of this message that I bring to people is to bring them toward brotherhood, to bring them closer to each other, without hatred, without any concern for race, religion or color. I try to bring people, through spirituality, to a position in which they’ll be more honest with each other, and live a truer life, less concerned with the materialistic world where they cannot find themselves. I try to bring them to a place where they can at least recognize themselves.

Other than your musical practice, which clearly has a very powerful spiritual dimension, do you have any formal religious practice?

I pray five times a day. And I pray before I eat, giving thanks to my God for the opportunity to eat this food. And after eating, I pray and give thanks again. And after all of my practices of my music, I always pray and give thanks to my God and say, God, I am your slave, and thanks to you I have this opportunity to give my message to the world.

For many performers, the gulf between the ecstatic experience of being in the spotlight and the “coming down” that inevitably accompanies going offstage draws them into drug addiction and other self-destructive behavior. Obviously you’ve avoided that pitfall, but do you ever feel any kind of emotional depression from coming down from the high of being on stage?

During the time I am singing traditional qawwali songs, I feel that I am in a prayer position in front of God. When I finish my prayers, whether is it my singing or the formal prayers I do, I feel deeply peaceful. I feel that I have had some success in accomplishing the mission that God has given to me. I have no difficulty making a transition from that frame of mind to my normal daily activities because prayer is a routine part of my life and I do it all the time.

In Buddhist psychology, there is a vast pharmacopia of different meditative antidotes that can be applied to various mental afflictions. So, for example, there are certain practices you can do if you are very angry, and different meditations if you are greedy, or jealous, or hateful or whatever. Do you have any kinds of specific prayers that are designed to deal with specific problems, such as anger, jealousy and greed?

Because of this music and because of this message which we have in our hearts and our minds all the time, it is extremely rare to feel anger toward anybody. This is the basic medication that controls us, preventing us from getting angry and keeps us happy.

What did you learn from your father, other than the specific musical training that you got as a singer of qawwali?

From my parents I learned my religion, how to live and follow Islamic rules. When I was young I went to the mosque and read the Koran and learned all the Islamic rules. From my teachers I got a basic education in science, mathematics, geography, English, Urdu, all the common subjects. And from Sufis I learned about Sufism. I try to learn and integrate the teachings from these three sources-from the saints, from school, and from my father. Of course when I was a child, before I turned sixteen, I was just a regular young person. I got angry, I argued, I lived like a boy. But since I saw the dream and became a follower of Sufism, and began singing the traditional qawwali, it really gave me peace in my heart. Since then my life has been totally changed. Since then I control everything that comes to my brain and to my heart.

Let’s talk a little about motivation. For some pop musicians, there is a desire for success that is equal to or even greater than the desire for excellence. Your music is so transcendentally spiritual, I wonder whether you ever think about making money and being a star as a motive behind what you do.

When I started singing, of course, I had in my mind the desire for success. I was always thinking that the people should listen to me, that the crowd should pay me respect as the artist. Of course, I wanted applause and felt that the singer should get some reward in the shape of appreciation from the public. But as time went by, I found myself in a situation where all I wanted was to give a lesson, the purpose of which was to give more happiness to people. My sleeping, my waking, my talking, my eating, everything in my life, the music is always with me in my mind. I’m always thinking about new tunes, new discoveries, and new music.

Dimitri Ehrlich writes for Interview, The New York Times, and other publications. His band, Dimitri and the Supreme 5000, released its debut album last year. He is currently writing a book about music and spirituality.

Translation:

O Master of the Universe,
How sweet is your magnificence!

Your threshold is the Sacred Land,
Your face is the Quran!
We have understood the secret of your face,
That even Allah makes recitation of your face!

In the Universes, you are the highest after Allah,
Everything in this Universe is coming from you,
We read the Quran, the guide of our Belief,
The Quran reads you, O my Master!

O Seal of the Prophets,
You are the Sultan of the Messengers,
Your face is the most beautiful,
May the universes be sacrifice for you.

O Master of the beggars, protect us!
Be generous on us, O Sultan!
Take away the difficulty of our pains,
It is easy for you.

You are the groom of the Miraj,
You have reached to the Home of the Creator,
You are the Beloved of the Greatest One,
You are the guest of the Divine Throne.

How amazing is your threshold,
O Master of the Two Worlds,
Your presence, O Chosen One,
Is the Proof of Faith.

• Scholar shouted – "I have 100 proofs for the existance of Allah!"
  Saint – "Show me your 100 reasons and I'll show you 100 of your doubts." #

Comedy clubs.. another entertainment refuge for the suburban capitalist regular old American… “American Islam” hasn’t left those alone, entering these same bars and clubs, playing off their Muslim identity. Once a realm for drinks and smoke, subtract the drinks and its ok. Comedians such as these are the opening acts for large conferences (the crowd in one of the videos is huge), or the Muslim boy bands that have been identified earlier.

I said in the earlier posts “The situation with Muslims today is that the West defines principles (inputs), and we get a culture out of it (western culture), and then Muslims attempt to filter the result through ‘Islam’.” Comedians are a great place to see that filter get abandoned. Stand up is all about breaking taboos, and Islam does have a component which enforces taboos in order to foster a concept of the sacred and profane.

Interestingly enough in Islamic history, while there are recorded stories of saintly people which had an amusing twist (Nasruddin Hoja), there was never a concept of a court jester whose aim was to amuse people for the sake of their amusement, break taboos for the sake of breaking them, all while pocketing a pretty penny.

So as you watch/listen to these comedians, reflect on the fact prayer is used as an tool of entertainment. Look at the shots of the hijab laden crowd, and the western suit wearing comic. Examine how American values regarding dating and picking up girls have been incorporated and become part of ‘the act’ received by mainstream American Muslims. Reflect on the very history of comedians.

So here we have it. Laugh up. Or cry?

There is no one word in western languages that gives the full meaning
of “Al – Wadud”, and even explanations don’t do it justice, even
though the West claims its knowledge to be superior and looks down
disdainfully on every religious experience. And this Holy Name, the
meaning of which cannot even be adequately expressed in advanced
western languages, is the most suitable “Dhikr”, the most suitable of
all the Divine Names to repeat and meditate upon for people who see
themselves as superior beings and as being above normal standards.

“Love”, it is certainly not a concept that western culture is unfamiliar
with, and undoubtedly most people lay claim to loving and being
loved, to knowing the meaning of love, and to it being an important
aspect of their lives, indeed the most important. But the love we refer
to in connection with the Divine Name “Al-Wadud” is not the
physical transitory love that is rapidly becoming the only meaning of
love applicable to modern man : the love that one may find in the
zoo. If you can’t imagine a love other than what is on the level of
animals, then you belong in the zoo.

There is a real love, never changing, never dying love; and then there
is temporary animal love. Both are in man through the wisdom of the
Creator, but the permanent love is the love given to man through the
Divine Name “Al-Wadud”. To realize that love is the challenge and
fulfillment of human existence – to come in contact with those Love
Oceans, for He has given His Divine Love most abundantly to His
most honored representatives in creation, mankind.

You may love a young lady for her youth, and when that youth
departs you love her no more. That is false love. Sometimes we may
have both kinds of love simultaneously, but usually the physical
overpowers the spiritual, so that it is never allowed to appear. But to
reach the ultimate goal of human life we are in need of permanent
love, and it is only the Lord of the Universe who can grant it.

Therefore, when we say “Ya-Wadud” we are opening ourselves up to
that Divine Love, asking our Lord to awaken that love that knows no
limitation, that is eternal and extends to all creation. I have been
ordered to teach and advise people to call on our Lord, saying: “Ya-
Wadud”, as this will enable the sincere to attain real love of their Lord
Almighty and to love everything around themselves. We must learn
to love everything for the sake of the love the Creator has for all His
creation. And we are in utmost need to pray for such love, as,
although it is the essence of all success in the way of spiritual purification,
it has become almost extinct in our times. Therefore, suffering,
disturbances, struggle, crises and chaos are continually on the rise.

What passes for human love nowadays is indeed a very far cry from
real human love. Mostly, people cling to it for two or three months
then throw it away. You are saying: “Oh my goddess”, and she is
saying: “Oh my god”, but look in again on them two or three months
later and see what is left of that “true devotion” and “deep emotion”.
That is the greatest cause of wretchedness in our times. For this
reason I don’t refer to this century as a civilized one. Rather, the
twentieth century is witnessing the destruction of civilization, and
every minute violence and misery are increasing.

A society may be termed “civilized” when it provides the surrounding
in which people may easily reach to the point of extending their
permanent love to everyone. One shouldn’t be so proud of being a
part of “Twentieth Century Civilization”, for I really don’t consider
such a violent and sick society to be civilized, and when I come here I
feel my hair standing on end from what I see. Such wildness! No
familiarity! Everyone looking so suspiciously to each other!
When I say this, people may be offended and put on the defensive,
and may ask: “If you feel such feelings here then why do you come?
Why do you come if you don’t like the Western World?” Yes, people
may ask.

A physician may visit a hospital or a mental institution, but
he is going there in order to do his job, in order to be of benefit to the
patients interned in those institutions. I have been trained to heal
spiritual ailments from a side and with methods not known in these
countries, and so I have been sent by spiritual centers to look after the
Western countries, and if even one person should benefit, we have
profited.

Every little improvement in the spiritual health of western society is a
relief for the whole world, as throughout the world Nations have
abandoned their cultures and are following the West. Therefore, the
diseases of the West are rapidly becoming our diseases, and so, we
hope, improvement in the spiritual climate of the West will lead to
our improvement as well.

Because of this acute situation in our times we must, first and
foremost, seek to awaken permanent love. Practices, prayers and rules
are of no use in this time without love. For people whose hearts have
not regained contact with such love the ego easily attaches itself to
practices and uses them as a means to pin empty titles onto itself.
Leave every practice that serves your vanity and strive for permanent
love.

Where shall we start? Every person has a circle of friends, relations,
acquaintances. Starting from those closest to us: wives and husbands,
parents and children, brothers and sisters, we must be generous in
giving of our permanent love. How can we consider a person who
cannot make peace with those nearest to ‘him as civilized? If we could
approach the level of permanent love that befits us the world’s courts
would have to be closed down from a lack of suits : no complaining,
no divorce, no wretchedness, no struggle.

Giving of our permanent love is the most important practice for our
time. No one can say: “I am not in need of practicing it,” neither the
speaker nor the listeners. Don’t tell me that so-and-so is on such-andsuch
a level when he is tightfisted with permanent love, withholding
it even from those with whom he is most intimate.

The lower self of man, the selfish ego, never wants to give permanent
love except to himself. I don’t believe that such petty self-love is all we
have been created for, I believe that we have been created to love all
creation. Man represents his Lord on Earth and has the greatest
reservoir of Divine Love within him; he can be a great means of
expression for that Divine Love in this world, indeed a fountain of
love that every creature may drink from.

I have not spoken to you from a prepared text, but have opened up
just a little from these Oceans in accordance with your spiritual
thirst.

• Muslims left the age of faith and entered into the age of doubt. #

Suburban Capitalist girls love to shop at fancy malls with designer labels, don’t exclude Muslims from that!

For them, and the discerning Suburban Capitalist Muslim man, there are new designer fashions and catwalks to watch. Give them press, coverage, and a spot on the Today Show. American as apple pie.

““Sexy Rediscovered”: Meet the team behind Muslim fashion line, Eva Khurshid”
Tackling yet another field in which Muslims have not – yet – dominated are Nyla Hashmi and Fatima Monkush, the creative forces behind the most buzzed-about fashion line for Muslims, Eva Khurshid…

Q: How did your backgrounds prepare you for your career and hands-on involvement (with both the Muslim and American communities)?
A: Because of our mixed heritages, we grew up in non-traditional yet conservative homes. Having American mothers has definitely shaped both of us and helped us take ownership in our American identity. Our Muslim upbringing is a huge part of our lives where it has served us with a strong foundation on how we live our day-to-day lives and conduct our business.

Q: Do you think fashion is an area Muslims need to explore and work in?
A: We really encourage Muslims going into the arts; there are not enough of us in this field. If we don’t represent ourselves, who will? It’s so important for Muslims to branch out into non-traditional fields like fashion, even working with other Muslim artists in collaboration to help one another and giving support.”

Soon to appear on your Shop Rite checkout counter

For Muslim fashion designers, the market potential is enormous

Ausma Khan, chief editor for Muslim Girl, a young women’s lifestyle magazine that was started last year in the United States, believes that dedicated brands would have added appeal for many Muslim consumers. “The potential to design Muslim fashion for women and girls and to market to this audience is enormous,” Khan said. “Imagine the clothes you see in most contemporary and popular fashion outlets – Muslim girls and women are buying them and then creatively filling in the gaps. But they would absolutely buy the same clothes with higher necklines, longer hemlines, a more voluminous fit and so on,” she said.

Even in fashion sportswear and activewear, start-up companies like Hasema from Turkey and Ahiida from Australia have tickled market observers with the advent of functional Islamic swimwear. Aheda Zanetti, Ahiida’s founder, trademarked her designs as the “Burqini,” playing off the words bikini and burqa to describe her two-piece loose-fitting tracksuit.

“I think the Islamic fashion market is going to explode in the coming years. There are signs of it already,” said Gulsen Aydemir, editor of Modest Flair, a U.S.-based Web site that sources style trends and news for its Muslim readers.

America.gov shares this video about “American Islam” – Brooke Samad – . A graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, Brooke and her business, Marabo Fashion, were featured in Muslim Girl Magazine in April 2008.

While fashion shows etc are all Western inventions, they aren’t limited to the Americas. Cultural Hegemony predicts we’d find them all across the globe:

Spiked hair or long hair, dramatic camera stares, lots of spinning around, pointing, music videos, lip synching, concerts and ticketmaster assimilation. Suburban Capitalist Islam brought us the Muslim boy bands and pop stars.

SEVEN8SIX (786) – The group performed as SEVEN8SIX for the first time at the 2002 ISNA convention in Washington, DC. Most of the group’s subsequent public appearances have been at large concert events organized by Muslim groups, including major events co-sponsored in part by the Islamic Society of North America and other community organizations around the United States… This group is working far and wide to please Allah (SWT). As Shahaab says, “We are using SEVEN8SIX as a tool for propagating Allah’s message. (from their website)

Native Deen – Native Deen came about through M.Y.N.A. or Muslim Youth of North America. The project was a gathering of amateur recording artists who’ve written their own work and MYNA featured these artists on the MYNA RAPs’ album.

Dawud Wharnsby – From his FAQ “What Is Dawud’s Reigion? Islam? Christianity? Buddhism? Bahai? Sufism?…. In 1993 Dawud was impacted by the words of Al Qur’an (The Recitation) and has made the best effort, since that time, to privately study and act upon their teachings. Dawud does not however, accept all of what has become connected to Al Qur’an through cultural and traditional interpretations of it. Though Dawud respects the efforts, lives and opinions of religious scholars (those who have studied the Torah, Talmud, Bible, Qur’an, Hadith, etc) he is not devoted to any specific institution of learning, religious school of thought, group, religious movement, teacher, guru, sheikh or saint — nor does Dawud accept a universal system of man-governed religious law derived from any one scripture.”

Outlandish – Outlandish did their first U.S. tour in Summer 2008 with the “Voices for Change” tour hosted by the Muslim American Society – Youth

Sami Yusuf

Girls can get into it also, heartbreak song – Liza Garza and Gritz & JellyButter “Swift’s Song”, featured at the IMAN concert at the Apollo (ISNA’s Mattson and Imam Zaid Shakir’s family were in attendance):

I said here:
“The principles of Islam, when applied in a thorough fashion, led people to a thriving, principally independent, culture from the west. We see in history, when Islam was applied and Islamic societies emerged, that Islamic art was not just ghetto art used now for Arabic calligraphy. Islamic music was not harmonizing boy-bands singing about the Prophet (S). Islamic family lifestyle was not the American dream. Islamic governance was not democracy. Muslim children weren’t raised with a Muslim muppet on TV.”

Then I saw a new muppet kids show…

Examine the character, the personae, the behavior towards sacred words and concepts and draw your own conclusions. Consider the change of secular American children’s programming over the past 30 years (and the rise of ADD). Adam’s baby toilet humor, potentially obscene for its time, is starting to look old fashioned and nostalgic.

Delving further into the theories and precepts of modern ‘American Islam’ and its fundamental list of principles and beliefs, we begin to see a list of beliefs concentrating and culminating on ‘ilm’.

3 ) Since Islam is a filter of good and bad, one needs to obtain ‘ilm’ (religious knowledge) in order to learn how to behave.  Studying ‘ilm’  is paramount in Islam, and most ‘ilm’ is in Arabic.

4 )  What is taught by people in classes at seminars and ‘events’ is a translation and summarization of what is considered ‘ilm’.

5 )  Your status is defined by how much of this seminar-event-based ‘ilm’ you know.

6 ) Your source of English-’ilm’ is infinitely better than other peoples source of English-’ilm’.

7 )  If you learn Arabic yourself you will one day know exactly without a doubt that #6 is true.

8 ) ‘Ilm’ can be expensive.

As earlier stated, Suburban Capitalist Islam is inherently an American cultural product.   What most Muslims in the West experience as the Islamic message is actually  American culture filtered through certain Islamic injunctions.  Under this paradigm, Muslims are able to argue day in and day out over details as to which particular filters/knowledge/’ilm’ they should apply in their lives, while ignoring the overarching logical breakdown and inconsistency between their belief system and their actual lifestyle, filled with TV, video games and shopping.

Since it is a fundamental aspect of the ‘modern Muslim ideal’ that life remains ‘Islamic’ as long as one abstains from certain aspects of Western society (drinking, gambling, clubbing), there is a psychological gap that needs to be filled.   What are these cultural concepts replaced with?  What are the youth to do with themselves while they are struggling in being ardent abstainers from these aspects of Western society?  Surely,  Islam must provide some alternative?

Largely this gap has been filled with the pursuit of ‘knowledge’.   The message has been that through knowledge you are empowered to controlling your own Islamic future.  While knowledge has been important to Muslims since the time of the Holy Prophet (S), it is only now that we see studying being associated so directly with piety and spiritual progress.   ‘Knowledge’ has been set up as this idealized form of certainty and conviction. The more knowledge you get/purchase/sit in, the more everything about Islam makes sense, the more easier it becomes to justify the abstaining from the few ‘bad’ things surrounding us and also rationalizing our largely Western lifestyle as being halaal. And doesn’t everyone want self-justification and doesn’t everyone desire for it all to make sense?

If one notices, every one of the points that are held by Suburban Capitalist Muslims regarding knowledge are relating to the self. Self-esteem, self-certainty, self-motivation. On the other hand, historically, knowledge such as this was thrust onto people by their parents, curriculum, or just osmosis from the culture which surrounded them. There used to be very little ’self’ to think about when it came to learning *facts* about the religion. This allowed the ego to be removed from the equation when it came to applying such facts.

The consequence? People were as proud of their ‘tajweed’ as today’s college graduates are of their basic pronunciation of English. In other words, it was hardly given a second thought, it was just done.

In fact, the entire realm of knowledge that institutes sell today was largely that which was taught to children. From Tajweed, to the Arabic language, the sunnahs of wudu, only a few really sincere people were studying these subjects well into adulthood in times of Islamic Empire, and if they did so, they were studying intricate details and they did it under guidance and permission of high teachers. But now the masses are doing so, through their own decisions, with a variety of levels of sincerity and ego.

American Muslims, proud in their knowledge, seem to actually be stamping ‘infantile’ on our foreheads.

Most of these ilm-sessions are set up as the Islamic equivalent to very secular self-help seminars. This cultural stand-in has allowed for competing institutes and community programs to emerge, each giving their own message of specific information-based knowledge. And it should be carefully noted that what is being peddled is information-based knowledge versus knowledge of the self or other forms of tacit knowledge which was how much of Islam was implemented in Muslim lifestyles.

It is also interesting to note that although they technically compete on the ‘message’ they deliver (with some specific differences on where they place their feet in ritual prayer or on what type of functions they allow in their Masjids), the lifestyle the people reach under varying programs is quite similar.

A primary consequence of this Western approach towards Islam is the productization of ‘Ilm’, religious knowledge.  What does Western society bring if not the concept of marketing?  Catchy slogans, professional videos ads, hype-machines and superstar personalities have been built up to bring ‘Islamic knowledge’ into our lives.  No one could deny, if given the opportunity , ‘American Muslim Institutes’ would be clamoring for some sort of witty ad selling their wares during Superbowl commercials.

Frankly, if given the opportunity, they would want their own team and hijab-laden cheerleaders.

In this way ‘modern ilm’ has begun to have more in common with Doritos than the sacred, sober and ecstatic people that claimed it a hundred years ago. Since we are customers of ‘ilm’, it needs to be made appealing and worthwhile to us. We are the consumer so we dictate what we want to hear. And therefore we are largely changing the messages to suit what meets our needs. Controlling student egos is hard to do when they are paying the bills and the goal is trying to fill up the hall as much as possible.

Allah Hu Indian Ilahi from Yursil on Vimeo.

• Amir… One more power for the other side. #fb #

• “Suburban Capitalist Islam” – List of Beliefs – http://bit.ly/dB0nzq #
• "Suburban Capitalist Islam" – Response #1 – Islam is not a filter of Western Culture – http://bit.ly/ap6rR6 #

“1)  American culture is the primary definition of the way we dress, the food we enjoy, the entertainment we seek (Movies, TV, video games).

2) Islam can be understood practically as a filter of the ‘bad’ aspects of the American lifestyle out of ones life.    The bad aspects are the obvious haraam (forbidden actions).   It can also be an encouragement of the ‘good’ aspects of American life.”

Response:

A culture can be understood as the output of a ‘program’ with various inputs.   The inputs, in this case, are principles on theology, philosophy, human nature, rights, etc.

We can see this easily through examples.  If the input is the principle that all humans are equal in all ways, then a culture emerges which reinforces that position, with regards to the overall lifestyle including the art, entertainment, workplace,  definition of justice, and overall relationships.

The same can work in reverse.  If the input is that humans are not equal at all, then a culture emerges which reinforces the degradation of the unfortunate class, and this permeates through the culture down all the way to how news is reported and how different people are depicted in art, film and even casual conversation.

Everyone accepts this so casually that it is largely a matter-of-fact, and we end up with American slavery and the colonial era.

Western culture is the output based on its own inputs, and the fact of the matter is that it is too young to have any firm inputs.   The example of slavery is clear on this matter, within a few hundred years attitudes towards slavery changed as a result of new principles being applied.   Within another few decades attitudes towards everything from body image, sexuality and religion have dramatically changed.

On the other hand, Islamic cultures which developed out of 1400 years of exposure to Islam also have had their own independent inputs.   These principles have stood the test of time.  Further to this, Middle Eastern and Eastern cultures did not just deal with Islam as a matter of choice or an alternative lifestyle, it totally consumed their whole being.

This went to such an extent that even non-Muslims in the polity were affected by Islamic culture, much like today where the situation is reversed and Muslims are affected by non-Islamic culture.  And frankly, Muslims have been affected maybe even more than their non-Muslim counterparts were in Islamic times.

The situation with Muslims today is that the West defines principles (inputs), and we get a culture out of it (western culture), and then Muslims attempt to filter the result through ‘Islam’.   The problem with this approach is that Islam is not just a filter of culture.  It contains within it the seeds of creating new culture.

The principles of Islam, when applied in a thorough fashion, led people to a thriving, principally independent, culture from the west.   We see in history, when Islam was applied and Islamic societies emerged,  that Islamic art was not just ghetto art used now for Arabic calligraphy.  Islamic music was not harmonizing boy-bands singing about the Prophet (S).  Islamic family lifestyle was not the American dream.  Islamic governance was not democracy.   Muslim children weren’t raised with a Muslim muppet on TV.

But if Islam remains a filter, that’s all we’ll ever get.  A slightly adjusted version of a culture based on un-Islamic principles.  We won’t get music that’s entirely our own, we won’t get a dress that is entirely our own, we won’t get art that entirely our own, we won’t have a perspective that is entirely our own, and we certainly won’t get a spirituality that is entirely our own.

Historically, converts to Islam, and specifically we see this in the European converts of the pre-industrial age, were people who totally accepted adoption of faith, principles and culture.   When they converted, yes, they totally adopted the culture and perspective of the people which taught them Islam, and they abandoned that which was based on kufr in their hearts.  They had no alternative, really.  They knew what they were putting aside and what they were picking up.

But today, even Muslims born into the faith find it unfathomable to wrap their minds around the concept that the West needs to first be abandoned in order to build something Islamic.

We all know the maxim, “if you see something wrong the least we can do is dislike it in our hearts.”  But today we give excuses to this capitalistic materialistic society and try to find why it *is* Islam, and why its cultural output is ‘not so far’ from Islam.  Just let us tweak it here and there.  Add some minority-fiqh and it’s all legal too.

Forget abandoning Western culture and kufr based principles from which it arose, we don’t even want to dislike it in our heart.

Is it even possible to abandon the Western culture?  With commitment and a guide who is carrying that Prophetic message, yes, it is.   Because they replace that void with something fresh and growing and alive.

But at the same time we must know it is difficult to separate from any lover, even ones who are bad for us.   So, of course, inching progress will occur and compromises will be made.  But until this fundamental decision is made in the heart to (at least) incline away from the West, little progress towards a true Islamic lifestyle in one’s own household will be possible.

Fill out a form, write your check, get your ticket, head down to the University.

Listen to Imam such-and-such speak, hang out with friends after and relax. Rinse and repeat.

This is the paradigm for Suburban Muslims which has been put forward to the youth, and it seems to be failing miserably.  Everyone knows someone who has left faith at some seminars doorstep.

The foundation of this approach is based on a few unspoken assumptions which no one questions.

I will question them.

First, they should be listed:

1)  American culture is the primary definition of the way we dress, the food we enjoy, the entertainment we seek (Movies, TV, video games).

2) Islam can be understood practically as a filter of the ‘bad’ aspects of the American lifestyle out of ones life.    The bad aspects are the obvious haraam (forbidden actions).   It can also be an encouragement of the ‘good’ aspects of American life.

3) Since Islam is a filter of good and bad, one needs to obtain ‘ilm’ (religious knowledge) in order to learn how to behave.  Studying ‘ilm’  is paramount in Islam, and most ‘ilm’ is in Arabic.

4)  What is taught by people in classes at seminars and ‘events’ is a translation and summarization of what is considered ‘ilm’.

5)  Your status is defined by how much of this seminar-event-based ‘ilm’ you know.

6) Your source of English-’ilm’ is infinitely better than other peoples source of English-’ilm’.

7)  If you learn Arabic yourself you will one day know exactly without a doubt that #6 is true.

8)  ‘Ilm’ can be expensive.

9)  What defines a good Muslim is how well integrated he is with Suburban-Middle-class Society (job, wife, kids, house) plus the combination of his ‘ilm’

10)  With real ‘ilm’ we can combat a Non Suburban-Capitalist-Islam.  The end result of Non Suburban-Capitalist-Islam is a lifestyle absent of the luxuries and principles of Suburban Capitalist Islam, primarily #1.

11)  Non Suburban-Capitalist Muslims are extremists of different sorts, and Suburban Capitalist Muslims are moderate.  They are moderate because they are largely indistinguishable from n0n-Muslim Americans within the workforce, except for a beard/Hijab and some dietary requirements.

12)  Isa’s (AS) return, Imam Mahdi (AS) and the Dajjal are topics of events far in the future.   They are so far that they are largely understood as metaphors without meaning.

13)  Islamic history is something left to be studied in a superficial manner, because most of Muslim history is filled with various mistakes and evil people.  It is far more important to learn about the primary sources of ‘ilm’ and attend more seminars.

14)  Actual change from a Western to an Islamic society will come from those who participate in the political and economic system and give Dawah within.

15)  Most immigrants have no idea about ‘ilm’, because they have never attended these seminars.   Therefore most parents are without knowledge.

I will add more later.   If you have some more to add, put them in comments sections and later I will flesh all of these out.

• Are you changing yourself to fit into Islam, or are you changing Islam to fit to you? #

The “Noble Edict of the Rose Chamber” was an 1839 proclamation by Ottoman Sultan Abdül Mecid I that launched the Tanzimat period of reforms and reorganization within the Ottoman Empire.

Below is the text of the edict:
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
—-
All the world knows that since the first days of the Ottoman State, the lofty principles of
the Qur’an and the rules of the Sheriat were always perfectly observed. Our mighty
Sultanate reached the highest degree of strength and power, and all its subjects [the
highest degree] of ease and prosperity. But in the last one hundred and fifty years,
because of a succession of difficulties and diverse causes, the sacred Sheriat was not
obeyed nor were the beneficent regulations followed; consequently, the former strength
and prosperity have changed into weakness and poverty. It is evident that countries not
governed by the laws of the Sheriat cannot survive.

From the very first day of our accession to the throne, our thoughts have been
devoted exclusively to the development of the empire and the promotion of the prosperity
of the people. Therefore, if the geographical position of the Ottoman provinces, the
fertility of the soil, and the aptitude and intelligence of the inhabitants are considered, it is
manifest that, by striving to find appropriate means, the desired results will, with the aid
of God, be realized within five or ten years. Thus, full of confidence in the help of the
Most High and certain of the support of our Prophet, we deem it necessary and important
from now on to introduce new legislation to achieve effective administration of the
Ottoman Government and Provinces. Thus the principles of the requisite legislation are
three:

1. The guarantees promising to our subjects perfect security for life, honor, and
property.

2. A regular system of assessing taxes

3. An equally regular system for the conscription of requisite troops and the
duration of their service.

Indeed there is nothing more precious in this world than life and honor. What
man, however much his character may be against violence, can prevent himself from
having recourse to it, and thereby injure the government and the country, if his life and
honor are endangered? If, on the contrary, he enjoys perfect security, it is clear that he
will not depart from ways of loyalty and all his actions will contribute to the welfare of
the government and of the people.

If there is an absence of security for property, everyone remains indifferent to his
state and his community; no one interests himself in the prosperity of the country,
absorbed as he is in his own troubles and worries. If, on the contrary, the individual feels
complete security about his possessions then he will become preoccupied with his own
affairs, which he will seek to expand, and his devotion and love for his state and his
community will steadily grow and will undoubtedly spur him into becoming a useful
member of society.

Tax assessment is also one of the most important matters to regulate. A state, for
the defense of its territory, manifestly needs to maintain its borders, the costs of which
can be defrayed only by taxes levied on its subjects. Although thank God, our Empire has
already been relieved of the affliction of monopolies, the harmful practice of tax-farming
[iltizam], which never yielded any fruitful results, still prevails. This amounts to
handing over the financial and political affairs of a country to the whims of an ordinary
man and perhaps to the grasp of force and oppression, for if the tax-farmer is not of good
character he will be interested only in his own profit and will behave oppressively. It is
therefore necessary that from now on every subject of the Empire should be taxed
according to his fortune and his means, and that he should be saved from any further
exaction. It is also necessary that special laws should fix and limit the expenses of our
land and sea forces.

Military matters, as already pointed out, are among the most important affairs of
state, and it is the inescapable duty of all the people to provide soldiers for the defense of
the fatherland [vatan]. It is therefore necessary to frame regulations on the contingents
that each locality should furnish according to the requirement of the time, and to reduce
the term of military service to four or five years. Such legislation will put an end to the
old practices, still in force, of recruiting soldiers without consideration of the size of the
population in any locality, more conscripts being taken from some places and fewer from
others. This practice has been throwing agriculture and trade into harmful disarray.
Moreover, those who are recruited to lifetime military service suffer despair and
contribute to the depopulation of the country.

In brief, unless such regulations are promulgated, power, prosperity, security, and
peace may not be expected, and the basic principles [of the projected reforms] must be
those enumerated above.

Thus, from now on, every defendant shall be entitled to a public hearing,
according to the rules of the Sheriat, after inquiry and examination; and without the
pronouncement of a regular sentence no one may secretly or publicly put another to death
by poison or by any other means. No one shall be allowed to attack the honor of any
other person whatsoever. Every one shall possess his property of every kind and may
dispose of it freely, without let or hindrance from any person whatsoever; and the
innocent heirs of a criminal shall not be deprived of their hereditary rights as a result of
the confiscation of the property of such a criminal. The Muslim and non-Muslim subjects
of our lofty Sultanate shall, without exception, enjoy our imperial concessions. Therefore
we grant perfect security to all the populations of our Empire in their lives, their honor,
and their properties, according to the scared law.

As for the other points, decisions must betaken by majority vote. To this end, the
members of the Council of Judicial Ordinances [Mejlis-i Ahkam-i Adliyye], enlarged by
new members as may be found necessary, to whom will be joined on certain days we
shall determine our Ministers and the high officials of the Empire, will assemble for the
purpose of framing laws to regulate the security of life and property and the assessment
of taxes. Every one participating in the Council will express his ideas and give his advice
freely.

And he (Dimitrie Cantemir d. 1723) concludes with these lines, having challenged his European readers: “I dare even say that Turkish music is much more perfect than that of Europe towards the measurement and the proportion, and it is also so difficult to understand that there are only three or four people who were familiar with the principles and the delicacies of this art “(HEO, II p.178).”

We emphasize this point about the complexity of music that “is much more perfect than that of Europe towards the measure” because we have actually experienced, out of only the nine makam we selected, the following (or beats) 14 / 4, 16 / 4 10 / 8, 6 / 4, 12 / 4 48 / 4 and 2 / 4. And of these seven measures only the rhythms 6 / 4 and 2 / 4 are common in the Western world.

-Jordi Savall – Istanbul (“The Book of the Science of Music”) -

Sheikh Maulana Nazim el Kibrisi @ The University of California, Berkley from Haqqani OSMANLI on Vimeo.

To put it bluntly, Ottoman history is the history of the Turks, the history of the Turkish state. At the same time, though, it is the shared history of the more than ten nations that live in the twenty or so states in this part of the world, each of which has been home to tribes speaking different languages and following different religions. We have to accept these facts. Once we do, we will appreciate that without a knowledge of Ottoman history and of Turkish, it is impossible for people in the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus or Southern Russia to study history and to gain awareness of history. That is to say, unless they know Turkish and go into Turkish sources, there is no way that they can write the history of their own nations. Somehow the Hungarians and the Israelis (the latter being the latest newcomers to this region) have understood this. Unfortunately, the other former people of the Ottoman Empire cannot be said to have displayed the same insight.
- “Discovering the Ottomans” – Ilber Ortayli

“Committee of Union and Progress”

It should be remembered that the ulema, as a class, did not form a homogeneous but a fragmented body, members of which defending somewhat contradictory theses. Many high-ranking members of the ulema strongly supported the Hamidian regime and policies implemented by the sultan for different reasons. In retrospect, however, it would not be inaccurate to comment that those who wholeheartedly supported the aforementioned regime were of a negligible quantity. This comment might seem contradictory, given the policies implemented by the sultan. The examination of a host of memoirs, pamphlets, and newspaper and journal articles published by members of ulema in exile and after the reinstatement of the constitutional regime unequivocally reveals this significant fact, however.

The idea of creating a political opposition movement was born in 1889 among military medical school students, but similar or identical ideas had entered the minds of a grater mass of people. Since there was no other influential authority apart from religion that could legitimize the opposition, the sympathizers of CUP discovered that clamorous opposition, shrouded in religious motifs, was the best way of guaranteeing the future of their movement, of legitimizing it and of delegitimizing the regime of Abdulhamid II. This became more urgent as Abdulhamid II and the palace increasingly labeled members of the opposition as ‘irreligious’ ‘traitors’, ‘intriguers’, ‘immoral’, ‘lacking in patriotism’, and ‘bandits’, this increasing tension by appealing to religious sentiments. So the ulema, who had not yet gone into action, were urged to do so through celebrations, persuasion, threats, satire and contempt.

….

It is strange that a member of the Ottoman ulema should question the legitimacy of the title of caliph of Sultan Selim I, but the real aim of this discussion is to establish an historical framework that would delegitimize the titles of caliph and sultan held by Abdulhamid II and diminish his reputation. If the author could establish that the title of caliph held by the Ottoman dynasty was an usurpation obtained by massacring thousands of Muslims then the caliphate and sultanate of Abdulhamid II would be null a pirori. Similar ideas, and the notion of the caliph as a member of the Quraysh tribe were first created as a political maneuver by English functionaries in India and developed by London newspapers in order to weaken the power and influence of the Ottoman state over the Islamic world. That such ideas questioning the legitimacy of the Ottoman caliphate were adopted after a decade by the ulema and presented as if they constituted a local and religious question illustrates the ulema’s political situation and the loss of their ability to use their own judgment to follow and interpret political developments.

The conclusion expounds on the subjects touched on in the introduction of the pamphlet. It reiterates the need to weaken absolute obedience to the caliph and, consequently to Abdulhamid II, and the need for outright disobedience; it reinterprets the verse of the Koran ordering obedience to established authorities in a way that excludes sultans and emirs and includes ‘learned mystics with the capacity of governing people’; and it includes a defence of a constitutional, even republican, regime in place of the caliphate-sultanate. It also stresses the need for consultation and to found a parliament, which is considered as a synonym for ‘a council of the Muslim community and a national council, both of which are a religious necessity’. The final ‘personal comment’ frequently points to the affinity between the ulema and the CUP opposition.

..

As in the case of Imamet ve Hilafet Risalesi, the author remains anonymous, but to increase his legitimacy, credibility, influence and also his potential threat, he is described as ‘the most virtuous scholar’. The Egyptian branch of CUP published this pamphlet twice in 1896. It must have been one of the first joint acts (or the first) by the recently formed CUP, the opposition and the ulema. The fact that – to our knowledge – it is the first pamphlet in which the CUP is mentioned by name increases its importance. The cover states that the publication was made in conformity wit hthe CUP regulations (Article 21).

The aim of this publication was to incite the ulema to revolt against the authorities, while at the same time asking the authorities to grant a constitution, and attempting to politicize the Muslim community. Its political aims were important and clear. It was successful in using cherished symbols and in playing on common sentiments in a provocative language.

(Late Ottoman society: the intellectual legacy (2005) By Elisabeth Özdalga)

• BismillahirRahmanirRahim – "And fear the Fitnah which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong…" Quran 8:25 #

Sohbet – Shaykh Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi – 1431 from Yursil on Vimeo.

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