Muslims Struggle for Understanding in US

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-a-2004-09-21-41-1-67509207.html?moddate=2004-09-21

 http://www.tingroom.com/voastandard/2004/10/3482.html

By Quinn Klinefelter

At a recent campaign stop near Detroit, President Bush used the stump speech he's honed since the September 11 attacks. The U.S., he says, is bringing democracy to the Middle East AND making America more secure in the process.

"A free and peaceful Iraq... a free and peaceful Afghanistan... will be powerful examples in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom. Free nations do not export terror," he said.

But recent polls suggest that even in Detroit, where people brush shoulders daily with thousands of Arabs in next-door Dearborn, many Americans believe that Muslim nations do export terror, and that there is a direct connection between terrorist violence and the teachings of Islam. In the days after the World Trade Centers fell, many conservative media broadcasts painted Islam as an "evil" religion requiring followers to kill. It left leaders of Muslim community groups in Dearborn, like the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's Imad Hamad, with something to prove.

"The national tragedy of September 11 truly tarnished the image of Islam by the name of the few terrorists who committed that horrible acts," says Mr. Hamad. "The Muslim-American community felt compelled to respond and to be more open-minded and more determined to set the record straight. And not to judge any faith, regardless of what it is, by the few who might be extremists or be too conservative."

In fact, some Muslim clerics in Dearborn are working like never before to expose Islam to the masses.

The American Muslim Center in Dearborn was once an abandoned church. But Imam Mohammed Mardini remodeled it three years ago. Recently, he's also been working hard to put a new gloss on his faith. Over the vocal objections of some elderly members of his congregation, Imam Mardini allowed women to break Islamic tenets by not covering their hair in public and to enter the mosque through doors typically reserved for men.

Imam Mardini says, especially after the September 11 attacks, Muslims need to help their neighbors to understand this complex religion.

"Even the Muslims who come, born and raised here, they learned their life and they are all-American. But they are Muslim and they go everywhere," he says. "But they choose not to cover their hair. Are they disbelievers? No! God said to them to cover, but if they don't this is their choice. Our duty for them, to remind them, to admonish them...Not to fight with them or isolate them or say they are not a believer...no."

The Imam admits it's hard for the most conservative of his congregation to accept change, when some persistently believe the war in Iraq and against terror are signs that the U.S. wants to wipe out all Muslims. "Many of these people, they don't understand the system," he adds. "Many of these people, they may have felt like this is directed against them. But I tell them, we all in the same boat, whether they emigrated today or emigrated 20 years ago or their ancestors emigrated 150 years ago. And I will say this, liberty and freedom has a price to be paid for."

Yet according to one of the oldest, most revered clerics in Dearborn, a man known by many as the "Godfather of Imams," there's also a cost if Muslims stray too far from the strictest of their teachings. But Abdul Latif Berry says Muslims CAN obey both Islamic law and the rules of the west.

"When the Muslim woman has a scarf, for instance, all of them work freely while they follow the rules of Islam, as they following the laws here," he explains. Still, Berry agrees with his fellow Imam Mardini, that moderate Islamic leaders must publicly define the principles of their faith to counter extremists who have been using Islam to justify their acts of terrorism.

Imam Berry says Islam expressly forbids killing children or kidnapping and executing innocents, acts carried out with appalling frequency by insurgents from Iraq to Chechnya. On a recent visit to his native Lebanon, Imam Berry says many people told him they were just as concerned about the devastating impact of U.S. military actions than by the violence perpetrated by Islamic extremists. To allay those fears, Imam Berry says, Muslims in the Middle East need exposure to the reality of a tolerant, open and democratic America. "To breathe America like air. Not to feel afraid from America," he says. "This is very important. The message of America, according to my understanding, is to attract people in the world, to let people love America. It's why I think most of the people in the world has some connection with America."

But Imam Berry says too many Muslims he's seen, in Lebanon and Dearborn, have become disillusioned by a U.S. foreign policy they no longer regard as a beacon for justice and peace.

"Step by step, maybe during 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, we can find a good result," he adds. "But to make war and force people to do something like this, it's impossible. You will put America in the corner, in the spot. This is what we fear right now. Because this kind of action can make terrorism. So it's what we see in Iraq."

Instead, the Imam says, the United States should cooperate with countries surrounding Iraq to find a joint solution to create a stable country. But some of those nations have been cited by the Bush Administration for harboring terrorists. As a result, U.S. policy analysts say, regional cooperation is unlikely anytime soon. So Imams in Dearborn, from fundamentalists like Abdul Latif Berry to moderates like Imam Mohammed Mardini, say they will battle the taint of extremism in Islam by trying to ensure that their mosques are as open as is humanly possible.

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Imams Defend Prophet (s)

 http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?p=173

A meeting was held at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge (IIK) in Dearborn, MI this past April on the subject of defending Prophet (s) from spurious allegations by liars who hate Islam.

Many prominent local imams were present, including the gathering’s host—IIK Imam Abdul Latif Berry, Shaykh Baqir Berry (also of the IIK), Imam Mamadou Ceesay (the amir of the Gambian Community of the Muslim Center, Detroit), Shaykh Ali Suleiman Ali (imam of the Mosque of the Community of the Western Suburbs (MCWS/Canton)), Shaykh Mohamed Moosa (imam of the Bloomfield Muslim Unity Center), Imam Alsseiny Gueye Abdali (of Masjid As-Salaam in Detroit), Hamid Dana (imam of the Albanian Islamic Center of Harper Woods), and Dr. Sharif Gindy of IAGD, in Troy, and CAIR/MI’s Executive Director Dawud Walid (also of Masjid Wali Muhammad, Detroit)

A guest from out of town was present, Shaykh Hussein Amadu Ibrahim from Masjid Nasr, New York.

The imams agreed on several answers to recent slanderous questions regarding Prophet (s). Keep in mind, they said, that answers to the media must be concise and straight forward.

1) They say that Prophet (s) ordered the slaughter of 800 Jews.

The Jews who were executed committed treason by breaking their covenant with the nation-state of Medina, siding during hostilities with Medina’s enemies. Sa`d bin Mu`aadh (RA), who was raised as a Jew, was chosen by the Jews to judge in their matter with the Muslims, and Sa’d (RA) sentenced them according to rules from the Torah. Only the men of treason were punished, not women and children.

2) They say Prophet (s) married Sayyida A’isha when she was very young.

A’isha, the daughter of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra), became a Muslim when her father accepted Islam in its early days. Also, it is reported that she died around the approximate age of 80, which means that she was between the ages of 16 to 19 at the time of moving in with the Prophet (s) during their marriage. This is the age of consent with parental permission currently in America.

3) They say Prophet (s) did not abolish slavery and allowed Muslims to have slaves.

Although slavery was a universal system at this time, the Qur`an and the Prophet (s) urged freeing slaves and placed barriers to block slave trading. The Prophet (s) freed slaves and encouraged marriage between ex-slaves and Arabs from notable tribes including his own family members. The Prophet (s) went as far as to say, “None of you should call someone my slave—all of you are servants of God.”

4) They say Prophet (s) was a man of carnal desires because of his many wives.

The Prophet (s) was monogamous while married from the age of 25 to 50, during the ages, which men have the strongest sexual desires. Polygamy was a universal practice at this time, which his latter wives fully consented to. His marriages protected the community from tribal warfare due to the new ties that were fostered due to his wives, which were of various tribes.

5) They say Prophet (s) ordered the assassination of Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf for his slanderous poetry.

Ka`b’s poetry called for the murder of the Prophet (s), who was the leader of nation, as well as other Muslims, which would be the similar today of a citizen of America calling for the assassination of the President or the commission of a terrorist action. The caller or encourager of such actions is equally guilty as the perpetrator. Muhammad bin Muslimah asked for permission to stifle Ka`b; Prophet Muhammad (s) did not order his execution.

6) They say Prophet (s) ordered death for any Muslim that decided to change their religion.

The Qur`an says nothing about killing someone for changing their religion, nor did the Prophet (s) order the execution of anyone based only on their changing of religion. Changing of religion will be judged by God; however, those who change their religion during a time of war and aid the enemy commit an act of treason. All civilized nations recognize that an act of treason that puts national security at risk can bring the possible punishment of execution.

7) They compare Prophet Muhammad (s) with the Messiah `Isa (as), stating that `Isa (as) was of a higher spiritual level and more representative of a true prophet because he did none of the above.

Jesus is known among Muslims to be one of the five major prophets of God. All prophets of God came with a particular mission in regards to their environment and time period. Jesus did not come with the law, nor did he govern a society like Prophet Muhammad (s).

Prophet Muhammad (s) epitomized high spirituality, for instance, when he returned to Makkah and granted amnesty to those who killed Muslims and robbed them of their property because his ultimate goal was to cultivate forgiveness and peace in the society.

These answers are simplified, of course, not citing specific ayats and ahadeeth. To educate our community relating to these issues, we plan on conducting 2 or possibly 3 events with our imams and scholars giving specific, in depth explanations of these topics.

Also keep in mind the concern that some media members have attacked Islam on the basis of the dhimmi system, which concerns are not responded to here. Some media representatives claimed this was designed to maintain all non-Muslims in an inferior status within Muslim society.

8-25

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“Muslim Code of Honor” signed by Sunni & Shi’a Imams

http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/wp-content/uploads//ciom-honor.pdf

Farmington–May 15–Michigan’s imams flew in the face of the idea of centuries of conflict between Sunni and Shi’a by signing a “Muslim Code of Honor” that outlines and promises respectful mutual treatment by all signatories.

Twenty Eight (28) of Michigan’s powerful imams and organization leaders, including Imam Abdul Latif Berry, signed this document, which specifies among other agreements that “Muslims should respect one another and the people, places and events that any Muslim group or individual holds in esteem.”

Please click on the link above to see the Code of Honor.

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Yalla Vote at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge!

The voter registration deadline is just around the corner and we have been out registering people to vote here in Michigan. For Michigan, the voter registration deadline is OCTOBER 6TH. It is certainly crunch time and every week we have been having a voter registration and information table at each mosque and church in the area. On Friday, September 19, 2008, Yalla Vote was at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge. We were urging people to get registered and also to sign the National Declaration.  Mohamed Al-Jabbery, Yalla Vote volunteer, expressed excitement about Yalla Vote and urged many young people to sign the declaration.  It is only one more week before the voter registration deadline, Michigan. Remember, if you are not registered, you cannot VOTE!  Spread the word and don’t forget to register to vote!

-Jana

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Islamic Institute set to build Muslim high school

Article from:  The Arab American News

Article date:  October 22, 1999

 SPECIAL TO THE ARAB AMERICAN NEWS

DEARBORN-The Islamic Institute of Knowledge held a groundbreaking ceremony and dinner this week as it prepares to begin construction of a school complex that will include - for the first time in the area - a high school with a capacity of 300 students.

One thousand people gathered at the new mosque on Schaefer in Dearborn to raise more than $740,000 for the school that will be adjacent to the mosque, which opened in 1997.

The planned school will encompass kindergarten through 12th grade, with 700 students overall.

Islamic Institute officials said that given the increase in violence, substance abuse, smoking and other non-Islamic behaviors among the ...   Read Story at  http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-478855131.html

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Islamic Institute opens new facility

Article from:  The Arab American News

Article date:  March 20, 1998

Imam Khomeini - Speech by Sheikh Abdul Latif Berry  - June 2009 - Arabic

Friday Sermon by Sheikh Baqir Berry at the Islamic House of Wisdom MI USA - May 2009 - Arabic English