Umar Lee forgot about AlMaghrib Institute and the Great Salafi Scholars
- Filed under: Islam, Middle East, Palestine, Rant, Salafi, Tasawwuf, Traditional Islam
- Date: Jan 18,2009 | 11:34 PM
Pretty much everyone in the Muslim blog world has heard or read the infamous post by Umar Lee on RAND Institute Muslims aka RIMS. Many bloggers have responded such as Ginny’s here & here, Yusuf Smith’s here, and Yursil here & here.
Before I begin my comments on Umar’s post, I want to say that I enjoy his blog daily. I’m an avid reader and commenter. In fact from what I read in the past, I can say we agree 80% of the time. This post probably adds up to 10% differences.
Umar Lee forgot about AlMaghrib Institute
So Umar said:
The vast majority, I will say almost all, RIMS come from at least a middle-class background. A big percentage are wealthy. Vey few are working-class. The reason for this is that the RIM message of peace with the modern world, liberal social views, a detachment from politics, pacifism, a love of kafir philosophers, and feminization, is not something that is going to appeal to the working-class or fly in the hood of people of any color.
RIMS are living the good life in the West and have a lot of dunya. They want to protect their position so they don’t want to rock the boat as the society is working well for them. Most have never been to a ghetto or working-class masjid and don’t have a clue as to how the other half feels. Many others, look down upon less affluent Muslims without fancy degrees, and see themselves as the elite class of the Muslim community. Any masculine form of Islam is seen as something for the poor and ignorant masses. American Salafis are barely even recognized as Muslims by RIMS.
The RIM message, even if they tried, would never succeed with the working-class and the poor. Because our experience in this society is different and we do not live in comfort and we are seeking to change the conditions here and not make peace with them and we are on the offensive and not the defensive.
The largest Islamic institute that teaches the Salafi aqida is AlMaghrib Institute. In fact they are the largest institute in North America. Nothing is as large and productive as AlMaghrib. May Allah (swt) continue to bless them and improve their work. They have over 30,000 students in North America. If you look at every seminar they teach, you will find 95% of the student body are children of immigrant parents who fit the above category you described. They are all well off and financially capable of giving their son/daughter $165 for a 2-weekend seminar, plus another $60 for dinner/lunch and maybe even let them use their car (or they have their own paid off my their parents). I am part of this demographic. I am a living example of this scenario. My parents have paid for many of my Islamic classes until I started to work after graduation from university (which has only been less than a year).
Now I have also taken Zaytuna classes and I can guarantee you there are way more lower-class, White and Black American converts at Zaytuna classes than AlMaghrib classes. In fact, Zaytuna classes are always cheaper and they always offer free scholarships for those who can’t afford. AlMaghrib does the same for those who can’t afford but I still don’t see as much Black and White Americans in AlMaghrib classes as I see them in Zaytuna classes. As further proof you can see that their isn’t an AlMaghrib presence in Philadelphia which probably has a large percentage of Black American Muslims as well as DC’s Muslim population presence at any AlMaghrib class in Virginia or Maryland.
Before all the AlMaghrib fans jump on me for this, I’d like to say I am not saying anything negative about AlMaghrib. In fact I love AlMaghrib and I support them, becuase they are doing a lot of good wherever they go, mashaAllah. The AlMaghrib community are my family by both in Islam and by blood. I strongly support both AlMaghrib and Zaytuna and I see no difference in terms of what they want to do in the future. They both want to establish Islamic universities and colleges where the highest caliber of knowledge is taught. May Allah (swt) give them both success. Ameen!
Umar said:
The only international political issue you will hear RIMS speak on (besides maybe Dafur or opposition to so-called honor killings and female genital mutilation) is Palestine. This is because they can speak on behalf of Palestine without using the language of the Islamic Movement. In their advocacy for Palestine they do not quote many actual Palestinians or the likes of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi or Sheikh Safir al-Hawali. Instead they will quote non-Muslims (often atheists who are hostile to any religion) such as Noam Chomsky and John Esposito. They will also never verbally support an Islamic group, such as Hamas, who are fighting for liberation based on the principals of Islam. In this they are ceding the political argument to secular forces in Palestine and here in the West they are just making an alliance with, and using the arguments of, the secular left.
Listen to this lecture here, where you will find Sh. Yasir Qadhi, Sh. Muhammad AlShareef, and Sh. Waleed Basyouni discussing the situation in Palestine and how Muslims should react. It was also a fundraiser where they raised $150,000 in 4 hours! MashaAllah!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Also read these articles by Sh. Yaser Birjas (who is Palestinian by the way) and Sh. Yasir Qadhi regarding the situation in Palestine.
Do they verbally support Hamas? Do they quote the likes of Saykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (may Allah preserve him)? Please let me know if you find this. JazakAllah khair.
Umar said:
Part of the RIM line of thinking is to invent an Islam that is completely detached from politics. Instead of looking at those Muslim leaders, such as Imam Hasan al-Banna, who saw the modern world , colonialism and Western domination and developed a system based on Islamic principals to reform Muslim societies based on the principals of the Sunnah, and admiring them, RIMS call this “Islamist Modernism” as they sit in non-Muslim countries in their affluence.
The historic role of many Muslim organizations in America has been to raise money for and support groups in Muslim countries seeking to reform their societies based on the principals of al-Islam. RIMS reject this. They want no part of helping any Islamic Movement and even slander those engaged in the revival. Simultaneously they are at peace with many corrupt Muslim regimes and are joined at the hip in fighting the Islamic Movement which they both seek to destroy. They cede the public and political life of Muslim societies to secular forces and opt to relegate the role of Islam to the home and family life.
In America RIMS use their position to claim the role of good harmless upper-class Western Muslims who have no affinity for, or attachment to, those misguided Third World Muslim movements trying to establish Sharia and remove tyrants. While the Islamic Revival is working in the trenches of Muslim societies to reform; RIMS prefer to sit in circles and make dhikr and make duah that one day a miracle will occur and everything will change. Those RIMS in America sit in coffee shops using language strange to Muslims, but well-known to grad students of liberal arts colleges, to distance themselves from the dirty masses in the revival.
Watch this lecture by Sh. Yasir Qadhi:
Umar Lee forgot about the great Salafi scholars
Now there is no way for any true American Salafi not to listen to what Sh. Albani say. He is the authenticator of all the sahih hadith for salafis around the world. He is the genious of the Salafi scholars. You will only hear positive remarks of Sh. Albani. May Allah (swt) accept all Sh. Albani’s good deeds, forgive him and reward him with jannah. Ameen!
Sh. Albani (rahimulllah) said:
All suicide missions in our current time are unsanctioned deeds that are all to be considered Haraam (prohibited). The suicide missions may be of the type that renders its practitioner eternally in the Fire or it could be the type that renders its practitioner to be from those who shall not reside eternally in the Fire as I have just explained.
But to view these suicide missions as a being a means to draw near to Allaah (praiseworthy act of worship) by killing oneself today for his land or his country then we say No (it is not an act that is praiseworthy).
The Hamas military department supports suicide bombings and sanctions it as Islamic. Do you agree or disagree with Sh. Albani? Surely all true American Salafis will agree with his words of wisdom.
In the Friday Jan 9, 2009 khutbah by Shaykh Abdul Aziz al ash-Shaykh (Current Mufti of the Salafis) you will see that the Shaykh did not openly support Hamas at all. Does that mean he is a RAND Muslim? No it does not. Sh. Albani does not agree with the way Hamas carry-outs some of their attacks. Does that mean he is a RAND Muslim?
Umar said:
They will also never verbally support an Islamic group, such as Hamas, who are fighting for liberation based on the principals of Islam.
Based on what the Salafi scholars have said, is Hamas an Islamic group? Are they fighting for liberation based on the principals of Islam?
Funny Note
Umar Lee, you also forgot to mention that ” Dr. Ingrid Matsson and ISNA are linked to Hamas* “. I guess the RAND Institute forgot to mention that in their research. So am guessing ISNA isn’t part of the “RIMS” crew, even though that’s Sh. Hamza’s largest American Muslim crowd every year.
* I’m being sarcastic for those who didn’t get the message so clearly.
Conclusion
How many Sufis are there in America? How many Salafis are in America? The vast majority of Muslims in America are neither and have no idea or knowledge what they are and what they represent. The vast majority of Muslims in America are not students of knowledge. The vast majority of Muslims in America do not even follow a madhab. The vast majority of Muslims in America have no idea who the great revivers of Islam over the past one thousand years were. The vast majority of Muslims in America do not even know what shariah is unless what they hear on TV. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf may not present the shariah the way you like but he is a supporter of it. One of the most fundamental aspects of tasawwuf is that you apply the shariah to yourself completely. In other words you can’t be a sufi if you don’t have your salat, zakat, siyam and dhikr on lock. Do you think RIMS have this on lock? Applying the shariah to ourselves is part of the Islamic revival.
Let us end on what Allah has says in Surah Ra’d (Chapter 13):
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ
“Allah does not change a people’s condition unless they change themselves.”
And Allah knows best!
48 Responses for "Umar Lee forgot about AlMaghrib Institute and the Great Salafi Scholars"
Umar Lee made some valid points and none of them are addressed in this posting unfortunately…
He didn’t say anything against the alMaghrib institute. The best retort was that the socio-economic makeup of the alMaghrib institute is higher than that of Zaytuna? The comparison was between the normal Muslim population at large and those at Zaytuna.
If you could systematically address the points that were raised, I think it would be beneficial to all, Inshallah.
Jazakallah.
Hey H,
He clearly addressed the points, maybe your just too short and it went over ur head
umar lee is thick
Don’t listen to H. You did an excellent job dismantling Umar’s class argument.
@H – Read Sh. Albani’s article on Jihad. It pretty much answers a lot of what Umar is saying.
Quote from article
“In the Friday Jan 9, 2009 khutbah by Shaykh Abdul Aziz al ash-Shaykh (Current Mufti of the Salafis) ”
I did not know that he was my current mufti.
One think perhaps you misunderstood of salafis, that we do not have any order nor hierarchy. We do not do “bayah” (allegiance) to anyone. The scholars become famous and command respect and authority if they are truly sincere and Allah blesses them with love and respect of people.
So it is no surprise that there are many salafis who are against “suicide” bombing, but I have never seen any salafi who is against jihad. Definitely in salafis most of the scholars consider suicide bombing wrong (the scholars that I follow), but I would not be surprised to find someone who does.
How did you equate Umar Lee article entirely on issue of suicide bombing? I think he was talking about the whole mentality of sufis being pacifists (which he can be wrong, I do not know what sufis think of jihad). And perhaps Umar Lee was wrong in generalizing about sufis just like you are generalizing about salafis?
Ok I read his article again, and I do not understand he had to use sufis, what he is describing are progressives, not sufis that I know of. In fact few things he described are applicable to practicing muslims either sufis or salafis or whatever in America. I think it would have been good if he had left out sufis from the article.
@Hassan – Umar Lee said Hamas is an Islamic group fighting for liberation based on Islamic principals. If that was the case then why don’t the scholars of Saudi support them openly which he claims RIMS don’t do. He says RIMS don’t openly support Hamas. Well the salafi scholars don’t do that either.
In fact Hamas has gotten more support from the Shia of Iran than the Sunnis.
Sh. Albani said:
The majority of weapons (probably all) are made in Russia or China or in America. Based on what Sh. Albani said, even the weapons have to be made by Muslims in order for success to happen. He also said that Jihad can’t be successful unless it is from an Islamic country that is completely under the shariah which does not exist today. So even if the Salafis are for Jihad, many of the current groups that are fighting are not fulfilling this requirement.
If Palestine wants to be successful, they’ll focus on Islamic education to their people and building their infrastructure and then re-claiming their rightful land.
You said:
From what I was reading it was basically on Jihad and how RIMS are weak and don’t like to talk about it or support it. It’s not just suicide bombing. It’s Jihad in general. This is why I have quoted and linked to the Salafi scholars of whom I am sure Umar Lee respects to the highest degree.
There is difference between defensive jihad and aggressive jihad, plus as I said, not all salafis agree on anything except aqeedah. But as I said, I agree with you that when it comes to Jihad (not other issues) many salafis say same things as what he attributed to sufis or RIMS.
BTW salafis (or may be even sufis) in Pakistan are quite jihadi, so perhaps it has something to do with location/education/financial status, not aqeedah and methodology.
@Hassan – You raise some good points. I agree with you that Umar should not have removed the ‘sufi’ label.
Defensive Jihad is universal. It’s called self-defense. Every one has this right. Even non-Muslims exert it. Where do Muslims draw the line for defense and offense. Some might say firing rockets into Israel blindly is an offensive move. Suicide bombings are an offensive move. Others may say their are defensive moves. It’s really complicated but if you read what the major Salafi scholars say, it is clear that the Islamic revival starts internally before offensive actions are taken.
“Current Mufti of the Salafis”? What does that mean?
@Xf-s – Ask the teachers and students of Madinah university.
@MR
Unfortunately, our brother Umar has some DEEP misconceptions about sufis or rather people upon tasawwuf. Similar miscoceptions has led to salafi brothers getting slapped or their teeth pushed back in the past in tha D. I can’t speak for the coasts but in Detroit there are number of sufis and it would be ill-advised to run up on a brother with beads in his hands thinking he’s pacifist, please trust me on this.
Also, MR you are correct the salafis led by their Muti has all but negated jihad. No they come right out reject the principle, but they have placed so many damn restrictions on its implementation that jihad is impossible to carry out. I wonder where in the hell in the early 1900′s did “saudi salafi” find “Muslim made” guns when they were shooting other Muslims in their efforts to create Saudi Arabia? They seem pretty successful to me?
jazakallah khair, excellent response
Subhan Allah! LOVED your conclusion – it’s so true!
(can I get a Takbeer? Allahu Akbar!)
This is tabloid internet discussion at it’s worst. One person attacks a prominent teacher and a particular group of Muslims. One person misunderstands and refutes an irrelevant point, so too does a third, a fourth, and so on.
A complete waste of bandwidth and time on all ends.
Siraaj
Quoute “4-Masculinity – Some work can be done on this end, but you ahve to know people’s backgrounds”
I don’t know about that, bro. I think it’s pretty manly to travel Africa by yourself during your formative years gaining knowledge.
I agree with Siraaj… really MR, Umar’s is a lame attempt to ignite some good ole’ salafi-sufi online flame-out! If I were you, I would have just ignored such drivel. Defensiveness can sometimes highlight a sense of weakness or low self-confidence.
I don’t disagree that this topic of “RAND-preferred” Muslims is an important one. But it needs a thorough and introspective investigation, starting from the organization, authors, to objectives, to exposé and refutation.
But at this time, I think we need to focus on more important topics (because this RAND issue is an old one, so it isn’t running away). Especially at this time of critical world events, it is in our best interest to stay off this.
Note to Umar: Just because someone doesn’t agree with your opinions or in this case, questions your closure of comments doesn’t mean they don’t like you or are ready to get into a physical altercation with you. The blogosphere is the realm for intellectual and mental altercations, using our mind instead of our body. Not everything is solved by a wrestling match.
Siraaj Muhammad said it best. We should ignore, avoid, and minimize these smear campaigns.
as salaam alaikum
while i do agree with many of brother umar lee’s posts (he is a very talented writer and reflects on many important issues) – his categorizations, particularly that of shaykh hamza yusuf are very troubling.
I do agree with the comments by Siraaj and Amad. These discussions are completely futile in the blogosphere.
Amir, first I will say I love you for the sake of Allah, and I encourage you t keep up all of the good work that you are doing.
Now, having said that, let me disagree with you.
Regarding al-Maghrib:
I consider those who teach there to be learned brothers and teachers who I will take knowledge from and I think they have a very good thing going. I have to say that I have no problem with upper-class Muslims. What I have a problem with is people who want to bend Islam to fit neatly into their American upper-class worldview and lifestyle. If you go to an alMaghrib event you will see people who look like Muslims. Brothers with beards, many of them quite large beards, and sisters fully covered in a manner in accordance to the Sunnah. The way in which they understand the deen is not in a defensive manner; but in a way that is offensive and recognizing that we are upon truth and it is this kafir society that needs to change and not us. Having said that, as much as these are brothers I greatly admire, I do not always agree with them, but I know they are on the right path.
The Ulama:
The great scholars you mentioned, Al-Albaani (rahimullah) and as-Shaykh held those opinion and I adhere to most of what they said and belive suicide bombing to be haram. But, like Ibn Baz (Ra) said “if their niyah is shahid then I pray they get what they intended”. Also, lie brother Hassan stated, as someone who strives to be upon the dawah that our Salaf wee upon I do not adhere to any hierarchy other than the supremacy of evidence from authentic sources.
Sufi V. Salafi:
The post had nothing to do with sufi v. Salafi. People may have read it that way but that is not what it was about. It is a fact though, that cannot be denied, that there are many hostile forces to Islam who promote Sufism and we have to ask why is this the case?
Amad
FYI, you are not the wazeer of the blogosphere. Perhaps you forgot when you accused me of being an undercover Sufi and writing the Rise and Fall on behalf of Sufis? Arrogance at times can sometimes highlight a sense of insincerity. BTW, how is your fund raising drive for all of the dead Hindus you were crying for going?
Abu Usamah,
Again, like some of the other brothers, you seem to have a problem with reading comprehension. I know the Detroit public schools are bad akh, but still. This was meant to say some Sufis and not a Sufi v. Salafi thing and those brothers in Detroit more than likely will not fit into that category; but I doubt they are as tough as you say they are. Trust me, I know there are violent Sufis, my wife grew up in the Fuqura.
@Siraaj, amad, Xf-s, Hahmed – This is what blogging is all about. It’s not a sufi-salafi thing.
@Umar Lee – We straight akhee. JazakAllah khair for clarifying. I agree it is not a sufi-salafi thing.
Umar
Too bad you missed my inauguration!
-Shaykh-al-Blogosphere
P.S. I agree everyone has the right to blog about whatever they wish, and everyone else has a right to not perpetuate what they feel are fruitless discussions
Seriously, nothing personal brothers. We have a lot more in common than we have in disagreement., so we should be careful of making unfounded accusations. Out of 10 posts, we may not like 1, so let’s remember the big picture.
And since we have a little love-fest going on, as your beloved wazeer, I would like to tell you all, Umar, MR, salafis, sufis, saloofis and everyone in the middle, that I too love you all for the sake of Allah. And may He remove all, if any, hard-feelings from our hearts for each other.
Salaam!
Yo, MR–JAK for this post, responding to Umar Lee. I think you did a great job illustrating the flaws in the argument, and I think i also observed a more subtle point in your response: that labeling and division is not helping the Muslims. Old labels “Sufi” and “Salafi” aren’t helping anyone, and neither are new labels like “RIM!” As someone who supports both Al-Maghrib and Zaytuna, I agree with you and much respect your opinion. Once again, JAK for speaking up here for everyone to read.
so…Al-Maghrib is RIMS? Are you saying RIMS is good? Or that it’s bad, and that Umar Lee should have included Al-Maghrib along with Zaytuna in RIMS.
i am genuinely confused.
Umar is right about almaghribites looking muslims…I saw the pic of event zaytuna held in NY (last year in april..forgot the name) with hamza yusuf! I was surprised to see that bro & sis were sitting togather, there was no separation at all…I mean, why wasn’t there any separation? (considering almaghrib held an event there a month b4 which was completely separated?) ..you guys can check the pics urself on zaytuna’ website!
I am certainly not blaming Zaytuna or hamza yusuf for lack of separation, however it is something alarming..
@aamer khan – No they aren’t RIMS. My point was he was generalizing about the immigrant upper class Muslims, when that is predominantly AlMaghrib crowd. He also basically said if you don’t publicly support Hamas your a RIMS, and AlMaghrib doesn’t do that, but they arent RIMS, same with the Salafi Ulema.
@Sincerity – I’ve been to 2 almaghrib seminars where the brothers and sisters are sitting next to each other. (Nurayn and Tayybah) I’ve only seen Husna in pictures. There is seperation but its still very close. That was a really cheap shot though. Since when does wearing a beard define what Muslim looks like. In that case there is only about 100 million Muslims worldwide. I know people with a clean shaven beard that are 100 times better than myself and those who wear beards. Umar Lee has a longer beard than 80% of the AlMaghrib instructors, does that make him more Muslim? It’s very surprising and disappointing that an AlMaghrib student is judging people based on their appearance. Forget about everything I just said, how do you know the sisters and brothers were not mahram to each other? AlMaghrib also acommodates families and couples. If someone took a picture of them sitting together and then put it up on their website, they’d come up with the same conclusion. I haven’t seen the picture, but maybe the room wasn’t big enough either. Anyways may Allah (swt) forgive us and guide us all.
Umar you are the wazeer of the blogosphere aren’t you?
Don’t diss amad, like that. And don’t diss the scholars. Any one of them.
There are times where we disagree with the scholars or aren’t comfortable, but what gives you the right to go and diss them like that?
You are nothing compared to any one of them. So why are you transgressing? You think that voice in your head is God? Or is it shaytaan?
Muslims need to recognize “HATE SPEECH”–and Umar you are a preacher of hate. There is no doubt about it. Absolutely none. You are little more than a thug with a beard.
It’s people like you that have made salafis look so awful. It’s people like you who have been a stain on the scholars. It’s like you have a different religion, one that has arrogance, controversy, hatred, judging others as being below you as your tenets.
Change your ways now, before you meet your Lord.
@MR: ok i think i get it. maybe you should make that a little clearer in the post, insha Allah. reading some of the comments, i think your post came across in the wrong way to a lot of your readers.
something appropriate would be: “SHAIKH AL-ALBANI IS HUJJATUL-ISLAM. I WOULD GIVE BAI’AH TO HIM IF HE ASKED. ALLAH BLESS THE KSA.” in big bold letters.
: )
Looks like someone just got owned!
MR…zaytuna pics seem like brother & sisters r sitting in same row…just like a regular class..and there are pictures to prove that!
I certainly didnt blame sh hamza yusuf/zaytuna for it, rather the organizers!
@Sincerity – AlMaghrib has classes where the brothers and sisters are sitting in the same row. In fact, I took pictures of this with my own camera.
I can upload and dedicate a whole blog post on it, but that would be really dumb and stupid and I don’t really care.
MR – I think what is meant by the person is that in Tayybah and in Nurayn, the brothers have a section or side to themselves, and in the brothers have a section to themselves, which is a bit different from being mixed up together with no coordination of who sits where.
Siraaj
@Siraaj – I have never been to a Zaytuna class where they didn’t have separate sections. I have been to at least off the top of my head 11+ seminars/classes/programs.
The only place I’ve seen this completely disorganized at an Islamic event is at the ISNA convention.
What planet are you living on, MR? Many Salafi ‘ulama and shuyookh openly support Hamas(though they might not agree on many matters) and defend them and Hamas is also backed financially by many wealthy Sunnis from the Gulf, not just Iran.
@saarim – JazakAllah khair. Can you please share what the Salafi ‘ulama have said.
MR,
I’m explaining what was being said about AlMaghrib, not about Zaytuna, as I’ve never been to a Zaytuna event, though my wife has and said there was no mixing in the seating (there was a family section in the middle dividing brothers and sisters).
Siraaj
MR, here are the fatawah of some Salafi ‘ulama and shuyookh on Gaza(there are also many non-Salafis who were signatories):
http://www.islamlight.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=12159&Itemid=33
http://www.islamlight.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=12339&Itemid=33
http://www.islamlight.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=12193&Itemid=33
http://www.islamsyria.net/Details.php?QType=1&Id=660
There is lot more on Gaza if you search the Arabic websites and forums.
Many Salafi and “Traditional” ulama(especially the ones from Shaam) and shuyookh support Hamas in the Arab world. Shaykh Albani and Shaykh Abdul-Aziz Aal-Shaykh aren’t a hujjah for Salafis asnd many Salafis disagreed with Shaykh Albani on manhaj issues.
@Saarim – JazakAllah khair, I will check out the links.
@ Amad & Umar Lee
You two deserve each other. Both of you are contemptuous.
oh wait and quite sanctimonious.
Salamualaikum , ya ikhwa you people are talking about salafia , for me every group whose aqidah is by salaf saleh he is on the righteous path , no matter he is the follower of imam ahmed, shafie, abu hanifa , maliki rah matullah alaihim , if his aqidah is correct he is ahlel hadith or ahlit tawheed or muwahhedoon or salafi or any other group of people ,
My brothers dont only listen to the salafi scholars listen to all , because talibul elm study all and pick the good and leave the shar, prophet peace be upon him said ,…. Kullona khattauuna wa khayrul khattauun at tawwaboon, means we all do wrongs and the best wrong doers from us is who do tawba ,
study all the scholars , leaving one is doing SHIRK ,
Allama abdul aziz al shaikh said read also the books of Syed Qutb
rahmatullah alaiyh and leave the shar and take the khair which is good , assalamualikum brothers
I have a few points i want elaborate on:
1) Ironically Rand’s success will be caused by attitudes of Muslims like our dear brother Umar Lee, who I don’t mean to attack in any way. All Rand has to do is exist, and associate themselves UNOFFICIALLY with Sufi’s, and then Muslims do all of the fitnah work for them, by using labels like RIM for muslims who themselves never worked with organizations like Rand. Notice that neither Hamza Yusuf, or any other major Shaykh in Tassawuf (Sufism) has actually associated themselves with Rand (not that hamza yusuf is a major shaykh of tassawuf). Rand just vaguely said that sufism is good for American politics, because it is pacifist, which is not true at all, considering great warriors like Salahudeen Ayubi, and Omar Mukhtar were themselves associated with tassawuf.”
2) There ARE some sufi organizations that were supported by American and European governements, but the taliban were also supported by the same people when they were fighting the soviets and they are one of those hardcore people trying to implement shariah law. We can’t have this double-standard, and we shouldn’t have finiancial support from any non-muslims to begin with, but at the same time we shouldn’t disown those Muslims either, we should try to win them back to our side instead.
3) (Here I am specifically talking about Imam Anwar Awlakim because I know that he is THE major influence in this Rand terminology.)
Anything an Imam or Shaykh says has a context, and it is important to be mature, and not let Shaytaan lead you astray by just listening to a few lectures, and then get the wrong idea from the lecture by thinking that you have the right to label other muslims with insults like RIM, which further divides us away from unity.
4 and MOST IMPORTANT)
Dismissing eachother with labels like RIM, is the last thing that Muslims need. This is will become the beginning of a new era of fitnah if it continues.The best way for Muslims to lose political power is to divide them up, and we are already divided up, and fighting eachother. Now we have this new label, RIM, and it will bring forth a new era of fitnah, and we must not use it.
TO UMAR LEE:
I can see where you are coming from in the article, what you are describing is a very real Muslim Identity Crisis. But your finger-pointing approach to the issue brings forth no solutions, and actually makes it worse.
If you explain lovingly, and kindly to people why they need to keep their Muslim identity in tact, and do their best … Read Moreto help the oppressed .people of the world, especially our Muslim brothers and sisters, then I’m sure they will understand. They will have a much better chance of understanding and agreeing with you than if you just point your finger at them and give them a barrage of insults like this article, and call them fitnah-causing-terms like RIM.
There is an etiquette to dawah, an etiquette with manners, and adhab, and your article is most certainly not an example of that etiquette.
“but the taliban were also supported by the same people when they were fighting the soviets and they are one of those hardcore people trying to implement shariah law.”
typo – it should have said mujahideen instead of taliban, because they are different.
mujahideen in the 80s were tajik led by people like Shah Massoud, taliban were mostly pushtos who came later.
Salafis and good are opposites of each other. They are human wastage.