That is my answer to those (apparently not in the DC area) wondering how I am doing. I am now around genuine friends who are balanced, rooted in real world solutions, and believe in community involvement. They do not believe in the dichotomy of the “Islamic” world and the rest of the world. They don’t fear getting an education. They don’t fear or shirk their responsibilities. They take care of their children. They don’t fear logical consistency or hard facts.Things are certainly not perfect, but I feel better than I have felt in many years. And I certainly do not want to be part of a cultish mentality driven by despair and fear. Fear of the grown up world. Fear of a world in which bills have to be paid. Fear of a world in which you have to work.
Those opposed to reality based thinking, fear the reality in which you must teach children how to navigate a world that they do not understand. They want to re-live an era which was imaginary to begin with. The fear of the real world turns into anger. The anger turns into unadulterated rage. They hate the world. This is why they create an alternative fantasy world. They fear being taken out of that fantasy world. Those that can’t navigate the real world rail against it as an alternative. They create a world in which the intricate and complex is made simple and undemanding. The colorful mosaic becomes monochrome. This is why diversity is evil and hive-mindedness is the ideal. This is why there must be equal misery. We must not think but instead mire ourselves in platitudinous rhetoric. I really feel sorry for these people, but the fact that their fear leads them to hatred and demagoguery is hard for me to take at times.
There are no strong and well thought out solutions for families and individuals. It is extremely convenient to churn out rhetoric and more rhetoric with no attention paid to practical solutions on the ground. The one working in the community and toward solutions must be smeared with the “nationalist” strawman. Is it too much to ask the thought reformists to talk specifics in their solutions (??) instead of trying to sweep us up in empty slogans that mean nothing for us and our families. Yes, I am doing just fine without that, thank you.
The real world can’t be wished away. In the real world there are consequences for poor choices in life. In the fantasy world, you can close your eyes and convince yourself that good decisions and personal responsibility are heresy. This is why I believe that many of us need a new direction where we can reconcile our Islam with the real world.
My friends and the people I work with now are optimists, which is inspiring. Many people don’t want to deal with optimism because you have to work hard to achieve its results. It takes thought, conviction against easy answer of sitting on one’s hands. But not only are these workers optimists, they firmly believe in the value of family, personal responsibility and hard work in Islam. They don’t justify the serial stranger marriages or abandoning children. They reject the hateful and compassionless form of “Islam”. They realize that concentration on other aspects of life is not somehow a negation of God’s oneness (tawheed). It really irks me - in case you couldn’t tell - to see these hard workers have the swords turned on them as if they are the problem.
Gloom, attack and empty slogans are easy. Working to make a difference is not. You feel much better once you face the fact that you must live in the grown up world and that the fantasy is but an illusion that never existed. In this world, you just imagine that things are going to be just fine without any work or effort. It’s easy to turn ephemeral issues into long lasting ones. It is so easy to haughtily point your finger at THOSE PEOPLE instead of offering a solid alternative and really trying to solve problems.
Filed under: Practical Solutions
Al-hamdu lillah jalla thana’uh.
May Allah continue to bless them and you. Amin.
I hope to be where you are, and I hope to be able to say what you have said, ma sha’ Allah tabarak Allah. I most definitely am not and can not, w-Allahu ta`ala al-Musta`an.
We were both stuck in that counterproductive environment and I am afraid that I still am there.
May Allah protect you from those who have sought and will seek to bring you down to their level and suck you into their world of malcontent. Amin.
As Salaamu Alaikum Brother:
I am glad you are doing well, Masha Allah, and working with a group of people who are actually doing things for Muslims. MANA’s Community Re-Entry Project is putting together a standardized prison Islamic education program. I, as a Muslim chaplain in prison, will appreciate this program for teaching Muslims in prison.
It is not really “religious” in my opinion it makes you less likely to value things like family, being nice to others, or charity and makes you more likely to shout others down and argue. I would prefer to be part of a more civil, more trustworthy, more collectively caring community. Is it really the “sunnah” to be increasingly isolated and less empathetic toward your fellow citizens?
As Salaamu Alaikum Brother,
I like your piece, it speaks to the truth of one part of our muslim community in this day and time. It’s just like you said, it’s much easier to sit back and criticize other people in their activities, when they try to do something positive, than it is to actually expend your own time and energy to get involved. Hopefully, our brothers and sisters who do this, will wake up and realize that at the end of the day, all that will matter is what we did to try to make a difference. Talk is cheap, anybody can do it, but it takes commitment to actually accomplish something.
May Allah reward you, and everyone else, who is involved in trying to make a positive difference in this world, for the pleasure of Allah.
If you need any help, MR is ready to work!