Asalaamu Alaikam,
As many know, I have a serious beef now with a web-based forum called Muslim Mom's Cafe. First, I was suspended for a month, then their "mighty Admin" decided that it would only be a week (as if I would have any desire to go back to that site after the treatment I received?). Now, get this, I am banned indefinitely. Reason? "none specified." Nice.
I think I know the reason. It's this blog. What does this blog have to do with that website, you may ask. How can my freedom of speech and expression, exercised on my blog, have anything to do with the suspensions and bans on Muslim Mom's Cafe? Well, the two should be unconnected. I have done nothing offensive. I have merely spoken out about a group that is trying to take over Islam from the sensible, peace loving, moderately-minded Muslims who still count for the majority of Muslims worldwide.
Some of you may have seen the bullying comment that was made by a person on my first post about Muslim Mom's Cafe. Whereas I am not completely sure who it was (and even if I did know, I would not broadcast her name here, as that is backbiting), her tone is very familiar to me, as well as to others who have frequented the forum on Muslim Mom's Cafe. She knows who she is, and that's really all that matters.
I would like to take a moment to state one thing here: In no way am I attempting to rationalize or debate with the Salafis. It is completely pointless to do. They will not listen to anyone other than a fellow Salafi, and then they will only listen to the rhetoric of their so-called "scholars" and "sheikhs." It is a waste of my time and energy to engage them in any sort of Islamic debate. What I AM trying to do here is give caution to the other Muslims out there who may otherwise be tricked by the Salafis to adopt their ways. They are a people who have strayed from the path of Islam, and in no way do they embody the teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws).
Salafi intolerance is what non-Muslims typically think of when they think of Islam. They see the wild and crazy things going on in countries like Saudi Arabia, and think that Islam must be an oppressive and intolerant religion. When countries like Saudi Arabia permit old men to marry little girls, and stand against the outlawing of such practices, how can a non-Muslim have a good view of Islam?? Saudi Arabia has also enforced a dress and social code for all women in the country, regardless of their religion. Whether she is Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, or atheist, a woman in Saudi Arabia (even visiting!) is expected to dress head-to-toe in flowing black, covering her face and hands from men. If she does not do this, she should expect to be harassed by the "religion police." These men go around, looking for women who are "violating" Saudi Arabia's strict and oppressive laws. And they feel that they have the right to do whatever it takes to force a women to adhere to them.
In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) and the caliphate that followed, non-Muslims' rights were protected. They were allowed to freely practice their religion, and no one was to oppress them, nor try to press them into behaving like "Muslims." The Quran even states the rights that they should have to practice their religion freely. We, as Muslims, do have the obligation of speaking to them about Islam (this is dawah, or "invitation"), but they are NOT to argue or insult them.
In the title of my blog I have quoted an ayah (verse) of the Quran: (Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious. Your Lord knows best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance. (An-Nahl 16:125).
To invite does not mean to force. When countries like Saudi Arabia force Muslim standards on non-Muslims, they are not inviting anyone to come to Islam. They are pushing people away. They are doing nothing more than giving people yet another reason to hate Islam, and to hate Muslims.
Does anyone know which Muslim community accounts for the largest amounts of Muslims in the world? Is it the Arabs? No. It's the Indonesians. Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population in the world. How did so many Muslims end up there? Did hoards of Muslim Arabs settle there? No. Did an army invade, forcing Islam upon everyone? No. Some Muslim traders (something like only 3 or 5 people) from Arabia came to Indonesia, simply trading wares and interacting with the locals, giving respect and minding their own business. The people were so impressed with the behavior of these few men that they asked them, "what is your religion?" They replied, "we are Muslim." The people said, "will you teach us something of your religion?" The Muslim traders did, and Islam spread like wildfire across the chain of islands that are known as Indonesia. It was by simply being a good example that Islam spread.
These Muslim traders never judged or ridiculed the people. They never told them how they were all going to Hell unless they became Muslim. They simply lived simply and respectfully among them. It was the beauty of Islam that called the people to become Muslim. There was no harshness, only respect and beauty.
Yet, today we have groups like Salafis who are judging and ridiculing everyone who disagrees with them. They do their best to bully and push around not only non-Muslims, but also Muslims who are not Salafi (like myself!). They do this thinking that they are "defenders of the faith." I don't know which faith they are defending, but it is certainly not Islam. At least, not the Islam that I follow.
So, getting back to Muslim Mom's Cafe (you may have thought that I was off subject, but I was not). All the above that I have discussed, you will find staunch supporters on that forum. They will say that cforcing all women to wear burkha is wonderful, and judgment is within their right because they are close to the real Salaf (the first three generations after the Prophet Muhammad (saws). They will scream that people like me are trying to make halal what Allah has made haram (or, in "Salafi language": "make halaal what Allaah has made haraam." I love the double a's that they use every chance they get. That's usually the first sign that it's a Salafi you're dealing with!). I would never dare to do such a thing. Just as I would never dare to suggest that it's okay to judge a non-Muslim.
So, you be the judge (of the website, I mean, not the people, since as we have established, that is only Allah's right!).
7 comments:
Asalamualaikum
just signed up with blogger in order to leave an encouraging word. I am one of your supporters from MMC,Insha Allah you will continue to be able to exercise your freedom of speech around here without further harrasment,shocking that they go to such lengths but such is life. May Allah reward you for your efforts.
Your friend and sister
Muslimah4peace
Salaam
It is sad and ridiculous that they would go to such an attempt to silence you. Honestly it is very petty on their part, but who expects better from a bunch of bullies. You can’t reason with people who think they are always right and in truth it is not even worth it.
As salam alaikum sister. I'm a moderate user over at MMC and I appreciated your participation over there. Also you helped me with some advice and I'm grateful =)
I'm not close to the people on MMC. one of my close friends left there after some sisters made insensitive comments about revert Muslims. I stayed because I thought I could learn some things, which I did. But I strongly feel that some of the people there have horrible ways of explaining things, and they insult people in 'round-about ways! Anyway, I just feel that some things that were done/said there were not helpful and a huge failure on their part.
My dear sister, I want to share with you and I'm not going to take sides. There are enough people in the world hurting Muslims; I'm not going to be one of them, insha Allah!
First off, I'm an American, black (or whatever you want to call it), Muslim parents, bro and sis, and the rest of my family is Christian.
"Salafi intolerance is what non-Muslims typically think of when they think of Islam. They see the wild and crazy things going on in countries like Saudi Arabia, and think that Islam must be an oppressive and intolerant religion."
In the majority of cases, I believe "terrorism" is what most people are indoctrinated to believe Islam in about. The new fad in the news, however, is the Taliban.
"When countries like Saudi Arabia permit old men to marry little girls, and stand against the outlawing of such practices, how can a non-Muslim have a good view of Islam??"
There are crimes in every country. In this particular one, a man was given the death penalty, and another was given life in prison.
In America, when a child is raped, the rapist gets a few years in prison, then gets out to do it again. Oh, he gets a piece of paper tellin him not to go around children, too. In Saudi, he gets his head chopped off.
I used to have a raunchy attitude with Saudi Arabia. And I guess we're saying "saudi saudi saudi" cuz that's the only country in the world that implements Sharia. Anyway, I learned that it's hard to form an opinion about things without personal knowledge. I'm not saying Saudi Arabia has everything perfect, I'm saying every country has issues.
Recently in Australia, sheikh Abu Hamza was blasted in the media for advocating that men should beat their wives. They said "A grand mufti in Sydney said blah blah blah..." This was late last year actually. Now, the reason I'm mentioning this is because the clip they used as evidence for accusation was from a lecture given in 2002, and then they took the words out of context, since the lecture was about kindness to women. Like I said, it's hard to form an opinion about things without personal knowledge.
"In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) and the caliphate that followed, non-Muslims' rights were protected. They were allowed to freely practice their religion, and no one was to oppress them, nor try to press them into behaving like "Muslims." The Quran even states the rights that they should have to practice their religion freely."
Being American, I ain't seen nobody but 2 of my aunts and 1 uncle practicing Christianity. Christians and Jews back in the day were pretty similar to how Muslims behaved. That's not the case today. What's the fashion? see-through tights with high cropped tops. So I guess...Saudi Arabia can let practicing Christians and Jews in, and keep non-practicing out? Surely the Christians, like they do everywhere, will not be shy in the propagation of their faith. In any case, missionaries are ruthless all around the world, yet Islam is still growing. Allahu Akbar.
I think I mentioned on the forum that labeling does a huge injustice to Muslims. Ya know, I don't know what I am. I'm a Muslim and a student of Islam. I don't think I need a label even though someone might want to slap one on me. I don't have a particular sheikh to follow. I don't have a particular madhab I follow. I guess there's a label out there somewhere for me, but I don't know it, don't want to, and don't need it. Alhamdulillah.
May Allah guide all of us, forgive and overlook us if we forget, lay not a burden on us greater than we can bear, and grant us the Jannah. Ameen!
wa salam!!!!
Asalaamu Alaikam,
I am going to try keep my response short. First, thank you for visiting the site. Second, regarding "labels" I agree with you. Labels are not necessary, and I have never said that one needs to label the brand of Islam they follow. The term "just a Muslim" works fine with me, as I feel that fits myself perfectly.
Yes, I do study what the madhaabs have to say about certain issues, and yes, I do find myself aligning more with the Hanafi views, but I will not limit myself completely to just the Hanafi way of thought, I do not reject the other schools of thought out there, nor do I think that any one school of thought is superior or inferior to another. Abu Hanifah was the first (he was of the true "Salaf," meaning that he lived within the 100 yrs that followed our Beloved Prophet saws), but the three others that followed him, studied his perspective as well as each others. They believed that all were right, and just had a different way of looking at things. No one dared to say that they were right, and the others were wrong.
The last thing I will address in this response is Saudi Arabia. I despise a land that spread a form of Islam that is so vile and full of hatred. The Al Saud family spread Wahhabi Islam by the blade, literally. Tens of thousands of innocent Muslims were slaughtered so that the country we know as Saudi Arabia could exist, and a tyrannical form of Islam was imposed upon the people.
Saudi Arabia will have to answer for its sins. I have faith in this. I know that Allah will not allow a people to be so full of hatred and ignorance and get away with it. The controlling of Makkah and Madinah is an atrocity; the Saudi government has banned Islamic schollars from making Hajj if they openly speak out against Wahhabism. They will be held accountable for this, I sincerely believe.
Saudi Arabia has censored the public. Many do not speak up for fear of imprisonment (or worse). When you hear glowing positive words about that country, it is either from someone too afraid to speak the truth, or from a person who wholeheartedly believes in the Wahhabi view that all who do not agree should be persecuted. I would take any positive words about Saudi Arabi with a grain of salt.
And yes, you are correct. many countries have committed crimes, and Saudi Arabia is not unique in that. But Saudi Arabia likes to see itself as an "example" of Islam. And the world looks to Saudi Arabia as an example. When Saudi Arabia commits human crimes, Muslims around the world find themselves in a difficult position, explaining that it is NOT Islam.
As for manner of dress, I only have this to say: perhaps Saudi men need to learn to lower their gaze. I think it is unfair that women, regardless of their religion (or lack thereof) be made to suffer because a bunch of men cannot control their urges. We hear of women in Saudi Arabia covered heard to toe in fabric still being assaulted. The clothes has nothing to do with it. An evil man is an evil man.
wasalaamz
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