Reflection Of American Muslim

By Author: Madiha Najeeb
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

REFLECTION OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS.

After the 9/11 event, all Muslims are thinking thatWhat is the future of Islam? , especially in America, as we are seeing in Iraq, Afghanistan what is America is doing in the name of terrisiom. While seeing in the present, we do not see the future, but we are concerned about the future as whatever we do now will affect our future.
In America we are actually not the first wave of Muslims who came to this country. There have been at least three waves of Muslims who came before us, but they were not able to established Islam for what ever reasons. What are they, at this time move toward and over look on them?
The first wave of Muslims came or were brought in as slaves from the Africa about two hundred years ago. Muslims could not establish themselves as Muslims as they were oppressed. They are chained and left on plantation in total slavery, their religion, names were changed and there social structure was broken. They were not allowed to practice their religion. So we cannot blameworthiness them for not being able to conventional Islam.
Now second waves came after WW1 ...
... from Balkan state, Lebanon e.t.c. These Muslims were settled in the Midwest and north east, including areas like Dearborn, Toledo, Chicago and Detroit. On that time they squander their time and life to establishing themselves as cost-effectively and socially. Religion was not on their minds at that time. They just pay no heed to it at all.
It is heartening to note that many of the descendants of the first two waves are now coming back to the fold over of Islam and helping establish Islam in collaboration with the third waves, which includes the immigrant Muslims coming to this country since the 1950's and constitution (60%) of six the six million, present-day American Muslims. Many of the Afro-Americans are now finding their roots in Islam, reverting to Islam, and asserting themselves as Muslims.
But this is not enough we have to think and envisage our mistakes and try to over come on it to establish ourselves as a great Muslims. The best thing is learn some lesson from our past.
A glorious Muslim empire in Andalusia (Spain), about seven hundred years, Muslims ruled that country, but we were wiped out after the inquisition. If we analyze that time so we will see several reasons for them not to establish Islam in the land forever.
The First reason was the lack of unity among the Muslims.
In Spain they created the class structure of Muslims, and theses classes did not live on equal basis. This was against Islam. Second, they were not able to practice Islam collectively, but more individually. Islam is the religion that has to be practiced collectively. Third Islamic education on an individual level was not there, but there was more emphasis was given to the secular and technical education. Fourth, too much emphasis on the culture in the form of art, music, food or dress but not enough on defense.
Culture is necessary for the survival of the soul, defense is necessary for of the soul, defense is necessary for the survival of the body.
Finally, the most important reason that these civilizations were destroyed and were fail it provoke other to Islam. Invitation to Islam is not lavishness, but a prerequisite and a tool for endurance.
While discussing the future of Islam in America, we must examine the parameters of a good future. If we judge the future by numbers, yes, it is true the numbers of Muslims are tremendously increasing in this country. A quarter of century ago there were about hundred thousand Muslims, and now there are over six millions. If we look at the world map the number of Muslims is over a billion, but regrettably they hardly have any strength in that number.
It the quality of the Muslims that is important, rather than the number itself. The quality of Muslims who were in the minority and out numbered in the Battle of Badr by three to one, but they were able to succeed with the conviction that they are the best nation created for mankind.
Although our number is very similar to the Jewish people in this country, we have no comparison in strength in terms of the economics, politics and educational strength. We do not have any congressman or senators. We do not control university boards or facilities. We do not have a single factory or financial institution which is able to employ. Muslims in large numbers, therefore we cannot able to judge the future of Islam by the number of Muslims praying on the earth.
M any of the Muslims, especially of in-migrant origin, is embroiled in preserving the ethnic culture, but this ethnic culture, whether in the name of social parties, music, dress shows, is nothing but passing shows. After this generation
of the Muslims has passed away, our children and youth of immigrant parents will not be able to sustain that ethnic culture. There will be only two cultures left for Muslims: an Islamic culture and the American culture.

What about our health and physical strength? In my opinion, are not keeping themselves in physical shape either. Most of our parties involve nothing but sitting down, making chit-chat and eating rich foods and then going to bed, result of that foods are coronary artery disease, diabetes and many chronic conditions is increasing. We are not doing exercise nor are we watching our diets and nutrition.
I m saying all this that our neighbors decide to do ethnic cleansing, as it I happening in Bosnia, twenty years from now, will we prepared to defend our women and children?
Or, if the United Nations an Bosnian government request the Muslims of America to come and help them, are we in physical shapes to go there and help them in their war? A healthy Muslim is the backbone of a healthy community.
It is true that our family and our youth future. Muslim elders, scholars, writer and leader are now in their fifties. In the next twenty to twenty-five years, this generation, which is bearing the task of trying to establish Islam, will pass away. Unless we have created a new grassroots leadership which will replace us, there will be a vacuum.
Therefore to establish our future, we must establish the Muslims youth. Our fear is that it is possible that many of our Muslims youth will be lost to the community by one way or another. I hope that this does not happen. The reasons for my fear are as such:
The America is a melting pot. The heat is enough of the social peer pressure that people do get melted down in their values. They get lost. They may not be able to preserve their Islamic identity. It is possible that a new revised, modem and reformed version of Islam and Muslims will emerge which will based on more on secular lines with modern thinking than basic Islamic teachings. We see this in many civilizations who have pursed the line of modernization without deep thinking, whether it is in turkey or Iran during the days of the Shah.
The second fear is that of their being lost with intermarriages. Unless we encourage Muslims youth to marry only Muslims when they reach that age and make that decision, it is possible that the future generation may be lost. Although it is permitted for a Muslim man to marry a woman of the people of the book, there are several problems related to this.
Unless his wife becomes a practicing Muslim, the future of the children and their children to remain Muslims is not guaranteed. If there is a divorce in the family, which does happen frequently, then the custody of the child goes to the mother, who will remains a Jew or a Christian.
More important, the question is what will happen to Muslim girls if all the Muslim boys choose to marry people of the book? Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men, and if they do, they would not be able to the maintain Islam in their children, whose father are not Muslims. Therefore, development and maintains of intact Muslims families is the key to the survival of the Islam in
the America.
My third concern about youth is regarding their education. I m not talking about the secular education, rather then Islamic education. Parents have this attitude to drop their kids off at Sunday school and for it to provide a full Islamic education and secular ideas. Therefore Sunday schools with a lack of funds and resources are not able to do the right job, either.
The result is that the most of the education which the Muslims youth receive is superficial and hearsay rather than the basic didactic Islamic education, unless some of them study on their owns. With the lack of true education, our outlook about issues many change, and we may develop an attitude that there is nothing wrong in this as there is no mention in Quran and suunah, will become the part of Islam, or at least of the practicing habit of the people. This is how culture Islam develops.
With regarding to secular education, the parents can play important role in directing their youth's educational future. The desire of the most parents that children become doctor, engineers is always not necessary. There are other fields as well that Muslims should go into to serve the nation. In order for us to have a significant impart on the decision-making process in this country, we need to have a lobby
in each organization with grassroots support.
We must create such types of organizations in which they must keep youth together, where we should not give them an umbrella to do their own things in their own way without parental supervision. There has to be adult supervision. The rules of shariah should apply to them, and they must follow their daily routines of Islam.
There is a fear that an American version of Islam may emerge among American Muslims, especially the youth. Our hope is that this will not happen, and Muslims in America will raise themselves on being just Muslims, caring for loving all other Muslims around the world.
Our love for our family should not reflect in providing for them all the worldly facilities like clothing, food, house, car e.t.c., but more importantly safeguarding their future in both worlds.O you who believe, save yourself and your family from a fire. In this regard, Islam and the education of Muslim women is a matter of prime importance! The first school for a Muslim child is going to be his or her home. What kind ofteacher has he?
Yes, our hope is in our family, and hope is in our youth. We hope that our families will remain intact as Muslims families and will be to preserve Islam in their homes and propagates it outside the home. We hope that the youth and adult of tomorrow of today are better Muslims in future, in term of practicing Islam and love and unity among themselves.
We hope that they will be better prepared to deal with situations and American issues. The present-day Muslim adult are living in isolation, not being part of mainstream American society. We hope that the Muslim youth who are born and raised in this society will be able to mix with non-Muslims with conviction, maintaining their own identity in order to offer solutions for the country in which they are born.
Society as such is on a decline because of its moral decay and breakup of the social fabric. We hope that Islam in its pure form, when practiced by a large number of Americans, will be able to save America from such decay by offering a viable social alternative. The future of Islam is not at stake, but that of those who profess to be its followers is.
By the token of time the mankind is at loss except as those who have true belief and pure actions and join together in the mutual teaching of truth and patience.

CONCLUSION:-
The main point is that
Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) had said:
The nations will be gathered against you like those who are invited to a feast while they are starving. The companions asked,
Is this going to occur when we will be few in numbers?
The messenger of God (P.B.U.H) replied:
No, you will be in large numbers, but you will be like the foam, that floats on the ocean. Your enemies will no longer fear you. The wham will be in your heart.
They asked what is wham? He replied:
The love of this life and fear of death.

About the Author None