بسم الله الرحمٰن الرحيم، وصلوات الله وسلامه على أشرف المرسلين
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
I just watched a khutbah by Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan (about the Paris shooting) which gave a relatively grim outlook on the current state of the Muslim ummah. You can see the khutbah here. I left some comments which you can read/reply to here and here. I will reprint the second comment below.
Some ideas to better the ummah:
1. Stop with the conspiracy theories. I’m sure there are actual conspiracies every now and then, but no, not everything is a conspiracy. And it should never become an excuse to not confront real issues we’re facing, which it has become.
2. Stop slandering scholars. Whenever a scholar comes out with a speech or fatwa against extremism, the usual suspects are out here calling them “coconuts,” paid by FBI, etc. In the Muslim world, yes there are scholars who are controlled by dictators. But even the scholars who stood against dictators (such as Shaykh Muhammad al-Ya’qoubi) have condemned extremism. And there is no evidence at all that the FBI is controlling scholars in America.
3. Stop playing the blame game. Most of the Muslim world’s problems were caused by Muslims, not the West. Colonialism ended generations ago. Hong Kong was controlled by Britain until 1997, do you ever see them making excuses? And yes, the West supports Israel and dictators in the Muslim world but this would not be possible without Muslim collaborators.
The “blame game” is Shaytan’s favorite game to play. When he was kicked out of Jannah, he blamed God. When Adam (AS) was kicked out of Jannah, he could have blamed Shaytan but instead he blamed himself. Taking responsibility is Prophetic character.
4. Hold Muslim governments accountable. I’m not sure exactly “how” to do this, but I believe that the governments of rich Muslim countries (such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, etc) need to be held accountable for what’s happening in the Muslim world.
Germany has taken in 100,000 Syrian refugees. How many have rich Muslim countries taken in? Zero or close to zero. The Gulf states have the same religion, ethnicity, and language as the refugees. Europe has a different religion, ethnicity, and language. So the primary responsibility for the refugees is on the Gulf states.
5. Clean up Muslim-populated areas. Isn’t it sad that the areas in Europe with the most crime are the areas with the most Muslims? For example, in France, Marseilles and the Paris suburbs are riddled with gangs and violence. Instead of blaming everyone else for not “integrating” us, we should work to reduce crime.
6. Might add to this later. Leave a comment if you have any more ideas.
Salaam,
~ Yousuf
14 January 2015
yousuf.blog 