Project
Friday Khutba: Taking the Initiative
to Spark Change
“Al-Qaeda
is inside,” said the man in Leeds,
pointing to his head and referring to
the bombers and their peers. He rejected
the idea that an outsider from Al-Qaeda
had recruited the men. To me this phrase
is spine chilling.
From the flurry of information coming
in after the July 7 bombings in London
it appears that there is a violent fringe
amongst Muslims, a second group of the
ideologically committed but not practicing
violence (as yet), and then the third
and largest group that recognizes terrorism
as haram or forbidden. This last group
is the silent majority.
It is the latter two groups that must
command the attention of the Muslim
world. It is reported that in Europe
3/5ths of the Muslims are educated while
the rest are under-or-unemployed, with,
at times, a criminal background. Poverty
alone, though, cannot be blamed for
the metamorphosis into violent extremism,
for the profile of suicide bombers shows
that some were well educated and well
off.
Most Muslims would reflexly condemn
murder. Why then is their condemnation
conditional when terror occurs? A good
number say, “It is wrong, but…”
It seems that their condemnation of
violence would equate to undermining
the Muslim struggle across the world.
Peace-loving Muslims must actively address
the ideologues as well as the silent
majority. Pointing fingers is an all
too common copout; blaming inept Muslim
governments can be loud but is wholly
ineffective. For personal glory and
vested interests, heads of government
of predominantly Muslim countries, with
the exception of Malaysia, have sold
soul and conscience to the West.
Surah Jumaa (62:9) makes Friday prayer
mandatory for all Muslim males. It starts
with the khutba or sermon in which the
imam speaks on relevant social, spiritual
or political subjects, after having
researched them thoroughly. At the minimum
it must contain a verse from the Qur’an
and the Hadith and it is to be treated
like the actual prayer in that talking
during it is prohibited. Some schools
of thought consider mention of current
political events “a must”.
Friday after Friday, in mosques the
world over, millions of Muslims are
essentially captive audiences. The imam,
who is also looked upon as a role model,
is in a uniquely powerful position to
influence positively or incite.
I detest it when non-Muslim Americans
mourn for US troops, but act like Muslim
lives are inconsequential. We can, and
should, teach them not to be so callous.
Also, we must compartmentalize. There
ought to be unstinted condemnation of
violence against non-combatants, as
well as deep sadness for the 200,000
Iraqi civilians who have died since
the Gulf war. 25,000 of them have been
killed just this last year; numerous
Afghanis have died because of the American
invasion, as have Palestinians in their
struggle for freedom. The abuse at Abu-Ghraib,
Bagram and Guantanamo only add to this
reservoir of fury.
From discussions and debates it appears
that the mother of all disenchantment
is the dispossession of the Palestinians
and the beleaguered Al-Aqsa mosque.
Suicide bombing is not a Muslim invention;
it was deployed by the Tamil Tigers
prior to its use in the Middle East.
Despite empathy toward the defenselessness
of the Palestinian people and suicide
bombing being, in their minds, the only
way out, Muslims must face the well-established
Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) that killing
non-combatants, women and children is
absolutely forbidden.
On July 17 2005, 500 imams in Britain
issued a fatwa or religious decree condemning
the use of violence and destruction
of innocent lives, saying suicide bombings
were “vehemently prohibited”.
On July 28, the Fiqh Council of North
America together with 120 religious
organizations and leaders in North America
issued a fatwa that unequivocally labels
terrorism and cooperation with its perpetrators
as haram in Islam.
A survey commissioned by the Pew Global
Research Project was conducted in 17
countries using a sample of over 17,000
people who were interviewed in person
or on telephone in April and May, before
the July 7 London bombings. It found
that the support for terrorism, including
suicide bombing, has declined substantially
in several Muslim countries in the past
two years.
The survey specifically asked whether
suicide bombings and violence against
civilians are justified to defend Islam
against its enemies. In Morocco, 13
percent of respondents replied “yes”
compared to 40 percent a year ago; 15
percent Indonesians said “yes”
compared to 27 percent last year; 25
percent Pakistanis replied “yes”
compared to 41 percent last year.
Confidence in Osama bin Laden as a leader
also plunged. It was down to 2 percent
of those surveyed in Lebanon, 7 percent
in Turkey, 26 percent in Morocco and
35 percent in Indonesia. In 2003 these
numbers were 14, 15, 49 and 58 respectively.
In Pakistan and Jordan however the trend
is reversed: 51 and 60 percent now;
it was 45 and 55 percent in 2003.
Though there has been an overall decline
in the support for terrorism, it is
not zero, which is what it should be
if the Qur’an’s injunction
in Surah Maidah (5:32) is to be followed:
"Whoever kills a person [unjustly]…it
is as though he has killed all mankind.
And whoever saves a life, it is as though
he had saved all mankind."
In Surah Nisa (4:29-30) suicide is expressly
forbidden. If the injunctions in Surah
Maidah and Surah Nisa are taken with
the Hadith quoted above, terrorists
truly become what the American fatwa
called them: “criminals, not martyrs”.
On the day after the July 7th London
bombings, what happened in my mosque
also happened in most mosques in North
America: the khutba totally avoided
any mention of terrorism. Many Muslims
have reported this to me, and I am not
the only one who is irked by imams shirking
a basic duty.
We must focus on the ideologue who has
not crossed the threshold towards the
practice of extremism, as well as that
silent majority. My Project Friday Khutba
in which all imams in all khutbas routinely
condemn terrorism, is a simple yet effective
way to mold the thoughts of Muslims.
It just takes one minute, every Friday.
But the effect will reverberate and
the result can be very powerful.
Islam is a deeds-based religion and
there are sins of commission and sins
of omission. Under “enjoin the
good and forbid evil” (Luqman
31:17) we will be held accountable on
The Day of Judgment for standing silent
while the carnage continued. Speak to
your local imam and get a commitment
from him that every Friday he will mention
that terrorism is haram. We may be able
to prevent a greater disaster 5-10 years
from today, thoughts of which might
be fomenting in the young minds of Friday
congregants.
Allama Iqbal poetically translated verse
11 of Surah Ra’ad that “God
does not change the condition of any
people unless they themselves make the
decision to change” with
Khuda ney aaj tak us qaum ki halat nahin
badli
Na ho jis ko khayal khud apni halat
key badalney ka
Changing American and British foreign
policy is a tedious process with an
uncertain outcome. Not so the Project
Friday Khutba: it is a spark that can
ignite real change. We must do it.
(Mahjabeen Islam is a physician and
freelance columnist practicing in Toledo,
Ohio. Her email is mahjabeenislam@hotmail.com)
