An Open Letter to the Next Generation of American Muslims
By Mino Akhtar

Last night, I had the privilege of attending the annual Aligarh Muslim University Association’s function at a nice and big Pakistani restaurant. As usual, they had a speaker followed by entertainment. This year was an incredible combination - Professor Akbar Ahmed, the most prominent authority on contemporary Islam followed by a performance of the amazing qawwal group -Imam Aziz Mian Qawwal. We enjoyed the nice dinner followed by the program which lasted until after midnight!

Professor Ahmed’s theme - Challenges of Being a Muslim in the 21st Century - was illuminating, disturbing and reassuring at the same time, and stirred me to write an open letter to our younger generations - my children and my grandchildren. And it also increased my appreciation for the Qawwals who entertained us with this beautiful genre of music from Muslim India. Sourced in Sufism, which practices zikr (remembrance of God), in settings called Sema (Turkish) or Qaul (Urdu), combining tabla, dhol, harmonium and vigorous clapping by the hamnawa (team members of the main singer) — clapping reminds me of flamenco of Spain - to create a unique mehfil (gathering).

The gathering honors spirituality through beautiful poetry.

So, here is my letter to my children and grandchildren and yours:

Dear American Muslim Generations of the Future,

I am indebted to Professor Akbar Ahmed for strengthening my deep faith, that I already have emboldened through my Sufi teacher’s guidance. At a most challenging time, when Muslims are facing great global challenges - not just the West - we wonder what we should do and how we should be? Professor Akbar Ahmed reminded us that if we look at the state of the global Muslim world today, it is not unlike another inflection point in history:

Author Mino Akhtar with Dr Akbar Ahmed

1857 in India. The Indian War of Independence from colonial Britain had started and Muslims were blamed. 100,000 Muslim men were rounded up and hanged from trees in Delhi by the British because they blamed Muslims for leading the resistance. Sound familiar?

What did Sir Syed Ahmed Khan do? He knew he had to work with the powerful British Raj, which was not going to leave India for another 100 years as we now know. He made it his mission to collaborate with the Raj, which also earned him a negative image, but in the end saved Muslims from complete ethnic cleansing and genocide. Sounds familiar? He founded the Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, India, and made it his mission to help bring Muslims into the modern era and embrace Western education. Of course. if we go back in history, education had been part of Muslim empires as far back as the 8th century but had lost its way in the empires that decayed.

The values that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan modeled for us, and that are as relevant today, are: courage, humility, humanity and optimism in the face of utter darkness.

So, dear children, what you can learn from this amazing leader that led our ancestors out of the valley of despair in the Subcontinent, is to stay true to your human values.

· Be courageous and optimistic even if darkness surrounds us

· Work hard as you already do and focus on your work and contribution to society

· Collaborate with all the diverse groups that you are in touch with in this amazing country called America and our beautiful globally interconnected world with all the faiths and races and see the goodness in each other

· Honor all faiths and races, and never think of your own race as the most supreme or deserving of any special favor

· Nurture the humanity inside of yourself and it will multiply as you interact with others- it is contagious!

• Don’t worry if it seems that humanity has been lost as we see heinous crimes committed and covered up, resistance suppressed, lives snuffed out by the powerful.

We, the first-generation American Muslims believe in you and believe that you will set a good example for all of your generation and transcend these challenges - one that honors and respects all perspectives and finds unity in the beautiful diversity that God endowed us with.

With fervent prayers and love to all of you who are witnesses to the Darkness and are the beacons of Light that I know will save humanity, Inshallah.