Setting Our Priorities Right
By Perwaiz Ahmad
Fullerton, CA
One of the beauties of our religion Islam is that it did away with a lot of opulence that was afforded to a few while the majority was enslaved to serve the fantasies of the rich and the powerful. The advent of Islam brought harmony and solidarity among the haves and the have-nots for the first time in hundreds of years and that is why the word about Islam spread like wild fire across the globe. To name a few, it abhorred and forbade profiteering through hoarding or any other unfair means, bribes (these days it is called lobbying), it called for simplicity in weddings, in funerals and prohibited monument building around a burial place.
While Islam places a lot of emphasis on every Muslim to lead a simple life (absolutely no extravagance), it also calls for simplicity in marriage ceremonies, in wedding receptions, in burials, in daily clothing, in food choices, in quantity consumed, in praying-, in short, in all facets of life so much so that any Muslim can pray anywhere as long as the place is dry - even in Space as one young Muslim astronaut did at the beginning of this year. The main reason Islam flourished and expanded during the early years across the globe was because it gave a road map to the misguided populace of the world that it is more pleasing to God if one lives an honorable life rather than a life of ultra-luxury which leads to corruption, deceptive business practices, cheating, lying, stealing, arrogance and condescension.
It is a great feeling to see Muslim Centers (Masjids and Islamic Educational Centers) springing up all across America….some even few miles apart, which could be consolidated to reduce operating expenses and use the same resources for Islamic schools that are in dire need of financial aid because they cannot afford the operating expenses, just on tuition and fees or upgrade their school from Middle School to High School. but that is another discussion for another time.
Just few weeks ago I learned that the Islamic Society of Orange County, Garden Grove, California, is about to embark on a project to replace the existing wire- fence wall located on the south side of the Masjid (work has already begun) with a wrought iron fence wall adorned with small miniature lighted domes delicately fabricated from shining steel, spaced few feet apart to enhance the looks of the fence wall and thus the center. The person who donated the material for the fence informed after the Juma prayer that the fence was his concept, his design, his effort and his money while the installation cost was the responsibility of the ISOC. While there is no doubt that the project on completion will enhance the appearance of the parking lot, the installation cost of $ 100,000 coming from the coffers of the ISOC does not justify the need for a new fence wall because it does not add any value to the needs of the people who come to pray. A mosque is a house of God which should be made simple and kept well maintained and anyone who preaches that it should be like a five star hotel is departing from the basic spirit of Islam. While donations were being sought to meet the construction cost a Hadees was quoted that beautification of God's house (mosque) is incumbent upon the Muslim community for which they will be rewarded. But, how much is too much? Is there a justification for everything? If it is, then we are headed in the direction of the huge churches built centuries ago with all kinds of masonry work, hand paintings, high ceilings, and huge staircases with Pagoda style roofs, domes and pillars.
With limited resources the ISOC Board should be engaged in an open discussion before embarking on a project to use the funds to improve the facilities in Orange Crescent School and Majid, to upgrade the salary of the teaching and the Administrative staff to ensure that qualified teachers don't have to leave for better salary, to improve the extra- curricular activities of young students like a gymnasium so they are better equipped to face the challenges of higher education, to improve the bathroom facilities which are below par although close to three million dollars were spent on the construction of the Masjid, to have well equipped laboratories, to reduce the tuition fee of those who cannot afford to send their children to Islamic Schools because the fees is too high, to upgrade from Middle School to High School which was the vision twenty-five years ago. Twenty-five years ago High School level grades (9, 10, 11, and 12) were dropped because the school was in its infancy and the Board did not have the necessary funds to meet the requirements of a High School.
As for mosques being built from scratch, it is my opinion that a mosque is still a mosque even if there is no dome or minaret because lately I have seen that enormous amount of money is being spent on items that are not mandatory or for whose acquisition there is any compulsion in our religion. Case in point: It took months of highly skilled labor, exotic material to complete a minar and a dome with intricate work at a local mosque in Anaheim. Few men decided to have it their way but are we really practicing what we preach to others when hundreds of kids all over the world go to bed hungry or don't know if they are going to have anything to eat the next day?
This is not an isolated case, this is happening all over the world in large numbers and is getting worse by the day, the gap between the have and the have-nots has been getting wider and wider by the day. Are we going to go "with the flow" once we become an affluent community or are we going to invite the community's input about what our priorities should be?
