The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

“As Islam Grows, U.S. Imams In Short Supply”

As Islam Grows, U.S. Imams In Short Supply
by John Burnett

NPR – February 10, 2013

Islam in America is growing exponentially. From 2000 to 2010, the number of mosques in the United States jumped 74 percent.

Today, there are more than 2,100 American mosques but they have a challenge: There aren’t enough imams, or spiritual leaders, to go around.

The Mid-Cities Mosque in Colleyville, Texas, has two modest minarets that distinguish it as a sacred building here in this sedate suburb between Fort Worth and Dallas. It’s trimmed in green lights — the color of Islam. A Dallas Muslim Yellow Pages sits in a rack outside the doors.

Inside, maghrib prayers, after sunset, are commencing. A husky young imam dressed in a sand-colored tunic closes his eyes and leans into a microphone. A dozen men stand barefoot, elbow-to-elbow on a green carpet, in quietude.

The 200 mostly Pakistani-American members of this small Texas mosque are lucky to have a full-time, American-born imam. There’s an acute imam shortage in America, the result of supply, and demand, says Nouman Ali Khan.

“I’ve had the opportunity to travel to maybe 150 mosques across the country. And the vast majority of them, actually, did not have a full-time imam,” says Ali Khan, who heads Bayyinah, an Arabic-language institute in Dallas that educates future imams. “The ones that did are very happy to have them and the ones that didn’t are constantly asking me when I go for a seminar, ‘Hey, so you know anybody?'”

Separated geographically from the rest of Islam, he says American Muslims must find their own way, must invent their own traditions.

In Islamic countries, mosques and imams are supported by the state. Here in the U.S., they are private just like any church. Moreover, they are likely to serve as religious and community centers for their ethnically distinct congregation.

Indeed, American mosques are filled with Muslims from many different countries. And increasingly they’re the spiritual home of native-born Muslims whose identities are completely American.

Some young Muslims feel alienated from the mosque and from religious culture altogether. So U.S. mosques not only need imams trained in classical Islam, but who possess good English skills and a thorough understanding of American culture.

“You may have a scholarly religious figure that can speak to the older congregation, but he’s not able to connect as well with the youth,” Ali Khan says. “And in a lot of the interviews, it’s even sort of a primary concern how well can you connect with the young in our community.”

The Islamic Association of Mid-Cities went without an imam for 15 months before it finally chose Yahya Jaekoma. He’s a cherubic, 23-year-old of Thai and Afghan descent, who was born in San Diego.

“I was a sponsored skater at the age of 10 … and after breaking my arm, my grandmother told me I [had] to put it off,” Jaekoma explains. “So she sent me to a madrassa, which is an institute to study the Quran, at the age of 14.”

By the time he was 18, Jaekoma had memorized the entire Quran and dedicated his life to religious study. But his time as a hip-hop skateboarder gives him a unique voice for the youth in his mosque.

“I tell them my life story,” he says. “I tell them where I came from. I tell them what I’ve done.”

The youth group at the Mid-Cities mosque includes Sijil Patel, a 16-year-old Pakistani-American who is thoroughly modern with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, crazy-colored sneakers, and a headscarf.

“By having someone that was born here, it’s easier to relate to them, and it’s easier for them to understand our view on what we’re dealing with and, like, the difficulties we have with our faith in, like, such a modern environment,” Patel says.

Some of those things include dating, sex, drugs, alcohol and profanity.

“We’ve been strictly taught in Islam that vulgar language is not allowed,” Patel says. “I try my best to, like, not engage in that type of thing, and I’ve told my friends, too.”

A recent survey by the Islamic Society of North America reports that only 44 percent of American imams are salaried and full-time. The rest are volunteer religious leaders. Four out of five imams here were born and educated outside the United States, mostly in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India.

“I can count the number of institutions that prepare imams in the U.S. on three fingers,” says Jihad Turk, president the Bayan Claremont Islamic graduate school in Southern California.

Turk estimates that his institution, Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, and Zaytuna College in the San Francisco Bay Area will, collectively, graduate fewer than 30 Koranic scholars this year.

This handful of newly minted American imams should have no trouble at all finding work. [Copyright 2013 NPR]

Comments on Mirza Nasir Ahmad’s answers at the National Assembly, 1974

The comments below should be confined to the subject mentioned above.

Sir Patrick Moore on life after death

Sir Patrick Moore, the famous British astronomer who died today, is reported to have said last year:

“I’m near the end of my life now. It doesn’t worry me. I don’t think it ends here, you see. If it did, the entire thing would be pointless, but the universe is not pointless. No, this isn’t the end. We go on to the next stage. I shall be interested to see what it is.”

This reminded me of what Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote under ‘Life after Death’ in his book The Religion of Islam:

“It cannot be that the whole of creation should serve a purpose and that man alone who is lord of it and endowed with capabilities for ruling the universe, should have a purposeless existence. It is the Resurrection alone that solves this difficulty. Man has a higher object to fulfill, he has a higher life to live beyond this world; which is the aim of human life in this world.”

Islam and Human Rights

At this link you can read my presentation at a meeting at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, England, on 17th November 2012, on the subject of Islam and Human Rights, which I was invited to give.

Nine or Ten Commandments of Moses

Submitted by Ikram

While perusing the web site http://www.abdulhaq.info/ dedicated to late Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi sahib I came across an article by him – “70 or 72 followers of Jesus in Gospels?” He wrote it in 1964 as a reply to an accusation by a Christian missionary against HMGA. The missionary wanted to prove HMGA wrong as the latter had mentioned 72 disciples of Jesus (PBUH) in his writings, instead of 70 as claimed by the former based upon his bible sources. Vidyarthi sahib on the premise alone that Imam of age cannot be wrong, sought original Greek Bible and proved that 72 was the original number and the translated versions, the sources of the missionary were wrong. An interesting read that brings to forth the truthfulness of Divine sourced HMGA and the conviction of one of his humble follower who believed in the ilham of the Imam – “We shall not leave behind you anything which can humiliate you”

With the above in mind, in Quran we come across 9 commandments not 10 as commonly believed. The pertinent verses below are bracketed by other verses with reference to Jews and Moses. Therefore, can we say Moses was given 9 commandments, provided the verses below refer to him to begin with?

6:151. Say: Come! I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you: [1] Set up no partner with Him, [2] and do good to parents, [3] nor kill your children for (fear of) poverty — We provide for you and for them, [4] nor go near to indecencies, open or secret, [5] nor kill the soul which Allah has made sacred except in the course of justice. This He enjoins upon you that you may understand.

6:152. [6] And do not approach the property of the orphan except in the best manner, until he attains his maturity. [7] And give full measure and weight with equity — We do not impose on any soul a duty beyond its ability. [8] And when you speak, be just, even (against) a relative. [9] And fulfill Allah’s covenant. This He enjoins on you that you may be mindful;

6:153. and (know) that this is My path, the right one, so follow it, and do not follow (other) ways, for they will lead you away from His way. This He enjoins on you that you may keep your duty.

It seems that after the initial moral priming of the followers of Moses with the above 9 commandments, full Torah was subsequently given to Moses:

6:154. Again, We gave the Book to Moses to complete (Our blessings) on him who would do good, and making plain all things and a guidance and a mercy, so that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord.

The above is just an academic exercise, as the Message irrespective of being given to Prophet Moses or Prophet Muhammad, it is the same Islam.

Note: [text enclosed in square brackets above is not part of the original quoted sources]
Holy Quran – Muhammad Ali, edited by Zahid Aziz

Ibn Al-Haytham: “The first true scientist”

In connection with their series History of the World by Andrew Marr, the BBC asked for “suggestions for often overlooked moments in world history”, and published the top 10 suggestions.

See this link.

The suggestion ranking number 3 is “3. Alhazen and his work on optics”. He is described as the first true scientist because he seems to have been the first to use the scientific method. I quote:

Ibn al-Haytham was born in about 965 in what is now Iraq, and is regarded by some by some as the real father of the scientific method, predating Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes in the 17th Century.

Al-Haytham was the first to disprove the theory that we see objects by rays of light emitted from our eyes, realising instead that we see because light enters our eyes.

No other scientist before him had used maths to prove this process, says Prof Jim Al-Khalili from the University of Surrey.

“When the great scientific revolution took place in Europe, science had advanced so much that people forgot it was built on previous knowledge.”

Al-Haytham was part of the golden age of Arabic science, and while Europe was stuck in the Dark Ages, he filled the gap, says Al-Khalili.

The above item also refers to an article entitled The First True Scientist.

I looked up more information about him and found two interesting in scientific journals about the use of his discoveries even now:

Ibn al-Haytham and the origins of computerized image analysis (Conference paper in 2007 at the International Conference on Computer Engineering & Systems; website of ieee.org)

The remarkable Ibn al-Haytham (The Mathematical Gazatte, March 1992).

(Note: If you have problems reaching these links, please let me know.)

In the first paper above, it is stated in the abstract (bolding is mine):

“Haytham made intellectual contributions that subsequently were incorporated throughout the core of post-Medieval Western culture. His seminal work on the human vision system initiated an unbroken chain of continuous development that connects 21st century optical scientists with the 11th century Ibn al-Haytham. The noted science historian, David Lindberg, wrote that “Alhazen was undoubtedly the most significant figure in the history of optics between antiquity and the seventeenth century.” Impressive and accurate as that characterization is, it significantly understates the impact that al-Haytham had on areas as wide-ranging as the theology, literature, art, and science of Europe.”

I wonder how many Muslims, let alone non-Muslims, had heard of him.

Eid-ul-Adha Message from Head of Lahore Ahmadiyya, Dr. A.K. Saeed

Link to pdf file of the message

Text of the message

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

“And be not like those who became divided and disagreed after clear arguments had come to them. And for them is a grievous chastisement.” The Holy Qur’an, 3:104

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaato Hu.

On this happy occasion of Eid ul Adha, I would want us to remember that all Islamic prayers and devotional acts remind us that the true path to Allah is in the unity of human beings. This unity is exemplified by all followers praying towards the Ka‘bah and bowing and prostrating at the same time. They fast in the same month following the same code of fasting. Together they also perform the pilgrimage to Makkah and go around the Ka‘bah dressed in the same apparel, chanting the same prayers. All colours, creeds and nationalities move in the same direction – all three million or so every year. No gender discrimination, no sectarian hatred, no nationality bias; just the true spirit of Islam fully focused on One Allah and one Ummah.

All Muslims believe in the same Oneness of God, Allah, and the same final prophet, Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the same revealed Book of Allah, the Holy Qur’an. We all believe in the absolute finality of prophethood and follow the same tenets of Islam. We all have faith that the commandments of Allah revealed in the Qur’an and shown in practice by the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, have to be followed.

Now Muslims, having fulfilled their lifetime dream of performing the most coveted of worships, i.e. Hajj, are returning home. However, it will be tragic if they forget the spirit of Hajj – the spirit of unity, the spirit of love and the spirit of hatred for none – and return to the same disunity, hatred, bigotry and defamation and, in some cases, back to terrorism and taking lives of innocent men and women, not even sparing children. In doing so they forget the injunctions of Islam as stated in the verse I have cited above.

Sisters and Brothers,

Let us all pray that this Eid will be different. That this time after performing the pilgrimage we will be celebrating Eid with the firm resolve to remain united, “And be not like those who became divided and disagreed after clear arguments had come to them”.

I pray that Muslims all over the world live in harmony, not only with other Muslims but with people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds.
Aameen.

Professor Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed
Ameer and President
Worldwide Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement

Pakistan National Assembly Proceedings of 1974 against Ahmadis

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

Change in Qadiani beliefs inside National Assembly in 1974

Qadiani Khalifa 3 Mirza Nasir Ahmad CHANGED HIS BELIEFS inside the secret proceedings of Pakistan National Assembly.

While reading testimony of marhoom Abdul Manan Omar sahib in the recently published Pakistan National Assembly proceedings I came across interesting information that was provided by Pakistan’s Attorney General Mr. Yahya Bakhtiar to Abdul Manan Omar sahib.

On page 1699 and 1700 Yahya Bakhtiar informs Abdul Manan Omar that Qadianis Khalifa 3 Mirza Nasir Ahmad HAS AMENDED, I REPEAT, AMENDED THEIR DEFINITION OF KAFIR. By the word ‘Kafir’ they mean ‘sinner’ JUST LIKE BELIEF OF LAHORI-AHMADIS.

In reply Abdul Manan sahib said, “since it was secret proceedings, so we will appreciate if you could give us more information. We will be thankful”.

In reply Yahya Bakhitar says, “it will not be secret forever. It will become public in some time”.

Further in reply Abdul Manan Omar sahib said, “if Qadianis make couple of more AMMENDMENTS in their beliefs, they will become your and our Muslim brothers”.

THIS PROVES QADIANI KHALIFA 3 LIKE HIS FATHER QADIANI KHAILFA 2, PRESENTED DIFFERENT BELIEFS IN COURT THAN THE ONE THEY MAKE THEIR FOLLOWERS TO ADOPT. QK2 adopted the same strategy in Munir Commission Inquiry court in 1953.

Publication of 1974 reports will have long term benefits for Muslim Ummah. Two immediate will be:

1-Muslims will come to know what a great injustice was done to Lahori-Ahmadis by secular politician Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, just to appease Mullah-Mafia in Pakistan.

2-Qadianis will come to know that their Qadiani Khalifas have been DECEIVING them since 1974. They will know QK 3 and 4 CHANGED THEIR BELIEFS INSIDE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND TRIED TO ADOPT LAHORI-AHMADIS BELIEFS, to save their skin. Exactly the way QK2 did in 1953 in Munir Inquiry Commission. Qadianis will come to realize their QK3 was lying when he said, “if report publishes half of Pakistan will become Ahmadi (Qadiani)”; and QK4 was lying when he said, “not half, all of Pakistan will become Ahmadi (Qadiani)”.

Publication of this report WILL ONLY BENEFIT Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement representation of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sahib’s beliefs and claims.

ALLAH-O-AKBAR.

The amazingly clever honey bee

The subject of the amazing capabilities of the honey bee has been discussed by Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi in his writings and speeches while explaining verses 16:68-69 of the Holy Quran:

“And your Lord revealed to the bee: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build, then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. From their bellies comes forth a beverage of many colours, in which there is healing for man. Surely in this there is a sign for a people who reflect.”

From time to time, news appears from the world of science and technology about these remarkable abilities. There is one such recent news item: “Bee brains help to make robots smarter”. Please see this link.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography recognises Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din

By coincidence, in this very month of September when it is the centenary of the first arrival of Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din in England, an entry about him has been added in the September 2012 update to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes itself as “the national record of men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. The Dictionary offers concise, up-to-date biographies written by named, specialist authors. It is overseen by academic editors at Oxford University, UK, and published by Oxford University Press.”

It was first published as the Dictionary of National Biography in 1885.

The September 2012 updates are summarised at this link on their website:

www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/shelves/sept2012/

On this page, in the third set of photographs, you will find a photo of Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din. When you click on it, you will reach the following link where his entry is given in full:

www.oxforddnb.com/public/dnb/94519.html

Please note that this entry, written by a University professor, contains a couple of inaccuracies. The publishers of the Dictionary had contacted me before publication and showed me the draft. I had made some corrections and suggstions, which the author incorporated, but one or two of the corrections I made have been missed. They have
promised to correct them in the next update.