10 Challenges to American Islam from 2016

Omer M. Mozaffar

10- There is no indication that things will improve; every indication that things will worsen.

I made a similar point in last year’s list. It is more true this year. So many people are waiting for 2016 to end, under some notion that 2017 will be better. Is there any indication in any realm of collective life that life will be better. And, how many indications are there that life will be worse?

Bloodshed: there is *no* indication that the bloodshed — locally or globally — will decrease any time soon. The institutional factors are still in place. The markets and distribution systems for weapons are still in place. The personal and ideological conflicts are still in place. The mostly impotent peaceniks are still impotent. This is a year that nothing happened to reduce bloodshed.

Celebrity deaths. The celebrities who died, died — in most cases — of natural causes. This is the era of baby boomer burials. Expect many more to die in each of the next few years, until the majority of them are gone. It is, however, fascinating and perhaps telling that we feel more for the loss of a celebrity than we do of some relatives and neighbors.

What else has not changed: the blatant disregard for the suffering of others. In our community, it would be the suffering of those not Desi or Arab, starting with the Africans, starting with the Somalis.

What has changed: Deflection. Now it easy to hide things in plain sight. The President-elect uses the Ann Coulter method of drawing attention. She writes a book and includes a provocative sentence that offends all of us, so we talk about it, and in the process she sells books. The President-elect posts something outrageous on social media, drawing our attention and conversation for a full day, freeing him to do whatever other shenanigans he wants, without the need to hide anything. He needs to only direct our attention, like a magician.

And, I will speak about the recent US Presidential election later.

Addressing the issue:

Regarding bloodshed, organize or donate to those who are organizing, but a better approach is through changing policy. Regarding celebrity deaths, we deal with it, but along with that we seek to get closer to real human beings, not human-shaped brands. There are some celebrities whom I never met, whose deaths hit me hard, so I understand the pain, but I’m mourning the deaths of what they did for me as much as (or perhaps more than) their deaths.

More than all of that, the contemporary era requires a different type of realism in our approach to the world, related to a type of resignation, so as to minimize unnecessary self-induced trauma.

9- The Syrian activists are the new Palestinian activists.

Over the past half decade, I have watched so many of my Syrian students transform from happy, lively students, to bewildered young people falling into reckless anti-Shia rhetoric, to lifeless zombies having difficulty performing even minor functions. Most recently, however, I have watched so many of them become full of fury, as the world has abandoned them, their families, their country. This is not to say that the anger in itself is new; it’s now much more public. And, this type of anger is an anger of despair. The next public phases include intense collective guilt for living here in comfort, while their counterparts overseas persist amidst the destruction. From there, the long term activists, suffering from a damaging mixture of extensive PTSD and guilt will become withered, jaded people.

Addressing the issue:

We have failed the Palestinians and the Palestinian activists. We have failed the Syrians, and are now on the verge of failing the Syrian activists. We need to support them with a compassion akin to the intensive compassion given to domestic violence survivors. Compassion cannot replace professional therapy, but compassion can be coerced, while therapy cannot. And, those Syrian activists who agree with any of this, need to get even closer to God, to be able to see the bigger picture of human powerlessness and Divine authority, for the sake of their own sanity, and then they can be more free in their activism. And, they do need to go through extensive therapy to be able to keep their minds straight, otherwise they are going to ruin themselves.

8- The rise of the Whisps and their counterparts.

In response to the general unintended and intended exclusions of Blackamerican Muslims from positions of prominence and self-actualization, there has been a rise over the past few years of a self-assertion by young Blackamerican Muslims to claim their own Islam. Some of these voices are sound, sophisticated, and beneficial. Others have nothing to offer but the usual knee jerk victimization. As a result, however, many South Asian and Arab Muslims have, in jealousy, launched counter assertions. Among these are people already spoiled with wealth, who get jealous when some of their dark skinned South Asian or Arab peers get “accepted” in “Blackness” but they themselves do not, who overcompensate for their internalized white supremacy by quoting hip hop as though they understand “the cause,” who might boast that they live in diverse communities as a status symbol even though they keep their fences tall and their house alarms fully activated, and still manage to be condescending against all people of color. Though not limited to them, the bratty, childish Pakistani version is the Whisp. The White Suburban Pakistani. What is more sad is that some are so narcissist that if they know me personally, they will think I’m writing about them, but such people will think this whole list is about them, leading me to think of a song. Other ethnicities have their versions, and the common element is to prevent Blackamerican Muslims from having their own individual and collective autonomies, which is exactly the original complaint against the parents of the Whisps.

Addressing the issue:

Some people are just plain narcissist and some are negligent or ignorant. The narcissists cannot be helped. They can hit rock bottom and will still see themselves as victimized by everyone, including the community, their spouses, their families, and the Divine. They cannot be helped. As for those who are ignorant, the technique is compassion and education. Sometimes, the narcissist pretends to be ignorant, so the person who is sharing compassion might get bitten by the mangy rabid dog within the narcissist. But, some people who seem to be narcissists, might be saints waiting to blossom, so, we do not give up hope.

7- Family breakdown, part 1.

End of Marriages. These are some of the stupidest reasons or comments I was given this year for people getting divorced. These were actually stated, and almost all the comments below are quoted word-for-word as reasons supporting divorce:

Just because I surround myself with people who agree with everything I say or do it doesn’t mean they are bad. I’d rather spend time with them.

I don’t need therapy; spouse does.

I got married too soon.

I like to smoke Sheesha. Spouse doesn’t.

I’m a very sexual person. I can [expletive] just by sitting in the bathroom.

I saw a college admissions essay question that addressed this situation, confirming we should not be together.

I shouldn’t have to do my own laundry.

I snapchat. That is who I am.

I’ve been in love with him since I first met him (not the spouse).

It’s not spouse’s business (that claimant had an affair).

It’s not spouse’s business (that cuckolded spouse is demanding the person claimant had affair with should face spouse).

I was just performing and didn’t mean any of it (in matters where claimant wrote pages of beautiful notes, messages, posts to spouse).

I want to be free to flirt with other people. I like to flirt with beautiful people even though they are dumb.

My career is taking off.

Spouse disapproves of me (but accuser is not able to give a single example of any hinted or expressed disapproval).

Spouse does not contribute financially to the home (in case where spouse contributed tens of thousands even though accuser did not want any financial contribution).

Spouse does not know how to use the dishwasher.

Spouse is nothing but a babysitter for the children (in case where spouse spends more intentional time with the children than accuser).

Spouse is in depression.

Spouse is in depression but did not know it and did not get treatment.

Spouse takes medications that cause depression.

[The above three were stated by the same person.]

Spouse is unhappy.

Spouse likes to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Spouse likes to eat at Panda Express.

Spouse is a loser.

Spouse is unable to keep a steady job (even though spouse has had said-apparently-unsteady job for nearly 10 years).

Spouse does not open emails from other people.

We are not compatible.

Spouse has no ambition.

Spouse makes me want to [expletive] other people.

Spouse makes me [expletive] other people.

Spouse makes me [expletive] 17 other people. [I’m not sure where these numbers come from but another variant was 30.]

Spouse made me have a relationship with [non-spouse].

I’d give a translation for each one if it is not self-evident why each of these “reasons” are absurd, but the common theme is: spouse is shedding him/herself of responsibility and is choosing immaturity, and often surrounds him/herself with other immature people to reinforce him/her.

Addressing the issue:

Much of the issue is simply a matter of growing up, accepting responsibility, and seeking help. There is nothing more difficult in our lives than marriage.

Every couple should go through counseling. When I’m performing a marriage, I require the happy couple to go through premarital counseling with a professional, I require them to learn the religious foundations, I require them to then keep in touch with me and update me on life at fixed intervals (each month for the first six months, and each year for the first seven years). Most do not fulfill their commitments to me.

I do receive questions about counseling. For starters, marital counseling should come from a trained professional. Not, a university chaplain, not a person with a sociology degree who masquerades as a counselor, not someone trained in Islamic law. Most ideal is a counselor with cultural familiarity, if such a person can be found. And, most faith-based counseling is one of two things: either secular training with scripture added, or untested quoting of scripture. If the method is not tested, then it may be destructive. I remember a case of a couple where the porn-addicted husband was verbally abusive against the wife, who already suffered from body-issues. The community leader (physician who misquotes scripture) they turned to kept telling her that angels are cursing her.

On the flip side, there are real issues like verbal, theological, and physical violence that so demoralize a person (usually, but not always the wife), that they become incapable of seeking help or seeking exit. Those are the most difficult to address, especially from the outside, but also from the inside. Many children of such parents come to me, themselves broken.

6- Family breakdown, part 2.

In last year’s list I spoke about the problem of charismatic preachers taking advantage of students in secret relationships as though they were music stars taking advantage of groupies. The suggestion for them is to fast the fast of David, may peace be upon him, to fight that Goliath within themselves. In any case that problem has only increased in 2016.

But, this problem of secret marriages does not end with the charismatic preachers. So many of the children of local families have visited me complaining about their father’s secrets (i.e. a second wife). Regardless of someone’s stance on any Islamic permissibility regarding polygyny, the issue here is the secrecy. It is in the nature of sins involving multiple people, that a secret cannot be kept. But, here, I am speaking of the consequences on the children, who are watching their mothers decline emotionally, physically, and spiritually, thus, they themselves are breaking down.

Addressing the issue:

There is no easy answer to this, because these are almost always cases of men driven by their appetites. When someone is driven by appetite, it is a form of self-centeredness that is almost always not redeemable unless the perpetrator hits some sort of rock bottom. But, the problem here is that other lives are affected. Ending secret relationships will be destructive. Revealing or admitting secret relationships will be destructive.

Further, such perpetrators believe their behavior is Islamically sanctioned, even though they are exploitative. If you can convince yourself that your destructive behaviors are Islamically permitted, you believe you have God’s endorsement. That is how terrorists operate. Mohammed Fadel has an article arguing that it is not Islamically sanctioned.

5- Service and Activism and Policy are limited by your imagination, efforts, imagination and faith, and must be toward God.

Nobody owns Islam in Chicago. Proof is that you can establish a cult and call it Islam, and nobody will do anything. So, if you see a problem, then put in the hours toward improving conditions.

Attention to an issue, and its subsequent remedy happens by personal initiative. For example, the Muslims in Myanmar are literally suffering from a genocide; much of the concern for them among us Muslims, can be traced back to a few specific people (including Chicago’s Abdul Malik Mujahid and Azeem Ibrahim). All activist, service, and policy projects start from personal initiative.

The most common complaint I receive about the Muslim community in Chicago is misogyny and/or gender inequality, and that is also the arena in which there is the least amount of effort. Meaning, women and men who come to me complaining about misogyny are willing and able to get advanced degrees, high profile jobs in fields not related to gender equality, but will not put in any efforts toward gender equality except to just call out those who do or seem to violate it. Their fuel eventually becomes anger, and they follow the patterns of the above mentioned activists. We see people who accuse every response that does not agree with their worldview to be patriarchy. If someone dares disagree with them, “Patriarchy!” If someone dares to side with a man on a particular issue, “Patriarchy!” Many issues are absolutely patriarchy and/or misogyny. Some are not.

[I risk, in the above paragraph, making the same mistake of Male Privilege, in delegitimizing the work of Muslim feminists; that is not the goal. Feminism — when articulated (albeit simply) as the demand that women have freedom to self-actualize, just as men do — must be a goal of all Muslims. It should be assumed that this male and female actualization remains Islamic bounds, but I have to clarify because some men lose their minds on mention of the word “feminism” in the way some non-Blackamericans lose their minds on mentions of anything related to Race.

Rather, I’m making the point that once we decide we are victims, then all else looks like oppression.]

There is another problem. We have ambulance chasers in our community of activists. These are the people who race for attention when something has happened. Some of these people, as soon as they hear a news story about some incident against a Muslim, start broadcasting it throughout all media; they project an ethos of Muslim-victimization.

Others have even convinced themselves that they are doing God’s work, even though it is clear to anyone that when they speak of their own victimhood, and they abandon their other personal responsibilities, they are using the actual victims for their own self-promotion.

Addressing the issue:

If you see a problem, then work on it. If you tell yourself you can’t do anything, then you are not seeing a problem: you’re just looking for a reason to complain, and will complain about sunlight, water, and dinosaurs if you could find a way.

And, when you work on a cause, see it as a doorway that the Divine is giving you to get closer to Him. Thus, when you work on a cause, it is a gift from the Divine to you; and if you are grateful, He will give you more.

Further, do not idealize activism. Do not romanticize activism as some badge of integrity. The work of justice is a most grueling, gut wrenching, exhausting, unromantic work. Likewise, against activism, policy-change is often far more effective.

Most importantly, nobody owns Islam in Chicago. Nobody can stop you. Except yourself.

4- The Religious Celebrity Muslims are the spiritual junkfood of Muslims

Many of us have been speaking now for years about the problems of celebrity Islam. It will not go away.

Words speak louder than actions: The Case of Hamza Yusuf

It has been fascinating watching the recent hostilities about Shaykh Hamza Yusuf’s comments at RIS. I have addressed that issue elsewhere, and gave general suggestions as a non-Blackamerican to non-Blackamericans on cautions in speaking in speaking about matters related to Blackamericans.

Having said that, not only is he one of the most beneficial Muslims in the history of American Islam, he is in many ways the unintentional godfather of American Celebrity Islam (and if not him, then Imam Siraj Wahhaj). He has inspired many to invest their lives into Islamic scholarship and he has been the force behind the formation of Zaytuna College. Yusuf was the one — in the pre-YouTube era — for whom people would travel across the country to listen to for a 40 minute speech.

But, the backlash against him now is akin to the backlash against him in 2001 for allegedly telling Muslims in America that if they don’t like America, they should move elsewhere. One sentence, or one paragraph can allow us to completely disregard a person who has years of dedication. If it is that simple to discredit and disregard someone, then what was the source of respect we had for them in the first place?

[I am not addressing the specifics of racism and apology here, as there are others who have addressed it better than I can and Imam Zaid has spoken most directly on this.]

Aqeedah is secondary: The Case of Louis Farrakhan

Louis Farrakhan burst on to the Chicago scene in the mid-1980s, launching the Nation of Islam according to the original teachings of Elijah Muhammad. Though he has made a few public conversions to Sunni Islam, the overarching teachings of the NOI had remained the same.

But, what is interesting is that today there are many prominent Muslims who will embrace him, even though his theology is — from a textbook Sunni/Shia perspective — unsound; those same people (across all races) will discard Hamza Yusuf now as a racist. Major Muslim conventions still do not invite Louis Farrakhan, but we must remember that they are also the ancient regime. Facebooking people post his interviews and comments frequently, and many of the outspoken members of our community praise him.

[There are very active efforts, initiated by Minister Farrakhan himself to move the Nation to Sunni Islam, and historically, there have been voices in the NOI which for various reasons resisted his efforts, but I’m suggesting that for the above — that some are endorsing him despite aqeedah/creed issues — much of this is not relevant to this particular discussion.]

Politics is community: The case of MLI

Though my previous public opinions were to the contrary, I no longer support the Muslim Leadership Initiative, and I apologize for the abrasive way I shared those opinions back then. Nevertheless, I appreciate the extra-MLI efforts of some such as Wajahat and Rabia. Further, the organization is a small, self-righteous, self-important, irrelevant group that praises itself far more than it should and curses the community far more than it should. The central three characters whom I will not name here, however, are people whose conduct illustrate hypocrisy, inconsistency, charlatanry and just plain incompetence (especially considering the other people they’ve brought in). The simple proof of their hypocrisy is that they know I am now a critic, but rather than seek out my criticisms, they have proceeded to attack me. Who is losing out?

But, there has been a collective effort by opponents of MLI to outcaste the MLI’ers as pariahs in the community because of a political difference. Combine this with the fact that a great many of the MLI critics praised Muhammad Ali’s stances against the Vietnam as proof of Islamic integrity, even though at the time his Islam was the Islam of the NOI. We see the same thing regarding the conflicts between Syrian and Palestinian activists: your politics are greater offense than my religious obligations to you, thus I’m permitted to by-name condemn you publicly, especially in this era where it is very easy to engage in face-to-face discussions. [I should comment that I am not speaking of Palestinian critics of MLI participants, nor their spouses. Rather, everyone else who has worked to excommunicate the MLI participants from the Ummah. For Palestinian critics, MLI is a challenge — if not a mockery — of their and their families’ existential suffering.]

The omniscient preacher:

A scholar trained in the Islamic sciences is not omniscient in either the Islamic sciences or contemporary matters. But, we ask them for answers about everything. Many of these questions should go to professional physicians, social workers, counselors, and lawyers. The scholars who answer questions — despite their lack of training on these subjects — are a detriment. I know the wide variety of questions I receive from people, including strangers. Some are turning to me for advice, input, or possible insights, but some do believe that — despite my lack of training in most fields of life — I have answers, perhaps from God. I cannot imagine how many questions some of our celebrity preachers and scholars get. Sometimes, the celebrity preacher believes he receives insights from God; I have seen it with my own eyes. Let us remember that the Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, spoke of his own limitations on matters, especially many matters of the world, where other people would be the experts, and matters of the Unseen, where God is the expert and reveals what He wills.

The hijabi renegade:

In many religious meetings of the past decades, a man with a beard somehow automatically was regarded as an authority on Islam and all things related to piety. The longer the beard, the greater the authority. Have them memorize the Qur’an phonetically, and the authority would be even greater. Add M.D. to their name, and the room would become quiet as they spoke. Make them Arab or White, and they would be on course to leadership in our institutions, especially our non-Arab institutions. Well, over the years, I’ve taught many men with long beards, many huffaz, many physicians, and many Arabs, and many men who fulfill all four of these traits in the same person, and well, let’s say that many of them should not be given such authority. Some, yes.

Now, however, we see the new development in the attention given to Muslim women who cover their hair. Whereas in the past, the muhajjiba was the symbol of corporate diversity in advertisements, now she is the symbol of diversity and conversation in other fields. This is not to take away from the qualifications of those women, but let’s face facts: in the same way that I’m called upon to be the “Muslim,” they are called upon to be the “Muslim woman.”

Further, the woman with her hair covered was already — like the bearded man — in years past considered to be the authority in the room (though almost only women-only rooms), now she is further ossified as the symbol of piety and bravery. If she is Arab or Blackamerican, then she is of higher status. If she is a professional, especially in academics, social work, or activism, then she is of even higher status as an authority. The male scholar still gets more attention, but the point here is that she becomes the symbol femininity and feminine piety, even though she — like her bearded counterpart — might not know anything Islamically, and might not even pray, while elsewhere there may be a woman who does not cover her hair, is a deep scholar, and is not given attention because we can see her hair.

Worse, rather than hijab being a means of modesty, protection, and liberation as we liked to boast in previous years, it has reinforced the American societal notion that we define women according to their appearance. It is worst for the Muslim woman because we are now defining piety itself by something that is worn tightly around the skull, when we are told that piety is defined by the condition of the heart. Thus, all the appearance-related disorders that are present among non-hijabi women, are even more present among hijabi Muslims. Purging. Excessive doses of laxatives. Excessive makeup. Etc..

[Here, I am not addressing the question of religious obligations of modesty and covering, but I am speaking social interpretations and coercions of costumes and uniforms.]

The charismatic speaker sells charisma, not content: the case of all of them/us:

The fact remains that anything talk that involves a microphone, a camera, and/or a stage is a performance, not unlike a stage play or concert. We are following these people less for the content they offer, less for the piety they possess, and more for the chance to be close to stardom. Thus, what they offer us is junk food for our souls, in the language of religious references. The result of this junk food is a growing population of people who think they possess profound bits of wisdom, yet are spiritually as slothful as someone whose diet is heavy with complex carbohydrates and processed food is physically slothful. What is shared on the stage is the equivalent of a hit of spiritual cocaine or marijuana: something that excites you or relaxes you, and addicts you — both to the substance and the environment — but is not as beneficial for you as spiritual apple or a banana. It is performance.

To be fair, it is in the model of the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, that in giving his sermon, he would climb to the top of a hill, or to the top of a short set of steps. That move commands attention in the same way a tv screen, positioned slightly above us, commands our attention. Further, microphones are necessary in many auditoriums and prayer spaces. But, that does not negate performance on our parts.

Addressing the issue:

The celebrity preacher is not going away, because that is the American way. American Jews and Christians have theirs. But for the Muslim who is seeking stability and transformation, the celebrity preacher cannot help you. I know most of the celebrity preachers personally, and some of them are pure gems who I love to sit with and benefit from. Others are people who I enjoy sharing jokes with. Many, however, have nothing to offer but good looks, eloquence, and nice costumes. If they claim religious training, they have not embodied it, and are far from addressing their own issues.

The one benefit that the celebrity preacher offers is that for some, s/he gives people — who would be mostly useless to society — a channel through which to have a mythical “Iman rush” and remain in their Islamic thought and practice at whatever level they are at. Another benefit, is that they keep those types of students away from teachers, as these students spend years chasing fantasies. A student who is serious will spend intentional time with a teacher who gives face-to-face attention on a regular basis, addressing their specific path, in methods that are unglamorous, if not boring. But, the student who chooses the celebrity preacher over the local teacher, is a student with issues of self-loathing, because they are willing to go far away for a nugget of spiritual coal in a sparkling plastic container, rather than put in long local effort for a pot of spiritual gold packaged in seeds and leaves. Coal has its benefits. Gold has more. Paradise and God have infinity more.

Thus, the way to address the issue is to grow out of the celebrity preacher, and to seek boundaries from within faith.

3- The Pastors are the custodians of the Muslims

The easiest way for me to figure out if someone knows and loves the community is to see how they speak about the community. If they know the community, they speak less in idealisms and more in pragmatisms. If they love the community they speak in hope, compassion, manners, as well as criticisms. If, however, they hate the community, they see themselves as victims of a mythical community that mythically reviles them, and they revile it.

Those in our community, which include the Imam of the mosque who provides counseling, the Shaykh of the group, the Chaplain who provides pastoral care, the professional social worker, therapist, and psychiatrist, are the people on the front lines, more even than the community activists, because these people are dealing most directly with Muslim hearts and minds. For those who work in a religious capacity, they understand that Islam is about growth toward God, not about policing Halal and Haram. A major goal is to fulfill the obligations and to abandon the prohibitions, but for that to happen, other personal obstacles (more internal than external) must be addressed and resolved.

The problem is that most Muslims in America do not have such people to turn to in the religious realm, and most refuse to go to a mental health professional out of nonsensical fears of stigma. I’ve been to excellent therapists and psychiatrists, and have been on meds. Very beneficial, and as my students can confirm, I push them frequently to go to our campus wellness center or other professional therapists in the area.

In other words, I am saying that regardless of how much wealth and education our community has, regardless of how much polish and eloquence we portray, we are crumbling from within. And, as a chaplain, I see it right before my eyes on a daily basis.

2- The Scholars are the custodians of Islam

The Scholars are the heirs to the Prophets, may peace be upon them. I position myself with the Ulama, the scholars of the “tradition,” though my colleagues in the academy may not appreciate the tradition (as particular series of conversations and discourse). And, I also position myself with the academic scholars of Islam, and my colleagues in the madrasa sometimes see it is misguided attempts. I wish it were possible to keep our madrasas in the US operating, producing more scholars, and there are some issues that need to be addressed that I wish would enter their worlds more and more:

• The scholars who are teaching in crash courses must make it clear that they are not teaching sacred knowledge as much as they are teaching a few doses of concepts and trivia. If it is knowledge that is not implemented, then it is trivia. Thus, they would otherwise need to reformat their crash courses into material that is to be immediately embodied. Such commonly vilified groups like the Jamaat-e Tabligh have already mastered this work.
• The scholars who are engaged in scholarship must also have a small role as public intellectuals, for the simple reason that people of intellect can tell the difference between knowledge and junkfood. When we are taught that a scholar is stronger against the devil than a thousand worshipers, I have seen the impact that small scholarly discourses have on the hearts of pious aspirants, inspiring them to increase their obedience and service to the Divine, in ways that someone else telling them to make their prayers cannot.
• The scholars taught in Traditional sciences need to engage with the academic sciences in ways that are not dismissive, for two reasons. First, when they take a dismissive approach, they reveal themselves to be petty and incompetent, especially because their methods tend to be petty and incompetent. Second, they illustrate that they have no response to the academy. A few such scholars and projects are working on this.
• The scholars need to publicly address haram among their own, rather than vilify the victims of haram or their advocates. The entire process need not be public, but it must be transparent. There is an adab among scholars where disagreements are kept private; I am not speaking about that. I am speaking about haram behaviors. Although I cannot speak about certain legal cases I am currently involved with, I am witnessing, at least from a distance the way certain people of knowledge are publicly insulting some of my colleagues by name and vilifying the victims they advocate for. The result is that they are erasing their own good deeds, are alienating many people who used to support them, and are making a mockery of the knowledge they claim to defend by behaving like children. Because they are the custodians of Islam, they are the most capable of destroying the faith of people, either with haram actions, or silence on haram, or attacking the victims of haram, or by crass immaturity.
• I would suggest that the academic scholars of Islam should engage with the Tradition from within the lens of the Tradition, but that would be like asking a cardiologist to become a dentist. When I am teaching Islam in the academy, I am teaching the academic study of Islam. When I am teaching Islam separate from that, I am teaching Deen. Thus, it is up to the academic scholars of Islam to decide the directions they choose to take. I would only ask that they not be dismissive, in the same way I ask the Traditionally trained scholars not to be dismissive, but deep scholars tend to appreciate scholarship anyways.
• Parents need to invest their daughters into the study of scholarship, both Traditional and Academic. I hope this point is self-evident. To be fair, the number of female Islamic academic scholars — that are known — far, far exceeds the number of female traditionally trained scholars. Among the so many parents who complain to me about the plight of women in the community, I do not see almost any parents sending their daughters into Islamic scholarship.

Some scholars do all of the above positive things, and may God give them long lives with many fruits in this life and the next.

1- Heretofore all terrorist attacks are the fault of the incoming President of the United States.

Any attack that happens from now, through the next few years, can be blamed on only one person: President Elect Donald Trump. As mentioned above, all of the institutional and cultural factors leading to violence are still in place. The one difference now is that the President Elect is not only spewing hatred under the guise of defiance against the establishment, is not only enlisting staff that has a record of spewing hatred under the guise of defending the nation, but he is offending the world, thus inviting the hatred of entire nations.

In years when America was the sole superpower, a President may have been able to dodge criticisms of such, but in those years it would not have been necessary, though there were plenty of instances of such behavior. Rather, his rhetoric confirms America’s decline in that all he has are weapons (guns, bombs, and threats).

But in this process of offending and challenging the world, he is inviting dozens of ISIS-sponsored or ISIS-sympathizing attacks, which will then provide fuel for global war and local subjugation of anyone perceived to be part of “the problem” (i.e. Muslims, and other minority groups).

Thus, from now he is to blame for every attack. And, it doesn’t matter, because he will never take blame, because narcissists never take ownership of their conduct, except when the illusion of ownership will help them escape scrutiny. Rather, he will accuse and will persecute and destroy. That is not to say that the foreign and domestic policies of his predecessors (Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, etc.) were angelic, pacifist, or remotely humane; even with their sometimes reckless verbiage, their rhetoric was still tempered and diplomatic.

Addressing the issue:

Many people will appreciate this point, but will read it as a statement less of objective reflection, and more as a statement of defiance by the dispossessed against Power. That is not my intention here.

When power is so imbalanced as it is right now, there are only two options: speak with gentleness and courtesy with the Head of State hoping that his heart will soften, and also prepare methods to help people escape persecution, if his heart hardens. Meaning, in this era, you kiss the ring; you don’t bite it. Any hint of organizing any sort of rebellion — as illustrated in the “Arab Spring” — will be responded to with crushing force.

Meaning, we are in the era of Moses and Aaron, peace be upon him, the Pharaoh, and a mass of believing followers that are empty of faith and gratitude who get enchanted by Qarun and Samiri.

This behavior of following the path of Moses, may peace be upon him, should not be looked as the behavior of weakness. No, this is the courage to trust God against our fears, to protect our loved ones, and to keep stability in a society that has turned itself upside down by mainstreaming insanity and sidelining sobriety. In the possible but unlikely event that we are to called upon to give up our beliefs, we will be deaf to them and turn our ears to God. God help us.

Recurring themes implicit and explicit in the above

These are themes that transcend the above ten challenges.

Narcissism and Responsibility

In many lessons on spiritual treatment, the most central illness is negligence. In our era, our society has continued its shift from utopian nationalism to admiration of the world through admiration of the self. The most central spiritual illness is narcissism.

Perhaps it is not an illness, but a terminal spiritual death sentence that has no cure. In any case, even hearts hardened as rocks can break open allowing rivers to flow through them, or they can fall down in fear of the Divine, thus we cannot give up hope. Compassion is the treatment for others, and service and devotion are the treatments for the self.

But, the more possible worldly attention there is available, the more narcissism is fuel. Even friendships at higher worldly levels are actually relationships of mutual benefit that look like friendships. Meaning, the higher the possibility of attaining dunya attention and success, the more narcissism takes over our consciousness. Our “friends” then are actually colleagues and allies, not…friends.

And, the more narcissism is the fuel for something, the more we disregard or override our obligations to the Divine and those around us. And, that has been increasing tremendously.

Shared delusional fantasies

A true friendship is one in which your friend is brutally honest with you, and you listen, consider, and probably obey. With the rise of social media, Friendship continues to transform to the point that many of our community marriages have been between a man, a woman, and a social media account (Whatsapp, Facebook, and SnapChat are the current choices for such emotional affairs).

Through social media, we are able to befriend people who seem to be friends, that we might meet a few times a year, but speak to frequently (daily, if not hourly), in place of real friends that we communicate with regularly in substantive conversations where they tell us the bitter truths about ourselves and we listen. So long as the Social Media Friend is an option, we choose to play rather than grow. We may not suffer for some time, but our loved ones, especially our children, suffer immediately with long term problems. It is interesting because three year olds play with each other, but are controlling their own worlds within their minds where their human playmates are props supporting their own world; these adults behave exactly the same way.

Combine the above two concepts, and we see a population of people who do not have serious friendships, thus do not have resilience, thus get offended by every big or small slight.

Anger

A society full of affluence is frequently a society full of anger. Anger, rather than love, fuels so much of our activism. Self-hate, rather than appreciation of the Divine, fuels so much of our lust for celebrity preachers. The first tool to make water wash out the fire of anger in our hearts, is gratitude.

White Privilege

I am sick of hearing about White Supremacy, but it is a real thing in our society that has been unleashed in potentially destructive ways, not to discount the centuries of destruction. I am also sick of hearing the accusation of White Privilege, especially from people of color who were raised in wealth. White Privilege is a real thing that gives most privilege to White Christian-ish Males, but so are other forms of privilege at their own level. My point is that White Privilege persists in so many of our hearts. But, drawing attention to White Privilege gives us the privilege to ignore our own privileges, including the victim-privileging we do as a community.

From Naiveté to Gaslighting

It used to be that people aspiring for high levels of worldly success in the work of religion would dismiss detractors by accusing them of naiveté. Now, those people with lofty worldly aspirations, who convince themselves that they are doing God’s work, dismiss their detractors and critics by saying that they’ve lost their minds or that they need to take time off.

One person, a former student, would contact not only me, but also my family members and friends to make me check into a mental health hospital. She even threatened to call law enforcement to have me taken in for mental health evaluations. Her proof: she saw me in a dream choking her. I should give you her social media addresses so you can figure out who is the one who seems sane. I am guessing it is not the one who keeps trying to convince herself that she is a teenager, and whose social media stream is almost entirely snapchat dog faces. Over the years, I tried the approach of courtesy and compassion, that in her own narcissism became permission to worse in her leech-like behaviors. Lately, I’ve been very aggressive and blunt with her, and as is to be expected, she runs away putting herself in the company of others who gaslight. Again, some narcissisms are irredeemable, but we hope and pray that some are not.

But, in each of these cases, the problem is the same: rather than face up to their own issues and take ownership of the destructions they cause, such people accuse their critics of having mental health problems. When it is said to them not to make mischief, they say that they are improving things.

Friendships

You are your friends. You are the company you keep. If you change your friends, you transform.

This era is the global transformation of keeping company with brutally honest friends who love us, to keeping company with people on screens, to keeping company with people who fawn over us in mutual narcissisms. Keep your company with the honest, and the most honest are the Prophet, may peace be upon him, and his Creator.

Loose lips sink ships

I am as guilty of this as anyone. I hope the above is of benefit.

And God knows best. Hope to see you all in a year, in one peace (pun intended).