In the Name of ALLAH, The Beneficent, The Merciful 20 Sha’baan 1434 A.H. An Open Letter to Imam Suhaib Webb and the ISBCC Assalaamu Alaikum, Imam Webb: May this find you well. On June 8, you made remarks at the 40th Anniversary Celebration of Masjid Alhamdullilah (Mosque for the Praising of ALLAH) that a number of persons present found deeply, deeply troubling. Following my 10 minute summary presentation on the horrific plight of our sister-in-Islam, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, you made remarks that distanced yourself and the ISBCC from the appeal that was made on our sister’s behalf. Why? Since your unfortunate remarks – in the presence of Imam Abdullah Faaruuq and Imam Siraj Wahhaj (two supporters of Aafia Siddiqui, and the work of this writer) - I’ve given a lot of thought to what you had to say; and I hope that you and the administration of ISBCC have done so as well. I began writing a response to your unfortunate remarks within hours of the event, but held off on releasing that statement because my feelings at the time were much too raw and laced with too much rage. Had I released that response, it would have probably ruined the chance of us ever becoming friends, much less brothers in Islam, by any practical sense of the term. (On this note, I am grateful to ALLAH that one week after that very unfortunate episode, while driving from my hotel to a masjid for fajr in the little town of Orangeburg, South Carolina, ALLAH lifted the anger from my heart – and I forgave you.) It wasn’t the bridge burning potential of my initial response that held me in check, however. It was our beloved Prophet’s nasiha (salalahu alayhi wa salam) advising his followers to avoid acting in the heat of anger; and, believe it or not, concern about your image as well. I vividly recalled a young brother saying to you at a conference not too long ago, “you are my hero.” In this day and time, my brother, young people (especially young Muslim males) are in desperate need of heroes that they can look up to and emulate. With that said, what you (and the ISBCC officials who were present) did on June 8th was so egregious, that I still felt the need to address you on it publicly, in the hope that such a serious affront will never be repeated again. Furthermore, this open letter is intended to encourage you and other complicit members of the ISBCC to make tauba for what was done. And as you well know, Imam Webb, sincere tauba not only involves asking ALLAH (The Most Merciful) for forgiveness, it also entails taking the necessary steps to correct the damage done. And now, the following questions: why did you feel the need to come behind me that evening and state to the audience, “We don’t agree with that speech!” The points I made about Aafia’s case are now widely known to be established facts, and I personally gave you two publications over a year ago with which you could have easily educated yourself on the salient issues raised. (Did you even read those publications?) When I stated in my concluding remarks that “we have an obligation to respond to our sister’s unjust and brutal imprisonment” - is this not so (according to the Book of ALLAH and the Sunnah of His Prophet)?! What did I say that was untrue or unacceptable? Shortly after our contending remarks, I was requested to take down our display table of books, cds and advertisements in the lobby area (which included a large poster calling for the release and repatriation of Aafia) and to remove them from the premises! I was a guest of Imam Faaruuq. It was his community’s program. Don’t you think that was a tad disrespectful of this fellow imam (who also happens to be your senior)! And for what reason? What are you all afraid of? Is it acceptable for our fear of created things to trump our individual and collective fear, and sense of accountability, to The Creator of all? Should it even trump our fraternal sense of accountability to each other (as committed Muslims)? It has been my opinion for some time now that the administration of the Muslim American Society controlled ISBCC has allowed the very people who did their best to prevent that center from being built – and who continue to malign and oppose you for who and what you are – to have defacto veto power over who speaks at the center, and what issues are discussed there! The incident of June 8th affords a graphic example of this point. It needs to STOP! The largest center in New England, and second largest on the east coast, symbolically located on Malcolm X Blvd (with one of the most prominent imams in the country theoretically at its helm) should NOT be behaving like this! It’s time for Muslim leaders and organizations across the board (especially the “MAJORS”) to muster the intestinal fortitude to exemplify our professed faith-based convictions! Not just talk it, show it! The so-called “hikmah” of unprincipled compromise is unacceptable. As for the ISBCC being “under pressure” - it always will be, and it’s supposed to be! As the Qur’an states: “Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, ‘We believe,’ and that they will not be tested?” Dr. Aafia Siddiqui spent over a decade in your city. There are many Muslims who attend your center, and other centers in Boston, who knew Aafia and admired her. I can’t count the number of times sisters in (or from) the city of Boston have recounted their remembrances of Aafia to me, while struggling to hold back their tears; or brothers who have recounted her faith-based advocacy work (in dawah and humanitarian relief) with pride, mixed with tinges of anger in their voices - for what she is going through today! In short, the communal consensus from those who knew Aafia back in the day is…WE OWE HER…and we should be doing everything within our power to get her freed and back home where she belongs! Those of us who wear the mantle of “leader” (in whatever field we happen to be) must be accountable to those who look to us for guidance – esp. young, emotionally unbalanced, and targeted, Muslim males, who are being forced today to navigate through very dangerous and treacherous waters! They need leaders who they can trust and respect to show them the way! I think you are capable of becoming such a leader, Imam Suhaib Webb; the question is, are you up to the challenge? I will conclude this open letter with two ahadith, which I’m pretty certain that both you and the administration of ISBCC are familiar with. Abd Allah b. Umar (r) reports, “Once I saw the Messenger of ALLAH (pbuh) circumambulating the Ka’ba and he was addressing it: ‘How excellent you are and how sweet your smell is! How grand your sacredness is! By the One in Whose Hand is Muhammad’s soul, the inviolability of a believer’s blood and property is greater in the sight of ALLAH than your sacredness. We must think only well of a believer.” – Narrated by Ibn Majah in al-Sunan: Kitab al-fitan [The Book of Tribulations]. On the authority of Hudhayfa (r), it is reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “By the One in whose Hand rests my soul, you must surely enjoin the good and forbid the evil, otherwise it is expected that ALLAH will send against you a punishment; and you will supplicate Him, but your supplications will not be answered.” We are ALL being tested, my brother. May ALLAH bless us in this upcoming month of mercy and internal jihad (Ramadan) to muster the intestinal fortitude to measure up to the tests! At the end of the day, our character will not be measured by what we say (or by how we say it), but by what we DO! In the struggle for peace thru justice, El-Hajj Mauri’ Saalakhan
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 14:09:21 +0000
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