My brother Haroun wrote this: This post is really about how Islam will end. Its also about: (1) Hamza Yusuf on the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which sermon, linked to below, you *absolutely* *must* watch. Then, its on (2) Hamza Yusuf on the exhaustion of being Hamza Yusuf. Hamza Yusufs one of American Islams leading religious authorities; in this sermon, he describes the Prophet Muhammads warnings of the rise of extremists, their nature, their characteristics and effects--and our responses to them. In explicit detail, Yusuf shares the Prophet (s)s warnings of the end times, and descriptions of the stupid young men who bring so much evil. I got goosebumps when he said Hum ashab ad-dawlah. This was foreseen. And its happening. But its going to keep happening, and thats the problem. I remember thinking, some months ago, that the natural endpoint of so much violence in the name of religion--however perverse and false that religiosity is--is atheism. And the Prophet confirmed that? In the sermons last few minutes, you feel the weight on Yusufs shoulders, the cumulative effect of all his service, teaching, and engagement, and the anguish in his voice--what was it for? Will it matter? He is tired. As well he should be: Hes helped to carry this community, our community, for years. Hes changed us. But he is a human being, and honestly, I was touched and even uplifted by his exhaustion. Because Im sick of it, too. Im sick of defending, explaining, articulating. Im sick of the Sisyphean jihad, the hamster wheel of so much of what we do. Years of teaching, and then ISIS comes along and sends it all too hell. And then we must face the fact that, as Yusuf says, we dont matter. We dont count. Whoever said theres strength in numbers never sat down with modern Islam. The more our population increases, the more our apparent weakness. We are massacred in Gaza, in Myanmar, in Iraq, in the Central African Republic, in Syria. We are oppressed in China, in Russia, in so many places, and its no wonder people feel helpless, crushed--and they lash out… And I can see how thisll end, for many Muslims, in the abandonment of Islam, and I frankly wont blame them. Ill get them. Who isnt sick to her stomach with the effect of all this moral bankruptcy? Just a few days ago, someone shared on Twitter: Muslim scholars: Killing aid workers is haram. I mean good God. Jesus Christ the Messiah. We need a fatwa to confirm that? What the hell happened to us? Watch the sermon.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 19:07:28 +0000
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