Al-Huda
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the Message Continues ... 6/101
Newsletter for January 2010
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US
Shiites tentatively make a home in America
By RACHEL ZOLL
(Associated Press January, 2010)
Sayyid
Haider Bahar al-Uloom paces
before his students seated in
two neat rows-- men in one,
women in the other. They meet
each week in a small but growing
office in an old storefront
downtown, its shelves lined with
Arabic texts on Islamic
jurisprudence.
Tonight's
lesson is on justice, but Bahar
al-Uloom's lecture ranges wide
of Muslim teaching. He cites The
Federalist Papers, slavery in
"We
should not fear introducing
people to other ideas," says
Bahar al-Uloom, whose title
sayyid is for those who trace
their lineage to the Prophet
Muhammad.
On this
night in
"We call
them Islamic values, but they
are universal values," he says
in near accentless English. "If
it's a principle or act that
would help all Americans, all I
need to do is speak it in a
language that is universal."
Shiites
comprise less than 15 percent of
the 1.5 billion Muslims in the
world and an even smaller
percentage of the Muslims in the
Islamic
law governs even the smallest
issues for devout Shiites. Can
they wear cologne? Listen to
popular music? Sit at a table
where alcohol is served? New
interpretations are needed for
life in non-Muslim countries.
Pious
Shiites have seen threats to
their faith from the permissive
American way of life and what
for many is their first
experience of a non-Muslim
government. Worried that voting
or other civic involvement would
violate Islamic law, many have
opted instead to turn inward,
focusing on preserving their
traditions.
But the
aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001
terror strikes, the war in
At the
forefront of the effort is the
nonprofit that Bahar al-Uloom
helps represent, called
I.M.A.M., which tells Shiites
they can vote, participate in
the 2010 U.S. Census and hold
public office without abandoning
their faith.
"In the
Half a
world away from
Grand
Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani isn't
widely known in the
The grand
ayatollah and his advisers lead
lives dedicated to religious
tradition, but they are also
pioneers in using the Web to
reach the globally dispersed
faithful. They teach that good
Muslims must be active citizens
of whatever country they call
home.
As
Shiites emigrate around the
world, al-Sistani sends his
representatives along to guide
them on how to remain devout in
a foreign culture.
I.M.A.M.,
the Imam Mahdi Association of
Marjaeya, is the liaison office
in
The
organization'
"It's
kind of a status symbol that you
are recognized and trusted by
the office of the ayatollah,"
said Liyakat Takim, author of "Shi'ism
in America," and professor at
McMaster University in Canada.
"It builds your credibility."
I.M.A.M.
opened a year ago under the
leadership of Sayyid Mohammad
Baqir Kashmiri, a cleric who
works in
The
Inside
I.M.A.M., poster-size photos of
al-Sistani and his late mentor,
Ayatollah Sayyid Abdul-Qasim al-Khoei,
hang above the office reception
desk. It is one of the rare
portraits that the reclusive al-Sistani
ever allowed of himself, as he,
like many of the
Bahar al-Uloom,
I.M.A.M.'s vice chairman,
graduated from
He and
his cousin, Sayyid Hassan
al-Hakim, a 26-year-old graduate
student in public
administration, often arrive
early in the morning to study
before the deluge of calls and
e-mails with questions about
Islamic law and requests for
help. Staff cell phones buzz all
day with questions sent by text.
"How far
off can u be from the Qibla?"
reads a query on al-Hakim's cell
phone, about facing in the
proper direction, toward
Volunteers, mostly in their 20s
and 30s, share computers crammed
into a small room off the
library. Among them are the
editors and designers of
I.M.A.M.'s glossy educational
magazine, Reflections. They have
a policy of publishing in
English, except for religious
references that require Arabic,
to reach a younger generation of
American Muslims, along with
non-Muslims.
"Muslims
should be essential participants
in their respective societies
while maintaining the beauty of
Islam as their code of conduct,"
reads a recent article titled
"Being American and Being
Muslim." Al-Sistani "is known to
have repeatedly called for
integration with preservation of
identity," the author writes.
The same
article indirectly addresses the
threat of extremism, condemning
"so-called `Muslims' who
endanger innocent lives." The
author urges Muslims and
non-Muslims to report any
potential threats to civil
authorities and "hold fast to
the principles of Islam and
protect those around them."
In the
spirit of the Najaf scholars,
and their embrace of new
technology and thinking,
I.M.A.M. uses contemporary
management tools to aid its
cause.
Bahar al-Uloom
quotes from the corporate
success book "Good to Great."
Al-Hakim collects evaluation
forms for feedback on
programming. The office uses
customer service software to
monitor response time for calls
to 1-888-SISTANI, the toll-free
line.
In side
rooms, al-Halabi and other
clerics offer counseling on
personal and religious issues.
Sayyid Mehdi al-Ameen, a
resident scholar at I.M.A.M.,
had been a judge in a religious
court in
Down a
winding staircase into the
basement is the organization'
An
underlying theme of the shows is
that observant Shiites can find
ways to fit into Western
society. On a program for young
professionals, Wissam Bazzi, a
34-year-old who works at
AscentTV, holds out his right
arm to show how men can create a
personal safe zone _ two or
three arm lengths _ to avoid
being drawn into a handshake or
hug with a female co-worker.
"They
don't have to feel like
outsiders," says Asfar, a
Canadian of Iraqi descent.
The call
to prayer sounds at midday.
Staff members assemble in a
corner of the library with their
prayer mats directed toward
Houda
Fawaz, a 26-year-old project
manager for AscentTV, was
working at a bank when she
thought "there had to be
something more," and began
volunteering with the video
unit.
She now
does editing and post-production
work for a women's show called
"Sister to Sister" and is
planning a new career in media.
Fawaz,
who wears a scarf that covers
her hair and neck, said she
hopes the show reaches
non-Muslims as well so they can
learn how Western Muslim women
think and move beyond
stereotypes _ or what she calls
"the whole `women are oppressed'
issue."
"I've
always wanted a job where I felt
I was helping other people,"
said Fawaz, the college-educated
daughter of Lebanese immigrants.
"With communications, you can
touch so many people at one
time."
The
office is open at least 10 hours
a day but often far longer. On a
recent evening, two young women
without appointments dropped in
after 9 p.m. seeking help with
family troubles. One woman was
upset that her father opposed
her decision to become a
psychologist. He didn't think
she'd earn enough. The second
woman said her mother objected
to the man she loved because he
had not earned a bachelor's
degree. Bahar al-Uloom agreed to
talk with the parents.
I.M.A.M.
takes its responsibilities to
the Shiite community far beyond
More than
40 turbaned clerics gathered for
two days in the conference room
of an
The
Muslim clerics discussed the
challenges they face urging
their communities to, as one
participant said, "come out of
their boxes."
No one is
sure how effective I.M.A.M. can
be.
Like
American Sunnis, Shiites are
divided by ethnicity, language
and culture. Often, I.M.A.M. is
viewed in the
Then
there are those Muslims who seem
beyond reach: the notable number
of Shiites who have become so
Americanized that they no longer
practice their faith.
The staff
at I.M.A.M. acknowledge all the
challenges to their mission, but
they find encouragement in the
Shiite history of struggle and
survival, and the success of
other
"Sayyid
Sistani emphasizes that you are
in this country," Bahar al-Uloom
says. "You are citizens here."
courtesy:www.imam- |
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