10-23-2003, 04:40 PM
Asalaamu alikum Br. Dan,
You are stating many problems that we have seen and continue to see in our Mosque as well. It seems we are a bit more fortunate though, we had the same troubles with saying the prayers on time, women and men mixing freely, people saying it is radical to expect our women to cover themselves, etc. until we had one group who decided to stand up for doing things according to the Quran and the Sunnah. The other side says, "Oh what will the Christians think" and many other things but they are fearing the people and not fearing Allah.
Right now our community is in the middle of a great power stuggle. We are a community undergoing a very big test, we are even in danger of splitting. Let me tell you brother, we moved here after accepting Islam because we wanted to follow the religion, we never expected that we would have to struggle in order to do it. Struggling to practice Islam in the Muslim community? It's really something.
Brother, have you considered getting together some brothers and sisters who agree with you? One thing you could do is begin to hold meetings where you share your concerns, and reach out to others in the community. Even if your group is small it does not matter. Once you have organized your thoughts and concerns, go to your Mosque and tell them how you are feeling and make a real push for change. Be prepared for a long haul, and be patient. If we see something is wrong, we should change it with our hands, and I think you are in a position to do that. But as long as you stay quiet nothing will happen. Organize yourselves, and stand up for Islam.
Another thing I want to share with you from my experiance is that getting support from your sisters is important. They say men follow the lead of the women, that the women are what hold together the household, and once the household collapses, the society will follow. Alhumdulilah, when our stuggle began, there were only a very small handful of us women standing up for the Islamic way, and we were for the most part ignored. But now we have grown in only the space of one year to a very stong number. We can no longer be ignored, and with the women comes the children, and Alhumdulilah, our small Mosque that once was empty is now becomming quite full. And it all happened without compromising real Islamic values.
I hope by sharing a bit of our story will help you begin to push for change in yours. It seems this is the problem of the American Muslim community. Maybe in America this is our jihad. May Allah guide us all, strengthen us, and make us better Muslims so we may serve Him better. Ameen.
Jazak Allah Khairn Br. Dan.