Global Intifada

One thing that has become extremely apparent to me over the summer is that many of our Muslim youth and elders are extremely partisan. They deem that the only way to please Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is by sticking to a particular group or masjid as if it was the only group or masjid that was in need of assistance. For example, every Masjid in my area is like its own closed off community. The only people that interact with each other outside of their Masajid are those that are involved in youth activities and those who have relatives in other communities.

Its as if we’ve subverted Islam into a corporate culture where everyone’s Masjid or organization is their “brand”. While they undoubtedly respect other organizations, they stick to only one Masjid. What type of innovation is this? For example, in one masjid, they are spending oodles of money building a glass dome on top of the Masjid. Instead of using that money to assist the people (whether Muslim or non-Muslim) in a constructive way such as improving the school system or feeding the homeless or establishing more trusts, they are building a worthless piece of architecture whose sole purpose is self-aggrandisement.

The Masajid of today have become recreational centers, not centers of worship. Even those Masajid that are full with people for the five daily prayers are empty through out most of the day other than those whose occupation is related to the Masjid. The Sahabah (radhi allahu anhum) didn’t use their Masajid as a source of competition for other then pleasing Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). The Masjid used to be a gigantic center of worship, learning, social services, etc. Today, the only thing people are interested is in making their Masjid or Muslim organization bigger and more ostentatious then other Masajid.

It reminds one of the minor signs of the Day of Judgment, i.e. that Mosques will be decorated excessively towards the end of times.

Some advice to the seekers and youth activists: do not concern yourself with this type of partisanship, all the houses of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) are equal. Your allegiance should be to Him and Him alone and you should use the Masajid for their primary purpose and everything else should be secondary.

Too often I’ve met people that are part of a group such as Tableeghi Jamat or Ikhwan al Muslimeen or Tanzeem i Islam or Hizb e Tehrir or any other group and its as if they are hypnotized; they cannot see anything but their own organization. The best group to be a part of is not any of these groups, but ahl us sunnah wa’al jam’ah and the best company to keep are the righteous God-fearing ‘Ulema.

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