Written on
August 29, 2010 by
Abu Ibrahim in
Alabama,
American Muslims,
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This should create interesting conversation.
As many Muslims in America know, Eid al-Fitr is coming soon. Inshallah it will be celebrated either on September 9 or 10.
And as has been the custom for several years, many Muslim communities around the country will have some sort of Eid celebration at a local theme park, most likely on September 12.
There are two aspects to this new custom I’d like to touch on.
First, there has been some outcry from neo-conservatives, anti-Islam pundits, rogue journalists and others about the timing of these celebrations. Some have raised a cry that Muslims should not be whooping it up at a Six Flags or Busch Gardens the day after September 11th.
Click the pic to see the video
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I’ve been asked about my thoughts as to what makes a successful Muslim organization work in the United States. I’ve been attending mosques since I was a kid, but I’ve only been really involved in two of them.
The first one was Masjid Khalifah in Brooklyn, NY. I worked closely with the Imam but it was mostly in a security capacity. I had very little involvement about the inner workings of the community.
Even though I never worked at Masjid At-Taqwa where Imam Siraj Wahhaj operates, I’ve read recently that they are also struggling financially. This despite the international popularity of Imam Siraj and a community that numbers well into the thousands.
The mosque I attended in Daytona Beach was also pretty well run, at least from the outside looking in. And there are similarities with that Masjid and BIS.
In Atlanta, I visited several masaajid and many of them were barely able to keep their doors open. Of course some of them like Masjid Farooq in midtown Atlanta had a multi-million dollar facility. But others like the West End Masjid were in various stages of disrepair and struggled to pay their bills.
And here in Birmingham, the Birmingham Islamic Society (BIS) runs (almost) like clockwork. Yes, there’s a lot of work that goes into this clockwork, but you’d never notice if you were to visit.
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There’s a reason I haven’t been very regular in putting up new posts. Since the beginning of June I’ve been working very hard at my new job with the Birmingham Islamic Society.
I have been hired as the Birmingham Islamic Society’s (BIS) Office Manager and Accountant. My duties include managing the day to day operations of the Masjid as well as most of the accounting functions. This may be the most challenging job I’ve ever had but it’s also the most fulfilling.
Yes there are times when I’m dead tired and I can’t wait to get home. But there’s a huge advantage in working in a Masjid and working around Muslims all the time. And for once, I’m not just working to increase profits for some major corporation or client. A good chunk of my day involves simply helping Muslims both here in Alabama and elsewhere. That’s a very humbling and fulfilling experience.
And even when I do get to the point where I’m ready to bang my head through a wall, I get to pray in congregation while at work. After all, I work in a Masjid. Those few minutes I take off from work to pray certainly do help make everything better.
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First I must apologize for not having written a post in so long. I’ve recently started a new job and it’s very time consuming, but Alhamdulillah, very fulfilling as well. Inshallah, I’ll talk more about it at a later date.
Ever since September 11, 2001 several new terms have become commonplace in modern English to define Muslims. Terms such as:
- Terrorist (alright, that isn’t really new).
- Jihadist.
- Fundamentalist.
- And my personal favorite…Islamofascist.
Truthfully, none of these terms are really new. It’s just that they did not become standard Fox News vernacular until after 9-11.
Most of us can easily define these words. We all know what a terrorist and a fundamentalist. A jihadist is evidently someone who believes in Jihad, particularly Jihad that involves warfare and fighting. Islamofascist is kinda weird, but I take it that’s supposed to mean someone who wants to establish a fascist state with little to no personal freedoms, just run according to Islamic values.
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