Mattson lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children. Imam Magid lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and five children. Its goal has consistently been one of bridge-building between the Muslim community and the American society at large. ISNA is an association composed of Muslim organizations and individuals who aim to provide a common platform for presenting Islam by supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs as well as fostering good relations with not only other religious communities but also numerous civic and service organizations.
In , Sr. In October , Radiant Hands took on the additional task of serving refugees coming to Tampa Bay from Muslim or Arabic-speaking countries. Jalaluddin is the founding member and currently the President of Ansar Financial Group, Toronto that offers interest-free investments and is Sharia Compliant. Lubabah Abdullah is an attorney in St. Louis, Missouri concentrating her practice on Immigration law, Family law, and is focusing much of her attention on Estate Planning, helping Muslims fulfill their Islamic obligation to have a will and appoint guardians for their children.
Prior to starting her own firm she worked as the Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana and as an attorney at the Julian Center helping victims of domestic violence. Badar had served on the board from till and on the election committee from till He is also serving on few boards in India. Mohamed Elsanousi is the Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, a global network that builds bridges between grassroots peacemakers and global players to work towards sustainable peace.
I am going to touch on all three areas, although my expertise is really in the third. While the first two are the realm of scholars, as an activist, one must also be concerned about the first two. Islam as our guide informs us that we can only change our condition when we change ourselves.
He engages in worship, prayers, fasting, alms-giving, and similar acts, but his duties to God do not exclude his duties to family, relatives, friends, neighbors, and society as a whole. He must earn his livelihood by strictly honest means. He must cultivate the best manners for all occasions, namely, he should know how to carry himself best at the table, in society, while traveling, and at the gathering of godly people and avoid causing the slightest pain to his fellowmen on any account. The Prophet should be his ideal and his inspiration all through his life.
Lastly, his duty is not only to reform and perfect all the aspects of his life but to reform his fellowmen as well. And the motive force behind a perfect life is nothing other than the love and fear of God. From this description, moral character is not simply a goal within the life of a Muslim, but the end goal of the Islamic faith itself.
So, if you are a Muslim activist or just an ordinary Muslim who wants to effectively change perceptions of Islam and positively impact the community around them, it is necessary that you start with the condition of your heart. His teaching remains, and the challenge is for each of us to take it and with it transform our hearts and thereby the very world in which we now reside.
Today there are many new opportunities for growth and change. Some of the many excellent programs available include:. Hamza and Imam Zaid. Umar Faruq Abdullah. In order to change perceptions about Islam and Muslims, we need to ourselves become better Muslims. As Muslims, our duty towards each other is to advice and help each other; advising each other sincerely when wrong, and working to help each other when doing good, without competing for recognition or abandoning each other out of fear, over differences, competition, or arrogance.
The second duty is to render personal aid in the satisfaction of needs, attending to them without waiting to be asked, and giving them priority over personal needs. The fourth duty is to use the tongue to speak out to express affection for his brother.
As the president of ING, which provides education about Islam and Muslims in public institutions, I have extended experience in this area.
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