Da'wah Thoughts

This graph is from the Department of Statistics report on religion in Singapore.



Note that the "no religion" category of Chinese - 18.6% of 80% is still approx 15% of the total SG population - more than the entire population of Muslims or Christians.

Maybe da'wah in SG has been distracted into a Christian-targeted approach. This is probably because we are influenced by the experience of Muslim missionaries in the West, who live in a Christian or post-Christian setting. The reality is that there is a large number of people who are religiously not committed, and it is only logical that we should work harder to reach out to them, instead of aiming at people who already have a religious position.

Islam 2010

Ive been thinking a lot about using the new media for dakwah, and realised that there is much that we can do to create a presence in the new media world and promote islam.

lets start with my youtube channel. youtube is watched by everybody. we need to be in it, and in it in a BIG way.

i have already started creating my ppt presentations for the channel. that will provide a start point. then we need other stuff, home made reality stuff.

there are hundreds of personal videos of people interviewing themselves about their conversions to islam. but none from sg. we need to do this. all that is needed is a laptop with a camera, and willing participants. i aim for 20 to start with.

next we need staged vids of conversion processes. coming to darul arqam, signing up for class, converting, etc.

another thing is using wikis and videojugs. we need to have wikis on conversion, how to pray, fast, etc etc.

in essence, we create a new darul arqam in the virtual world.

the other aspect is to use facebook and twitter. we need a fb page, but its not about events only, like the present fb page people of darul arqam. it has to generate content, twitter-like, on a regular basis to maintain interest. it needs to be aimed at non-muslims, so it wont have doas, etc. just feelgood stuff.

we need to know who we're targeting. young 18 - 30s. english speaking Chinese and Others.

islam has to be hip. how? it has to be different. the different thing attracts the curiosity of the young. element of questioning the status quo. need to up the glamour factor - need pretty faces and nice voices nice clothes. need a cause. young pple are into causes nowadays. the cause is not to be ISLAM per se, or "the truth" etc.by itself. it has to be things like a worldwide brotherhood, courage, change, being strong.

your ideas.

Christians May Legally Use "Allah" in Malaysia

I too am concerned at possible misuse and abuse, which will undoubtedly happen.
However I still believe that this can be turned to Muslim advantage, if Muslims act, instead of react.

A gap in the wall may seem to open one way, but it is up to us to push the other way.

Muslims dont have to believe the Christian line that they need to use Allah for the reasons they give.

The reality is that they are under threat of conversions to Islam, which is much more numerous than vice versa in Msia.

They fear that with a whole new generation of Msian Chrstians raised in Bahasa M, schooled in Bahasa M, speaking in BM, exposed to Malay culture and entertainment, and with the dominant cultural and national discourse being Malay-Muslim, that their religion is under threat of being an alien anachronism, and even more Christians will become Muslims.

Hence the step taken, which I see to be a desparate act of a losing adversary.
Just as Muslims fear their use of "Allah", they also fear that it would weaken their community - imagine what great crisis it would take to force Muslims in a country to start using "Buddha" instead of Allah.

Malaysian Muslims can either fear the tiger, or ride on it.
But they must not be distracted by the politics, which will lead them away from what they should be doing, in order to achieve success. This is exactly the diversion that the Christians expect, in fact, they are the hidden hand behind orchestrating most of the drama that happens.

In every crisis there is opportunity.

We must stop treating the Christian evangelist as the monster under our childhood bed. We are bigger and stronger than him, and here's a secret - he's more scared of us than we are of him.

They are forced to teach their people to believe and love "Allah", so as to keep their minds.
Then we must teach them that "Allah" is One, and He will get their hearts.

May Allah guide us and give us strength and patience to stay united, and to give us wisdom to see things as they truly are.

Islam in the NYPD: VC2

Muslim Women of Hip Hop

Although still a male-dominated realm, women have been an important part of the hip hop world both as artists and consumers. Anaya McMurray, in her journal article Hotep and Hip-Hop: Can Black Muslim Women Be Down with Hip-Hop? explores the relation of Black Muslim women to hip hop music and asks the question, “Can Black Muslim women be a part of hip hop and Islam?”



From Racialicious, 7 May 2008.

Beautiful

Give me a look, give me a face,
That makes simplicity a grace;
Robes loosely flowing, hair as free,—
Such sweet neglect more taketh me
Than all the adulteries of art:
They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.

- Ben Jonson

The Making of a Mumbai Terrorist

Unlike the stereotypical image of a terrorist — illiterate, fanatic and trained in madrasahs, or religious seminaries — the men had relatively high levels of literacy and were more likely to have been educated in government schools than in madrasahs. Religion wasn't necessarily the only reason they turned to jihad. A Pakistani who enrolled in a training camp in Kunar province, Afghanistan, told TIME that he went for "tourism and adventure."

Read the rest ...

Iraq's Unspeakable Crime: Mothers Pimping Daughters

'... a place where nefarious female pimps hold sway, where impoverished mothers sell their teenage daughters into a sex market that believes females who reach the age of 20 are too old to fetch a good price. The youngest victims, some just 11 and 12, are sold for as much as $30,000, others for as little as $2,000. "The buying and selling of girls in Iraq, it's like the trade in cattle," Hinda says. "I've seen mothers haggle with agents over the price of their daughters." '.

Read the rest ....

Challenges of Becoming Muslims - Last Week's Talk at the Muslim Converts' Association

Many years ago when he was 19 years old and in the Army, a Muslim convert sergeant by the name of Fauzi Rodriguez advised Mudpie to make himself useful and volunteer at the Muslim Converts' Association on weekends instead of going out and falling down drunk like most soldier boys. Mudpie was bored, and sauntered down to the then-newly formed Muslim Converts' Association, and helped them to do what he was used to doing - carrying heavy objects and arranging them where needed.
Mudpie was stuck.
He volunteered from then on, and counts some of his best friendships from his association with Darul Arqam (that's the Association's Muslim name).
There was a teacher there who taught what was called a "Beginners' Class on Islam". He was a university graduate from my university, spoke English well, and yet was traditionally trained in Islamic religious studies. He was passionate about bringing the message of Islam to non-Muslims, and also as much, to Muslims who needed a different pitch. Mudpie was his trainee and student, and he was Mudpie's mentor.
Many years later, Ustaz Zulkeflee left Darul Arqam and went over to Pergas. We kept in touch, although less frequently, until Mudpie helped out in the driving-and-carrying duties for a series of talks on Islamic Thought and Civilisation conducted by Pergas and ISTAC. This was Mudpie's introduction to Pergas, which inducted him into another, different world.
Ustaz Zulkeflee later fell ill with a stroke, and could not talk or move.
So it was with much happiness that Mudpie discovered Ustaz Zul was back, and giving a talk last Friday. Although the thrust and content was not a surprise to him, Mudpie was happy just to go and see the man who had, at a critical juncture of Mudpie's life, helped him take the other, less trodden, path.
May God bless Ustaz Zul and give him health and strength always.

Here is the presentation from his talk, with his kind permission.

Challenges of Being Muslim

View more presentations from Mudpie.

Pasts and Futures

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. (Oscar Wilde)

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling - in Islam

6046

Respect

from SunniPath Blog -

Habib `Umar b. Hafiz (may Allah preserve him) said,

No one will ever be fit for calling others to Islam except someone who respects those he is calling. Whenever someone displays contempt for anyone, he distances more often than he brings close, repels more often than he attracts, and cuts others off from him more often than he ties them to him.

…

This is why the poet said

من وقر الناس وقروه … و فاز بالعقل و الرئاسة
و مزدريهم لو كان مسكا … لقيل في أصله نجاسة

Whoever respects people will be respected by them, and will win unto intelligence and leadership.

But someone who has contempt for them, were he to be made of musk, he would be told that he was originally filth. [1]

…

This is why we must approach people with love, concern, mercy, and compassion. And that is how the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) came to you: he was all mercy, compassion, humility, and politeness. This is why you will find that most of the early ones to respond to his call were the downtrodden people of Mecca … At the conquest of Mecca, Bilal [3] was the only one who climbed the Ka`ba when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) told him, “Climb and call the people to prayer.” (Habib `Umar b. Hafiz, Tawjih al-Nabih li Mardati Barih, Kuwait: Dar al-Diya, 2008, p. 167)

[1] Musk comes from the originally filthy secretions of the musk-deer that collect in a sac and solidify.

[2] In other words, at the height of the Prophet’s political supremacy (Allah bless him and give him peace).

[3] A former slave.

What About Now ?

Now the Great Crunch is coming, and we read it in our news everyday , and we're all thinking about what we are going to do to survive it.
Now we save money, spend less, keep our jobs.
Now we pray to God to keep our heads above water to ride out the bad time to come.

So things are gonna get bad NOW? For many people in this world, it wasnt better before. So, what's the difference about NOW?

Just a reminder of the other people in this world who are facing far, far worse trials and tribulations than we possibly can imagine at this moment, and the saints who stand against the tide - the tide of apathy and selfcentredness.

We will not go down (Song for Gaza)

Wardah's List of Best Reads 2008

For anyone who has not been to Wardah, please do yourself a favour and get acquainted with it.

Emotional Quran Recitation from Makkah Fajr Sheikh Khalid Ghamdi Surah Imraan

We had just arrived in Mecca. The last week had been a hectic and exhausting whirl of planning, buyings, preparations, and festivities, leaving all of the Mudpie family all caught up in the journey.

We arrived at Jeddah airport, dressed in ihram,  the first time for the boys. We endured hours of waiting at the airport, and rode a bus where we slept most of the way, totally jet-lagged. 

We sleepily arrived at our hotel, and collapsed on our beds. We were woken up by the first azan of subuh and made our way to the Grand Mosque for the first time. The boys were astounded at the sheer size of the building and the foreigness of the congregation.

We wandered into a doorway tall enough to admit giants, and stumbled our way into the basement of the mosque. The qamat sounded, and we hurriedly placed our mats down and prayed following the imam's voice.

This was the very first prayer the Mudpie family was attending at MasjidulHaram for our hajj. I will never forget it.

The imam broke down whilst reciting Surah Ali Imran. 

The atmosphere in the mosque was electrifying - your heart wants to cry with him, but your mind tells you to control yourself and concentrate on the prayer. The few seconds the imam took to recover seemed like half an hour.

For Mudpie, the breaking voice of the imam shocked into him the awareness that he was now in the House of God. No ordinary trip with the wife and kids. All the preparations and hustle left behind. 

He is now in the Navel of the World.

For Sayfudeen, From Another

Not exactly exciting, really
January 19, 2009 ·

I thought wrong. The week that I thought was going to be exciting made a U turn. But I guess HE knows better. More.

The Odyssey: In His Hands...

The Odyssey: In His Hands...

Letter to S.

Most people will never understand the pain of a teacher seeing a student they know and love lose faith in God and His Prophet. They will never understand how much fear seizes me when I enter a new class, not knowing if the same thing will happen again.

Whenever I get news that someone has lost faith, a fragment of my life breaks off and shatters away. 

That is the heaviest load that a teacher in a conversion class has to carry. 

When you walked into to my class so many years ago, you clearly knew about religion, and I thank you that you were not rude or condescending to me, as many other of the students in my class were and are. 

I respect you for making the decision to leave your old self and become a Muslim. I do not know if ever I was placed in such a position, I would be able to do the same.

I saw you grow in faith. You wholeheartedly plunged into Islam with all your heart, your body and your soul. You made many friends and companions along the way, and you helped other fellow discoverers too.

You met your share of difficulties. You fell in love and got married. That did not work out. Then a good friend of yours lost faith. And there must have been other challenges.

And now, well ....

You will always be in my heart, S. Many students have come and gone, but you have been in touch with me all these years. I'm glad you came to my home for my hajj majlis, although you had other appointments. It was good to see you. 

I hope you find what you are looking for, S. All these years - almost 10 years, you have believed in something, something greater than you. Even if you no longer believe in God and His Prophet, they still believe in you, and I still believe in you.

If you ever lose your way, the Malays say to return to the crossroad and start again. You can always come back to this crossroad, and find Him.

The journey of faith never ends until we die. God and His Prophet be with you, S. And I will always be here for you too.

But this is not about me. You have had a good run as a Muslim, in which time you achieved much more than most can claim to be proud of. I know you have thought this through carefully. 

The object of religion is not to beautify itself, but the people who are of it. Too often we read and hear about how Islam is beautiful; but the truth is, it is people that matter, and it is Muslims who are beautiful, although they may not realise it in themselves.

You have to admit, in these last few years you developed and blossomed in many ways. Things may be bleak now, but dont be discouraged. It is only in darkness that the true light of a candle be visible, whilst the false sparkle of diamonds will be unseen.

I will pray for you during these troubled times, S. Remember that changing your religion will not change who you are. The Prophet will be sad, but he still loves you. 

And you are always my friend.

though i realise its hard to take courage
in a world full of people

you can lose sight of it all

and the doubt that's inside you

can make you feel so small.

How We Should Help Palestine

Mudpie is quite upset at the media coverage of the Gaza battle. 

He was listening to IKIM.FM, an Islamic radio station from Malaysia, in his car this morning. 

It was full of propoganda - self-serving half-truths which are as good as false. 

Not very Islamic. 

He is unprogramming it from his list of saved statiions. 

Half-truths such as "the Palestinian people voted for Hamas in a fair and democratic election. What we find difficult to accept is, why is it not accepted by US and Isreal? After all, they are always talking about democracy". 

This is an example of a half-truth that is as good as a lie. 

Let's turn the scenario a little bit. 

If Singaporeans elect a government that has, as its main agenda, the conquest of Malaysia and the extermination of Malays from that country, how would Malaysians react? 

Does it matter that the party was democratically elected?

Another example from the radio - "imagine if we live in our country that is walled off, and we have difficulties reaching necessities, school, hospitals, and kill old people, the sick and children. Imagine how we would feel? 

Would not we want to fight back and send rockets against the enemy?".

This is another example of a half-truth. 

The station is trying to say that because they are under seige, the Gazans are entitled to launch rockets into Israel. 

But the truth is, the issue with the common Israeli in the street is the same as that with the common Gazan in the street - that these rockets hit hospitals, schools and kill old people, the sick and children. 

Dont they also want to fight back?

I am so disappointed by the Muslim media in its treatment of this crisis. 

All it seems to do is feed on the anger and hatred of people. 

The implicit message to Muslims is the same - because the Israelis (or the Jews) are kiiling our innocents, we must fight back. 

No-one says fight back and kill their innocents - no, no, God forbid - but no-one wants to also say to Hamas to renounce terrorism and destruction of Israel as their vowed aims. 

For does not the destruction of Israel necessaily entail the destruction of its people?

The answer must lie in peace - and peace for everybody. 

We cannot stoop to the way of the Devil every time and call for revenge. 

If you want peace, you must be ready to give peace. 

None of this "we'll stop attacking Israel if they stop attacking Gaza" business. 

And to get peace, you must fight with peace, and make sacrifices, with lives if need be, for peace. 

People will shout back at Mudpie and say, "how can we stop fighting when the enemy is killing our people, our women and children?".

Mudpie's answer is that nowhere does Islam teach us to fight sin with sin. 

If the enemy rapes Muslim women, does it mean that we should rape theirs as well?

Since when does God and the Prophet teach us to follow the ways of our enemies in their evils?

It is time to try non-violence. It was that method of jihad that brought down the British Empire.

Most people are not aware that Gandhi would not have succeeded in his non-violence movement if it was not for the contribution of the Muslims. 

Mudpie recommends that readers check out this book -

Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan: A Man to Match His Mountains (Paperback)by Eknath Easwaran (Author) 

Mudpie thinks that it is time we, the people of Peace (Islam) stop yelling to the Palestinians to keep fighting harder. 

We are like ticket-buying spectators around a boxing ring, grotesquely gratiating ourselves in the suffering and violence of the gladiators, all the time tutting our tongues at the hideousness of the spectacle, but doing nothing to end it.

Mudpie will not tolerate any more talk of fighting in the Middle East. 

No more talk of retaliation, sanction, boycott, etc. 

All these just serve to add fuel to the fire. 

And then we watch and wring our wrists at the bloodhsed that we had just encouraged and enflamed ourselves.

Mudpie, for one, will now want to help the Palestinians build their nation. 

This is not done by sending donations - any person who had worked in government will know that donations are the worst form of financial source due to its unpredictability - it should be by way of trading with the Palestinian people. 

Not the government, because they have all the aid they need to set up institutions, but the people need money, which becomes the economy's money. 

Unfortunately, many policies taken by Muslim countries have worked in every possible way to counteract the Palestinians setting up their own viable state - such as the boycott to visit Jerusalem as an extension of the boycott against Israeli occupation. 

Ironically, this means that the local Palestinians have no source of income of their own, and are forced to depend on work and trade with Israel to survive.

This year, as part of this plan, Mudpie is seriously planning a vacation to Jerusalem. 

Why should Mudpie throw a few thousand dollars at Bangkok, or Korea, etc, when he could do better by spending it in Jerusalem, the city of al-Aqsa? 

If a million Muslim tourists visit Jerusalem every year, the Palestinian economy will be self-sustaining, and that is the first step towards self-strengthening.

Beyond that, Mudpie will try his best to take many of the pointless things that people say we should do against Israel - by doing the opposite to the Palesitinians instead. Such as - instead of boycotting Israel (yeah, right, like they really need our money) we should try to buy Palestinian instead. 

Now this is where you realise that there is nothing from Palestine that you can buy, right? 

That shows how weak and tiny their economy is. 

But we should as many of us try to do this as we can, and hopefully the Palestinians will be encouraged that there is a market out there for their products, and start producing things for export, etc. 

Of course, if you have any suggestions on Palestinian products, please share here.