Thinking Anew:
Muslim Chaplains on Campus Bridging the Gap
By Faraz Khan
The MSA and mosque are two of the oldest Muslim institutions that have inspired many institution-building projects in the US. Muslim chaplaincy on campus is one of those phenomena that have developed in cooperation with MSA work in the last few years. Although a precise number of college chaplains remain in flux, there are about thirty dedicated individuals who have been on the forefront of campus chaplaincy. These chaplains are pioneers - a conglomerate of a very diverse and unique representation of American Islam. As a former Muslim chaplain at Rutgers University, I want to bring my readers up to par with the idea of Muslim chaplaincy on campuses across America.
CHAPLAINCY
Campus chaplaincy as I understand is competency in pastoral care, ministering, and counseling. A chaplain is a person who formulates a unique role as a religious leader, social worker, counselor, and is a staff or affiliate member of the university, able to act as a liaison between the administration and the students. However, a chaplain may or may not be a religious authority for example a "shaykh(a)" but s/he is knowledgeable on everyday practical religious issues. Ultimately, a chaplain is there to serve his/her constituents on a campus setting.
CULTURAL COMPETENCY
It is a known fact that many Muslim youth do find a communication gap with immigrant Imams and scholars. However, chaplains are able to fill that void due to their cultural competency. It has been my experience that these folks definitely know the culture of their respective institutions. Interestingly, not only do they understand their fellow Muslims but they can also associate with people of other faiths and are a source of solace to everyone. They are practitioners – bridge builders engaged in an active dialogue while remaining true to their faith. Chaplains give many talks on Islam but they are all-ears when it comes to student issues. I would very briefly mention the diverse background and skills of some of these chaplains to prove that each individual is a gem and an asset to the community in their own right.
WHO’S WHO?
Chaplain Taha Abdul-Basser, a Harvard alumnus and chaplain who has spent more than ten years in Islamic education is an expert in Islamic Finance and Arabic language. Chaplain Khalid Latif, an NYU alumnus and chaplain is a community builder with a $20 million dollar endowment vision. Chaplain Marwa Aly at Trinity and Wesleyan is a first-rated speech writer and excels in personal development programs for her students. Chaplain Abdullah Antepli at Duke is known for his charming “Turkish delight” personality and ability to engage students and faculty on many issues pertaining to Islam. Chaplain Najiba Akbar is passionate about counseling and social work with deep roots as an alumna and chaplain at Wellesley. Chaplain Naila Baloch has experience in a cross-culture work in Pakistan and the US, serving her community at Tufts. Chaplain David Coolidge at Darmouth and Omer Bajwa at Yale are known for their openness and prolific intellectual writings. Chaplain Sohaib Sultan is committed to building a comprehensive Muslim life program at Princeton. Chaplain David Fricke at Rutgers and Suheil Laher at MIT are well-experienced and have been committed to chaplaincy for a decade. Chaplain Tahera Ahmad is a bona fide Quran reciter and has used innovative role playing programs at Mount Holyoke. Chaplain Mary Lahaj at Simmons plays an active role in her community and does not shy away from dialogue. Lastly, Chaplain Salahuddin Muhammad at Bard maintains a focus on religion as actually practiced, rather than a superficial gesture of a good will. By all means, this is not an exhaustive list of chaplains but only a short insight into the world of college chaplaincy.
LOOKING AHEAD
I believe that as the Muslim community learns more about chaplaincy, better communication between local mosques and campuses will be established. The Muslim community needs to prioritize a commitment to college chaplaincy to establish a better representation of Islam in America. Needless to say, I am very optimistic about the future of chaplaincy. In a short time, Muslim chaplains have bolstered another institutional dimension to Islam in America.
Thinking Anew: The Making of a Hero!
By Faraz Khan
When modern Muslims discuss the notion of hero, there is often a deep look into history – a time long ago in a golden age, to caliphs and sultans, companions of the Prophet, the likes of Omar Al-Khattab, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Haroon Rashid, etc. Many think of great military leaders such as Tariq bin Ziyad, Salahuddin Ayubi, or Tipu Sultan as heroes. Others think of great scholars as heroes, the likes Othman Dan Fodio, Imam Al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Sina and Al-Farabi. Interestingly, the thought of a hero is often related to a male figure that inspired generations of Muslims due to his scholarly or military accomplishments. Amusingly, according to an English proverb, “A hero is a man who is afraid to run away.” These men held their own for the sake of others and thus became heroes.
It is not difficult to recognize that self-sacrifice and altruism extraordinaire at great personal risk to transform the lives of many people are the underlying acts leading to a hero title. With this in mind, consider a hero who neither lives in fiction nor in history, neither a scholar nor a marshal man, but an illiterate, underprivileged, downtrodden woman. Moreover, this is a story of a hero who overcomes poverty, juvenile traditions, state political manipulation, intimidation, social abuse, illegal house arrest, and gang-rape to campaign for women’s rights, education, and empowerment against juvenile male chauvinistic traditions that have strangled many women in Pakistan.
Due to her courage and resilience, Mukhtar Mai was voted as Woman of the Year in 2005 by Glamour Magazine. She received North-South Prize from the Council of Europe and many accolades and praises from all over the world. She was invited to speak at the United Nations headquarter in New York. Her memoir, In the Name of Honor translated into French and English, was on the list of top-three autobiographies in France. The list of her accomplishments keeps growing.
Yet before the world opened its arms, like many victims of rape she considered suicide to evade shame in small village of Mirwala, Pakistan. Unfortunately, silence or suicide is the appalling reality of a rape victim in her locality. The village elders’ council, playing in the hands of a powerful clan approved of the gang-rape to settle a case against her family. In one night, her world changed.
After the gruesome and despicable act of rape, the villagers expected Mukhtar Mai to live no more. Conversely, she refused to bow down to injustice. Mai spoke to the local imam; she documented her nightmare to the local paper and filed charges against the village thugs. As a moth yearns for light, Mai searched for justice in a dark night. She petitioned to the highest authority, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Customarily, the criminals were exonerated due to their influential allies in local politics and the courts.
In the intervening time, Mai’s plea gained international exposure and a backlash at the criminals and the authorities. Upon invitations from international organizations, she reluctantly traveled abroad and exposed judicial hypocrisy and women’s plight in her native country. She blossomed into a women’s advocate by raising her voice in multiple forums, conferences and panels building a storm of support in dark tumultuous clouds.
Mai received many awards and recognition for her work. She donated these offerings to build a girls school and a women’s welfare center. In a twist of fate, as her movement for justice gained sails, she was debarred by the State from traveling abroad. President Musharraf saw Mai as an agitator and a campaigner whose case and the cause had defamed his authority. He severely criticized her work and travels as “washing dirty linens” outside her house. Intrepidly Mai responded, “I offer all the riches I've made out of the panchayat-enforced gang-rape to the president in return for justice.” The president buckled and lifted the ban on her travels.
Like a fledgling bird on her first flight, undeterred Mai kept speaking and campaigning for reforms. Although she gained recognition abroad, Mai lived in constant fear for her life from feudal lords, politicians, and the President who simply wanted her to accept the status quo on women’s conditions. Persistently, she confronted the corrupt ranks of the wealthy, powerful, and well-connected totalitarian politicians for justice.
Mai turned the backlash of the destitute and oppressed into a mass movement by declaring, “My slogan is to end oppression through education.” Soon battered women from distant towns flocked the women’s shelter to seek refuge from abusive husbands, forced marriages, rape victimization, honor killings, and compulsory prostitution. She welcomed them as her own. Further, she opened up three schools to educate more than 700 children from poor families and staffed the school and women’s welfare center with forty talented individuals.
Today, the shelter and the schools launched by Mukhtar Mai to combat illiteracy and oppression are thriving. These institutions teach youth and women about their rights, impart education, offer legal advice, and provide a safe haven. Ironically, this outstanding work was planted by a village woman who never attended school. However, she recounts an incident that made her endear education:
“I’ll never forget the words of that policeman who interrupted when I was ready to give my testimony to the district prefect: “Let me explain it to you! She doesn’t know how to say things…” But I spoke up. Because I have a strong character? Because I was humiliated? Because my tongue was suddenly free to speak? For all those reasons. But I’ll make sure girls learn to read, and I’ll learn to read too” In the Name of Honor p 76.
It is well-known that before Mai opened schools, villagers used to keep their daughters at home. Nowadays, they line up to enroll them. The courage and resilience of an individual can often turn the tides of xenophobia and a fresh discourse can be chartered for revitalization of a people. Mai is a true hero. In the words of the UN Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, “I think it is fair to say that anyone who has the moral courage and internal strength to turn such a brutal attack into a weapon to defend others in a similar position, is a hero indeed, and is worthy of our deepest respect and admiration”.
Truly, Mukhtar Mia has been a voice of voiceless on women’s rights and education for the poor in Pakistan. Her message is simple and bold enough for many to pay heed. This is the making of a hero.
“May God protect the honour of mothers and daughters of Pakistan
and the whole world, and if someone is subjected to violence and they
should get justice, and they shouldn’t have to face the shame of dishonour”. Mukhtar Mai
With the coming of spring, I want to dedicate this column to the beautification of our mosques. The house of God should be welcoming to all. The beautification process has an outward and inward component. Both factors are equally important and deserving of our attention.
This spring we must designate some time to give the mosque and our souls uplift. Lets plant a few flowers, work on a landscape plan, clean and paint the walls, put a welcome sign at the entrance, wash and shampoo the carpet, clean the furniture, hang new/clean curtains, discard junk and ripped books and old magazines, place trash bins, place air-fresheners, repaint the parking lines, so on and so forth. It is time to freshen up and let the mosques blossom with different hues of faith and cleanliness. I would ask the youth to simply "adopt a mosque" – your local mosque for cleanup. Lets have a clean up followed by a barbecue and a football game.
The Prophet's outreach (dawah) effort consisted of two essentials: cleanliness and good character. Mosques have to be beacons of light. They are a place where cleanliness (purification) and good morals should be inculcated.
This brings me to the second missing component from our mosques, the beautification of souls. Mosques should be places where the entire family is welcomed. They could contribute their time, talent, skills in a positive way. Contrary to common views, mosques are places of worship for an entire family.
The beautification of the soul is not an easy topic to understand and practice. It requires a conscience effort, knowledge, and an organizational structure. A community can be transformed by a handful of dedicated souls who are committed to the beautification of the inward and the outward.
What are some of the missing components that will make our mosques beacons of light? Following is my list of "missing components" that relates to beautifying the inner and outer core of our community:
Priorities – We need to have an understanding of our priorities. What is American Muslims' number one concern? What goals are we trying to achieve? Can we get over halal meat and hilal sighting issues? It is easy to be caught up in the controversial topics but we need to have a game plan for the future and a list of our priorities will determine where we stand and where we want to go as American Muslims.
Sisters – In many mosques, 50% of our community is MIA (Missing In Action). People often talk about involving more people in the mosque/Islamic centers so they can have "men power". Unfortunately, many of us often ignore educational and religious needs of our sisters. Perhaps they can give the mosques uplift with their presence and dedication. Perhaps they can succeed where brothers have failed. Women's participation can only improve our community's affair.
Youth - "I promise more activities for the youth," said the mosque president to a cheering crowd on mosque election day. Many old uncles and aunties talk about their concern for the youth. However, for the most part this talk fails to crystallize in anything solid. The talk about the "youth problem" is a good icebreaker in much adult conversation. However, there are over 100 mosques in the tri-state area and a handful of them have youth programs (especially for teenagers). Why have we failed to remedy this situation? How many years and young individuals will it take before the community will wake up to the horror stories about Muslim youth crying 'losing my religion'?
Social Workers - Sorry folks but most Imams are not equipped for this responsibility. We must have a team of experts such as psychologists, social workers, lawyers, and scholars to give advice to those who are in need.
Brotherhood – Huh! What does that mean? Do not give me quotations from Quran and hadith; I will believe it when I see it.
Imams who speak English! – I really do not know how to explain this one. In all sincerity, shura/boards must think twice about the consequence of having a religious authority who does not understand the culture, language, and the environment of his constituents. How can we teach Islam to the next generation of Muslims while we neglect the importance of communication?
Educational Programs - We have plenty of speakers and fundraising dinners but not enough educational programs and teachers. May Allah reward Sunnipath, Al-Maghrib Institute, Zaytuna, Bayyinah, and other organizations that recognized this need and took initiatives to develop educational programs for the Muslim community. The calendar of events is a good indicator of educational programs at the local mosque. Please do not confuse hadith a day or ten minute talks as educational programs that are going to transform the entire community. We need serious effort in designing a curriculum, having a schedule, and a roster of home run scholars to engage the community in understanding Islam. Remember, knowledge is key to all change.
Converts - Seriously, where are they? You probably recall shouting takbirs after every shahada at your local mosque. But did you ever find these converts in the mosque? Did you ever find out what happened to them? It is true that some of the best Muslims in the history of Islam were converts. How many of us can be compared to Abu Bakr, Omar, Khadija, Asma, and Ali (may God be pleased with them all)?
Final Thought - I would love to continue and suggest many other items for improvement. Nonetheless, I fear that I may bore the reader or spark cynicism that I am just another complainer. Indeed, it is easy to rant and bicker about our shortcomings. Nevertheless, I hope to inspire a generation of concerned individuals who will fill in the missing components and beautify the interior and the exterior in accordance with God's pleasure. Amen.
Recently Imam Khalid Latif, Executive Director and Chaplain for the Islamic Center at NYU, was featured in a short documentary on Current TV. Please visit the Current TV website to post a comment on the video by clicking here
Islam in the NYPD
((( khutba audio ))) And the parable of an evil word is as an evil tree pulled up from the earth's surface; it has no stability.
Religious leaders have faith in green published on 4/22/09 in Columbia Spectator
As part of Greenspiration—a student-led ten-day series of environmentally-focused events—a panel of religious experts discussed the relationship between religion and going green.
The event, moderated by Erin Lothes Biviano, Earth Institute Fellow, featured panelists who discussed the idea that religion is crucial to guiding people towards better environmental habits, strategies, or practices. The panel featured Dr. Ben Chaudhary, assistant commissioner in the Department of Environmental Protection, Lisa Sharon Harper, co-founder and executive director of NY Faith & Justice, Nati Passow, co-founder and director of the Jewish Farm School, and Faraz Kahn, wetland scientist and advisor to Muslim Student Associations at Rutgers and Princeton Universities.
“When I go back and I look at what is it that influences me in my work in environmental justice it is the understanding that I am made in the image of God,” Harper said. “When we break our relationship with God it affects the environment and when we break the environment our relationship with God is broken.”
Passow explained that Shabbat—the day of rest—is a tradition that can provide insight into understanding the environment.
“Even in the process of what could be considered doing some of the most holy work—even that work you’re not allowed to do on the Sabbath,” Passow said. “There’s this tremendous value in rest. ... There’s a lot of ecological wisdom that we can glean from it.”
Khan emphasized that the environment is constantly brought up in the Quran, asserting that “the Quran talks about the earth created for all living creatures. ... There are 700 verses that actually bring humanity to think about and reflect on the environment.”
Chaudhary spoke about the way in which human beings have become more neglectful towards the environment, referring to India’s transformation after it was colonized by Britain. The other panelists agreed that a wasteful culture has emerged.
“What we’re starting to see globally [are] systems that we have been pointing too and saying, ‘that’s not a sustainable system,’ are starting to collapse,” Passow said. “The problem is within us, the human thinking, that waste culture is a way of life, ... this is a modern phenomenon.”
The panelists also spoke about inequalities in wealth, stating that lower classes are particularly affected by the environment. According to Passow, “globally, you have 2 percent of the world’s population controlling some ridiculous percentage of the world’s wealth.”
“Issues of environment affect the poor and people of color,” Harper said.
The panelists also touched on the nations’ leaders lack of accountability concerning the environment, and how that affects its sustainability.
“We have to hold our leadership accountable,” Khan said, referring to the Bush administration’s “ten years of avoiding, not talking about environmental issues.”
Harper also discussed the environmental implications arising from decisions made by the country’s leaders, saying, “I was personally devastated when America pulled out of the Kyoto Accords,” Harper said.
Ultimately, Harper said, those who are most knowledgeable about environmental problems should guide those who are not.
“The reality is that the people who are under the burden of environmental justice understand it better than we do.”
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