Blog taken from Mujahideen Ryder
The injustice and atrocities in the Muslim world and around the world in general have been on the ummah’s mind since I ever started reading the news in my teens. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict existed before I was born and continues up to this second as I type this. I doubt anything will change anytime soon. I’ve been to protests, wrote letters, blog about it, submitted articles, argued, cried and reacted emotionally to every injustice the Muslim world has faced from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Chechnya, Bosnia and all the other areas I have missed. Many of these wars are still going on and being fought even after the thousands of people marched in every major city in the world. Even after all the letters written to governments who possess the ability to establish justice. Even after all the articles written and all the forum threads that get closed. The injustice and state sponsored terrorism continues. The blood of innocent human beings continue to flow.
Why is this? Why have we failed to establish justice and forbid the evil? We fail to change the way we attempt to bring justice. We have been doing all these things since forever and I have not seen any major change. We often blame Zionism for the atrocities that are going on in Israel, but I don’t blame Zionists. They are doing their job. We are not. How many Zionists are protesting against Hamas? How many Israeli flags do you see supporting Israel on the streets countering the pro-Palestinian protests and rallies? There are usually a few. Why? They are busy doing work in the halls of the Capital building. In the Pentagon and in the UN. They are busy building Hospitals, Universities, Schools and other institutions which help Americans including Muslims out. They are showing the American people and the American government that they are not the bad guys.
All the Muslim Americans that have attended the top universities in this country from Yale to Princeton to NYU to Harvard to Standford to MIT to any of those top Ivy League or top Public universities in the country have had Jewish (and most probable, Zionist) professors in a wide variety of subjects. These same Zionists have helped them graduate and earned degrees which have allowed them to fully establish their professional career. The Jewish population is probably the same or less than the Muslim population in America but yet they have so much influence and power that their holidays are recognized by the government. There are so many Jewish and Muslim doctors (probably the same amount), but yet the Jews have been successful in building hospitals and medical centers. Where are the Muslim-established hospitals and medical centers? Why haven’t our two Eid’s been officially recognized?
So many of you will probably say what does this have to do with Zaytuna College (as it appears in the title of this post)? Well the inspiration for this post came from a fundraiser event at the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) sponsored byISB Youth Group and Zaytuna Institute entitled, Zaytuna College – Where Islam Meets America, where Imam Zaid Shakir (May Allah preserve him) and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (May Allah preserve him) spoke eloquently on this same subject. You can listen to their lectures here and here from the event, respectively. They echoed what I said above but communicated it in a much better way. Zaytuna Institute is transforming to a college but not like any other Islamic college or university currently in America. They want to become like Yale or Harvard or Stanford where the dissemination of traditional Islamic knowledge and secular knowledge is available at a level of higher-learning recognized by the academic standards of the Ivy-League caliber.
This is just one aspect of establishing American Muslim institutions that can help the effort of justice throughout the world. The proof for this is that the professors and scientists at these current top universities are sought by the government for all types of advice and research. Zionist have funded many of these universities and have become top donors to some universities like NYU or Yale. This is why they have the ability to control so much in America from the media to the government. The Zionists established and/or helped the top institutions of America therefore they have a say in what the research and study is performed.
Americans don’t see American Muslims helping the society or establishing institutions. I’m not talking about a soup kitchens on a Saturday morning. That is good on a small scale. I’m talking about putting up a rehab center. Building a playground or a park. Building a community center. Building a Hospital. Establishing and endowment fund or a scholarship fund for poor families with children who want to go to school. Setting up financial institutions in which the shariah is complied fully that provides any American with an alternative way of purchasing a house or a car.
Instead of establishing these institutions and helping our society in order to build our respect and power and authority in this country we are still sitting in front of the TV cursing the oppressors and then going to bed. Instead we are trying to figure out which Imam is on the right path or right madhab or not. Instead we are attacking our own Muslim brothers and sisters instead of blaming ourselves. Instead of…[insert current Muslim issues].
One thing I noticed about Zionists is that they are united even though they differ on many issues. Zionists differ on issues such as homosexuality or abortion. They even differ on belief issues in their own religion. There are even non-Jewish Zionists. Who knows, there are probably Arab Zionists. They all support the cause of Israel. They all support the fundamental goal of establishing this state. No matter their differences they still work together and compile their resources and funding in order to keep the State of Israel intact.
Until we can get the 1,000+ Muslim millionaires in America, yes in America, to come together and establish at least a hospital and build a just and fair lobby on “The Hill” then we can never stop the Zionists. We have the money and finance. We have the education. We have the population. We just don’t have the wisdom and sincerity to do the work.
I pray to Allah (swt) and believe that we can do this in the future. If not the current generation, then the next. America is not just for the Evangelicals. It is not just for the Hispanics. It is not just for the Jews. It is not just for the African Americans. It’s for us too. It’s for the Muslims too. We have a right…no…we have the obligation to forbid the evil and promote good and that includes establishing institutions to help this society.
I’m tired of the same old protesting, shouting, condemnations and emotionally-charged reactions to the current atrocities around the world. Knowledge is power and so is money. We have both and so do they. But they don’t have something we have. That is Islam. We can take down Zionism without even picking up a single weapon. Knowledge, money and power are the new weapons of mass destruction. Some of the sahabahs were wealthy and used their money for Islam. We need those Muslims out there to come forward and follow in the footsteps of Abdur Rahman in Awf (ra). We need those Muslims out there to come foward to follow in the footsteps of the al-Khwarizimi, ibn Ishaq al Kindi or ibn Zakiriya Razi. Our history is rich with Muslims uplifting entire societies. We have lost it currently, but we have not lost the capability of doing it again.
For those of you who agree with Zaytuna and their vision for the future then I strongly suggest you become a monthly donor for the Zaytuna College. This is a major step for Islam in America. There are those who disagree with them and I respect this and ask you to look for organizations/institutes that you agree with and suggest to them about moving to the next step in establishing institutions in this country. I know AlMaghrib Institute is also interested in establishing a full-fledged Islamic university similar to Zaytuna. I support this as well, because the more the better. Although, I really pray to Allah (swt) that we as a Muslim community here in North American can go beyond the Islamic institutions of knowledge to establishing Hospitals, Community Centers, Youth Centers, Rehab Centers, Daycare Centers, Banks, Think tanks, Research Groups, Hedge Funds, Economic Institutions, Public Affairs Committees, etc. All of these institutions matter to the American people and all of them were established by the Prophet Muhamamd (peace and blessings be upon him), the Khulafa-ar-Rashidun and the pious predecessors in order to spread and promote Islam. So why haven’t we stepped up as they have for their communities?
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