Posted on 09/15/2001 3:48:56 PM PDT by Born in a Rage
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi is a gentleman and a scholar of Islam . He also has been president for the past three years of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the largest Muslim organization in the Americas and the roof organization that backstops about 1,100 of the 2,000 mosques in the United States and Canada with education, supplies and guidance. And he hopes that as a result of his tenure, more Muslims will ?take full advantage of the freedom and technology that is available here and develop themselves into highly educated professional people while carrying with them the lofty moral and spiritual values that Islam has given them.?
In an interview with the Washington Report Dr. Siddiqi predicted a major role for the Muslims of America in the 21st century. ?American Muslims live in perhaps the most democratic country in the world that provides unlimited opportunities for growth,? he said. ?The next generation and the generations after them can provide a corps of leadership within this country and also to the entire Muslim world.? However, he says, for Muslims to realize their potential, ?the present generation has to instill the right values among the young and keep them on the path of righteousness and moderation. Extremism is alien to Islam and must be avoided at all costs.?
Although the word of Allah, as revealed through the Qur?an and applied through the shariah, ?is final and unalterable,? Dr. Siddiqi says, there is, nevertheless, the need for a review of the rulings of the different schools of Islamic thought (the Madahib) in the light of present day realities confronting Muslims.
Commenting on a statement to this effect by Dr. Zaki Yamani, the former petroleum minister of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Siddiqi explained: ?This is delicate ground and one needs to tread on it with exceptional care? There is debate among the Ulema [Islamic scholars] over whether something that may, for instance, appear only once in the Qur?an is to be taken as occasion-specific or can be generalized. This is where Tufsir [scholarly interpretations and explanations] comes into play....?
Regarding the key role of ISNA in Muslim affairs in the new world, Dr. Siddiqi explained: ?We are a non-political umbrella organization and it is our endeavor to bring the diverse Muslim bodies and institutions in the country closer, [but] we still have a long way to go. We today have more than 2,000 [Islamic] community centers and/or mosques around the country, and over 25 significant Muslim organizations of varying sizes and strengths, each performing a very useful function in its respective sphere and geographic area.
?A great deal of energy and resources are being expended, and these institutions are producing remarkable results,? he continued. ?However, the united effort that ISNA envisions for the Muslims of America is still not there. That is the direction in which we are striving.?
Muzammil Siddiqi has a gentle speaking style and organizes his thoughts in sequential order before he expresses them. His remarks are often extemporaneous, but he speaks as if he is reading a carefully edited script. Scholarship abounds in his writings as well as his speeches. Humility has become his trademark.
Dr. Siddiqi was born in India in 1943. He received his early education at Aligarh Muslim University and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulema, India. While Aligarh provided him with a sound foundation in secular studies (arts and sciences), Nadwatul Ulema tutored him in Islamic education.
He was privileged to study under such world-renowned Islamic scholars as Maulana Shibli Noamani, who drew young men seeking guidance from all over the world. Darul Uloom to this day remains one of the front-line schools of Islamic learning, not only in the India-Pakistan subcontinent but in the entire Muslim world.
From there he went on to receive further instruction from the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia, from which he graduated in 1965. Later, he took a master?s degree (M.A.) in theology from Birmingham University in England, and earned his Ph.D. in comparative religions from Harvard University in the United States.
With such a comprehensive mastery of both the theological and secular approaches to religion, Dr. Siddiqi did not confine himself to scholastic pursuits, but excelled equally as an activist, devoting his time and energies toward the building of the Muslim community wherever he lived.
This gentle activist-theologian is widely traveled. He has occupied various positions and lectured almost all around the globe, from Canada and the United States to South Africa and Hong Kong.
In the field of education he has taught courses on Islam and world religions at Harvard University, Seton Hall University, Birmingham University (U.K.) and International Islamic University (Pakistan), and currently serves as an adjunct professor at California State University in Fullerton. As an activist he has worked with Islamic organizations in Saudi Arabia, England, Switzerland, the Caribbean nations, Canada and the United States.
Among positions he has held are chairman of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) of Canada and the USA; chairman of the Department of Religious Affairs at the Muslim World League office to the United Nations; and director of the Islamic Center in Washington, DC in 1980.
He also is a founding member of the Council of Mosques in the U.S. and Canada, a member of the Fiqh (Islamic Law) Council of North America and, as a resident of Southern California, he serves as director of the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove, CA.
Besides his work in advising and guiding the organization of the widely distributed and multi-ethnic Islamic community in America, Dr. Siddiqi ?s other self-appointed task is to help American Muslims enter the national mainstream. He strongly advocates Muslim participation in the politics of the United States and Canada, and makes special efforts to support interfacing with other religious groups outside the Islamic fold.
All this is evident in his appeals to American Muslims to join a political party of their choice and to make their growing numbers a factor in political outcomes; his regular participation in joint forums with Christians and Jews; and his work to acquaint people of other faiths with the monotheistic and Abrahamic nature of Islam.
One vehicle for all of this is his weekly televised appearance on an Islamic channel. In his regular appearances he provides informed insights on the fundamental issues faced by the Islamic community in a changing environment that challenges young Muslims almost daily. He supplements all of this with his writings in various newspapers, magazines and professional journals.
In all of his efforts he is fully supported by his loving wife Khaleda Siddiqi , who runs a tight and well-polished ship at home and also teaches at a local Orange County Islamic school. They have three sons and a daughter. Numan is a lawyer, Imran and Hassan are still in school and daughter Muna is married and lives with her husband. The Siddiqis have four grandchildren.
In a brief survey of the Muslim scenario in America, Dr. Siddiqi observed that its multi-ethnicity represents the universal appeal of Islam and should become its strength. He regrets trends toward sectarianism among American Muslims, hoping instead that they will evolve into a united Ummah, or universal community.
?The key to the maturing and success of the Muslims lies in keeping lines of communication open within the community and in maintaining a dialogue with others outside that community,? he says. Meanwhile, the growing numbers of American Muslims must translate into political strength. He hopes that organizations like ISNA, which he heads, can play a significant role both in empowering Islam in America, and in bringing the community together, both for the benefit of American Muslims and for the strengthening of American culture, society, and morality.
M.M. Ali is a consultant and a specialist on South Asia. He is a fellow with the Center for Planning & Policy Studies based in the Washington, DC area.
I am NOT buying all this "MODERATE" islam crap.....those so-called moderates are just trying to FOOL us.....lull us to sleep, put us off-guard.... HERE IS ONE AMERICAN that will NEVER SUBMIT or BE FOOLED by their rhetoric!!!!!!
WATCH OUT AMERICA....the fox is in the hen-house!!
Ever hear of DEEP COVER??????
Dr. Siddiqi was a guest of the Vatican for the Interreligious Assembly which was planned to take place in Rome in October 1999 as one of the final preparations for the celebrations for the Jubilee Year 2000......~click the link to read the whole article....
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi : We in America can do a lot for our
brothers and sisters who are suffering in Palestine under a very
oppressive Israeli occupation. First, we should pray for them. Ask
Allah to help them give them victory over their enemies and remove
their suffering. We should remember them in every prayer.
Second, we should contribute financially for the relief of the victims
and their families.
There are thousands of Palestinians who have lost their basic means
of livelihood, almost everything due to continuous Israeli aggression
and atrocities.
Third, we should inform others, our fellow Americans, about the
suffering and the plight of the Palestinian people. Many Americans
only know the Israeli side of the story, but they have no idea what is
happening to Palestinians and what the Israelis are doing to them.
We should talk to people, organize meetings, rallies, and write
letters and articles in their support. There is a great need for correct
information to be given.
Fourth, we should urge Muslim governments and all humanitarian
and justice loving groups and organizations to help the people of
Palestine and to stop Israeli Occupation of their land and aggression
against the Palestinian people. Each one of us should take our
responsibilities seriously. If we work together and consistently we
shall succeed. May Allah guide us and help us.
If those people are not for us than they are not American.
BTW, my neighbor....who happens to be a Quaker and of european ancestory, isn't flying the American flag either...he is flying a 'peace flag', some kind of flag with a dove on it, at half-mast.
Also, my hubby just walked in the door and he told me he saw a dark-skinned arabic looking boy, about 10 years old, who was riding his bike down the street and waving the American Flag. My husband said it brought a tear to his eye...
On another subject...flags and such....
I am not a Serb....I know lots of them...I work with GENUINE refugees....not illegals.
I must tell you that yesterday some Bosnian muslims refugees who live in my city said that they would HELP the mujahaideens....they LOVE them!! THEY WERE BRAGGING AND ARGUING with the Serbs in the same apartments and were waving GREEN FLAGS with Abrabic looking writings on them!!!
BACKGROUND:
You see several years ago, I met these same refugees at their new apartments...they had been in Bosnia. After working to help them to get clothes and the usual household items...I was invited by another set of them who had been here for about 1 year and could speak English pretty well...especiallly the older teenagers. It was a birthday party and some other sort of party.
AH......the ENTERTAINMENT!! It was a film of their military "exploits" in Bosnia. Let's see...My West Point educated, career Army dad,my Navy vet husband and I thought it was just a "film" but as it turned out...THEY SAID IT WAS REAL!!
IT WAS the mujahadeen....and their Bosnian allies...Now, these guys were SO PROUD of their associations with them. My husband and I had not at that time become really interested in the Balkans....ah, we were "with the rest of the sleeping sheepels". In fact....we believed that crap about the Serbs being "villians".
That being said...we are not fans of war...or films thereof...so, we made rapid exit!! I must tell you...IT WAS WAY BEYOND DISGUSTING!!!
Before we did manage to leave ...we heard from these Bosnians how happy they were to "BUTCHER SERBS LIKE PIGS and roast their bodies". In fact, it was stressed to my husband that the mujahadeen had killed hundreds of "PIG SERBS" that way! They laughed and said,"THAT they did NOT eat the PIGS"!!
We never returned for that reason AND I must hasten to add...that we also thought...people who can afford to party,drink and smoke...do not NEED OUR HELP!
When Serbs stared to come here, a couple of years later, a friend convinced me to help them ....we started to help them...and continue to do so to this VERY DAY. I have changed in my opinion of the SERBS.The ones I know are VERY GOOD FOLKS!!
Another subject:
We know many Arab Christians....Orthodox, Maronites and Roman Catholics. Some of the teenagers have been threatened in school...and one Christian-Arab's restuarant has had a bomb threat.
THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS!!
On another thread...somebody was insulting ALL So-called "hypenated Americans" because the thread author has mentioned that a certain number of GREEK-AMERICANS were missing in the WTC disaster. IT MADE ME VERY VERY ANGRY!!! I replied in kind!!
Well isn't that special.
I once had a palestinian -- who was born in Israel, and raised in New Jersey -- tell me that the goal was to continue increasing in number until they could use the political process to turn the USA into an islamic republic.
So this poser wants "political strength" so that they can "play a significant role both in empowering Islam in America", and Americans think that's a good thing?
I suggest you think about what "empowering Islam in America" means in terms of their "political strength".
The fact that this fifth columnist is careful to affect a "humble" demeanor does not in the least detract from his agenda.
Not every snake rattles before it strikes.
That being said...we are not fans of war...or films thereof...so, we made rapid exit!! I must tell you...IT WAS WAY BEYOND DISGUSTING!!!
Before we did manage to leave ...we heard from these Bosnians how happy they were to "BUTCHER SERBS LIKE PIGS and roast their bodies". In fact, it was stressed to my husband that the mujahadeen had killed hundreds of "PIG SERBS" that way! They laughed and said,"THAT they did NOT eat the PIGS"!!
Crazykatz, do you think/know if any of these "refugees" participated in the killing and roasting of Serbs themselves, or if they watched it being done in person - and not just on film.
I'll bet they delivered some of their Serb neighbors to the insatiable sadists - or at least pointed out their homes/addresses.
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