GUIDE FOR MUSLIM COMMUNITY LEADERS ON DEVELOPMENT

UGANDA MUSLIM YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FORUM

2013

GUIDE FOR MUSLIM COMMUNITY LEADERS ON DEVELOPMENTTowards a tolerant and forward looking community

through application of social mediaOmar D. Kalinge-Nnyago

640, NABULAGALA ROAD P.O. BOX 4365 KAMPALA UGANDAWWW.UMYDF.ORG

GUIDE FOR MUSLIM COMMUNITY LEADERS ON DEVELOPMENTTowards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of social media

Preface

This guide is intended to be a toolkit for the Muslim civic leader at any level. Becausethe Mosque is the most important civic organisation of the Muslim community, this toolkitis primarily for the orientation, training and use of the Mosque Imam. Mosque Imams, theprimary disseminators of the Islamic message must appreciate the importance of socialmedia. Secondly they should learn how to use these media in their day to day work, ifthey are to effectively reach out to the ever growing Muslim youth population in Uganda.

This means three things. First, there must be a sustained campaign to popularise theimportance and use of social media in the teaching and explaining of Islam and issuessurrounding Islam and Muslims. Secondly, the Muslim leaders should be trained inInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT). Thirdly, a deliberate effort should bemade to equip Mosques, Muslim organisations; like Muslim Student Associations, MuslimClubs, Muslim professional organisations, with Computers and modems to enable internetconnectivity. In a sense, therefore, there is strong justification for a fully fledgedMuslim Social Media Project for Uganda. Its activities, as indicated above may include;ICT training to Imams, (and other Muslim civic leaders) and provision of Computers andother ICT hardware and software. Another activity of the project would be to popularise,through targeted training as well, the use of computers for information dissemination byMuslim youth both in rural and urban areas, educated and less educated. The coming decade(2013 to 2023) can be dedicated to this important aspect of Muslim life by all forwardlooking Mosques and Muslim organisations.

The chapters in this guide are logically arranged, progressing from the familiar, throughto the less familiar but most important aspects of the toolkit. It starts with a shortintroduction to Islam and the local and global realities of the Muslim community. It thenlooks at the lingering absurd accusation that Islam promotes terror in which atheoretical background to the term Terrorism, its various definitions and its possiblecauses are outlined, and also, the disturbing phenomenon of Islamophobia. The thirdChapter looks at the important concept of religious coexistence and pluralism as a wayforward to peace and understanding between faith communities.

The fourth chapter makes a strong case for the need for full involvement of youth andWomen in Mosques and other Muslim civic organisations, who until now their participationis unfortunately limited. Yet they are a critical section of any community. To talk aboutcurbing violent extremism in communities without talking to mothers and their childrenwould be a weak proposition. To talk about turning mosques into hubs of Information andCommunication Technology for development, without involving the ever IT savvy Muslimyouth would be inconsistent. In similar breath, we look at economic empowerment ofGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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Muslims through entrepreneurship. The Islamic concept of entrepreneurship is explained insome detail and a case is made that entrepreneurship is a valid answer to the evergrowing unemployment especially amongst the youth and women in the Muslim community.

The sixth chapter looks at the concept of leadership in Islam and some ways to identifybad leaders – a kind of reverse checklist for good leadership. Chapter seven focuses onthe Mosque as the centre for wholesome Muslim community development and an idea of whatan ideal mosque should be, is presented. The final and most important chapter of thistoolkit the THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MUSLIMS, making the spiritedargument for the importance and power of social media and why Mosques and Muslim civilsociety organisations should embrace them. The different social media and their rankingsas at January 2013 are given as indicators. Salamworld the new Muslim social networkexpected to rival facebook, is also introduced. Practical examples on how to open afacebook account is also given in this concluding chapter.

Why do we call this last chapter the most important? Globally, Muslims from all parts ofthe world since 9/11 are facing discrimination and even threats of violence. For manyyoung people, this post-9/11 world has sparked a new, if not confusing, relationship withtheir own identities as Muslims. While some young men and women may not have evenidentified themselves strongly as Muslim before 9/11, they have found that even justtheir last names may now trigger their being targeted, profiled, and even discriminatedagainst. Others, who may have always had a close relationship to Islam and Islamicpractices, have been suddenly forced to defend their religion to those who brand allMuslims as terrorists. These difficult times have led young Muslims all over the world totry and find answers, connect with other individuals in similar situations, debateissues, and even subvert commonly held notions of Islam. Networking has been significantfor these youth, as many who feel isolated have come to find solace in these virtualcommunities, as well as a place where they establish their own presence and expressthemselves. As one young Muslim said, "Young Muslims are ‘resorting to this virtual worldbecause we have no space in the actual world...' "

At the end of each chapter are a set of discussion questions to aid understanding. Insome cases also, some further readings have been suggested. Although this toolkit is acoherent document, each chapter can be read independent of each other without referenceto the other.

The author would like to thank all colleagues and associates at Uganda Muslim YouthDevelopment Forum (UMYDF) who have contributed to this toolkit through their valuablecomments and painstaking input to the first and second draft, in particular, Ahmed Hadji,Wakib Bunya, Hassan Ndugwa and Musa Kasozi of Youth After School Initiative.

Wa billahi Tawfiq.

Omar Dawood Kalinge NnyagoAUTHOR

Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application ofsocial media

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@ Kampala January 2013


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Table of contents

Chapter 1:FUNDAMENTAL REMARKS ON ISLAM AND MUSLIMS 5

Chapter 2: THE LINGERING ACCUSATION THAT ISLAM PROMOTES TERRORISM 10

Chapter 3 ISLAM, RELIGIOUS CO-EXISTENCE AND PLURALISM 15

Chapter 4: INVOLVING YOUTH AND WOMEN IN ALL MUSLIM COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES 21

Chapter 5: EMPOWERING THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP 30

Chapter 6: UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP IN ISLAM 35

Chapter 7: THE MOSQUE AS THE CENTRE OF WHOLESOME COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 38

Chapter 8:THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MUSLIMS 50


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GUIDE FOR MUSLIM COMMUNITY LEADERS ON DEVELOPMENTTowards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of social media

Chapter 1

FUNDAMENTAL REMARKS ON ISLAM AND MUSLIMS

Knowledge of God and belief in Him constitute the very foundation of Islam, which is areligion based upon the surrender to God who is one. The very name of the religion “al-Islam” in Arabic means among other things, Peace, Purity, Obedience and Submission.Muslims believe that it is only through submission to the will of God and obedience toHis laws that they can achieve peace and enjoy lasting purity in their lives in thisworld and in the hereafter. This submission to the will of God means accepting His Wordand acting according to the path that it delineates for humanity.

However, this does not mean in any way the loss of individual freedom or surrender tofatalism.

According to Islam, the will and the Law of God are the essence of the messengers of allGod’s chosen messengers, starting from Adam (the first human being created),through toAbraham (Ibrahim) the father of monotheism, to Muhammad, the last of the long line ofprophets among others, Ismail (Ishmael), Is’haq (Isaac), Dawood (David), Musa (Moses) andIssa (Jesus). Muslims therefore accept all prophets and scriptures prior to Muhammad andthe Quran without discrimination.

The word Allah in Islam simply means the One and Only Eternal; Creator of the Universe,Lord above all lords and kings. Indeed, the only unforgivable sin in Islam is to believein any deity other than Allah. Islam seeks an ultimate sense of free will, one that freeshumanity from the influence and power of other human beings in areas of basic valuationthat are not amenable to empirical validation, while giving free freedom for applicationof human will otherwise. This is the way Muslims would argue their faith.

It is perhaps this quest for total freedom from man–made bondage of ideology, money andpower that puts Islamic civilization at odds with other man made systems unless a form ofdialogue is maintained and a common ground on the conduct of affairs of the world isidentified and pursued jointly with mutual respect.

What is Islam?The most complete way of life is found in the religion of Islam. The word Islam means,“surrender” to the will of God (Allah in Arabic). Since there is only one God and mankindis one species, the religion that God has ordained for human beings is one. So why the Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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different religions?

God in His mercy had sent messengers to convey His message, to different peoples, in different times. Each prophet came with guidance and miracles that were relevant for histime, and for his people, but the message was the same: That there is only one God, andworship is for him alone. This "Islam" was the religion brought by all the prophets ofGod. Islam was the religion of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon themall). God has in His Grace, addressed this issue to man in His final revelation, theNoble Quran.

“Seek they other then the religion of God, when unto Him submits whosoever is in the heavens and the earth,willingly or unwillingly, and unto Him they will be returned. Say: We believe in God and that which is revealedunto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and his sons, and that

which was given to Moses and Jesus and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between them, andunto Him we have surrendered.”

(Quran 3:83-84)

“And for every nation there is a messenger.”(Quran 10:48)

“And we sent Noah unto his people (and he said): O my people! Serve God. You have no other god save Him. Willyou not ward off evil?”

(Quran 23:23)

Man was to follow each prophet when he came, till the advent of another prophet Thus thelatter prophet was followed since there was new guidance relevant to that latter time. Miracles were also for that time and for those people. They cannot be re-demonstratednow. All this is evident for example, when Jesus (pbuh) said to the Children of Israel:

“And I have come confirming that which was before me of the Torah and to make lawful some of that which wasforbidden unto you. I come to you with a clear sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to God and obey me.”

(Quran 3:50)Since these messengers were sent only for their people and their time, mankind has sincetampered with those previous revelations (Torah, Gospel etc), and the message of those respective prophets has been perverted, leaving behind much confusion and hearsay: “And lo! There is a party of them who distort the Scripture with their tongues, that you may think what they say

is from the Scripture when it is not. And they say: It is from God, when it is not from God; and they speak a lieconcerning God knowingly.”

(Quran 3:78)Consequently, God has sent the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as His last messenger to mankind.This implies that he must comewith a complete and clear guidance, and a clear proof, forall humanity and all times till the Last Day. Otherwise the message is void. Also, the


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message must be confirming the previous messengers of before. The revelation, guidance,and miracle he received is the Quran.

“O people of the Scripture! Now has our messenger come unto you to make things plain after an interval (ofcessation) of the messengers, lest you should say: There came not unto us a messenger of cheer nor any

warner.”(Quran 5:19)

Prophets after prophets came to reclaim lost humanity. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) came withthe seal that perfected Islam. The message contains the teachings of all the previousmessengers, and in addition it contains what will be necessary until Judgement. ProphetMuhammad (pbuh) has been sent for all mankind . Thus there will be no other messengerafter him.

“Nothing is said to thee (Muhammad) save what was said unto the messengers before thee.”(Quran 41:43)

“Say (O Muhammad): O mankind! Lo! I am a messenger of God to you all- (the messenger of) Him unto whombelongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no God save Him.”

(Quran 7:158)

“He is the messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets. And God is Aware of all things.”(Quran 33:40)

Islam and Muslims in UgandaOfficially, Muslims are said to constitute between 12.5% of the Ugandan population.(Uganda National Population and Housing Census 2002). Quoting the CIA factbook, TheUnited States Institute of Peace records the Muslim population as 16% (United StatesInstitute of Peace Special Report 140, May 2005). The Islamic website Islamic Web.computs the figure at 36% of the population. There has not been an independent census ofMuslims in Uganda even by the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council the Muslim apex organisationestablished in 1972. Some Muslims, however, have tended to dispute the official(government) statistics.

Islam was introduced in various parts pre-colonial Uganda by a merchant class atdifferent periods. In West Nile and some parts of the North it was introduced largelyfrom The Sudan. In the South, especially in the Kingdom of Buganda, it was introducedfrom the East African coast in 1844. It was during the reign of Kabaka Mutesa I thatIslam reached its highest peak in pre-colonial Buganda. Indeed, the period between 1862-1875 has been called the golden age of Islam in Buganda.

Much as Islam was introduced as a state religion from above with the objective of usingit as an ideology for strengthening Kabaka Mutesa I’s control over his subjects, by the1870s people had started identifying certain aspects of the faith which they could use toquestion some autocratic tendencies of the king. The Muslim youth in particular were


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critical of the hereditary aspects of the king which in their view, did not conform tothe teachings of Islam.

By 1875, the impact of Islam in Buganda had become great enough to cause concern for theKabaka. Islam had become a basis on which the legitimacy of the King of Buganda was beingquestioned. In 1876, Mutesa I ordered the death of 200 Muslims. In the long run, however,he sought to neutralize the revolutionary force being created by Islam from below byinviting Church Missionaries through the European explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley in1872. The Church Missionary Society missionaries were to arrive three years later in1875. (The Roman Catholic Missionaries, the White Fathers arrived four years on, in1879).

Even before the colonial period Religious violence probably caused more devastation tohuman and animal life in Buganda than the kingdom had experienced since its foundation inthe fourteenth century. Beginning in 1888, political parties based on religion- Bafransa(Roman Catholic), Bangereza (Anglican Protestants, Bawadi (Muslim)- armed themselves,united and overthrew the king of Buganda, Mwanga II. Their aim was not only to survive(they claimed that the king wanted to eliminate them), but to grab power and formulatelaws derived from their new religious beliefs.

From then on, foreign religions in Buganda became a springboard for politicalmobilisation. (Kasozi, ABK The Social Origins of Violence in Uganda, Fountain Publishers,Kampala, Fountain Publishers), 1994: 27). Kasozi urges further that in post colonialUganda- the unequal distribution of the country’s meagre resources is the main cause ofviolence in Uganda. There was, and still is, inequality based on region, ethnicity,class, religion, and gender, and these forms of inequality were entrenched during thecolonial period. (ibid, 30).

Formal education was introduced in Uganda by missionaries to enable their converts toread the Bible and prayer books. Perhaps due to lack of funds, or expediency, the earlyBritish colonial administrators allowed the missionaries to control the supply ofeducation and so facilitated the building of a Christian society in Uganda. Moreover, thegovernment recruited functionaries – clerks, interpreters, policemen and other workers –from missionary schools.

Most novices attending school were being prepared for baptism. Many of the schools sharedthe same grounds, if not building with churches. Muslim parents were afraid of this kindof education because it exposed their children to Christian ideas and values and had thepotential to lead to Christian conversion. On the other hand, Muslims had nomissionaries. This was the same in the whole of East Africa. A report on MuslimEducation by Dr. Sergent found that Muslims all over East Africa were so backward ineducation that they needed special help (Ahmed Abdallah, “Ambivalence of MuslimEducation” East African Journal, February 1965).

Writing in the Uganda Journal (1965) Felice Carter stated that by 1960, Muslims had onlyone university graduate. When in 1964, two years after independence the Africangovernment opened all secondary schools to everyone irrespective of religious


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denomination, Muslims had only one secondary school as compared to 16 for Catholics and10 for Anglicans (Kasozi, 1996).

Over the years Muslims achieved positive disproportionate influence on economic, socialand political activity in comparison to their numbers. However, relations with thegovernment have ebbed and flowed. A combination of historic transgressions combined withthe current backdrop of the global war on terror and Uganda’s activities in regionalpolitics drive a perception by the Muslim community that it is marginalised and oftenharassed by the government and the majority NON Muslim population.

Global realities: The problem of Islamophobia

What is Islamophobia? The Runnymede Trust has identified eight components that they saydefine Islamophobia. This definition, from the 1997 document ‘Islamophobia: A ChallengeFor Us All’ is widely accepted, including by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism andXenophobia.

The eight components are:

1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.2) Islam is seen as separate and ‘other’. It does not have values in common with othercultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them. 3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitiveand sexist.4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engagedin a ‘clash of civilisations’.5) Islam is seen as a political ideology and is used for political or military advantage.6) Criticisms made of the West by Islam are rejected out of hand.7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslimsand exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.8) Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or normal.

Prospects for dialogue between Muslims and the WestThis dialogue is likely what the advisory group on public diplomacy for the Arab andMuslim world advocate in their October 2003 document: “Changing Minds Winning Peace: anew strategic direction for us public diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim world”. The groupchaired by Edward P. Djerejian calls for a new strategic direction in US policy towardsthe Muslim world.

The advisory group states at the outset that “the United States today lacks thecapabilities in public diplomacy to meet the national security threat emanating frompolitical instability, economic deprivation, and extremism especially in the Arab andMuslim world”.


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Public diplomacy is the promotion of national interest by informing, engaging andinfluencing people around the world. But a process of unilateral disarmament, the reportcontinues, in the weapons of advocacy over the last decade has contributed to wide spreadhostility towards Americans and left us vulnerable to lethal threats to our interests andour safety.”

The report recommended that no public diplomacy actively be launched without as muchtesting and research as possible and that programs be continually measured foreffectiveness.

The authors argued that the most effective programs of public diplomacy, the ones thatmost likely to endure and have long-term impact are those that are mutually beneficial tothe United States and to the Arab and Muslim countries, emphasizing programmes that buildbridges and address the region’s weaknesses, especially in education while at the sametime advancing the American message and building a constituency of friendship and trust.

Quoting the Director of the Pew Research Center, the report records the uncomfortablerealisation that “…attitudes toward the United States, have gone from bad to worse” andasserts “hostility toward America has reached shocking levels”. The advisory group makesan almost undiplomatic indictment of America’s foreign policy. “We have failed to listenand failed to persuade, we have not taken the time to understand our audience and we havenot bothered to help them understand us. We cannot afford such shortcomings”.

There is a slight problem though. Much of the discussion about Islam and Muslims isdirected almost entirely at the Arab and Muslim world that lies in the Middle East. Thisis erroneous. Muslim communities are to be found scattered all over the world, someliving in minority situations, like in Uganda. To fully grasp the need for promotingunderstanding, the emphasis should be to engage “Muslim communities worldwide as opposedto “engaging the Arab and Muslim world which is in itself important but fundamentallyinadequate. Muslims constitute 1.2 billion global inhabitants. Less than a quarter ofthem live in the Arab and Muslim world. It may be important at this time more than everbefore, that it becomes an objective of Europe and the United States to emphasize Muslimexperiences outside the Middle East to present a more balanced picture of the Muslim in aglobal context.

END OF CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is Islam?

2. What does the Qur’an say about Christians and Jews?

3. What do you know about Muslims in Uganda?

4. In your view, what are the challenges facing Muslims in your country?


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1.

2.

3.

4.

Chapter 2

THE LINGERING ACCUSATION THAT ISLAM PROMOTES TERRORISM

What is Terrorism?Terrorism derives from Latin terrere, (to frighten). The word entered modern westernvocabularies through the French language in the 14th century. The first English usage wasrecorded in 1528.

One 1998 study by the US Army found that over 100 definitions of the word “terrorism”have been used. For this reason, many news sources avoid using the term, opting insteadGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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for less accusatory words like ‘bombers’, ‘militants,’ ‘extremists’. Among the differentdefinitions, several do not recognize the possibility of the legitimate use of violenceby civilians against an invader in an occupied country, and would thus label allresistance movements as terrorist groups.

Others make a distinction between lawful and unlawful use of violence. Ultimately, thedistinction is a political judgment. The definition of terrorism is inherentlycontroversial. The use of violence for the achievement of political ends is common tostate and non-state groups.

The difficulty is in agreeing on a basis for determination when the use of violence(directed at whom, by whom, for what ends) is legitimate. The majority of definitions inuse have been written by agencies directly associated to a government, and aresystematically biased to exclude governments from the definition.

Edward Peck former U.S. head of Mission in Iraq and Ambassador to Mauritania expressedthe following opinion:

“In 1985, when I was the Deputy Director of the Reagan White House Task Force orTerrorism, they asked us to come up with a definition of terrorism that could be usedthroughout the government.

We produced about six, and in each and every case, they were rejected, because carefulreading would indicate that our own country had been involved in some of thoseactivities.” He adds: “….. Yes, well, certainly you can think of a number of countriesthat have been involved in such activities. Ours (USA) is one of them. Israel is another.And so, the terrorist, of course, is in the eye of the beholder”. (Wikipedia, 2006).

Jason Burke, an expert in radical Islamic activity has this to say on the word“terrorism”:

“There are multiple ways of defining terrorism, and all are subjective. Most defineterrorism as ‘the use or threat of serious violence’ to advance some kind of a ‘cause’.Some state clearly the kinds of group (‘sub-national’, ‘non-state’) or cause (political,ideological, religious). To which they refer. Others merely rely on the instinct of mostpeople when confronted with an act that involves innocent civilians being killed ormaimed by men (and women) armed with explosives, firearms or other weapons. None issatisfactory, and grave problems with the use of the term persist. Terrorism, is, afterall a tactic not an ideology. The term ‘war on terrorism’ is thus effectivelynonsensical”.

Most groups called ‘terrorist’ deny such accusations. No organization has been known toopenly call itself terrorist.

Many groups call their enemies ‘terrorist’. The word is very loosely applied and verydifficult to challenge when it is being used inappropriately, for example in warsituations or against non-violent persons.


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There is no hope that people will ever agree who is a ‘terrorist’ and who is not.Organisations like the American Revolutionary Sons of Liberty revered in the UnitedStates might have been considered terrorists by today’s standards.

Let us for the sake of this discussion look at four definitions that have gained muchcurrency.

Webster’s University Dictionary: Systematic use of violence, terror, and intimidation to achievean end.

U.S. Department of Defense : The calculated use of violence or the threat of violence toinculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate government or societies in thepursuit of goals that are generally political, religious or ideological.

U.S. State Department: (International) terrorism is terrorism conducted with the support of aforeign government or organisation and/or directed against foreign nationals,institutions or governments

Federal Bureau of Investigation: Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence againstpersons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or anysegment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

Importance of DefinitionUntil a working definition is agreed to internationally, the problem of state sponsoredterrorism and terrorist vs freedom fighter will not be resolved. It is only once nationscan agree on who is a terrorist and what is terrorism that the extradition of peopleaccused of terrorism between nations can proceed.Only an internationally accepted definition of ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ can result inthe reduction of tensions between nations in solving international crises.

Principles of terrorismTo understand the possible reasons for the emergence of terrorism, one has to first seekto understand the purpose of terrorism, but also the nature of terrorism. Terrorism hasprinciples, the most important are four:1. The end justifies the means: no matter how horrific the act, it is justifiable to theterrorists as a means to achieve their goals.

2. Common concepts of law, ethics and morality, logic or religion do not apply toterrorists.

3. The creation of terror, mass hysteria and to demonstrate the powerlessness ofgovernment are all designed to force submission to the terrorist goals.

4. Terrorists do not view themselves as terrorists.

Terrorists may or may not have the ability to carry out their act. If the terrorists doesnot have the ability to carry out an act, they only need to convince you that they havethe ability to (hoax). Sometimes by forcing the government to take protective measures


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the terrorist can gain publicity and affect the public without actually launching anattack.

Terrorism and propagandaWhen non-state terrorism in its modern form was invented in the second half of the 19thcentury, it was known as ‘propaganda by the deed’. The invention of dynamite in 1867 andthe perfection of the rotating (printing) press (1881) which gave rise to mass media wereboth utilised by 19th century terrorists for revolutionary and anarchist propaganda.

Peter Kropotkin, one of the anarchist theorists, admitted that a few kilos of dynamitecould not demolish the historical structures created over thousands of years. Yet aspropaganda, terrorism could be effective. By actions which compel general attention,Kropotkin argued, “the new idea seeps into people’s minds and wins converts. One such actmay, in a few days, make more propaganda than a thousand pamphlets. Above all it awakensthe spirit of revolt”.

Terrorism cannot be understood only in terms of violence. It has to be understood also,and sometimes primarily, in terms of propaganda. Violence and propaganda have much incommon. Violence aims at behaviour modification by coercion. Propaganda aims at the sameby persuasion.

Terrorism can be seen as a combination of the two. Terrorism, by using violence againstone victim or sample of victims, seeks to coerce and persuade others. The immediatevictim is merely instrumental, like the skin on a drum beaten to achieve a calculatedimpact on a wider audience (Schmid and de Graaf, 1982).

Possible causes of terrorismWithout an understanding of the underlying factors that lead to terrorism an effectivecounter terrorism strategy cannot be developed. There are five levels of explanation orcauses: individual, political, economic, cultural and religious. There is not one causeat any of these levels but there are risk factors of terrorism at each level, and thatthese risk factors interact with one another. Most analyses of causes of terrorism areover simplified.

Terrorism is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon and each terrorist movement must beunderstood in its own specific context: its socio – economic, political, historical,cultural and religious context if it is to be countered effectively. Terrorism occursunder different political structures; from mature democracies to democratising regimes.However, democracies provide many opportunities for leaders to prevent and or pre-empt anoutburst of terrorist violence.

Terrorism may be indicative of extreme groups who can ideologically justify violence andwho are disillusioned of all other channels of expression. Terrorism is one of the mosteffective ways to shake the status quo, or to deter the emergence of a state ofaffairs. Terrorism puts governments on the spot since it defies their capacity to rule.Thus it compensates the perpetrators for their lack of military might to change theirplight. Hence terrorism makes a force appear much stronger than it really is.Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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By its nature, terrorism is more easily diffused across borders than any other type ofpolitically oriented violence. Of course it requires secrecy, commitment, loyalty,confidence and willingness to sacrifice oneself for the cause. But these are the traitsthat might be appealing to disheartened and crestfallen self-proclaimed redeemers.(Plegg, 2003).

Political extremists who decide to become terrorists are not lone assassins, butrepresentatives of a vigorous constituency.

To describe them as loners, madmen, psychopaths and sociopaths distorts the fact thatmany potential political terrorists grow and prosper under the auspice of a protectingidentity group, be it ethnic, religious or national.

What would propel a young and idealistic individual to try to change the status quothrough joining a radical and violent group? Weinberg and Davis (1989) distinguishbetween the ‘push’ of psychological attributes of each individual and the ‘pull’ oforganisational incentives and temptations that terrorist groups offer their potentialrecruits. The combination of pushes and pulls is responsible for the final matching ofthe terrorist organisation and its practitioners.

The internal psychological needs of becoming an active terrorist stem from discontent anddisenchantment with the existing state of affairs. A sense of revolt and defiance ofmaterialistic and accepted reality is accompanied by profound contempt for monetaryvalues, luxury items or the culture of consumption.

The world view of a potential terrorist is deterministic: it is comprised of “the good”and “the against the bad”; the ‘top dogs’ who oppress the ‘underdogs’ without anyintermediate colours or circumstances to mitigate the sharp contrast (Galtung 1971). Thepotential terrorists are so convinced of their self righteousness that they areimpervious to the suffering and injustice they themselves create in the quest for theperfect society.

Many terrorists do not personally suffer inequality and poverty. On the contrary, theycould come from middle class families and tranquil environments. They encounter socialinjustice when they grow up and leave home, purchase education and become aware of theturbulence around them.

Others are not animated so much by concern for justice as by the thrill of the action,the excitement, and the constant danger of being persecuted day and night; psychologistscall such individuals stress-seekers (Genshaw 1986).

A similar reason for joining a terrorist group is to escape from boredom or the routineof life. Others are allured by the mystique and the aura of heroism and romanticismsurrounding terrorism.

They enjoy the sense of power and the advantage of being unexpected, unpredictable andalways initiating. The terrorist organisation provides an alternative framework or familyfor the dispossessed youngsters. Being part of a group offers a sense of belonging and anGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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opportunity for camaraderie, friendship and participation in a common fate. Suchreassuring experiences diminish one’s insecurities vis-à-vis a hostile environment andbolster one’s belief in the righteousness of the route chosen.

Slann and Schechterman (1987) distinguish between rational and irrational terrorists. Therational terrorist is the goal oriented, pre-mediated activist, who indulges in a cost-benefit calculation of terrorist needs, material and other tangible incentives, in orderto become an active member of the militant unit: large salary, respectable status – and alavish life style. Terrorists in the category act more like mercenaries and hired killersthan deeply committed idealists.

On the other hand, rational participation in terrorism is inspired by purposiveincentives such as consecrating the deed and glorifying an end, which sanctifies theterrorist act as a necessary measure, regardless of its inhumane nature. The greater thededication, and the sense of fulfilment one gets from becoming a terrorist, the morelikely it is that one decides rationally to implement murderous schemes.

On the other hand, irrational terrorism is committed by the emotional, spontaneousradical. Such activists often do not possess a burning commitment or ideology, nor arethey impelled by material incentives. They are usually moved by whimsical eruptions andoutbursts of hatred and vengeance. Sometimes yearning for esteem and acceptance by peerspushes them to the most despicable atrocities.

These two motivations of terrorism co-exist in many identity groups which escalate theirstruggle. The leadership can be perceived as rational because it devises goals, weighsoptions and makes choices. The rank and file may be seen as emotional, driven byreligious, ethnic or patriotic zeal, and excited by the companionship of the group.

Terrorists seem to relish the shocking impact of their deeds, and utilise the immediateshort term success of audacity to abet their staggering spirit. Thus, what characterisesterrorist factions is unfettered ruthlessness and smaller size. Being a factional, closeknitted group, suits the secrecy and efficiency terrorism nurtures upon. To chooseterrorism as a tactic, one has to invoke passionate convictions in the right of way, anda profound disdain for any potential hindrance.

Islam condemns all forms of terrorism and any suggestion to label it sympathetic toterrorism is absurd.

Suggested further reading

1. CC O’Brien. Passion and Cunning: Essays on Nationalism, Terrorism and

2. Revolution. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1989.

3. D. M. Condit. Modern Revolutionary Warfare: Kensington, Md., American Institute for Research, 1973.

4. Mao Tse-tung. On Guerrilla warfare. New York, Praeger, 1961.

5. B. Rubin (Ed). The Politics of Terrorism: Terror as a State Revolutionary Strategy.


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6. Washington, D.C., Foreign Policy Institute, 1989.

7. S. Plegg. One’s Terrorist is Another’s Blockbuster: Political Terrorism in American

8. versus European Films. The New England Journal of Political Science, Summer 2003.

9. A. Jacobs. Talking to Islamists? : the Transatlantic Debate over Islamist Parties in the Middle East. American Institute forContemporary German Studies, 2006.

10. A. El-Affendi. Blowing Up Airplanes is Wrong. The Muslim News, London, August 2006.

11. O.D. Kalinge-Nnyago. Caroongate: Danish Prime Minister should resign. The Weekly Message, Kampala, April 2006.

12. B. Crozier. The Rebels. London Chatto and Windus, 1960.

13. A. P. Schmid and J. de Graaf. Violence as Communication. London, Sage, 1982.

14. P. Kropoktin. The Spirit of Revolt. Ze’ev Iviansky Individual Terror: Concept and Typology. Journal of Contemporary History, 1977.

15. N.O’Sullivan (Ed.) Terrorism, Idelology and Revolution. Boulder, Westview Press, 1986.

16. A.P. Schmid, A. J. Jongman et al., Political Terrorism: A new Guide to Actors, Authors, Concepts, Databases, Theories, and Literature.Centre for International Affairs, Havard University. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing, 1988.


What is terrorism?

Does Islam support Terrorism?

What are the likely causes of terrorism?

How can the challenge of terrorism be addressed by your Mosque/Islamicorganisation?


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Chapter 3

ISLAM, RELIGIOUS CO-EXISTENCE AND PLURALISM

There is a pervasive view in the media today that Islam does not support co-existence andpluralism. Sadly, we often hear how difficult it is for non-Muslim minorities to live inpeace and harmony in Muslim countries. Violent extremists who misuse Islamic theology tojustify terrorist attacks have exacerbated prejudices against Muslims and today manypeople think that Muslims do not believe in pluralism and diversity.

By contrast, history reveals that Islam — as preached in the Qur’an and exemplified bythe life of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions— actually accepts, celebrates andeven encourages religious diversity.

It should be noted that the term “minority” has no place in Islamic law. Nor does it havea place in Sharia (a legal system based on Islamic principles) and jurists have neverused the term. Rather, it emerged from Western societies, which use it to distinguishbetween ethnic groups. According to Islamic principles, everyone who lives in a Muslimstate is entitled to enjoy the same rights of citizenship, despite the differences theymay have in their religion or population size.


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In 622 CE, when the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina in the ArabianPeninsula and started to build the first Muslim state, he ensured that its Muslim andnon-Muslim inhabitants could co-exist in harmony. There was a substantial Jewishcommunity in Medina, and the Prophet proposed an agreement of cooperation — betweenMuslims and the 11 Jewish tribes — called the Constitution of Medina, which Muslimhistorians and scholars generally accept as the first written state constitution.

This constitution spelled out Jews’ rights as non-Muslim citizens in the Muslim state. Asa result, the Prophet managed to establish a multi-faith political community in Medinabased on a set of universal principles. The rules set out in the constitution were meantto maintain peace and cooperation, protect life and property, prevent injustice andensure freedom of religion and movement for all inhabitants—regardless of tribal orreligious affiliation. Allegiance to the community superseded religious identity, asspelled out in the rules for joint defence: “each must help the other against anyone whoattacks the people of this document”.

The Prophet’s treatment of the “People of the Book”, in this case Jews, showed religioustolerance as well as prudence. The constitution established the pattern for the futurerelationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, specifying non-Muslim citizens as equalpartners with Muslim inhabitants.

Almost 15 years later, when Muslims conquered Jerusalem from the Byzantines, Caliph UmarIbn al-Khattab granted its people, who were mainly Christians, safety for their persons,property and churches. As well-known British historian Karen Armstrong writes, “...[Umar]was faithful to the Islamic inclusive vision. Unlike Jews and Christians, Muslims did notattempt to exclude others from Jerusalem’s holiness”. Umar’s assurance of safety to thepeople of Jerusalem stands as an important example for leaders in multi-faith societiestoday, and history has proven that when these examples were put into practice, non-Muslims were treated kindly and justly.

These examples of Muslim and non-Muslim co-existence are not confined to a specific timeor place, but are meant to be applied in all times and places. Today, for example,Jordan’s constitution guarantees freedom of religious belief. Christians in Jordan, whoform the majority of non-Muslims, enjoy by law nearly ten per cent of the seats inparliament and have similar quotas at every level of government and society. Their holysites, property and religious practices are protected from any kind of interference bythe state.

We must also acknowledge, however, cultural and social realities in many Muslim-majoritysocieties have led to violations of the rights of non-Muslims in contemporary times.Looking at Islamic history, however, demonstrates that the path towards mutualunderstanding and tolerance does not deviate from the essence of Islam. On the contrary,to revive the spirit of inclusivity, Muslim societies should look to the Qur’an, andemulate the model it lays out.


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1. Historical context of the Qur’anic warnings against the Christians and the Jews

Prophet Muhammad’s immediate audience included some Jewish and Christian tribes whoseancestors had drifted into the Arab hinterlands centuries ago, and formed their owntribes. They lived in harmony with the native Arabs and except for their religiousorientations they were part of the Arab mosaic. As Muhammad (pbuh) claimed to bepreaching the true faith of the Semitic Prophets (Jesus, Moses), the native Christiansand Jews remained sympathetic to him as long as his mission did not cause them any alarm.Thus, around the fifth year of his mission (615), the Christian King (Negus) of theneighbouring Ethiopia agreed to offer shelter to a group of the Prophet’s followers whohad fled Mecca in the face of persecution. However, in the ensuing years, following hisforced migration to Medina (622), the Prophet gained converts rapidly and emerged thecivil and political head of its mixed community. These aroused suspicions among thenative Jewish tribes regarding the Prophet’s real motives - whether spiritual orpolitical. But when a revelation commanded the change in qibla (direction of prayer) fromJerusalem to the Ka‘ba, the Jews became greatly alarmed. This was around the fourteenthyear of the revelation, the second year in Medina (624). The Prophet was leading aprayer, and the following verse was revealed:

“Thus We have made you a justly balanced community, that you may be witnesses to humanity, and theMessenger, a witness to you. And We only established the direction of prayer (to Ka‘ba) that you were usedto, that We might know those who followed the Messenger from those who turned on their heels. Indeed, itwas a great (shock) except to those guided by God. (Remember,) God would not let your faith suffer decline,for indeed God is Most Compassionate and Merciful to humanity” (2:143).

Since the revelation had described the Ka‘ba, as the first House of worship built byAbraham (2:127, 3:96), the new prayer direction (qiblah) virtually appointed the Muslimsthe true representatives or spiritual successors of the Prophet Abraham, the forebear oftheir Prophet Moses, the first Patriarch of all Jewish people. From their perspective,Muhammad had hijacked their spiritual heritage and laid the foundation of an independentSemitic faith that could claim greater genuineness and purity than their own. On theother hand, the change of direction of prayer towards a direction (Ka‘ba) they identifiedwith paganism at this stage was also hard for the Prophet’s followers to accept, and theyfailed to realize what went through the hearts and minds of their Jewish brethren. Thus,as the Qur’an tells the Prophet’s followers - and its words must be true lest they wouldhave rejected it as a false book:

“There you are (O followers of the Prophet), you love them, but they do not love you, and you believe in theentire scripture. And when they meet you, they say, ‘We believe;’ but when they are alone, they bite theirfingers in rage at you. Say, ‘Die in your rage;’ God knows what is within the hearts (3:119).”

In the years to follow, the Jews actively conspired with the hypocrites among theProphet’s followers (who had entered Islam for political gains) and his enemies in Mecca– the Quraysh, who were enraged at Muhammad’s successes in Medina. The revelation, whichalso served as the sole guide to the Prophet and determined his course of action, warnedthe Prophet and his followers from time to time against the native Jews, and at times inharsh tone as illustrated below:


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“You who believe, do not take the Jews and Christians for your allies (awliya’): they are but the allies(awliya’) of one another, and any of you who allies with them, becomes, one of them. Indeed God does notguide the unjust people” (5:51).

“Your only ally (wali) is God, and His Messenger, and those who believe: those who keep up prayer, and givecharity, and bow down (in prayer) (5:55). Therefore, whoso allies with God and His Messenger and (with)those who believe, (belong to) the party of God, and will be victorious (56). (Therefore) you who believe, donot take as your allies those, who take your religion for a joke and a sport, be they among those whom theBook was revealed before you, or among the disbelievers; but heed God, if you are (truly) faithful (57). Whenyou call to prayer, they take it as mockery and amusement. This is because, they are a people who do notuse their reason” (5:58).

2. The Qur’an’s concluding exhortations on religious tolerance It is important to note that a passage (5:44-47) from the last revealed chapter(Surah al Maidah) refers to the Torah and the Gospel as revealed scriptures, and thusacknowledges the Jews and Christians as people of faith.

“Indeed We have revealed the Torah (to Moses) with guidance and Light in it. The prophets who submittedthemselves (to God), judged thereby those who were Jewish, and (so did) the rabbis and scholars, who wereentrusted with the preservation of God’s Book of which they were witnesses. So do not fear people but fearMe; and do not sell My messages for a petty price. (Remember,) those who do not judge by what God hasrevealed – it is they who are the deniers (of God) (5:44). We prescribed in it for them, a life for a life, an eyefor an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and wounds like for like. But whoever(forgives as a gesture of) charity, this is the expiation for him. (Remember,) those who do not judge by whatGod has revealed – it is they who are unjust” (5:45).

“We caused Jesus, the Son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps confirming what was there before him of theTorah, and We gave him the Gospel with guidance and Light in it, confirming what was there before him ofthe Torah, and as a guidance and a lesson for the heedful (muttaqin) (5:46). Let the people of the Gospeljudge by what God has revealed in it. (Remember,) those who do not judge by what God has revealed, it isthey who are perverse” (5:47).

3. The Qur’an’s concluding message on religious pluralism The following renditions of the relevant Qur’anic verses, including those (5:48, 49:13)dating from the concluding phase of the revelation speak for themselves:

“Every religious community (literally everyone) has a mode of worshipping God (literally, a goal to which heturns): so vie (with each other) in goodness, (and remember,) wherever you may be, God will bring you alltogether. Indeed God is Capable of everything” (2:148). [The interpretive translation is inagreement with those of most classical commentators including Ibn Kathir as noted byMuhammad Assad]“We have revealed to you this divine Writ (kitab) setting forth the truth, confirming (whatever) remains ofthe divine writ (sent earlier), and determining what is true in it. Therefore, judge between them by whatGod has revealed, and do not follow their whims after what has come to you of truth. For each of you Wehave made a (different) code (shir‘ah), and an open way (of action) (minhaj). If God so pleased, He wouldhave made you (all) into one (religious) community. Therefore vie (with each other) in goodness (so that) He


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may test you by what He has given you. (Remember, you) all will (eventually) return to God, and He will tellyou in what you differed” (5:48).

“O People! We have created you as male and female, and made you into races andreligious communities (lit., ‘tribes) for you to get to know each other. The noblestamong you near God are those of you who are the most heedful (morally upright).Indeed God is All-Knowing and Informed” (49:13).

4. The Qur’an approves of some of the People of the Book (Christians and Jews)

The Qur’an acknowledges that some among the People of Book are righteous and heedful(muttaqin) (3:113-115), attests the honesty and integrity of others (3:75, 3:199). One ofits verses dating from its concluding phase (5:66) describes them as a moderate people:

“Among the People of the Book is one, that if you entrusted him with a fortune, he would return it to you,while there is among them (yet) another, that if you entrusted him with a tiny gold coin, he would notreturn it to you unless you constantly chased him. This is because they say: ‘It is not our way to (deal with)these unlettered folks.’ They are telling a lie against God while they realize it” (3:75).

“There are among the People of the Book those who believe in God, and in the revelation sent to you (OMuhammad,) and in the revelation sent to them. They fear God, and do not sell God's messages for a pettyprice: it is they who have their reward with their Lord. Indeed God is Swift in reckoning” (3:199).

“If only the People of the Book had believed and heeded (Our message), We would have erased their evilsfrom them and admitted them to gardens of bliss (5:65). If they had only upheld the Torah, and the Gospel,and whatever was revealed to them, they would have availed of all the blessings of life*. There is acommunity of moderates among them, but vile indeed is what most of them do” (5:66). [Lit., ‘from abovethem and below them.’]

5. The Qur’an sets common criteria of divine Judgment for all believing communities The following renditions of the relevant verses (quoted only partly to avoid bulk) areself explanatory, and bring the Muslims, Christians, Jews and all believing humanity onthe same spiritual footing:

“Those who believe, and those who are Jews, and Christians and Sabians - and (in fact) any who believe inGod and the Last Day, and do good deeds - shall have their reward with their Lord. There will be no fearupon them, nor shall they grieve” (2:62).

“Those who believe, and those who are Jews, and Sabians and Christians - (in fact) any who believe in Godand the Last Day, and do good deeds - there will be no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve” (5:69).

“Those who believe, and those who are Jews and Sabians and Christians and Magians, and those whoassociate (others with God) - God will judge between them on the Day of Judgment. Indeed, God is Witnessto all things” (22:17). [Message repeated in the verses, 4:124, 64:9, 65:11]

6. There is no Qur’anic basis to hate Christians and Jews or any community


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The verses 5:51, 5:55/56 (1 above) are often cited in isolation and out of historicalcontext to imply that for all times, the Muslims should not take the Jews and Christiansas their friends or allies. But the Qur’an’s concluding exhortations on religioustolerance and religious pluralism (2, 3 above), approval of some of the People of theBook (4 above) and its repeated assertion that all faith communities will be judged onthe basis of their deeds (5 above), comprehended collectively, rule out any such notion.Moreover, the Qur’an offers further illustrations to leave no ambiguity on this matter.i. In the context of the revelation, the Qur’an forbade the Muslims to ally with

those only who fought against them over religion, and expelled them from theirhomelands, and helped (others) in their expulsion (60:9). Accordingly, it did notforbid Muslims to be virtuous and just to those who did not fight against them overreligion, nor drove them from their homelands (60:8).

“It may be that God will bring about love between you and those of them you (now)regard as your enemies. (Remember,) God is Able (to do anything) and God is MostForgiving and Merciful (60:7). God does not forbid you to be virtuous (tabarru) andjust to those who did not fight you over religion, nor drove you from your homelands.Indeed, God loves the just (8). God only forbids you to befriend those who foughtagainst you over religion, and expelled you from your homelands, and backed (others)in your expulsion; and whoever befriends them – it is they who are unjust” (60:9).

ii. In its concluding phase, the Qur’an allows Muslim men to marry Christian andJewish women (5:5), and thus make them their benefactors or allies. (9:71).

“This day (all) good things are made lawful for you. The food of those to whom Scripture [Book] was given islawful for you, and your food is lawful for them; and so are chaste believing women (mu’minat), and chastewomen from among those (who have been) given the Scripture before you - after you give them theirdowers (and take them in wedlock) as chaste women, not in lewdness, nor as secret love-companions.Anyone who rejects faith (in God), his deed is in vain, and he will be among the lost ones in the hereafter”(5:5).

“The believing men (mu’minin) and the believing women (mu’minat) are protectors (awliya’) of each other:they enjoin the good and restrain the evil; they keep up prayer and give charity, and obey God and HisMessenger. They are those on whom God will have mercy. (Remember,) God is Almighty, Wise” (9:71).

iii. The Qur’an calls upon Muslims to debate with the People of the Book in the mostbeautiful and logical manner (16:125, 29:46), except with those of them who oppress others (29:46).

“Invite (all) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and pleasant counseling, and debate with them in the bestmanner. Indeed God knows best who is straying from His path, and He knows best the (rightly) guided”(16:125).

“And do not debate with the People of the Book, but in a way that is better (than theirs), except with thoseof them who oppress (others); and say ‘We believe in what was revealed to us, and what was revealed to


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you, for our God and your God is One (and the same), and it is to Him that we (all) submit (muslimun)’”(29:46).

Thus, any generalization of the context specific Qur’anic verses 5:51, 5:55/56 or anyother verse for that matter to foment hatred against contemporary Christians and Jews andother confessional communities will be tantamount to distorting the message of theQur’an. To the critic, however, this may sound apologetic, as it contradicts the groundreality of the present day Muslim world, where anti-Semitic sentiments run high. It maytherefore be useful to clarify this by drawing on modern secular scholarship. Thus, toquote the distinguished contemporary scholar Karen Armstrong [1]:

“Anti-Semitism is a Christian vice. Hatred of the Jews became marked in the Muslim world after the creation of thestate of Israel in 1948. It is significant that Muslims were compelled to import anti-Jewish myths from Europe andtranslate into Arabic such virulently anti-Semitic texts as the Protocols of the elders of Zion, because they had nosuch tradition of their own. Because of this new hostility towards the Jewish people, some Muslims now quote thepassages in the Qur’an that refer to Muhammad’s struggle with the three rebellious Jewish tribes to justify theirprejudice. By taking these verses out of context, they have distorted both the message of the Qur’an and theattitude of the Prophet, who himself felt no such hatred of Judaism.”

Thomas W. Arnold (1864-1930) a distinguished scholar and historian of Islam carried outan extensive research lasting almost two decades to dig into the reasons of thephenomenal spread of Islam in its early centuries, which appeared in his landmarkpublication, ‘Preaching of Islam’. The following remark in its conclusive chapter states:

"In the preceding pages it has been shown that the theory of the Muslim faith enjoinstoleration and freedom of religious life for all those followers of other faiths who paytribute in return for protection …, The very existence of so many Christian sects andcommunities in countries that have been for centuries under Mohammadan rule is an abidingtestimony to the toleration they have enjoyed, and shows that the persecutions, they havefrom time to time been called upon to endure at the hands of bigots and fanatics, havebeen excited by some special and local circumstances, rather than inspired by a settledprinciple of intolerance." He also notes: ‘(Caliph) Umar is recorded to have ordered anallowance of money and food to be made to some Christian lepers, apparently out of thepublic funds.7. There is no Qur’anic basis to prohibit the construction of churches, synagogues or

any house of pure worship in Muslim country The Qur’an’s tenets and pronouncements on religious harmony and pluralism as reviewedabove refute any suggestion to obstructing or forbidding the diverse religiouscommunities to building their houses of worship. The Qur’an illustrates this further inits following verses/ passages.

“…Had God not driven people, some (communities) by others – monasteries, churches, synagogues andmosques in which God's name is regularly proclaimed, would have been demolished. (Remember,) Godhelps those who help His (cause). Indeed God is Powerful, Almighty” (22:40).

“(Lit is God’s Light) In houses God has permitted to be exalted (all places of pure worship). His name ismentioned in them, and He is glorified in them morning and evening (24:36), by men whom neither businessnor trading distract from remembering God, who keep up prayer and practice zakah and fear the Day of


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Judgment in which the hearts and eyes will be transfixed (24:37) (hoping that) God may reward them for thebest of what they did, and give them more out of His Grace; and (remember) God provides for anyone Hewishes beyond any measure” (24:38).

These Qur’anic pronouncements and for that matter, the entire essay may appear an eyewash, a camouflage or sheer propaganda - if not a blatant lie today in the backdrop ofthe restrictions imposed on the Christians and non-Muslims in Muslim lands including theprohibition on constructing churches and houses of worship.

Thomas Arnold sets the record right. Commenting on the construction of churches in theIslamic Caliphate, he declares, "We have numerous instances recorded, both by Christianand Mohammedan historians, of the building of new churches.” He substantiates this remarkby citing examples of the churches and monasteries that were built in Muslim cities, eventhe new cities built by early Caliphs for the Muslims [4]. Yet another outstandinghistorian of Islam from the Christian world, Philip K. Hitti, credited with theauthorship of the masterly treatise, History of the Arabs, testifies to the religiousfreedom that was granted to the vanquished Christian settlements by Caliph Umar /hisgenerals as typified by the terms of surrender of Damascus (AH 635):

“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! This is what Khalid ibn al Walid will offer to theinhabitants of Damascus if he enters therein: he promises to give them the security for their lives, property andchurches. Their city wall will not be demolished, neither shall any Moslem be quartered in their houses. Thereuntowe give to them the pact of God and the protection of the Prophet, the caliphs and the believers. So long as theypay the poll tax, nothing shall befall them."


What does is Islam teach about dealing people of other faiths/ religions?

Does your Mosque or Muslim organisation take interest in inter-religious/interfaithissues?


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Have you ever participated in an interfaith event? Which event was it ? What wasyour experience?

If invited, would you participate in an interfaith event? Why?

Chapter 4

INVOLVING YOUTH AND WOMEN IN ALL MUSLIM COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

The Ugandan youth in contextAccording to recent projections of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda has theworld’s youngest population with over 78% of its population under the age of 30. Inaddition, 60% Muslims in the country are under the age of 30 years, and this youngpopulation contains an enormous amount of talent, energy, dynamism and potential.Unfortunately, all these unique attributes are largely yet to be leveraged as politicaland social change sweeps through these communities country-wide. As such, unemploymenthas hit an all-time high with 36% of the 83% unemployed youth in the country beingMuslims (World Bank Report, 2011).

There is need now in Uganda more than ever, to focus on youth concerns to prevent theprevailing radicalization from developing into extremism and violence. Opposition partiesas well as the government ought to sit on a roundtable and seek intelligent solutions ifpeace is to be achieved again on Uganda’s streets. What is not apparent is whether theconcerns of the youth will be high on the agenda.

The concept of Youth Empowerment Empowerment refers to the ability of an individual to make choices regarding their life.It enhances an individual's capacity to make choices and transform those choices intodesired actions and outcomes.


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Youth development is an unconditional posture for nation building – as the strength offuture development of a nation depends solely on it. The future of any nation ispredicated on its present youth productive force. A society with an inefficient andirresponsible youth is condemned to decline.

The Youth constitute the true wealth of the future of any country, addressing their hopesand aspirations must therefore be an integral part of socio economic development.

Youths have rightsYouth rights should be judged from the three 3 Ps, namely; Provision, Protection andParticipation.

Provision - of the basic needs of the youth to develop e.g., love, care, education etc

Protection - from all form of abuse and exploitation (physical and mental abuse, sexualabuse, degrading punishment, hazardous labour, slavery, armed conflict, prostitution,torture, traffiking, and other forms of discrimination.

Participation – the right of the youth to participate in all decisions concerning thedevelopment of the youth – and they youth status as an independent human being andcitizen. Should be actively involved, not rather than passive beneficiaries.

Similarly the three Rs are just as important

Rights, Respect and Responsibility.

Rights - Youth have the rights to accurate and complete education information to securestake in the future

Respect - Youth Deserve Respect. Today young people are regarded as part of the problemValuing Young people meant that they are part of the solution and participate indeveloping programmes and policies that affect their well being.

Responsibility - Society has the responsibility to provide young people with the toolsthey need to safeguard themselves with full confidence.

Role of the youthYouths have always played a major role in the growth spread and defence of Islam sincethe days of the prophet Muhammad (SAW). Youths are energetic, free of family obligations,adventurous, hopeful and often daring. These are attributes or characteristics thatMuslim youth and student organisations can benefit from.

On the other hand youths can be reckless, inexperienced, arrogant, confused short sightedand ignorant. This is why they should belong to the right organisations to guide them,


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educate them and clear their confusion that arises from the conflicting messages theyreceive from the un Islamic surroundings they live in.

Understanding the role of Muslim women in Islamic activities

The role of Muslim women in the Islamic world is one that is prone to much discussion andassumptions; unfortunately the discussion is more often than not a negative one. The mostcommon perceptions are of women living under the oppressive dictatorships of theirhusbands and fathers, forced into marriage, and of course suffocated under the veil. Interms of her contribution and role in society the caricature is one of the womanrestricted to five metres away from the kitchen sink.

The discussion of Muslim women and their roles is an important one for every Muslim, firstly because it's an area in which there are many misconceptions by non-Muslims which need to be corrected and secondly some Muslims treat women unjustly in the name of Islam when in actual fact their actions are often a result of cultural or tribal customs and not Islam.

Misconceptions surrounding the treatment of Muslim women arise from two sources; from Muslims who may justify their oppression and mistreatment of women on the basis of Islam.Also, some non- Muslims who have an agenda to take the Islamic teachings and want to depict Islamic civilisation as backward and oppressive. In recent times the treatment of women in Afghanistan has been used to present the picture of Muslim women being oppressedand abused and then blame the Shar'iah texts. An apt example of the former is the recent murder in 2007, of Banaz Mahmood in the United Kingdom killed by her father and uncle forthe sake of ‘honour'. There is also the example of Mukhtar Mai in Pakistan who was gang raped as a punishment due to her brother allegedly having a relationship with a village elder's daughter. Even though these actions are not from Islam the western media linked this crime to Islam.

The role of the Muslim woman is clearly defined and outlined in Islam. In short her primary role is with the upbringing of her children and in being a dutiful wife. She is encouraged to carry out all the duties she takes up with devotion and enthusiasm.

The following Ahadith remind her of the rewards and merits attached to undertaking her primary duties.

A woman came to ask the Prophet (saw) about some matter, and when he had dealt with it, he asked her, "Do you have a husband?" She said, "Yes." He asked her, "How are you with him?" She said, "I never fall short in my duties, except for that which is beyond me." Hesaid, "Pay attention to how you treat him, for he is your Paradise and your Hell."

(Reported by Ahmad)

Abu Huraira narrated The Prophet (saw) said, "The righteous among the women of Quraish Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

social media

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are those who are kind to their young ones and who look after their husband's property."

However the women's role of being a mother and a wife are not her only roles. Islam permits the women to perform Hajj (pilgrimage), to exercise the vote, engage in politics, to take up employment and even run her own business.

Allah (swt) mentions that Men and Women are equal in his sight. He (swt) mentions that the only difference is that of piety, of gaining reward and of obeying Him (swt). It is not physical equality. To state the obvious, Allah (swt) has made Men and Women differentand in terms of roles he has made the means to gain reward different.

"Men are the protectors and maintainers [qawwamun] of women, because Allah has given the one more [strength] than the other, and because they support them from their means. . ." (Qur'an 4:34)

Certain commands in Islam are general and are applied on all Muslims irrespective of being male or female, certain duties fall specifically on men whilst others only apply towomen.

The activities she can engage in are varied and in some cases duties upon her which she must not compromise. The notion that Muslim women cannot be educated or work is an absurdone. A basic understanding of the life of Muhammad (saw) and knowledge of the wives of the Prophet (saw) show examples of women excelling in their fields of knowledge.

The Prophet (saw)'s wife, Khadijah (ra) was not only a businesswoman but also a successful one at that. His (saw)'s wife Aisha (ra) is widely renown to have been an authority of hadith who related a large number of hadith.

Muslim women are not only allowed to receive an education and work but should be given and will be given opportunities under the Khilafah State to excel in their areas of expertise. The need to acquire knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim whether male or female and the Khilafah State is obligated to provide women an education to the highest level. Women are seen as valuable citizens of the state who not only offer their knowledge but also educate, nurture and instil the Islamic personality in the next generation. In every way the Muslim woman contributes to and has a vital and honourable role to play in society.

From amongst the many activities that the Muslim woman is able to engage in, one of the most important is her right to enjoin good and forbid evil and discuss the affairs of theUmmah.

With the growing resurgence and political awakening of Muslims worldwide, the political voice of Muslim women in contributing to this must not be ignored. Indeed, examples of such activism exist from the time of the Prophet (saw) to the present day. Islam definespolitics as taking care of the affairs of the Ummah, Muslim women do not live separately but live amongst and are part of the Ummah, they feel the problems that exist in society


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and the world at large, they feel the absence of Islam, and see the injustice of the oppressive regimes.

Muslim women engaging in politics is not a new phenomenon, an early example of this is atthe time of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) when the leaders of Yathrib (Madinah) sent a partyof Bani Khazraj to pledge their allegiance to him (saw). This group consisted of sixty-two men and two women who pledged allegiance; the pledge of Aqabah is well known to have had both spiritual and political implications. The pledge was not only a declaration of accepting Islam but was a promise of political support and military protection. Later examples continue to support the idea of women in politics. In the early fourth century A.H, Um Muqtadir Billah, the mother of the Abbasid Khaleefah set up a tribunal for the purpose of settling people's petitions and lawsuits and placed one of her female courtiers as judge.

A recent publication of Zainab Al Ghazali's book shows her commitment to the responsibility of carrying the dawah for Islam and working to establish the system of Islam. As a consequence she was imprisoned and tortured. She talks about this commitment in her book when reminding her husband of their duty to Allah (swt) "In the event of any clash between the marriage contract's interest and that of da'wah, our marriage will end, but da'wah will always remain rooted in me... I know that it is your right to command me and that it is my duty to obey you, but God in our souls is greater than our souls, and His da'wah is dearer to us than ourselves..." she goes on to explain the focus of her da'wah "...Those who have assumed the difficulties of this way and know -God willing- the secret behind the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah will never deviate from truth, good deeds and da'wah until the Ummah is re established and all humanity is under the banner of Allah."

Muslim women have for too long been told they are worthless and not capable of expressingthemselves on a political platform, the tide however is changing more and more women in Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt are expressing their views and concerns in a public arena; accounting rulers, having an opinion on educational and health matters, calling for Khilafah in the Muslim world. Muslim women are part of society; hence they have a key role to play in the development towards a truly Islamic society and beyond. In Islam a women is seen as an honour and an invaluable part of the Ummah. The role of the Muslim woman is that of being obedient to Allah (swt) to not worship man but to submit to the One that is worthy of worship.

Allah (swt) says:

"The believers, men and women, are protecting friends (Awliya) of one another; they join the ma'ruf (that which Allah commands) and forbid people form munkar (that which Allah prohibits); they perform salat, and give the zakat, and obeyAllah and His Messenger. Allah will have mercy on them. Surely Allah is All mighty, All wise" [TMQ At Taubah: 71]

Allah (swt) had ordained upon us this Ummah the noble task of enjoining the ma'ruf and forbidding the munkar. The Muslim woman must undertake this duty as seriously and with asmuch enthusiasm as she undertakes the other duties ordained by Allah (swt).


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It is for these and other reasons that Muslim leaders should make it policy to involve women in all the community’s activities.

Role of Muslim Woman in the Mosque

"Allah has promised to believers, men and women, Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in Gardens of everlasting bliss. But the greatest bliss is the good please of Allah: that is the supreme felicity." [9/at-Tauba/71-72]

Lessons from Islamic History clearly establish the fact that Muslim women participated inthe broader life, even at the highest level of combat field. They served as nurses, as teachers, as narrators of hadith, as jurisprudents (faqiha).

Cases of Women Participation in the Mosque and other community activities

Women and Masjid at the time of the Prophet: Women's participation in the Masjid/prayers:

Anas Bin Malik: I never prayed behind any Imam a prayer lighter and more perfect than that behind the Prophet and he used to cut short the prayer whenever he heard the cries of a child lest he should put the child's mother to trial. [Sahih al-Bukhari: Vol. 1, #676]

Women used to live in the Masjid!

Aisha narrated: A (previously mistreated) but freed slave girl came to Rasulullah and embraced Islam. She had a tent or a small room with a low roof in the mosque. [Sahih al-Bukhari: Vol. 1, #430]

Women used to clean Masjid

Abu Hurairah: "A man or a woman used to clean the mosque." (most probably a woman according to a sub-narrator). According to another hadith, the Prophet offered her funeral prayer at her grave. [Sahih al-Bukhari: Vol. 1, #450]

Women's attachment to the Masjid (one wife of the Prophet had so much attachment)

Anas: Once Rasulullah came to the Mosque, he noticed a rope strung between two columns. Heinquired as to why that rope was so fastened between two columns. The Companions said: Hazrat Zainab had tied this rope only to take rest when tired in the course of her prayers. Rasulullah said: "Untie it. You should pray so long as you feel pleasant. When you feel tired you should go to rest." [Bukhari and Muslim as reported in Riyadus Saleheen, Vol. I, #146].

Women's participation in Jum'a prayer (one woman memorized one whole sura just by regularly attending Jum'a prayer)


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Umm Hisham narrated: "... I learnt surah al-Qahf, By the Glorious Qur'an, from no other source than the tongue of Rasulullah (s) who used to recite it every Friday on the pulpit..." [Sahih Muslim, Vol. I, #1894]

Women had programs and activities in the masjid

Asma bint Yazid (r): Rasulullah (once) passed through the mosque, when a group of women was seated in the Masjid, he made a sign of greeting to them by raising his hand. [Sunan Abu Dawood and Sunan at-Tirmizi as reported in Riyadus Saleheen, #865]

Even though it is unanimously agreed that women are not required to participate in Jum'ahprayer and even though we have not explained the importance of Muslim women's participation in Jum'ah, we offer invitation to Muslim sisters to start participating in Jum'ah prayer, not merely to listen to any khutbah selectively, but to come to Jum'ah on a regular basis as part of their regular Islamic routine. Imamas and other Islamic religious leaders should encourage them all to build a masjid-oriented life. Of course, men have to be facilitators of women's participation and also they have to share responsibilities at home to facilitate as such.

The following Ahadith are significant

When A'tikah, wife of Hadhrat Umar (r) used to ask Umar for permission to go to themosque (for congregational prayer), he used to keep silence. A'tikah would say: By Allah, I will go unless you prohibit me. And he would not prohibit. [Muat-ta of Imam Malik, #460]

Ibn Umar reported: the Prophet (s) said: Do not prevent women from going to the mosque when they seek your permission. Bilal b. Abdullah said: By Allah, we shall certainly prevent them. On this Ibn Umar (r) turned towards him and reprimanded him[in another version, thumped the speaker's chest] so harshly as I have never hear him do before. Abdullah ibn Umar (r) said: I am narrating to you that which comes from the Prophet (s) and you (dare) say: By Allah we shall certainly prevent them. [Sahih Muslim, Vol. I, #885]

Women and Masjid at the time of the Prophet (s)

Yes, there are etiquettes of participating in Masjid for men and women. But participationof men in congregational prayers and Masjid activities are mandatory for men in general, while women are merely exempt. However, the first generation of Muslim women understood the Islamic guidance as categorically emphasizing a Masjid-bound life. It is also noteworthy that they were usually very conscious and outspoken about their rights, and they probably understood that to protect their rights and status, they can't be aloof from the Masjid, which is the focal point of the Islamic way of life. Be absent from the Masjid, and you would be marginalized in such a society!


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Why should youth and women belong to an organization or association?This is because the prophet has said in an authentichadith:

“The hand of Allah is with the Jamaa (group)” (All agreed).

Belonging to a Jamaa (Islamic group) is very important, because it reinforces youth bystrengthening their strengths and by weakening their weaknesses. When you belong to anIslamic organization you are protected from being “eaten by wolves”. Allah‘s hand will beover you to protect you. “You cannot be good enough when you are alone”.

What is a good organization?Every good organization must have:(i) Goals and objectives and aims that do not contradict the teachings of the Quran andSunnah(ii) Leadership with clear roles and responsibilities(iii) Rules that guide it (constitution)(iv) Code of behaviour /conduct(v) Method of resolving conflicts when they occur (we shall dwell on conflict resolutionin detail later in this chapter). (vi) Criteria for membership (who can become a member?)(vii) Criteria for remaining a member (who can remain a member?)(viii) A mechanism to change leaders through consultation or through electionsix) Policy for providing equal opportunity for men, women and the youth to participatein the organisational activities and in decision making.

Why do Muslim organisations fail?

i) Not having or abandoning the above listed criteria of a good organisationii) Members not being loyal to the organisation and instead think of their selfishinterests firstiii) Absence of team spirit and team workiv) Failure to set prioritiesv) Lack of transparency (openness) in the conduct of affairs, especially financialmattersvi) Neglect of the personal problems of membersSuppression of members’ views /idea/opinionsviii) Some members thinking and acting like they are more important than others (AnimalFarm Syndrome ):“some animals more equal than others”.ix) Lack of a planning culturex) Failure to harness the energies /potentials of the youth and women

How can an Islamic organization be successful?An Islamic organization /association will be successful if it guards against the aboveproblems.


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It should stick to the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah, consciously study the seerat(biography) of the prophet Muhammad, Tareekh (History) of Islam during regular studycircles.

Successful Islamic organizations hold weekly study circles (does yours hold weekly orregular study circles? If not, start them. They are very important).Successful Islamic organizations respect their leaders and let them do their work,through constant consultation.

They also set realistic targets and are not over ambitious. Members of successfulorganizations do not seek credit for themselves but for the whole organization. Suchmembers love to work quietly, without the need to be necessarily be thanked orrecognized. They seek only the pleasure of Allah.

When such members or leaders speak, they use the word “we” much more than they use theword “I”. They know that the Jamaa (organization/association) is more important thanthemselves. When you hear a leader speak of the achievements of the organization, listencarefully. A leader who uses the “I” word more than the “we” word is one who is lackingin team spirit and is often outright selfish. Make it a habit to avoid “I”,”I”,”I”.

Leadership and Conflict resolutionLeadership involves defining and communicating an organization’s long-term vision and mission while conflict resolution typically deals with the situation at hand. By articulating what you want to accomplish, providing support for talented subordinates, overcoming obstacles, exploiting opportunities, demanding excellence, behaving ethically,you set a good example for your organization.

An effective leader builds teams that work well together. As a leader, you facilitate theresolution of conflicts that distract the team members, decrease productivity, destroymotivation and lead frustration and anger. You also recognize that some conflict isnatural and necessary to produce innovative solutions to problems, encourage meaningfulcommunication between team members and leads to clarification and cooperation.

About conflict: Conflict is inevitable; Conflict develops because we are dealing with people's lives, jobs, children,

pride, self-concept, ego and sense of mission or purpose; Early indicators of conflict can be recognized; There are strategies for resolution that are available and DO work; Although inevitable, conflict can be minimized, diverted and/or resolved.

Beginnings of conflict: Poor communication Seeking power Dissatisfaction with management style Weak leadership


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Lack of openness Change in leadership

Conflict indicators: Body language Disagreements, regardless of issue Withholding bad news Surprises Strong public statements Airing disagreements through media Conflicts in value system Desire for power Increasing lack of respect Open disagreement Lack of candour on budget problems or other sensitive issues Lack of clear goals No discussion of progress, failure relative to goals, failure to evaluate the

superintendent fairly, thoroughly or at all.

Conflict is destructive when it: Takes attention away from other important activities Undermines morale or self-concept Polarizes people and groups, reducing cooperation Increases or sharpens difference Leads to irresponsible and harmful behaviour, such as fighting, name-calling

Conflict is constructive when it: Results in clarification of important problems and issues Results in solutions to problems Involves people in resolving issues important to them Causes authentic communication Helps release emotion, anxiety, and stress Builds cooperation among people through learning more about each other; joining in resolving the conflict Helps individuals develop understanding and skills

Techniques for avoiding and/or resolving conflict: Meet conflict head on Set goals Plan for and communicate frequently Be honest about concerns Agree to disagree - understand healthy disagreement would build better decisions Get individual ego out of management style


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Let your team create - people will support what they help create Discuss differences in values openly Continually stress the importance of following policy Communicate honestly - avoid playing "gotcha" type games Provide more data and information than is needed Develop a sound management system

Courageous decision controversies: The controversies usually involve

Changes in the way "we've always done things" Notions of fundamental values Determined, articulate advocates for every side Inability to compromise Rampant rumours Elections, internal and external

Resolving Conflict:Searching for the causes of conflict is essential to be successful in resolving the conflict. Nine possible causes of conflict include:

Conflict with self Needs or wants are not being met Values are being tested Perceptions are being questioned Assumptions are being made Knowledge is minimal Expectations are too high/too low Personality, race, or gender differences are present

Reaching Consensus through Collaboration:Groups often collaborate closely in order to reach consensus or agreement. The ability touse collaboration requires the recognition of and respect for everyone's ideas, opinions,and suggestions. Consensus requires that each participant must agree on the point beingdiscussed before it becomes a part of the decision. Not every point will meet witheveryone's complete approval. Unanimity is not the goal. The goal is to have individualsaccept a point of view based on logic. When individuals can understand and accept thelogic of a differing point of view, you must assume you have reached consensus.

Guidelines for reaching consensus:

Avoid arguing over individual ranking or position. Present a position as logically as possible.

Avoid "win-lose" statements. Discard the notion that someone must win. Avoid changing of minds only in order to avoid conflict and to achieve harmony.


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Avoid majority voting, averaging, bargaining, or coin flipping. These do not lead to consensus. Treat differences of opinion as indicative of incomplete sharing of relevant information, keep asking questions.

Keep the attitude that holding different views is both natural and healthy to a group.

View initial agreement as suspect. Explore the reasons underlying apparent agreement and make sure that members have willingly agreed.

How conflicts may be resolved

Through Compromising: By compromising, both sides in a conflict give up something inorder to gain an agreement. Effective leaders encourage team members to acceptconcessions when necessary to maintain a level of productivity rather than continuing todebate or argue. They help team members overcome interpersonal conflicts and promoteacceptance of other cultures and experiences in the workplace.

Through Accommodating: To meet the needs of the team, a team member may surrender hisposition. When the stakes are low, accommodating the needs of others can promote harmonyand foster a productive work environment. However, long-term conflict can arise if moreaggressive individuals take advantage of team members who don’t act assertively.Effective leaders monitor their team environment and provide coaching and mentoring tomembers that enables them to function productively together without operating at theexpense of others.

Never through Avoiding: When a conflict involves a controversial or unpopular decision,resist the temptation to ignore or avoid it. By defining the root cause of the problem,encouraging active listening, negotiating a resolution and reminding participants toforgive each other once the conflict is over, you can foster a productive team. However,effective leaders also recognize that delegating conflict resolution to a third party,such a facilitator or mediator, can be effective in a situation where emotions remainhigh even after lengthy discussion.


Why should youth be fully involved in Muslim community activities?

Why should Women be fully involved in Muslim Youth activities?

State the 3 Rs of Youth

State the 3 Ps of Youth

Does Islam forbid women from participating in Muslim activities in the mosque?Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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In your view, how can Women participation in Mosque/Muslim Organisation activitiesbe encouraged?

In your view, how can Youth participation in Mosque/Muslim Organisation activitiesbe encouraged?

Does your Mosque/Muslim organisation have Youth on the management committee?

Does your Mosque/Muslim organisation have Women on the management Committee

Chapter 5

EMPOWERING THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Islam, currently the world’s second largest religion (Hill, 2008), is described in theQur’an as the submission to the will of Allah or God (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2008). Theorigins of Islam can be traced back to the Prophet Muhammad who is seen as the ‘finalagent of God’s revelation.

Islam views extrinsic aspects of work positively. It is clear that the Islamic work ethicargues that engagement in economic activities is an obligaton. Work is thus the source ofindependence and the means to achieve a fulfilled life. The Qur’an speaks in favor of freetrade and legitimate profit so long as it is consistent with Islamic ethics and does notexploit others.

In fact, Islam encourages prosperity through the appropriate use of the resources givenby God. Such resources are seen as important to provide for basic survival and physicalneeds as well as accumulation of wealth. As such, it is clear that those employeesbelieving in Islam are likely to pursue extrinsic work values as such values areconsistent with Islamic teachings. We thus expect that Islamic employees will also viewthe extrinsic aspect of their work positively as for Muslims, economic life is thus seenas a means to a spiritual end, where prosperity means the living of a virtuous life.

Islamic teachings also suggest a positive relationship between Islam and intrinsic workvalues. As Islamic adherents approach work, they are likely to view the intrinsic aspectsof work (i.e. having an interesting job or a job useful to society, etc.) positively, as‘work is considered to be a source of independence and a means of fostering personalgrowth, self-respect, satisfaction, and self-fulfilment’. Thus the Islamic work ethicGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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encourages adherents to view the intrinsic aspects of work positively. As mentionedearlier, intrinsic aspects relate to openness to change and the pursuit of initiative andcreativity at work.

The Islamic work ethic clearly emphasizes creative work as an important source ofaccomplishment. The pursuit of wealth must be accompanied by intention, means, managementand usage as stipulated by Islam. Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs have a special placein Islam. The call for Muslim to be in business is complete.

Possession of Wealth is allowed Based on the Following Principles:The standard definition of money in contemporary economy is a commodity that is generallyaccepted as a medium of exchange. However, this definition is only partly accepted fromthe Islamic economic concept. Islam acknowledges the fact that money is a medium ofexchange, hence should function as a measure of value. Yet, Islam strongly dismissed thatmoney is a commodity by itself.

• Allah is the absolute owner of wealth• Allah created wealth in abundance and sufficient for all• Wealth is created for mankind• Wealth is entrusted to mankind

Success Formula by Al-QurtubiWhat motivates Muslim entrepreneurs? Success as mentioned in the al-Quran is associatedwith words like falaha, aflaha and the verbs faza, fauzan. Wherever those verbs are found in theQuran, there will always be conditions and relationships with other factors that may leadto success or failure.

• Halal – livelihood that are in accordance to what is being outlined by AllahSWT and shariah.

• Qanaah – be pleased and thankful with one’s earning• Taufiq - Asking for the blessing of Allah in proportion to one’s expectation• Sa’adah - Spiritual happiness• Jannah – Worldly success should act as the bridge to the ultimate success in the

life hereafter (paradise).Success therefore encompasses both the worldly and the hereafter. Muflih may also beinterpreted as success. It means to achieve what is desired; happiness in both worlds;prosperity; free from worries, difficulties, or mental anguish. Usually, success is akinto ‘receiving’ (attaining), but Islam also propagates ‘giving’ as a rightful pair to theterm success.

Imam Al Ghazali in his book Minhajul ‘Abidin, outlined seven steps for success:

• Knowledge and gnosis (ma’rifat) stage;Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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• Repentance (taubat) stage;• Temptation stage;• Obstacles stage;• Motivation stage;• Imperfections stage; and• Praise and thankful (shukur) stage.

Islamic EntrepreneurshipThe Islamic society has witnessed vigorous economic activity since the Prophet (PBUH)first migrated to Medina form Makkah.

To this agrarian community was added a group of experienced traders from Mecca, a greatcenter of inter-regional trade. Monetization came early, and the ban on unequal exchangeof similar “fungibles” seems to have facilitated the process.

According to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by C. & G. MerriamCo, “Fungibles” are defined as:1.

(Civ. Law) Things which may be furnished or restored in kind, as distinguished fromspecific things; - called also fungible things.

2.

(Scots Law) Movable goods which may be valued by weight or measure, in contradistinctionfrom those which must be judged of individually.

Muslims started with Byzantine gold dinars and Persian silver dirham, but early on theybegan to mint their own coins. The state had a monopoly on coinage, and any tamperingwith their weight or purity was severely punished.

Besides being holistic in approach, Islamic entrepreneurship dictates that the individualmust first be a religious person, then a practitioner (religious person who also practicewhat s/he learns). The benevolent person submits only to the Almighty. Through his/hervocation the person is expected to perform his/her duties as an ibadah and entrusted withthe role of a responsible leader (khalifah).

The concept of entrepreneurship in Islam also bases on co-operation, generosity andbenevolence. That is why Islam really encourages ‘uqud al-tabarruat or unilateral contractsuch as loan (al-Qard) in order to promote cooperation and inculcate sense of brotherhoodamongst Muslims. At the same time Islam extremely prohibited monopoly, exploitation,fraud or usurious transactions. In other words, every entrepreneur should always preservethe good deeds and avoiding the evil such as being honest, fair, and accurate in everytransaction.

Islamic Entrepreneurship is derived from Eight Principles 1. Entrepreneurship is an integral part of Islamic religion.2. By virtue of human nature, the Muslim entrepreneurs are ‘khulafah’ (vicegerents

of Allah) and have the responsibilities developed properly and see businessas part of ibadah or good deed.


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3. Motivation – success in Islam is not merely measured by the end result butalso the way and means of achieving them.

4. Ibadah – business activity is part of ibadah or “good deed”5. Position of Entrepreneurship and business in Islam – Islam encourages its

ummah to venture into business. Prophet Muhammad S.A.W expounded that 9 out10 sources of rizq (lawful sustenance) can be found in business.

6. Islamic Economic System - Islamic Entrepreneurship should operate within thedomain of Islamic Economic system and act as the vehicle towards globalacceptance of Islamic Economic System.

7. Guiding Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship is by the al-Quran and al-Hadith (or Sunnah).

8. Entrepreneurial Ethics are based on exemplary conducts of Prophet MuhammadS.A.W

Islamic Entrepreneurship as Integral part of the ReligionIslam is a complete way of life. There is no separation between business and religion.Islam has its own entrepreneurship culture and guiding principles based on the Al-Quranand Hadith to guide business operation.

By virtue of the human nature, the person must firstly be a Muslim, then an entrepreneur.S/He has the responsibility to perform ‘ibadah’ and be a ‘khalifah’. A Muslim entrepreneurshould search for God’s blessings above all other factors. Muslim entrepreneurs performbusiness not solely for profit, but above all, to fulfill the ‘fardhu kifayah’ (collectiveresponsibility, which if performed by some suffices for all).

Muslim Entrepreneurship Ethics can be summarized as follows• To prevent laziness – entrepreneurship requires hard work• To eradicate fear – risk taking is necessary• To search for legitimate ventures• To avoid forbidden sources of income and property• To show gratitude and thankfulness of whatever has been acquired• To grow and develop capital and profit• To diversify business ventures• To avoid greediness

The Ethical Behavior of Muslim Entrepreneurship• To avoid malicious behaviour• To avoid squandering• To avoid stinginess• To pay alms (zakat)• Trustworthy• To pray consistently• Tawakkal (full trust in and dependency on the will of Allah)• Patience (Swabr)• Qana’ah (satisfaction with one’s earnings)


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Exemplary for good Muslim Entrepreneurs in Islam• Business is secondary when being called for other form of crusade• Avoid using influence for self interest• Afraid of accumulated wealth• Leadership qualities in all aspects• Practice moderate way of life

ConclusionEntrepreneurs have to have objectives and targets but these are subservient to theultimate objective of acquiring the blessing of Allah s.w.t. In Islam, to indulge inbusiness is to perform an obligatory duty (fardhu kifayah); unless and until there is anentrepreneur in a community, the entire community is deemed to be sinful! That’s howseriously Islam perceives and encourages entrepreneurship. Profits are merely incidentalin the fulfillment of the fardhu kifayah. But that does not imply weakened profit motivatingamong practitioners. Profits are encouraged in order to prosper the community throughdonations, taxes, zakah, sadaqah, tithes and the like. With the Islamic “ubudia” (state ofservitude before God) and “tawheed” (oneness of God), risk taking becomes a guidedEndeavour; regardless of the outcome, the entrepreneurial Muslim will always be humbleand redha (contented with what God has given).

In contrast to the Western concept of the Economic Man, Islamic entrepreneurshippropagates the concept of the Islamic Man. Some summarized characteristics are:

• Most entrepreneurs have the desire to achieve successful business ventures.• The successful path and means for achieving success for Muslim entrepreneurs areunique.• Success in Islam is not merely measured by the end result, but also the means and waysof achieving them.• Entrepreneurship is the symbol of business steadfastness and achievement.Entrepreneurial revolution is critical to economic growth. Entrepreneurship mayaffect our future in many ways:• Innovative creation of opportunity• Entrepreneurship not only affects our lives through innovation but represents theworking future for many of us due to lays off by governments, large organizations andshrinking of job opportunities for graduates.• Entrepreneurship is synonymous to creation of new ventures and small businesses.

Muslims in Uganda should note that now is the time to build on their self-confidence asthey have shown the world that their financial and other relevant Islamic systems theyhave, can withstand the recent financial turmoil. Muslims in Uganda should embark on aserious path to entrepreneurship development in their community so that they cancontribute to the economic development of Uganda as a whole. The scourge of youthunemployment and unemployment in general has a cure in Islamic entrepreneurship.

Suggested further readingGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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An Exploration of the Affects of Islamic Culture on Entrepreneurial Behaviors in Muslim CountriesAsian Social Science; May 2010

BNET Business Dictionary. (2006). Business dictionary, [Online] Available: http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/Entrepreneur.html.

Business dictionary. (2009). [Online] Available:http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/entrepreneurship.html.

Casto, Michelle L. (2007). Characteristics of Entrepreneur, [Online] Available:http://www.4-smallbusinesses.com/characteristics-of-entrepreneur.html

Cullen, J.B. and Parboteeah, K.P. (2008). Multinational Management: A Strategic Approach. Mason, OH:South-Western Publishing.

De Soto, Hernando. (2006). Trust, Institution and Entrepreneurship, International research in the Business Disciplines, DevelopmentalEntrepreneurship: Adversity, Risk, and Isolation, Elsevier Publication.

Entrepreneurship. (2007). Quick MBA, Internet Center for Management and Business Administration Inc, [Online] Available:http://www.quickmba.com/entre/.

Hill, C. (2008). Global Business Today. New York: Irwin-McGraw-Hill.

Hupalo, Peter. (2007). Thinking Like An Entrepreneur. [Online] Available: http://www.thinkinglike.com/AboutUs.html.

Investor words. (2006). [Online] Available: http://www.investorwords.com/5548/entrepreneurship.html.

Ismail, Abdul Ghafar. (2006). Paradigm Shift from Capitalism to Islamic Economics, Working Paper in Islamic Economics and Finance No. 0608.

Kriger, M. and Seng, Y. (2005). Leadership with Inner Meaning: A Contingency Theory of Leadership Based on Worldviews of Five Religions. Leadership Quarterly 16: 771–86.

Ludwig, T.M. (2001). The Sacred Paths. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Mohd Jan, Nawawi B, Dato’ Adnan Alias. (2009). THEORIES & CONCEPT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Position of Entrepreneurship and business in Islam. [Online]Available:www.perlis.uitm.edu.my/medec/images/.../ent300_module01.ppt

Parboteeah K. Praveen, Yongsun Paik and John B. Cullen. (2009). Hinduism, and Islam Religious Groups and Work Values: A Focus onBuddhism, Christianity, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 2009 Vol.9(1): pp. 51–67 DOI:10.1177/1470595808096674.

Radiniz site. (2007). seeking trust in our priority, [Online] Available: http://www.radiniz.com/blog/.

Yousef, D.A. (2000). Organizational Commitment as a Mediator of the Relationship between Islamic Work Ethic and Attitudes toward Organizational Change. Human Relations, 53: 513–37.

Yousef, D.A. (2001). Islamic Work Ethic – A Moderator between Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction in a Cross- cultural Context.


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How do Islamic teachings promote Entrepreneurship? Summarise the ethics of Muslim entrepreneurship

What are the eight principles of Islamic entrepreneurship?

Outline Al Qurtubi’s five point success formula

Are you personally involved in any entrepreneurial activity? If yes, what activityis it? If not, why not?

Does your Mosque/Muslim organisation encourage entrepreneurship? If so how?

Chapter 6

UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP IN ISLAM

Islam is a comprehensive guide for life and its concept of leadership is derived from thebasic and the advanced sources of shariah and Quran. The leadership concept is also verymuch evident in the early teaching of Islam. Leadership has been explained in detail in


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the Islamic teachings so in order to have a thorough understanding you need to the learnIslam and its basics.

In Islam the leaders are bound to perform certain duties and they are not free to act asthey wish nor can they submit to the worldly desires of other people in the society. Theleader has to act according to the teaching of ALLAH as the prophet Muhammad (SAW) asshown with his example. In the holy book Allah said that he has made the prophets theleaders who have to act in light of his commands. A leader must do good deeds, givecharity and serve his nation in the right manner.

Islam gives the best lesson for leadership. In Islam the leader is treated as both thecare taker and the servant of his nation that gives them the best out of best. It is theduty of the leader to protect his people from the tough situations and give them justiceat their doorstep. Leadership in Islam is based on one principle which is to do goodthings for sake of ALLAH and his creations.

The Islamic teachings are based on the concept of leadership through service. For aleader it is necessary that he should take practical steps for the material and moraluplift of his nation because it is only thing that is must for the leader to enter theparadise. As far as the organizations leadership is concerned Islam directs about theethical conduct of the leader. A leader should behave in w away that all his employeesare influenced by his good deeds and follow his footsteps.

The leaders must have proper vision before leading any organization and it should becommunicated by the leader to its followers so that all can work together to achieve thecommon goal. The leader must work for maintaining the organizations culture and norms inorder to achieve the goals within the Islamic framework. The Quranic teachings directthat leadership should be such that it should give space to other to face theconstructive criticism. The hypocrisy and negative approach to achieve the goal should beavoided and the leader should be answerable to his nation as he is the servant asdeclared by the Allah and his prophet. . For a perfect leadership practice the leadershould have the guts to initiate, guide and control the state affairs.

Ways to Identify Bad LeadersIt’s important to realize that just because someone holds a position of leadership,doesn’t necessarily mean they should. Put another way, not all leaders are created equal.The problem many organizations are suffering from is a recognition problem – they can’tseem to recognize good leaders from bad ones.

Is there a simple test that can quickly determine an executive’s leadership ability?” Theshort answer is yes, but keep in mind, simple and fast aren’t always the same thing aseffective. There are a plethora of diagnostic tests, profiles, evaluations, andassessments that offer insights into leadership ability, or a lack thereof. My problemwith these efforts is they are overly analytical, very theoretical, and very oftensubject to bias. That said, they are fast, easy, and relatively inexpensive. The good


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news is, there is a better way to assess leadership ability. If you really want todetermine someone’s leadership prowess, give them some responsibility and see what theydo with it. Leaders produce results. It’s not always pretty, especially in the case ofinexperienced leaders, but good leaders will find a way to get the job done. Payingattention to the following 15 items (listed in no particular order) will be much morepractical, accurate, and effective. If your organization has leaders who fail to graspthe concepts outlined below, you may want to stop testing them, ranking them, andpromoting them – instead consider developing them or exiting them.

Leaders who can’t see it, probably won’t find it: Leaders without vision will fail.Leaders who lack vision cannot inspire teams, motivate performance, or create sustainablevalue. Poor vision, tunnel vision, vision that is fickle, or a non-existent vision willcause leaders to fail. A leader’s job is to align the organization around a clear andachievable vision. This cannot occur when the blind lead the blind.

When leaders fail to lead themselves: A leader who lacks character or integrity will notendure the test of time. It doesn’t matter how intelligent, affable, persuasive, or savvya person is, if they are prone to rationalizing unethical behaviour based upon current orfuture needs, they will eventually fall prey to their own undoing. Optics over ethics isnot a formula for success.

Put-up or shut-up: Nothing smacks of poor leadership like a lack of performance. Nobodyis perfect, but leaders who consistently fail are not leaders, no matter how much youwish they were. While past performance is not always a certain indicator of futureevents, a long-term track record of success should not be taken lightly. Someone who hasconsistently experienced success in leadership roles has a much better chance of successthan someone who has not. It’s important to remember unproven leaders come with a highrisk premium.

Beware the know-it-all: The best leaders are acutely aware of how much they don’t know.They have no need to be the smartest person in the room, but have the unyielding desireto learn from others. I’ve often said, leaders who are not growing cannot lead a growingenterprise. One of the hallmarks of great leaders is their insatiable curiosity. If aleader isn’t extremely curious about every aspect of their organization, trust me when Isay there are huge problems on the horizon.

When there’s a failure to communicate: When leaders are constantly flummoxed by those whodon’t seem to get it, there exists both a leadership and communications problem. Show mea leader with poor communication skills and I’ll show you someone who will be short-livedin their position. Great leaders can communicate effectively across mediums,constituencies, and environments. They are active listeners, fluid thinkers, and knowwhen to dial it up, down, or off.

It’s all about them: If a leader doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self”they will not engender the trust, confidence, and loyalty of those they lead. Any leader


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is only as good as his or her team’s desire to be led by them. An over abundance of ego,pride, and arrogance are not positive leadership traits. Real leaders take the blame andgive the credit – not the other way around. Long story short; if a leader receives a voteof non-confidence from their subordinates…game over.

Show love: While love and leadership are certainly two words you don’t often hear in the samesentence, I can assure you that rarely does great leadership exist without love beingpresent and practiced. In fact, if you examine failed leaders as a class, you’ll findthat a lack of love, misplaced love, or misguided love were a contributing cause of saidfailures, if not the root cause. Empathy, humility and kindness are signs of leadershipstrength – not weakness.

One size fits all leadership style: The best leaders are fluid and flexible in theirapproach. They understand the power of, and necessity for contextual leadership. “My wayor the highway” leadership styles don’t play well in today’s world, will result in afractured culture, and ultimately a non-productive organization. Only those leaders whocan quickly recognize and adapt their methods to the situation at hand will be successfulover the long haul.

Lack of focus: Leadership is less about balance and more about priority. The best leadersare ruthless in their pursuit of focus. Those leaders who lack the focus and attention todetail needed to apply leverage and resources in an aggressive and committed fashion willperish. Leaders who are not intentional and are not focused, will fail themselves andtheir team. Leaders who lack discipline will model the wrong behaviors and willinevitably spread themselves too thin. Organizations are at the greatest risk whenleaders lose their focus. Intentions must be aligned with results for leaders to beeffective.

Death by comfort zone: The best organizations beat their competition to the future, andthe best leaders understand how to pull the future forward. Leaders satisfied with thestatus quo, or those who tend to be more concerned about survival than growth won’t dowell over the long-run. The best leaders are focused on leading change and innovation tokeep their organizations fresh, dynamic and growing. Bottom line – leaders who build astatic business doom themselves to failure.

Not paying attention to the consumer/beneficiary: Leaders not attuned to the needs ofthe market will fail. As the old saying goes, if you’re not taking care of yourcustomers, someone else will be more than happy to. Successful leaders focus on theconsumer experience, which in turn leads to satisfaction and loyalty. The best leadersfind ways to consistently engage the consumer and incorporate them into theirinnovation and planning initiatives. If you ignore, mistreat, or otherwise don’t valueyour customer base, your days as a leader are most certainly numbered.

Get Invested: Leaders not fully committed to investing in those they lead will fail. Thebest leaders support their team, build into their team, mentor and coach their team, and


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they truly care for their team. A leader not fully invested in their team won’t have ateam – at least not an effective one. Never forget the old saying, people don’t care howmuch you know until they know how much you care – words to live by for leaders.

The “A” word: Real leaders are accountable. They don’t blame others, don’t claim creditfor the success of their team, but always accept responsibility for failures that occuron their watch. Most of all, leaders are accountable to their team. I’ve always said thatleaders not accountable to their people will eventually be held accountable by theirpeople.

It’s the culture stupid!: The lesson here is that culture matters – forget this and allother efforts with regard to talent initiatives will be dysfunctional, if not altogetherlost. Don’t allow your culture to evolve by default, create it by design. The first stepin cultural design is to be very, very careful who you let through the front door.People, their traits, attitudes, and work ethic (or lack thereof) are contagions. Thiscan be positive or negative – the choice is yours. The old saying, “talent begets talent”is true, but talent that aligns with culture will produce better results than talent thatdoes not.

Show some courage: Leadership without courage is a farce. I’m not referring to arroganceor bravado, but real courage. It takes courage to break from the norm, challenge thestatus quo, seek new opportunities, cut your losses, make the tough decision, listenrather than speak, admit your faults, forgive the faults of others, not allow failure todampen your spirit, stand for those not capable of standing for themselves, and to remaintrue to your core values. You can do none of these things without courage. Courageis having the strength of conviction to do the right thing when it would just be easierto do things right.

Which of these traits stand out to you? Do you have any other signs of ineffectiveleaders worthy of mention? Leave a comment and share your insights with others…


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Chapter 7

THE MOSQUE AS THE CENTRE OF WHOLESOME COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

An ideal mosque structure would be one which not only serves the religious needs of thecommunity but also provides its social services. This will help create excellent Muslimcommunities. An example of the areas of work or departments a mosque should consider(and appoint subcommittees for) is given below:

1. Religious worship 2. Education – madrasah 3. Dawah and Tarbiyyah 4. Family and youth development 5. Community and social activities 6. Mosque maintenance 7. Finance and fundraising 8. Administration

Who should be on the management committee? It is up to the mosque, that is, the management committee itself, to decide how manymembers it needs to do its work smoothly. The law says that charities must have atleast three members. There is no upper limit but it would make the group inefficient tohave too many members.

When choosing or appointing persons to the management committee there are certaincharacteristics one should look for:

Taqwa (Piety) Trustworthy Commitment Knowledge Experience Skills

Remember the management committee is there to serve its members and not the other wayround. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said “the leader of a group is its servant”.

A management committee must have at least a chair, a secretary and a treasurer.

The role of the chair The chair’s role includes running and guiding the committee as well as managing itsbusiness. This work can include:

deciding how the committee is made up and organised clarifying the responsibilities of the committee and management planning and managing committees and committee meetings .developing the effectiveness of the committee.


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The role of the secretary Some key responsibilities of the secretary are:

to note all correspondence (in and out) on the agenda ready for meetings

to keep the membership lists up to date to arrange meetings and prepare agendas to carry out the actions from each meeting to consult with committee members for items to be included on the agenda to record the names of members at meetings and the apologies from those who could

not be there to make sure there is a quorum (enough committee members to make a decision) to write up minutes as soon as possible after meetings (while the discussions are still fresh in your mind!) to keep minute books safe – they must never be destroyed to oversee the production of the annual report to arrange the annual general meeting to get nominations for people wanting to hold office or become committee members in the following year and to send reports of meetings to the press when this is appropriate.

The role of the treasurerThe treasurer has a lot of responsibility for finances, yet has no absolute power overthe way in which financial resources are used. These decisions are taken by themanagement committee as a whole. It is the treasurer’s job to make sure the organisationspends its money correctly, and this will involve regularly telling committee membersabout the group’s financial affairs.

Involving young people and womenYoung people are the future! They bring new energy, enthusiasm and freshness to anorganisation. However, they need to be guided and nurtured by those who are older andmore experienced. Committees need to make a special effort to involve young people andwomen in decision making and to give them responsibility. This is the sunnah (practice)of the Prophet (pbuh). He did not exclude young people or women from giving theiropinions and ideas and from helping with carrying out tasks. The life of the Prophet(pbuh) is full of examples of where young people such as Hazrat Ali, Ibn Abbas, Zaid,Usamah, Ayiesha (RA) were all involved in the decision making process and regularlyconsulted. It is also well established that women attended for prayers and othergatherings in the Mosque during the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and his successors.

MeetingsHaving regular management committee meetings is an important function of the managementcommittee. Meetings will help you to discuss, decide and plan for the needs of yourmosque and its users.


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A meeting should have the following:

AgendaThis is simply a list of things that you want to discuss in the meeting. It is usefulbecause:

it helps you plan the meeting, and decide how long it will take

it helps you get through the business of the meeting more efficiently

it gives people a chance to think about the issue before the meeting.

The agenda is normally made up by the chair and secretary of the organisation.

MinutesThese are notes that are taken during the meeting to remind you what was discussed andagreed. They can be short points but need to clearly record:

who was at the meeting who sent apologies for not being there what was said at the meeting (main points) decisions made at the meeting and who is going to carry them out and by when. It is

usually the secretary’s job to write up the minutes.

Roles, and conflicts between rolesThe management committee should concentrate on strategy, policy matters and monitoringefficiency and effectiveness. The details of how things are done should be left to staffand volunteers. However, particularly in smaller organisations, it is not easy to be soclear cut. Committee members may be closely involved in the day-to-day work and willoften comment on their experience at the ‘front line’. When they are doing this theyshould try to recognise that they are really doing a different job, as a volunteer orordinary member, and not confuse it with their committee role.

Mosque policies

Every mosque should develop its own policies, agree them and widely inform thecongregation about them

Policies you may need to consider Mosque management code of ethics Smoking Congregational responsibilities Individual records – rights and privacy Mailing list Membership status guidelines Noise Collection of money Counting the weekly offering


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Staff pay Claiming and paying budgeted expenses Signatures policy Special gifts Property and facilities Facilities use requirements including for youth groups and overnights stays Grounds maintenance Guidelines for posters, displays, and permanent items on walls Securing the facilities [confidential] Allocation of outreach funds By-laws for mosque projects The environment Selecting suppliers Islamic education Nursery Youth and women

Choosing and appointing a personThe mosque should follow its recruitment and selection policy or have certain proceduresand policies to appoint staff. These could be either paid or volunteer staff.

Paid staff may include: Imams Teachers Caretakers Cleaners Administrators.

Volunteer staff may include: Mosque management committee Members and worshippers Youths and Women

Financial management is about ensuring that funds are the benefit of an organisation.A well-run mosque needs to keep a range of records. These records allow the managementcommittee to account for what has happened to money within the organisation. Most mosquesare charitable organisations. This means its objective is charitable and meets somesocially desirable need in the community. Donors make contributions to the organisationto help in meeting its objectives, and therefore need to have some system in place toshow how the money has been spent. Keeping clear records of income and spendingencourages members (donors) to support the mosque and the service it provides. Withoutsound financial management the organisation cannot survive. It also gives the proof ofstewardship and accountability that is needed to maintain confidence in the organisation.


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Finance and fundraising : Budgeting and forecasting

What is a budget?A budget is a plan for using money on activities that meet the mission and goals of theorganisation. It is about predicting what income you will receive and deciding how youwill spend it over the financial year.

The mosque budgetA mosque budget will help the mosque achieve its goals. A good mosque budget should:

help the mosque to implement its programmes and objectives, and decide which aremost important.

provide a way for mosque members to work together give guidance on spending available funds encourage good accounting of funds challenge members to provide funds to deliver the services of the mosque authorise the mosque leadership to act within its guidelines.

Remember, the mosque budget is only a tool that reflects the vision and goals of themosque. It should not run the mosque, but should rather be a yardstick or a measurementin pounds of the mosque’s ambitions.

There are many ways a mosque can develop its budget, but the budget should always clearlycommunicate and emphasize the needs of the mosque. While not ignoring how much peoplehave given in the past, the total amount budgeted should usually include a challenge forgrowth in giving.

Your mosque budget will be your financial plan in writing. It will show who you are andwhat you value. It needs to reflect:

the amount members are able to give the previous year’s financial information and the needs of the local community.

It needs to be realistic and it needs to be monitored.

Financial records and accountingThe purpose of financial reporting in the charitable sector is not to see how much profityou have made. It is to decide how much money you need to meet the objectives of thevarious projects carried out by the mosque in the year. Donors are asked to makecontributions to the mosque based on its goals and objectives.

Bookkeeping is the systematic recording, sorting and summarising of ‘events’ (expressed inpounds and pence) that affect the financial condition of the organisation.

Accounting is the information system that is used to analyse and interpret the financialdata.Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

social media

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AccountsAccounts are a tool to help gather and sort financial transactions. Once gatheredtogether, this information can then be used for reporting. Design your own accounts. Theywill include assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Items listed in the budget shouldhave corresponding account numbers (called ‘line items’) so that you can see them in the accounts.

What to record income expenses non-cash items

Financial reportingYou need to produce monthly statements of receipts and payments and present them to themembership at set intervals. A financial statement should:

be straightforward and easy to read compare income and spending with the figures inthe budge

be prepared on time tell the reader what has happened and show the financial health of the

mosque/organisation.

Internal controlsIt is important for the mosque to have controls in place. These controls will help themosque:

meet its stated goals avoid the misuse of funds protect the innocent.

Some very simple and basic measures could include the following:

At least three people to count and record offerings Having a bank account Cheques needing three signatures. Procurement of goods and services to follow an authorisation procedure Keep a list of assets at all times

Remember to write down your policies and procedures. Develop an operations manual thatwill help volunteers and staff to understand the policies and procedures used by themosque.

Audits


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An audit is a useful tool for looking at what you are doing, the way you are doing it andhow you could improve on it. An audit checks the efficiency and accuracy of your records.Unless your governing documents say otherwise, you will not usually need an official orformal audit. However, you should do an annual financial review when the financialstatement is prepared for the year end. It is probably a good idea to have an audit whenthere is a change in treasurers. This would protect both the person leaving the positionand the new person taking over.

Keeping recordsThe following records must be kept permanently :

minutes of meetings of members and the management committee all documents and bylaws governing the mosque/organisation copies of official receipts and records for gifts made.

Fundraising is an activity that helps you to get the resources – money, equipment,premises – that your organisation needs to carry out its activities. There are many waysto raise funds but the key is to have a funding plan. This will help you target, and putin order of importance, particular funders, donors and the type of activities that willhave the most effect.

You need to be clear what type of project or activity needs funding and then thinkabout:

how much you need when you need it by (timescale) who are the best people to take charge of this which funders and donors do we need to approach.

Types of fundraising activities

Self Funding Membership fees Donations & Appeals Fundraising activities Sponsorships

External Funding Trusts Government Schemes Charities Loans

A key skill of fundraising is communication. You need to be able to show donors how theirmoney will be spent and what your trying to achieve.


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Accountability In the context of mosque management or trusteeship, is all about giving and receivingfacts and explanations within open and honest relationships. It is about holding oneselfresponsible to others and communicating one’s actions accordingly. We are all accountableto Allah. Accountability is one of the ever-present themes throughout the Qur’an. Alliedto this is the theme of leadership, of which accountability is an important part.

What is true of the relationship between Creator and the created humanity applieslogically to human relationships too.

Accountability has two aspects: explaining oneself and one’s actions to those who areaffected by or share in the purpose, with a view to increasing understanding orbeing held to account in the more rigorous sense of submitting oneself to judgment. Boththese aspects imply a relationship and a common language and set of expectations. Theyalso both carry an implied aim of aiding efficiency, and building trust and confidence.These things will happen within a spirit of mutual support throughout the activities ofthe mosque.

‘Soft’ accountabilityThe first aspect can be seen as soft accountability: ‘giving account’ in the sense ofgiving information to provide context, explanation and forward-looking vision within openrelationships. The purpose is understanding for mutual benefit rather than judgment. Suchaccountability should not be expected to carry the threat or reality of sanctions wherefault or shortcomings are exposed.

‘Hard’ accountabilityThe second aspect can be seen as hard accountability: hard facts, an emphasis on what canbe counted or measured expressed in terms which can lead to stark relative judgments (‘Xis better than Y’), league tables and benchmarking. The information disclosed is likelyto be decided outside the mosque organization and given on a common template. It maycarry an explicit threat of sanctions (for example, school inspections) and create powerrelationships.Particularly with hard accountability, there is a danger that fear of judgment andsanction will get in the way of honest accountability and transparency. However, you doneed to have both soft and hard accountability. Without elements of both, accountabilitymay tend to be either simplistic or too vague.

TransparencyTransparency is about honest and clear communication to improve disclosure, increaseknowledge and improve mutual understanding and support. Today, people have less and lesstrust and confidence in institutions. The mosque is not immune from this. Indeed, mostpeople seem to be sceptical about large institutions.


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Whether we like it or not, this is how the mosque will be seen by many outside it – andsome within it. We need to show that we are operating efficiently and with integrity ineverything we do. People will often assume that we are not being efficient, rather thanthat we are, as this may have been the case in the past. To counter this we need a highlevel of transparency.

We need to be realistic with ourselves – as well as with others – about our strengths andshortcomings. We need to be realistic about what we see as areas of mission opportunityand how we are responding to them (or not doing so). If people think our recommendationsare just additional bureaucracy, they will have completely missed the mark.

We need to see transparency both as a means to an end and as an end in itself – becauseof the benefits that transparency brings. An open – rather than defensive – attitude willunlock significant opportunities that mosques and their management need to seize.

Some examples of accountability and transparency within the mosqueWithin the mosque, people have rightly tried to improve accountability. Accountability isa key theme of consultations with worshippers. These have led to new internal committeesbeing set up with the aim of establishing partnerships.Because of their accountability and transparency, some mosques have been able to gainfunding from beyond the mosque (such as European, national or regional funding, andcontributions from secular bodies towards activities such as having the madrasah inschools, colleges, prisons).Community DevelopmentIslam is not just about rituals and religious worship but rather an all-embracing Deen(way of life). It believes in the development of strong communities and families for ahealthy and prosperous society. Therefore Muslims can never be isolationist or segregatethemselves. They should be part and parcel of the society they live in, and have a dutyto make things better.

“You are the best of people evolved for mankind”Mosques have a major role in contributing to the development of their members, worshippersand the general community – Muslim and non-Muslim. Many mosques do provide activities otherthan worship, and provide front-line services. However, much more is needed and can bedone, particularly with the challenges and issues the Muslim community faces. It isbecoming more common for the non-Muslims living around the mosques in inner city areas toface these same challenges and issues.

What is community development?

Community development is a broad term applied to how civic leaders, activists, involvedcitizens and professionals work to improve various aspects of local communities.


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Community development seeks to empower individuals and groups of people by providing themwith the skills they need to bring about change in their own communities.

Are we ready to start community work?Any person or group can be involved in community work. Many people are already involvedin some way or another, for example helping out with a local clean up, volunteering inorganising an event, taking part in local consultation forum or lobbying MPs orcouncillors to change something in your locality. These are just some types of communitywork.

What types of community projects can we do?The type of community projects you can do depends on the needs you have identified, whatyour facilities can cater for and how innovative or creative you can be.

Here are some examples:

Health and fitness Sports Arts and crafts Mother and toddler group Education – supplementary school, homework club Adult learning Counselling Clean-ups Interfaith visits Islam awareness and mosque open day Drop-in for elderly Day care Loan and Savings scheme

A ten-step guide for developing a community project

Step 1 Know what you want to doIt is good to begin by asking yourself some basic questions:

What are the needs of members, worshippers and the general community? What are the local problems and issues? What can we do? What space and resources do we have?

Step 2 Establishing the need Do a needs analysis by consulting with the community you serve Do a SWOT analysis (that is, understand your) strengths, weaknesses, opportunities

and threats).


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Step 3 Deciding priorities You will not be able to do everything and sort out all the problems. Therefore

decide what is most important and what you can do best.

Step 4 Developing the project idea The next stage is to brainstorm ideas on how to solve the problem. You can have a

discussion and get people to shout out ideas, write them down (get children to drawor paint), or look at other projects and see what they are doing.

Then sort the ideas out and begin to work on some that are definitely worthwhile. Try to define some clear objectives and the specific

activities to be carried out.

Step 5 Build your teamDeveloping and working on a project can be challenging and frustrating at times, but canalso be motivating and rewarding. You will need people with different skills andabilities. Not everyone needs to be involved, but you should choose the team carefullyand sensitively and then assign responsibilities and tasks to specific people.

Step 6 Write a project planDevelop your project in detail by writing a project plan or proposal. Ideas are good butif you have nothing to show for them then they aren’t very useful. This part will alsohelp you define:

each stage of the project what your aims and objectives are how you have identified the need and demand for the

project how and when you will deliver it what you will achieve at the end (outcomes)

the resources you need to do it.

Step 7 Get the resourcesOnce you have written your plan and worked out the details, it’s time to get the funding.You will need to consider money for the activity itself, staffing, premises andequipment, and then approach funders. There are many different funding organisations andtrusts that give out money for various causes. Find the funder that will be most suitablefor your project. Please see the chapter on fundraising and the section on ‘how to makean effective application’.

Step 8 Implement and deliver your projectFinally it’s time to get the project running. It can be exciting, but also challengingand stressful at times. But if you have prepared well then you should be able to copewith the hard work. Remember to publicise your project and let people know what you aredoing.

Step 9 Monitor and review


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Regularly monitoring and reviewing your project will help you to spot any potentialproblems, keep your project focused and help you achieve your objectives.

Step 10 Close the projectThis is an important part of the project. You will need to consider evaluating theproject: what you have learnt and the project’s strengths and weaknesses. You may want tohave an end-of-project celebration for the people involved and then write a report aboutthe project. There may be issues that still need dealing with or have been created as aresult of the project. You will need to discuss ways of dealing with them.


List the eight recommended sub committees a Mosque should have

What other sub committees can you suggest for your Mosque?

Do you have policies for your mosque? If yes , which are those?

Does your Mosque secretary keep records of all minutes and decisions of thecommittee?


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What role do the youth play in your Mosque?

What role to Women play in your Mosque?

Outline the steps in establishing a Community project

Does your Mosque have a community project it has undertaken or is undertaking? Ifyes, which one. If no, why?

Does your Mosque have a computer and Printer?

Does your mosque have access to internet?

How many times do you hold Mosque management committee meetings in a month?

Does your committee have a budget?


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Does the Mosque treasurer report to the Jamaah/congregation regularly on theincome and expenditure of the Mosque?

CHECKLIST : Quick quality checklist for every mosque/ Muslim organisation

As a Mosque or Islamic Organisation do you have in place: Governing document? (e.g. Constitution) Written mission statement or vision? Core values? A management committee? Defined roles and responsibilities of management committee? Work plan for the next three (or five) years? A quality statement? Minutes and agendas for all meetings? Contracts of employment? Job descriptions? Recruitment & Induction procedures? Madrasah curriculum? Volunteers management and support procedures? Staff management and support systems – supervision, review, appraisal, training and

development? Monitoring and evaluation system? Publicity information? Details of services – what, when, who etc? A health and safety policy? An equal opportunity policy? A child/young person/vulnerable adults protection policy and procedures? (if

applicable) Other policies and procedures relevant to your area of work? Financial management procedures? Insurance? Complaints procedures? Office procedures/handbook? Organisation budget? Fundraising strategy? Organizational plan/strategy? Quality system?


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Audited accounts and annual reports?

In your work do you have in place: Quality in your work practice? Copies of all paperwork used? Activities records? Feedback from other organizations? Feedback from your clients/users/volunteers/participants? Undertaken risk assessments

Chapter 8

THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MUSLIMS

From what has been in the previous chapters, it is apparent that there is a great needfor every Muslim, but more especially a Muslim leader in any capacity to explain thedifferent issues affecting Islam and Muslims. There are many ways this can be done.Addressing gatherings like seminars, darasas, conferences, symposia, writing articles innewspapers, making TV and radio programmes. But the world is changing so fast, these waysare no longer adequate.


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The answer to this growing challenge of limited reach is the use of Social media. Mosqueimams, the primary disseminators of the Islamic message must appreciate the importance ofsocial media. Secondly they should learn how to use these media in their day to day work,if they are to effectively reach out to the ever growing youth population in Uganda.This means three things. First, there must be a sustained campaign to popularise theimportance and use of social media in the teaching and explaining of Islam and issuessurrounding Islam and Muslims. Secondly, the Muslim leaders should be trained inInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT). Thirdly, a deliberate effort should bemade to equip Mosques, Muslim organisations; like Muslim Student Associations, MuslimClubs, Muslim professional organisations, with Computers and modems to enable internetconnectivity. In a sense, therefore, there is strong justification for a fully fledgedMuslim Social Media Project for Uganda. Its activities, as indicated above may include;ICT training to Imams, (and other Muslim civic leaders) and provision of Computers andother ICT hardware and software. Another activity of the project would be to popularise,through targeted training as well, the use of computers for information dissemination byMuslim youth both in rural and urban areas, educated and less educated. The coming decade(2013 to 2023) can be dedicated to this important aspect of Muslim life by all forwardlooking Mosques and Muslim organisations.

Globally, Muslims from all parts of the world since 9/11 are facing discrimination andeven threats of violence. For many young people, this post-9/11 world has sparked a new,if not confusing, relationship with their own identities as Muslims. While some young menand women may not have even identified themselves strongly as Muslim before 9/11, theyhave found that even just their last names may now trigger their being targeted,profiled, and even discriminated against. Others, who may have always had a closerelationship to Islam and Islamic practices, have been suddenly forced to defend theirreligion to those who brand all Muslims as terrorists. These difficult times have ledyoung Muslims all over the world to try and find answers, connect with other individualsin similar situations, debate issues, and even subvert commonly held notions of Islam.Networking has been significant for these youth, as many who feel isolated have come tofind solace in these virtual communities, as well as a place where they establish theirown presence and express themselves. As one young Muslim said, "Young Muslims are‘resorting to this virtual world because we have no space in the actual world...' "

What is Social Media?

There are so many definitions of social media, one can lose count. However, we reproducesome few.

Social media defined

“Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussinginformation among human beings.” - Wikipedia

“A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generatedcontent. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, or My Space,


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social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Simpy,and other sites that are centered on user interaction.” - Lazworld

“Online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights,experiences, and perspectives with each other.” - tvb.org

“Social media are works of user-created video, audio, text or multimedia that arepublished and shared in a social environment, such as a blog, wiki or video hostingsite.” - Capilanou

“An umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, socialinteraction, and the construction of words and pictures.” - Anvil Media

“Software tools that allow groups to generate content and engage in peer-to-peerconversations and exchange of content (examples are YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, MySpaceetc).” - Bottle PR

“Social Media is the collection of tools and online spaces available to help individualsand businesses to accelerate their information and communication needs.” - Axel Schultze

Other useful pointers

Social media overlord Robert Scoble has previously described it thus: “When I say ‘socialmedia’ or “new media” I’m talking about Internet media that has the ability to interactwith it in some way.”

Marta Kagan has a pretty good definition: “Social media is an umbrella term that definesthe various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and theconstruction of words, pictures, videos and audio.

In addition to the above, it would be a good idea to see what some Twitter followersanswered when asked the question: “What is social media?” (in 140 characters or less).

Here’s what they said:

1. Social media is like going to a large party. Put on your best outfit, try to be entertaining, don't put own foot in mouth - @srufo

2. Social Media = Sharing Caring Conversations Online - @ActiveLife 3. A place to hang out and communicate with your own networks of contacts, friends and

peers about stuff that interests you - @rumbels 4. Social Media = The facilitation and practice of engagement and conversation online -

@rosiefresh 5. People. Technology. Communication. Ideas. Choice. - @EngineCreative 6. It's new groups of online media which share things like openness, 'connectedness'

participation, conversation and community - @KateBiz 7. Definition of social media: Media that allows discussion and interaction, as

opposed to broadcast only. - @leifkendall


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8. Talking online with people you don't know in the hope that they'll become customers! - @supanovatrainer

9. A set of websites that allows users to directly interact with each other - @Nenad 10. The definition of social media du jour is, simply, '140 characters or less' -

@oliverpayne 11. This year's equivalent of WAP portals - @mattycurry 12. A place where people go connect with other people. I guess the 'love' column

in London Paper could even be a social media. It isn’t limited to online media - @matthewgain

13. No holds barred informal networking and content sharing - @thefloatingfrog 14. Internet tools developed and defined in part by the people who use them and that

connect those people in some way - @talance 15. SM is a open platform, free form, uncensored conversation between millions of

people worldwide without borders. - @catlowmusic 16. Something non-institutional involving a level discursive playing field...or

something like that - @alasdairt 17. Social media is getting a msg across in as few words as possible, in as

little time as possible, to as many people as possible - @KateHorstead 18. Engage, share, spread, cooperate, interact, learn, enjoy - @fredchannel 19. An online communication community where networks formed by the members shape

the flow and formation of the content? - @justingould 20. Social Media is how Internet changed social networking by using all the

different web tools to communicate socially. - @tornow 21. It is a thing of opposites; compelling and annoying, time wasting and time

efficient, useful and useless. - @nettya

Is Social Media permissible in Islam?In Islamic law, there is a maxim which states that "Everything is permissible unless it'sforbidden explicitly". So for example, when it comes to food, everything is permissibleto eat except for some specific things: pork, dead meat, animals slaughtered in the nameof other than Allah, etc. Same with clothing; we can wear whatever we want with someexceptions. One of the proofs for this maxim comes from the Quran:

"It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth." [2:29]

Everything has been created for us to use in general, and we have specific prohibitions.Another proof:

"He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to otherthan Allah " [2:173]

This means he only forbidden the above, which means that everything else is allowed for usto eat (keep in mind there are more exceptions than what is in this verse, but I hope youget the point).


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So based on this maxim, when it comes anything in our life which doesn't have a specificprohibition for it, the general rule is that is permissible. Then we look closer at theharms and benefits of that matter. When it comes to something permissible, you willalways find people abusing it. Question: is using the internet allowed? People use andabuse it for various forbidden actions (too many to list!), but that does not change thegeneral ruling that it is permissible. However, for a specific person, it may beimpermissible for them specifically if they cannot control themselves from doingimpermissible actions and it outweighs the benefits for them.

Same for social networking. It is permissible in general, and people abuse it (flirting,fornication, pornography, promotion of terrorism, etc.), while other people use it tocall people to Allah and learn Islamic knowledge (which is good)! So it depends on theperson and their usage of it.

Is socialization of any means prohibited in Islam in the first place (unless it is donefor the reason of finding partner for adultery or doing some other evil things)?

There is one important detail about social networking. It is prohibited to create secretgroups in which plans against Allah and messenger of Allah are hatched:

“Have you not considered those who were forbidden from private conversation, then they return to that whichthey were forbidden and converse among themselves about sin and aggression and disobedience to theMessenger? And when they come to you, they greet you with that [word] by which Allah does not greet you andsay among themselves, "Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?" Sufficient for them is Hell, which they will[enter to] burn, and wretched is the destination”.

O you who have believed, when you converse privately, do not converse about sin and aggression anddisobedience to the Messenger but converse about righteousness and piety. And fear Allah, to whom you will be

gathered.

Surat Al Mujadilah 8-9 (58 / 8-9)

(Note: The phrase "converse privately" in the translation is actually "necva" in Arabic,and it means "whispering".) As long as you don't do private things that are against Islam,against messenger of Allah, or things that will make other believers’ sad, you are wellallowed to do social networking. There is nothing prohibiting it.

Top 15 Common Social media sites on the internet (January2013)

Here are the 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites as derived from the eBizMBA Rank which is a constantly updated average of each website's Alexa Global Traffic Rank, and U.S. Traffic Rank from both Compete and Quantcast.


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http://www.quantcast.com/

http://www.compete.com/

http://www.alexa.com/

Case study: an ordinary Muslim uses his Wordpress page to explain Islam

Islam is the Way of Life : May 17, 2011 Islam = Terror? Not At All

Every now and then I hear or read people’s comments on Islam and see that lots ofpeople always equate our religion to terrorism. All through CNN’s Blog and FoxNews blog you can see how closed minded and misinformed people are about Islam.I’ve said it on numerous occasions that Islam does not teach violence towardsothers, and it just makes me mad to see when people say otherwise. Islam itselfcomes from the root word Salam which mean peace. At the bottom I have posted avideo that I made myself and uploaded to Youtube hopefully it helps people tobetter understand Islam. I’m really happy that many other Muslims have taken upthe use of Youtube to help combat this misconception. Posted: May 17, 2011.

Amazing Azan(Prayer Call) The video above is the Prayer Call Muslims perform in a Mosque or at home beforepraying. This prayer call is said to drive out Satan/Jinns out of the house and itis also used to let other Muslims know when it time to pray. I am really glad Ifound this on Youtube. Every day when I get the chance I play it before my familyand I pray. I have also shown this to many of my non-Muslim friends and they allsay its such a beautiful ‘song’. I hope you all enjoy it and I listed below thetranslation of what is being said.

Allahu AkbarGod is Great(said four times)

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa AllahI bear witness that there is no god except the One God.(said two times)

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool AllahI bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-s-SalahHurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-l-FalahHurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)(said two times)

Allahu AkbarGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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God is Great[said two times]

La ilaha illa AllahThere is no god except the One God Posted:| May 9, 2011

Answering Questions Regarding Islam While browsing through a few videos yesterday I happened to find this greatYouTube channel that has clips of commonly asked questions about Islam. Theseclips are taken from a Tv show called “Ask Hudd,” and the person answering is Dr.Muhammad Salah. I was amazed at what people were asking because I too wanted toknow the answers to those questions. One of my favorite video is the videoexplaining who are Magog and Gog. These two groups can not only be found in theQuran but the Bible as well. I never understood who or what they were till Iwatched the video about them. The speaker does an excellent job answering thesequestions in a clear and easy to understand manner.

Another one of my favorite videos is the video answering if Aliens exist. I havealways had a belief in Alien lifeforms and I believe they exist. Once again Islamanswered my questions and reaffirmed my beliefs. The speaker says that there areverses in the Quran that may hint to the existence of alien lifeforms and he makesit clear that it does not go against Islamic beliefs.

Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/abuRumaysah Posted May 9, 2011

Correcting Common Mistakes Muslims Make I recently stumbled up a video on Youtube that pointed out common mistakes fellowMuslims make during prayer. I think its great that this video was posted, becauseI too were making these mistakes during prayer. One of the mistakes I was makingis that I was reciting Surah Fatiah without pausing between verses. The prayer isthe most important part of our religion so its essential that we do not make anymistakes. Alhamdullah(Thanks and Praise be to God) for this video otherwise Iwould have kept makin these mistakes. The video can be found at the bottom of thispost along with my own list of mistakes people Muslims might make during prayer.

Alright so here are some of the mistakes that I think Muslims make during prayer

I think that people are not focused during prayer. When prostrating people’s back arent bent properly, it should be straight

and flat like a table. It should not be arched.

Posted | May 3, 2011


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http://www.youtube.com/user/abuRumaysah

An Easy Way of Spreading Islam Using Facebook For all the Muslims out there who would like to rack up some more good deeds withthe Lord, I got the perfect way for you. It’s very simple instead of posting whatyou ate for breakfast or what class you do not want to go to, dedicate yourFacebook status to thy Lord. Post verses from the Quran or the Hadith, by simplydoing this you are spreading the idea of Islam to all of your friends. This canhelp clear up any misconceptions people may already have of Islam. Once I rememberI posted a verse from the Quran that read:

“…and nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ becauseamongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are notarrogant” (Surah 5:82)

Many Christians commented saying that its a beautiful verse, and some even saidthey did not even know that the Quran said that about them. You never know who isreading your statuses and what they are going through in life, one day you mightjust post a status that would get someone thinking about Islam. Then before youknow it he or she becomes a fellow Muslim. Posted May 3, 2011

Learning How to Pray in Islam Learning to pray in Islam was one of the hardest thing for me. I did notknow Arabic nor did I know how to recite the Quran. Once again social media had tocome to the rescue. I remember I had ran a Google search and came up with a blogthat explain how to pray and I also came up with a video on Youtube of how topray. The video explain in depth how to pray each prayer. People may look at theprayer in Islam and say thats hard and I can’t do that but its really simple andeasy to learn. The prayer itself is pretty much one big song that you just need tolearn the lyrics and movements to.

The prayer in Islam is very important, its separates the believers from thedisbelievers. I find that when I pray this prayer I feel at peace and at ease. Ifeel like nothing can touch me and I feel like I am favored in the eyes of Godbecause I just finished worshiping him. Posted | April 25, 2011.

How I came over to Islam Part 2: Did Jesus Die For Our Sins? I believe everyone has heard the phrase that “Jesus died for you,” at some pointin their lives. According to Islam, the only Non-Christian faith that makes it anarticle of faith to believe in Jesus; Jesus did NOT die for our sins, nor was hekilled or crucified. The Quran states:

That they rejected Faith; that they uttered against Mary a grave false charge; That they said (in boast),“We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”;- but they killed him not, nor crucifiedhim, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no(certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- Nay, Allah(God)raised him up unto Himself; and Allah(God) is Exalted in Power, Wise;- (Surah 4:156-157)


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Accepting this was very hard for me, because I could not understand how anyonecould deny the death of Jesus. If it was not for social media I would not haveaccept this view. Similar to my situation with weather Jesus was God or not Idecided to watch many debates regarding this topic. Watching those debatesdid several things for me: One it helped me see that Jesus could of survived thecrucifixion and showed inconsistencies in the gospels regarding the deathand crucifixion. Also it got me thinking, does it makes sense for Jesus to die forour sins? The Jews did not believe in someone having to die for your sins, andeven in the old testament people just prayed to God and God forgave them. Since weare on the topic of God and his forgiveness let me share with you two verses fromthe sayings of the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him). You make you own judgementof them.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) reported that the devil said to God:“I shall continue to lead Thy servants astray as long as their spirits are in their bodies.” And God replied: “(Then) I shall continue to pardon them as long as they ask for My forgiveness.” [Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith742]

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:“Allahthe Almighty said:

‘O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then toask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.‘” [At-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

Now back to the death of Jesus(peace be upon him) does it make sense? For exampleif God is a just God was it a just decision to kill an innocent man to let theothers go free? If Jesus died for our sins why then are there still sin in thisworld? Also if Jesus is God and Jesus died on the cross, does that mean God died?Once again you decide and pass your own judgement. Posted: March 29,2011

How Social Media Helped Me Revert to Islam Part 1: Jesus God or Prophet? Background: As I mentioned in an earlier post social media played a huge role inme reverting back to Islam. In this post I will tell my great story of how I wentfrom being a Muslim to a Christian then back to being a Muslim once again. As Ichild I never really paid much attention to religion, I always felt that it wasannoying and not worth my time; but I did however always believe in God andbelieve he was always guiding me. Around the year of 2008 the group of friends Iused to skate with decided to pay a visit to a Church located not too far from thepark I used to skate at. Even though I was not big on religion I decided to go tosee how the girls were and potentially find a girlfriend. This soon turned in to


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http://www.facebook.com/

3. Facebook will then send an email to the email account you entered. You will need to go to this account and open their email. The email will direct you to click on a link to verify that your real. After you complete this you can login tofacebook with your email address and password that you entered. You can login by going to facebook.com and entering your email and password at the top of the screen.

4. Facebook also has the option for you to add all your friends in your email address book that you have. This is an easy way to get a quick contact group. Oncethis is complete you can edit your profile.

5. At the top of your facebook screen you will see a profile link. Click that to make edits to your profile. You can also click on settings to edit other items like email settings, etc...

6. Clicking on your friends link will allow you to see all of the friends you have. If you click on one of your friends it will show all of their friends so youcan add people you might know on their list.

7. After playing on here an hour or so you will catch on and see why facebook is huge now!

8 . All of the top social websites like facebook, myspace, twitter can be found onthe following page http://stought.com/social.html

Read more: How to Open a Facebook Account | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4998480_open-facebook-account.html#ixzz2HmODTEUT


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The power of Social media

In the recent past we have seen more than ever just how important social media is, as wewatched three of the most powerful dictatorial regimes of the Arab and African worldbeing toppled, organized and facilitated in no small part via social networking sitessuch as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Even as those revolutions are changing the Middle-East region, it seems atransformation is also taking place within the Muslim community. “Social networks andmedia have definitely changed the spread of Islam and the perception of Muslims in theminds of many,” said author and professor at DeVry University, Suzy Ismail in an emailinterview. “The impact of Facebook and Twitter in changing entire nations can be seenin the uprisings of the Arab Spring that were largely dependent on social media as ameans of communicating and fuelling the passions of the people who overthrew theircountries’ dictators. The same can be said of Islam’s relation to social media.”Social media presents a huge opportunity for us to reach out to people who may notknow about Islam or Muslims. Thousands of Americans have never met a Muslim but theyhave access to Muslims through social mediaMuslims Under the Media MicroscopeIn the post 9/11 era, the growth of electronic and, in particular, social media hashad a significant impact on the lives of Muslims around the world. Khurram T. Dara,author of the “The Crescent Directive: An Essay on Improving the Image of Islam inAmerica” remarks that “every scandal, controversy, or violent terrorist attackperpetrated by Muslims is put under the microscope.” Dara goes on to say that itdoesn’t necessarily mean that the media has been trying to “spin stories” one way oranother about Muslims and Islam. “Of course, you have commentators and networks outthere with agendas they want to push, but for the most part the impact the media hashad comes in its evolution into a 24/7 industry. Everything is covered, regardless ofwhether it is quality journalism from reliable sources.”Suzy Ismail believes that the media has played a crucial role in the way Muslims andIslam have been perceived over the years. “It would be hard for anyone to say thatthey have not ‘heard’ of Islam with the amount of coverage that our deen has receivedin recent years through so many different media outlets. However, because of mediafilters and biased reporting or media coverage, it’s impossible to control thepresentation of the deen to those who may not be familiar with the concepts and tenetsof Islam.” Ismail continued, stating that especially since 9/11 “Islam and Muslimshave been both vilified and simultaneously victimized. There seems to be two extremereactions to the deen itself. One is sincere curiosity and interest that motivateseducation and the other is blind hatred and misunderstanding that leads toscapegoating and stereotyping.”Being constantly in the media has been both a blessing and curse for Muslims andIslam. Due to the spike in media’s coverage of Islam in recent years it has“definitely increased general awareness of our faith,” said ICNA IT Department Content


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Manager, Rida Bint Fozi. “The portrayal varies across news outlets, but I think it’sgreat that Islam remains a hot topic in the media and people are curious and askquestions. It gives us the opportunity to answer them.”However, it also means often “having to hear a whole lot of nonsense about Sharia andthe threat of Muslims,” says Dara. “These days the media is a sort of ‘eye in thesky,’ able to scrutinize any and all actions. The best way to counter some of thenegative coverage would be to prevent these types of situations from occurring. Wecan use the media to our advantage if Muslims are the ones out there tipping off lawenforcement about any sort of radicalism they see, or if Muslims are the ones on thefrontlines stopping home -grown terrorists.”As Muslims demonstrate their commitment and positive contribution to Americansociety, “the media will (eventually) cover it, and if not, the people who haveactually gotten to know Muslims will discredit media sources which report negativelyabout Muslims,” say Dara.To counteract the growing anti-Muslim backlash, many Muslims, especially the youth,have started using media sites to create “virtual” communities where they are ableto re-define themselves by coming together to debate pressing issues, connect withindividuals in similar situations, ask questions and find answers. Social media hasopened the “flood gates,” says Dara. Social media allows “anyone [to] be a reporteror commentator. All kinds of views can be expressed.” This phenomenon has become avital tool for Muslims to use to dispel negative stereotypes and misinformed notionsabout Islam.Social Media (SM) Increases Learning OpportunitiesIn the past, seeking knowledge about Islam was mainly restricted to the Masjids,educational institutions, and learning from imams and sheikhs. These traditionallearning opportunities remain intact. However, now Muslims are also able to learn,question, teach, and network through social networking sites. “There are more avenuesby which to learn about Islam. The Internet has given the public access to all kindsof information and made Islamic literature so much more accessible,” said Fozi. OnYouTube, for example, you can listen to a lecture in any language you want, wheneveryou want. Blogging sites such MuslimMatters.org and SuhaibWebb.com have becomeextremely popular with both Muslims and non-Muslims as a way to gain information andlearn about Islam.Twitter and Facebook, though, have undoubtedly been the two networking sites with themost active Muslim users. These sites have allowed us to connect with imams andsheiks, political leaders, scholars, and journalists. Furthermore, they have enabledus, at a moment’s notice, to share news and information that matter to us.Nevertheless, Fozi points out that “unfortunately there’s a flipside to being in thelimelight. Those who want to cast a negative light on Islam are just as active onlineand easily perpetuate stereotypes about Muslims through their posts, tweets andvideos. It can be overwhelming to contend with, but we need to remember that socialmedia has also empowered us and given us that same platform to express ourselves. WeGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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can increase the positive impact of media/social media on the portrayal of Islam bybeing more active and vocal about our faith.”The Muslims who are using these platforms are slowly but surely on the frontlineschanging the perception of Islam from that of an old-fashioned, authoritarian religionto one people can comprehend and relate to. “Social media presents a huge opportunityfor us to reach out to people who may not know about Islam or Muslims. Thousands ofAmericans have never met a Muslim but they have access to us through social media,”said Fozi. “We have to stop thinking of ourselves as lone individuals that can’t makea difference; get on Twitter and Facebook and YouTube and Instagram and add our voicesto the mix.”Dara adds that if “we [Muslims] focus on our actions, build personal connections withour fellow Americans and display investment in American society, people will siftthrough the noise. If we develop better reference points for others on Islam, theirrational claims and hateful rhetoric will be washed away to the empty corners of theInternet.

Now is the time for an Islamic Social Network, “Salamworld”

The following BBC report of 4th September 2012 gives us an insight of a new Muslimnetwork that was expected to launch launched in November 2012.


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Muslim network Salamworld aims to be Facebook rival

By Jennifer Pak BBC News, Kuala Lumpur Septemebr 4, 2012

The new network aims to unite Muslims around the world

At the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), in the country's capital Kuala Lumpur, Russian student Jeyhun Jaafar posts a video on a social network. A commentpops up in Turkish - a language Mr Jaafar does not speak. But he is able to respond withthe help of a translate button on the page. This is one of the ways the new social network, called Salamworld, hopes to make it easier to connect Muslims around the world.

In Malaysia, Muslims make up the majority of the population of 29 million people, about 60% of whom are internet users. Besides this South East Asian country, a trial version of Salamworld is currently being tested by about 1,000 users in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Turkey, Egypt and Indonesia. The company aims to launch globally by November. About 1,000 Muslims around the world are testing Salamworld

At first glance, Salamworld may not seem much different from other social networks. With a blue and white layout and features such as a wall to post comments, photos and videos, it is similar to what networking giant Facebook used to look like when it first launched.

But supporters of the multilingual and multicultural project say one thing will be different - content. Salamworld aims to create a safe space for Muslims - free from things such as pornography, gambling and anything else that may be against Islamic principles. For instance, Prof Nuraihan Mat Daud of IIUM, who uses Western social networking sites as a teaching tool, says she is uncomfortable with advertisements that show women in revealing clothing. Although Facebook is tough on pornography, it sports aGuide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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number of gambling apps - including one called Bingo Friendzy that allows UK users aged 18 and over to play games for real-money prizes.

Local rulesIt is not the first attempt to create a Muslim-tailored social network, but so far nonehas become popular on a large scale. Finland-based Muxlim.com came out in 2006, but iscurrently shut down. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood launched Ikhwanbook.com in 2010 but thesite is also currently offline. Critics say that these networks tended to appeal only totheir respective regions.

Salamworld, based in Turkey but with advisers from more than a dozen countries, hopes tobe different. One way it aims to achieve the goal of uniting Muslims globally is by using a three-level content-filtering feature. It will allow authorities to set contentguidelines based on different interpretations of Islam, which vary from country to country. For example, a picture of a Muslim woman who is not wearing a hijab may be finein secular Indonesia but not acceptable in Saudi Arabia. It is not clear how internet users will react to such censorship - in Malaysia, for instance, attempts to control theweb have been met with fierce opposition. Earlier this month, politicians and activists staged an internet blackout day to protest against changes in the law they say aimed to stifle free speech online. Some Malaysians, however, say they will tolerate a certain degree of censorship, such as filtering out photos of skimpy outfits or alcohol ads, which are against Islamic values "But if they are censoring things for political reasons, like to prevent us from seeing the real situation in Syria or the violence committed against Muslims in Burma, then that is not OK," says another student, Abdul Hadi bin Haji

'Alternative needed'Even if Muslims around the world do start using Salamworld en masse, it may still be tricky to rival Facebook, say analysts. According to internet information company Alexa,the social networking giant is the most popular site in all the countries where Salamworld is conducting its trials. In Malaysia, for example, many say it is at times easier to connect with friends through Facebook than by calling them.

It doesn't worry Salamworld's head of Asia-Pacific operations Salam Suleymanov, who strongly believes in a need for an alternative. "When we talk about 1.5 billion Muslims, maybe those who support my view make up a very small percentage - but it's still a big number," he says.

//End of report.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do you have a personal email address?


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If not would you like to open an email address for yourself?

Do you know how to open an email address?

If not, do you know someone in your Mosque who can help you to do so?

Will you approach him/her for help to open an email address in the next threedays?

Does your Mosque/Muslim organisation have an email address?

Does your Mosque /Muslim organisation have a website?

Would you like to establish a website for your Mosque for your Mosque/Muslimorganisation?

Do you know who can help with information on opening a website for yourMosque/organisation?

Do you know the cost of establishing a website? If yes, can you raise the moneyfrom your mosque members? If no, why?

What is Social media?

List four different social media that you know?

Why should Muslims use social media?

What are the criticisms of social media?

Does Islam prohibit social media?

Does your Mosque use the social media?

Do you post your Mosque’s Khutbas on social media?

Would you like to open a social media page for your Mosque/Muslim organisation? Ifyes, when? If no, why not?

Have you ever seen a negative comment about Islam on social media?

Have you ever responded to a negative comment about Islam on social media?

How can your mosque/Muslim organisation encourage its members to learn how to usecomputers?

SMS – perhaps the most powerful and affordable social medium

On the 3rd of December 1992 the world took the first next step in the category of


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communication with the introduction of Short Message Service (SMS).

The first SMS message was sent over the Vodafone GSM network in the UnitedKingdom from Neil Papworth of Sema Group (now Mavenir Systems) using a personalcomputer to Richard Jarvis of Vodafone using an Orbitel 901 handset. The text ofthe message was "Merry Christmas."

Short message service is a mechanism of delivery of short messages over themobile networks. It is a store and forward way of transmitting messages to andfrom mobiles. The message (text only) from the sending mobile is stored in acentral short message center (SMS) which then forwards it to the destinationmobile. This means that in the case that the recipient is not available, theshort message is stored and can be sent later. Each short message can be nolonger than 160 characters. These characters can be text (alphanumeric) orbinary Non-Text Short messages.

An interesting feature of SMS is return receipts. This means that the sender, ifwishes, can get a small message notifying if the short message was delivered tothe intended recipient. Since SMS used signaling channel as opposed to dedicatedchannels, these messages can be sent/received simultaneously with thevoice/data/fax service over a GSM network. SMS supports national andinternational roaming. This means that you can send short messages to any otherGSM mobile user around the world. With the PCS networks based on all the threetechnologies, GSM, CDMA and TDMA supporting SMS, SMS is more or less a universalmobile data service.

Please note that the actual limit of size of SMS is 160 characters if Latin alphabets are used. If non-Latinalphabets like Chinese or Arabic are used, the limit is 70 characters.

Some interesting facts about SMS

Fact 1: SMS was invented by Matti Makkonen, who is a Finnish engineer and aninventor in the field of mobile communications. He has been employed (amongothers) by Nokia Networks and Tele Finland, as well as Finnet Oy:n. Makkonenplayed a leading role in creating the mobile communication unit of what is todayTeliaSonera.

Fact 2: 20 years old SMS technology used on mobile phones originated from radiotelegraphy in radio memo pagers using standardized phone protocols and laterdefined as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) series ofstandards in 1985 can send only up to 160 characters to and from GSM mobilehandsets.

Fact 3: According to recent estimates and data analysis, there are around 6Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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http://www.gizbot.com/mobile/top-5-latest-android-dual-sim-smartphones-launched-in-november-2012

http://www.gizbot.com/mobile/top-5-latest-android-dual-sim-smartphones-launched-in-november-2012

http://www.gizbot.com/online/top-5-websites-to-send-free-text-messages

billion cell phone subscribers today and almost all of them have access to SMS.The introduction of prepaid cellular service and innovations like T9 predictivetext input helped the market grow and in 2000 the industry counted 17 billiontext messages, according to data from Ericsson. That number grew by around 20times over just the next two years.

Fact 4: Today, upwards of 7 trillion text messages are sent every year—that'smore than 200,000 per second—but the technology had humble beginnings.

Fact 5: In China, SMS is very popular and has brought service providerssignificant profit (18 billion short messages were sent in 2001. It is a veryinfluential and powerful tool in the Philippines, where the average user sends10–12 text messages a day.

The Philippines alone sends on the average 400 million text messages a day, orapproximately 142 billion text messages sent a year, more than the annualaverage SMS volume of the countries in Europe, and even China and India. SMS ishugely popular in India, where youngsters often exchange lots of text messages,and companies provide alerts, infotainment, news, football scores updates,airline booking, mobile billing, and banking services on SMS.

Applications

Some of the common applications of SMS are:

Exchanging small messages like "Eid Mubarak!". SMS is particularly suited for these kinds of short messages because SMS is much cheaper than callingsome one and giving the same message. Calling some one to give the same message would invariably take more time and hence more cost.

Many operators offer e-mail service over SMS. Every user is assigned an e-mail address at signup and any message delivered to that email is converted to short messages and delivered to the mobile.

It is possible to send e-mail messages (less than 160 characters) from a mobile phone to any e-mail address via SMS.

Information services like news, weather, entertainment and stock prices etc. can be availed just by sending a keyword like NEWS, WEATHER etc to the short message centre number.

SMS can be used by the network operators to provide services like balance enquiry in case of prepaid cards using SMS.

Mobile chatting is one more hot application of SMS SMS can be used to notify users that they have received new voice-mail or

fax messages. It provides an alternative to alphanumeric paging services Using SIM-Toolkit, now a part of GSM specifications, SMS can be used to


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http://www.gizbot.com/mobile-apps/android-mobile-apps/google-drive-for-android-updated-adds-support-to-spreadsheet-editing

have on the air activation of features. By sending codes embedded in shortmessages from the server network operators can remotely provision the user's wireless terminal

Internet e-mail alerts. Downloading new ring tones.

Limitations of SMSThere is no doubt that SMS has become very popular. What is more interesting toobserve is that this popularity has been in spite of many limitations of SMS.Many of these limitations are the driving force behind the developments andinitiatives being taken in the field of short messaging. Some of the limitationsof SMS are:

Messages are plain vanilla in nature. You can only send simple text messages. There is no scope for any graphics or audio.

The messages are limited by size. An SMS message can’t exceed 160characters. In case of longer e-mails or information service messages likenews, the messages need to broken down into more than one message.

The limitation of easy input mechanisms in mobile devices makes it veryuncomfortable sending messages larger than even 5-6 words.However, predictive text input algorithms implemented in a mobile phone cangreatly help. Voice recognition systems can further help ease thesituation.

ConclusionsSMS, because of its very nature has unique advantages that other non voiceservices do not have. It provides a very convenient method of exchanging smallbits of information between mobile users. The reasons for the enormouspopularity of SMS have been the fact that this mechanism of sending andreceiving messages not only saves time but costs less as well. In manysituations one is relatively much more comfortable sending a message via SMSthan talking over phone. With new information services and unique value addedservices being used by the operators the popularity of SMS is increasingfurther. SMS is also uniquely positioned as a very attractive advertisementmedium. SMS should no longer be treated as a value added service in mobilenetworks. SMS is not only providing a useful mechanism for a host of innovativeservices over mobile networks but it acting as a point of entry for new dataservices like WAP in mobile networks.

SMS and the Muslim CommunityThe use of SMS has unlimited benefits for a Muslim community worker. There avery few mosques in Uganda which do not have a member of their congregation whoowns a mobile phone. The SMS can be a most affordable mobilisation tool that aMosque or Islamic organisation can use pass information to members and othertarget groups. We have used it for occasional greetings like “Eid Mubarak!” or


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“Ramadhan Mubarak!” - to herald the commencement of Ramadhan. But there are manymore ways we can use the SMS, beyond these occasional messages.

These could be simple but important messages to a colleague reminding him/herto pray something like: “Have prayed Salatul Dhuhr yet?” to topical issues like“Islam is Peace ... have you said Assalaam alaikum to anyone today?”. It couldbe a verse of the Holy Qur’an or a Hadith of the holy prophet. It could be amessage to cause behavioural change like “Have you saved any money today?”Noteven the sky is the limit to what type of messages you can send over your phone.Invitations to meetings become easy to deliver, by the touch of a few buttons onyour phone.

It there is something that is of importance to Islam and Muslims that you havenoticed in a newspaper, for example, you can send a message to members of yourMosque /organisation that goes like: “Pse see page 5 of today’s New Vision”.

So the Mosque Imams and Muslim organisation leaders should embrace the SMS forthe benefit of the communities. The campaign for tolerance and peacefulcoexistence between Muslims and non Muslims can be done by text messages, ataffordable costs. Appeals for calm in times of turmoil between communities canbe well delivered by well structured messages over the phone.

Final points to ponder about sms media Do you have a Mobile phone? Have you ever received an SMS? Have you ever sent an SMS? How many sms do you send in a week? How many sms do you receive in a day? Do you like those messages? Have you ever acted on the basis of an sms from an

unknown source? Have you ever used to phone to send a message about

Islam and Muslims? Have you ever received an sms that made you angry? What

did you do? Have you ever received an sms that speaks ill of Islam?

What did you do? Have you ever used your phone to invite members of your

mosque for prayers?Guide for Muslim community leaders on development: Towards a tolerant and forward looking community through application of

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Think of five ways you can use sms to make yourMosque/Muslim organisation moreactive?

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GUIDE FOR MUSLIM COMMUNITY LEADERS ON DEVELOPMENT

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