An Apology
On September 11th, 2008, while countless American flags whipped in the wind and the television and radio waves were dominated by remembrances, recordings, and stories about the terror attacks of seven years ago, I attended the funeral of ImamW.D.Mohammed (may God be pleased with him). Forme, it was...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Institute of Islamic Thought
2008-10-01
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| Series: | American Journal of Islam and Society |
| Online Access: | https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1446 |
| _version_ | 1818406315929632768 |
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| author | Azhar Usman |
| author_facet | Azhar Usman |
| author_sort | Azhar Usman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On September 11th, 2008, while countless American flags whipped in
the wind and the television and radio waves were dominated by remembrances,
recordings, and stories about the terror attacks of seven years ago,
I attended the funeral of ImamW.D.Mohammed (may God be pleased with
him). Forme, it was a somber day, but I found myselfmostly lost in thought:
about African-American Muslim communities, about the challenges ahead
in American Muslim institution-building, and about the future of Islam in
America. If you don’t know who ImamWDMwas, you should look him up.
The Sufis say: “The true sage belongs to his era.” And of the many gifts
given to ImamWDM by God, perhaps the most obvious and beneficial one
was the Imam’s profound understanding of the principles of religion, and his
adeptness at intelligently applying those Islamic principles in a socially and
culturally appropriate manner befitting the everyday lives of his North
American followers. While carefully respecting sound, traditional jurisprudential
methodologies of the Islamic religion, and the collective religious
history and time-honored scholarship of classical Islam, he promulgated creative
ideas and dynamic teachings across many domains of human endeavor,
including theology, law, spirituality and even ethics and aesthetics, that
together articulated a vision for a quintessentially “American Muslim” cultural identity. And he did all of this before anyone else, with quiet strength
and unending humility – a true sage indeed ... |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:10:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb7f9b082aaf48df8041596ef51eac76 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2690-3733 2690-3741 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:10:00Z |
| publishDate | 2008-10-01 |
| publisher | International Institute of Islamic Thought |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American Journal of Islam and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb7f9b082aaf48df8041596ef51eac762022-12-21T23:08:35ZengInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtAmerican Journal of Islam and Society2690-37332690-37412008-10-0125410.35632/ajis.v25i4.1446An ApologyAzhar UsmanOn September 11th, 2008, while countless American flags whipped in the wind and the television and radio waves were dominated by remembrances, recordings, and stories about the terror attacks of seven years ago, I attended the funeral of ImamW.D.Mohammed (may God be pleased with him). Forme, it was a somber day, but I found myselfmostly lost in thought: about African-American Muslim communities, about the challenges ahead in American Muslim institution-building, and about the future of Islam in America. If you don’t know who ImamWDMwas, you should look him up. The Sufis say: “The true sage belongs to his era.” And of the many gifts given to ImamWDM by God, perhaps the most obvious and beneficial one was the Imam’s profound understanding of the principles of religion, and his adeptness at intelligently applying those Islamic principles in a socially and culturally appropriate manner befitting the everyday lives of his North American followers. While carefully respecting sound, traditional jurisprudential methodologies of the Islamic religion, and the collective religious history and time-honored scholarship of classical Islam, he promulgated creative ideas and dynamic teachings across many domains of human endeavor, including theology, law, spirituality and even ethics and aesthetics, that together articulated a vision for a quintessentially “American Muslim” cultural identity. And he did all of this before anyone else, with quiet strength and unending humility – a true sage indeed ...https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1446 |
| spellingShingle | Azhar Usman An Apology American Journal of Islam and Society |
| title | An Apology |
| title_full | An Apology |
| title_fullStr | An Apology |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Apology |
| title_short | An Apology |
| title_sort | apology |
| url | https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1446 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT azharusman anapology AT azharusman apology |