A Black Imam Breaks Ground in Mecca

 

By ROBERT F. WORTH

 

Published: April 10, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

TWO years ago, Sheik Adil Kalbani dreamed that he had become an imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.

Waking up, he dismissed the dream as a temptation to vanity. Although he is known for his fine voice, Sheik Adil is black, and the son of a poor immigrant from the Persian Gulf. Leading prayers at the Grand Mosque is an extraordinary honor, usually reserved for pure-blooded Arabs from the Saudi heartland.

So he was taken aback when the phone rang last September and a voice told him that King Abdullah had chosen him as the first black man to lead prayers in Mecca. Days later Sheik Adil’s unmistakably African features and his deep baritone voice, echoing musically through the Grand Mosque, were broadcast by satellite TV to hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world.

Since then, Sheik Adil has been half-jokingly dubbed the “Saudi Obama.” Prominent imams are celebrities in this deeply religious country, and many have hailed his selection as more evidence of King Abdullah’s cautious efforts to move Saudi Arabia toward greater openness and tolerance in the past few years.

“The king is trying to tell everybody that he wants to rule this land as one nation, with no racism and no segregation,” said Sheik Adil, a heavyset and long-bearded man of 49 who has been an imam at a Riyadh mosque for 20 years. “Any qualified individual, no matter what his color, no matter where from, will have a chance to be a leader, for his good and his country’s good.”

Officially, it was his skill at reciting the Koran that won him the position, which he carries out — like the Grand Mosque’s eight other prayer leaders — only during the holy month of Ramadan. But the racial significance of the king’s gesture was unmistakable.

Sheik Adil, like most Saudis, is quick to caution that any racism here is not the fault of Islam, which preaches egalitarianism. The Prophet Muhammad himself, who founded the religion here 1,400 years ago, had black companions.

“Our Islamic history has so many famous black people,” said the imam, as he sat leaning his arm on a cushion in the reception room of his home. “It is not like the West.”

It is also true that Saudi Arabia is far more ethnically diverse than most Westerners realize. Saudis with Malaysian or African features are a common sight along the kingdom’s west coast, the descendants of pilgrims who came here over the centuries and ended up staying. Many have prospered and even attained high positions through links to the royal family. Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the United States, is the son of Prince Sultan and a dark-skinned concubine from southern Saudi Arabia.

But slavery was practiced here too, and was abolished only in 1962. Many traditional Arabs from Nejd, the central Saudi heartland, used to refer to all outsiders as “tarsh al bahr” — vomit from the sea. People of African descent still face some discrimination, as do most immigrants, even from other Arab countries. Many Saudis complain that the kingdom is still far too dominated by Nejd, the homeland of the royal family. There are nonracial forms of discrimination too, and many Shiite Muslims, a substantial minority, say they are not treated fairly.

“The prophet told us that social classes will remain, because of human nature,” Sheik Adil said gravely. “These are part of the pre-Islamic practices that persist.”

BLACK skin is not the only social obstacle Sheik Adil has overcome. His father came to Saudi Arabia in the 1950s from Ras al Khaima, in what is now the United Arab Emirates, and obtained a job as a low-level government clerk. The family had little money, and after finishing high school, Adil took a job with Saudi Arabian Airlines while attending night classes at King Saud University.

Only later did he study religion, laboriously memorizing the Koran and studying Islamic jurisprudence. In 1984 he passed the government exam to become an imam, and worked briefly at the mosque in the Riyadh airport. Four years later he won a more prominent position as the imam of the King Khalid mosque, a tall white building that is not far from one of the Intelligence Ministry’s offices.

Theologically, Sheik Adil reflects the general evolution of Saudi thinking over the last two decades. During the 1980s he met Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam, a leader of the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan. He initially sympathized with their radical position and anger toward the West. Later, he said, he began to find their views narrow, especially after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Now he speaks warmly of King Abdullah’s new initiatives, which include efforts to moderate the power of the hard-line religious establishment and to modernize Saudi Arabia’s judiciary and educational establishment. He reads Al Watan, a liberal newspaper.

“Some people in this country want everyone to be a carbon copy,” Sheik Adil said. “This is not my way of thinking. You can learn from the person who is willing to criticize, to give a different point of view.”
His life, like that of most imams, follows a rigid routine: he leads prayers five times a day at the mosque, then walks across the parking lot to his home, which he shares with two wives and 12 children. On Fridays, he gives a sermon as well.

HE expected it to continue that way for the rest of his life. Then in early September he woke up to hear his cellphone and land line, both ringing continuously. Stirring from bed, he heard the administrator of the Grand Mosque leaving a message. He picked up one of the phones, and heard the news that the king had selected him.

Two days later he walked into a grand reception room where he was greeted by Prince Khalid al-Faisal, the governor of Mecca Province. Sheik Adil tried to introduce himself, but the prince cut him off with a smile:
“You are known,” he said.

Next, Sheik Adil was led to a table where he sat with King Abdullah and other ministers. He was too shy to address the king directly, but as he left the room he thanked him and kissed him on the nose, a traditional sign of deference.

Remembering the moment, Sheik Adil smiled and went silent. Then he pulled out his laptop and showed a visitor a YouTube clip of him reciting the Koran at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

“To recite before thousands of people, this is no problem for me,” he said. “But the place, its holiness, is so different from praying anywhere else. In that shrine, there are kings, presidents and ordinary people, all being led in prayer by you as imam. It gives you a feeling of honor, and a fear of almighty God.”

Muhammad al-Milfy contributed reporting.

Religious Rulings: No Longer “Yes, No? Can I Go?” But a Method of Teaching the People By: Ust. Abdul Sattar

courtesy of Tariq and Suhaib Webb



Fatwas: No Longer “Yes, No? Can I Go?” But a Method of Teaching the People

Ust. Abdul Sattar

When Abraham said: “Show me, Lord, how You will raise the dead, ” He replied: “Have you no faith?” He said “Yes, but just to place my heart in complete ease.” Allah said, “Take four birds, draw them to you, and cut their bodies to pieces. Scatter them over the mountain-tops, then call them back. They will come swiftly to you. Know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.”

Al-Quran 2:260

There was once a time when the mustafti (the layman asking for a fatwa), having neither a great level of literacy, or little more than a deep emotional and spiritual connection to Islam (with great love for God and His Prophet), would approach the mufti and ask him: “Sheikh/Maulana/Mufti…Can I do this?”

The answer would come, either immediately or after the scholar had time to think over the question: “Yes.” “No.” “Yes, but xyz.” And so on. Questions about Zakah, Marriage, Divorce, Business, Prayer, Medicine, all of these would be answered in this manner. Why? Because the questioner may have been illiterate, or simply because the culture of the time and place did not necessitate any further discussion. The questioner, out of his sincere desire to follow the command of God and His Prophet (saw) would seek the expert of Sacred Law, the answer would be given, and the questioner could happily (or at least with a clear conscience) move forward with the knowledge that what he is doing is acceptable to God. There was nothing wrong with this method for the farmer, the shopkeeper, the baker, who simply wanted to live his life to please God and take care of his family. There was neither a burden on the Mufti to explain his answer, nor a demand from the questioner for evidence and process. The scholar of Sacred Law was qualified, the questioner was not, and this was the way of the world.

That environment was not an environment, nor was that time in an age in which the ranks of academia were filled with orientalist “experts” of Hadith sciences and Islamic Law, cadres of scientists trumpeting the theory of evolution, and armies of writers, bloggers, authors, speakers, and massive groups with deep pockets, pumping an intellectual, spiritual, and cultural inferiority complex into the veins of the Muslims. Granted, Islam had its detractors before, but not such that the airwaves and fiber-optic cables would carry their message into the homes, living rooms, and minds of every human being on Earth. It was also not a time when fataawa (often with opposing answers) were published for all the world to see and used as ammunition in the battles between groups and ideologies.

In such an environment, in such an age, it is imperative that the scholars, and the laymen, raise the expectations for themselves, and for each other. That they understand, that the days that one could give an answer and say “Yes, No”, and expect this to be sufficient…..are coming to an end. The university student, the school-child, the Muslim investment banker, the muslim sister working as a physician in a women’s clinic, even the housewife raising her children while watching the discovery channel’s explanation of evolution…will not be able to maintain their faith if they are treated like illiterate herds, unable to receive any rhyme or reason behind the rulings of their religion; unfit to see any of the beautiful rhythm underlying the Sacred Law of their faith. The transfer of a pre-modern, even pre-industrial mode of answering religious questions, to a post-modern society of Muslims struggling to learn about their faith and teach their neighbors, is a foolish and futile effort. “Listen to me because I am qualified and don’t ask me why”, only works on those….to whom you don’t need to say it.

The often-quoted slogan about a layman asking a scholar about a ruling: “The one who asks for proof has only shown proof of his own ignorance”….needs to enter the hall of retired and tossed out one-liners that never helped anyone and never will. Especially when one is dealing with a literate population which has been exposed to a myriad of thoughts and ideas, some new, some old, some completely out of line, and some absolutely brilliant. The mode of answering religious questions needs to adapt to counteract the baatil (falsehood) that has been pumped into the mind, and encourage the good. We can yell the slogan all we want, but one will find fewer and fewer followers.

In thinking about that slogan about proofs, perhaps we should remind ourselves of our father - Ibrahim (as). In the verse at the beginning of this article, we see Ibrahim, who clearly believes in Allah and has witnessed His power - to SHOW HIM - how He brings the dead to life. Ya Allah! To SHOW HIM? The Quran calls doubting the concept of resurrection absolute foolishness and mocks the doubters time and time again. Yet, our father Ibrahim is asking Allah(swt) to show him. Could not Allah (swt) have told him: “I saved you from fire and made you a Prophet….how dare you ask me for evidence! This is a sign of your own ignorance!” Of course, Allah had every right to do so.

But we know that Ibrahim never doubted Allah (swt). Ibrahim only wanted to increase his faith. He wanted to go from ilm-al-yaqeen…to ayn-al-yaqeen. From the Certainty of Knowledge, to the Certainty of Witnessing. In summary, he wanted a ma’rifah (profound realization) of the power of Allah, a gnosis, and deep understanding - not simply knowledge. This was not a challenge, it was a prayer for granting insight by evidence to strengthen his heart and drown it in the recognition of Divine Might.


So we can take a lesson from this story. If Ibrahim, who has witnessed Allah’s power, can ask for a greater understanding by actual sight, about an undeniable aspect of Allah’s power - the power to resurrect - and Our Lord did not become upset with him…..why should not the layman strive to ask for a greater understanding of the Sacred Law on a question affecting his life?


And why should the scholar feel the need to become upset with him if he asks for some kind of reason of evidence, when our Lord was so accommodating when a human being (though amongst the greatest of them) asked for a physical manifestation of His power to raise the dead? Truly, Allah’s power to resurrect is far more undeniable, than one human being’s ability to process Sacred Law. So when the layman asks with a desire for understanding…he should not be turned away or left with a one word answer.

In short - the religious answer needs to educate and empower the Muslim, not simply command. The religious answer needs to leave the Muslim with at least a small bit of a profound sense of understanding of the beauty, complexity, and perfection of the Sacred Law - not simply an order or prohibition. The religious answer, and the hundreds of thousands of them, millions of them that are given each day, must be increasingly presented to allow the Muslim to come out with a greater sense, no matter how much greater, of appreciation for the gift of this Path that he has been given by the Lawgiver. This especially applies to those answers which are published on the Internet and in newspapers for the world to see in response to specific questions.

Of course we do not mean in fataawa related to highly-specific cases meant for a single individual, but rather the hundreds of thousands of answers given to questions publicly.

And last but not least, whenever applicable the religious answer must imbibe an understanding through tone and style, at least covertly if an overt effort will cause confusion, that one must not use the fatwa as a launching point for attacks on the differing opinions of others, as this is against the spirit of what a fatwa is for.

In this inshAllah, the respect and authority which scholars - the Heirs of the Prophet(saw) - deserve, can be restored, revived, and renewed in the hearts and minds of our Ummah, and we can follow them through an appreciation for their sacrifice, their knowledge, their piety, and their ability to fuse the classical tradition with the modern world and present the Sacred Law in the dynamic, ever-relevant mode that it is meant to be in.

Anything less, and we risk leaving the Muslims, especially the youth - unequipped, unprepared, and unready, to face the spiritual, intellectual, and cultural onslaughts, being launched against them from every side, and which only look poised to increase.

And Allah knows best.

Abdul Sattar

Sheikh seeks millions from Michael Jackson...

Michael Jackson is hands-down one of the best entertainers of our time.  Unfortunately, he keeps finding himself in legal trouble and it is such a shame...

"The son of an Arab monarch is taking the King of Pop to court over an album and an autobiography Michael Jackson was allegedly paid for but never produced...

Jackson's finances fell apart following his arrest in 2003 on charges that he molested a 13-year old boy at Neverland. He moved to Bahrain after being acquitted."

1. Its sooo sad.  I don't like to see Michael like this.  I probably should have put up a pic before Michael was so affected by his internalized racism (before he made himself white).

2. There they go throwing this term "Sheikh" around again...

3. Check out the quiz....really shed's some light on how confused this guy is.

4. Then go back and listen to a few testimonies, a few songs, and the impact this dude had on people.  What a way to bring joy to people's lives...

SHEIKH (with the spit in pronunciation)

Does your sheikh smoke? Drink? Is he gay? Well apparently there many who live this sort of lifestyle while holding the title of sheikh. I'm not a big fan of BBC news. Let's get this out right now. (I have much more respect for CNN.) So, any so-called-news that comes from them I tend not to trust, or feel that they altered it in a way to spark certain emotions or feelings as they see fit.

I came across this article first in The Associated Press (AP) and as I looked it up on the internet I found a much more detailed story. The AP mentioned the assault on Orsi was the result of his denying a bottle of champagne and I first thought ...

"Why would a sheikh be sending someone champaigne?"

Then I had to stop and think what the true meaning of this word was....Elder. Growing up I always had the notion that a sheikh was some extremely religious person higher in knowledge than an Imam...as if you become an Imam and then live and study long enough to become a sheikh. This notion is not too far from the truth but the term here is used in reference to a ruling family or leader.

My problem is with how everyone throws around the word sheikh as if its some loose term. Words like this are strategically designed to arouse emotions so that the public can be easily manipulated. Look at the word jihad.

Imam W.D. Mohammed once said that Satan is in the language. Look at how he alters the meanings and emotions behind words. And we'll save the actions and lifestyle of this "sheikh" for another post...