Dr. Sherman A. Jackson - The Mosques role in the 21st Century
By Abdal Hakim Jackson | 2026-01-13T19:14:04.367776+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Dr. Sherman A. Jackson - "The Mosques' Role in the 21st Century"
Opening
(السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh)
(بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem)
Khutbat al-Hajah (Opening Khutbah)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. We seek His help, His forgiveness, and His guidance.
And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whosoever He guides, none can guide him.
And I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions.
Expression of Gratitude
I want to start off by really just saying thank you for this wonderful gesture of hospitality and welcome to the Islamic Sharia Council of Southern California.
As was mentioned, I'm new to the area and I've gotten to know, I've known a number of the leaders here for many years, going back many years, but I am new as a resident in the area and it means a lot to me to have this opportunity to come out and to see the community and to enjoy the fraternity and sorority of the community and to witness what is afoot here in Southern California in terms of cooperative efforts, both within the Muslim community and between the Muslim community and the non-Muslim community in order to try to carve out a dignified existence for Muslims in this country in such a way that is actually true to the very calling of the country itself.
Now, I've been told that I have 20 minutes to speak to you. I'm an academic, which means that that is a particularly difficult challenge. But as I said, I'm new in the area and I don't want to wear out my welcome, so I'm going to try and stay within those 20 minutes. And I've been asked to talk about the issue of the role of mosques in America, particularly in 21st century America.
A Story About Courage
And I want to start off by reiterating something that has been said a number of times by previous speakers. And that is that we have some difficult days ahead of us. And in thinking about the difficulty that confronts us, I'm reminded of a very deeply personal encounter that I had many years ago. I won't say how many years ago because then I'll give away my age.
I actually have hair I cut it off, most of it. That was a joke. I grew up in Philadelphia, not the suburbs, the real Philadelphia.
And back in those days, Philadelphia was a city that was divided much like certain parts of Southern California. It was divided by gang territories. And I remember one evening, there was a guy from a rival gang who actually came down into our territory.
And he had joined the Nation of Islam. I was personally never a member of the Nation of Islam. But at that time, he was a member of the Nation of Islam. And he was, as I said, from the rival gang. You got to imagine this. And he came all the way down to our territory by himself to give us dawah.
To introduce us to the teachings of the Nation of Islam in an effort to get us to join. And we were looking at this guy, are you out of your mind? We were getting ready. And I still remember the words he said because he instinctively picked up on where our intentions were.
And he said these words that still reverberate in my memory to this day. He said, "Islam has no room for cowards. It has no use for cowards. I'm here willing to put my life on the line because that is what my belief calls me to do."
The Nature of True Courage
Now, I say that to say the following. That although we have some difficult days ahead of us, we must understand that we have to confront those days with courage.
And to be courageous, and we need to understand this, to be courageous is not not to be afraid. Being afraid does not make you a coward. To be a coward, however, is to allow yourself to be paralyzed by your fear.
In point of fact, to be a courageous person is to be able to act even in the face of fear. And so I think we need to be reminded that while we may have some difficult days ahead of us, we will have to call upon our religious conviction and our relationship with our Lord to give us the courage to face those difficulties. And to do so with dignity.
To face the challenges that we're going to face in a manner that will be pleasing to our Lord. And to understand that the greatest victory that we can achieve, the greatest victory that we can achieve is to earn the pleasure of our Lord. No matter what that may look like in worldly terms.
Because if Allah is pleased with us individually and as a community, there is no limit to what we can achieve. And we need to keep that in mind as we go forward.
The Central Role of the Mosque
Now I've been asked to talk, as I said, about the whole issue of the role of mosques in American life.
And I want to begin by acknowledging that one of the reasons that this topic is so important is that the mosque is a central institution of any Muslim community. And as a central institution, if not the central institution, the mosque goes to the very heart of our communal life and existence. And therefore, as goes the mosque, goes the community.
If we have healthy mosques, we have a healthy community. And if we have unhealthy mosques, then that will be a reflection, not only a reflection of an unhealthy community, but that will actually contribute to the dysfunctionality of our community. And so we need healthy mosques.
The Risk of Overburdening the Mosque
And I think that one of the problems that sometimes confronts us when we think about this is the fact that while the mosque is a central institution for a Muslim community, in fact, as I said, we might even say it is the central institution, the mosque is not the only institution. And I think that sometimes by focusing singularly on the mosque, we run the risk of doing at least two things. One is that we can overburden the mosque.
We can place upon our masajid challenges, workloads, burdens that it was not meant to bear, nor can it bear. And in so doing, we run the risk of undermining the effectiveness of the mosque. And so one of the things that we have to begin to think about is, exactly as the title indicated, the role of the mosque.
Is the mosque the only institution that we have? Or do we as a community, especially in this time and in this place, do we need to begin to think about alternative institutions? Supporting institutions. Not institutions that replace the mosque. Not institutions that marginalize the mosque.
But institutions that support the community in ways that masajid may not be able to do. We need to begin to think about third spaces. Because if we don't think about those third spaces, as I said, we will overburden our masajid.
The Need for Third Spaces
And I'll get to this in a little detail in just a minute. The other risk that we run when we focus singularly on the masjid is that we can leave too many of our people, too many of our activities, too much of our time to other kinds of institutions that pull or push Muslims, not towards their values as Muslims, but actually away from their values as Muslims. Because we have Muslims of all different levels of development as Muslims.
Not all Muslims. Believe me when I tell you. Abu Bakr and Omar.
Muslims are at various levels of their development as Muslims. Muslims have the same kinds of challenges and problems that other human beings have in society. And one of the things that we must always be reminded of as Muslims is that before we are a Muslim, we are a human being.
Before we are Muslims, we are human beings. And that means that we are confronted with all of the various challenges that a human existence has to offer. And that's both as individuals and as collectivities.
Sometimes if we're not careful, we can have masajid that have standards of expectation. That are simply too high to accommodate all of the Muslims. We are Muslims.
By the way, relax. Relax. We have nothing to fear.
Part of being courageous as a community is acquiring the ability not simply to look at what others are doing to us, but to take account of what we are doing to ourselves. We have to do that. Because that's where our future is.
We will only be strengthened from within. We may be challenged from without. But ultimately we will only be strengthened from within.
The Reality of Our Community
And so this is not bad news. In fact, this is very good news. Because it is suggestive of the fact that we as a Muslim community have actually arrived at the point where we can take account of our own reality.
We don't hide from our reality. It's like Imam al-Shafi'i said, that if Allah had revealed nothing except surah al-Asr, that would have been enough to guide humanity. Because surah al-Asr is a surah that says what? That humanity, all of humanity is in loss.
Except for whom? Those who believe, who have trust, who are made secure through their relationship with God Almighty. And then they work righteous deeds. And then they do what? They confront one another with the truth.
Quranic Reference:
"By time, indeed mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience."
And they confront one another and mutually enjoying one another to be patient. Because sometimes the truth is not all that easy to accept. If we want the truth, sometimes we have to be patient.
We have to be willing and able to persevere to the point that we can actually take advantage of whatever truth is confronting us. So this is actually good news. Because finally we're not talking around the problem, beside the problem, over top of the problem, underneath the problem.
We're dealing with some of our problems as they actually are. We are Muslims who have problems. Maybe, can I be frank? No, no, I mean I'm new here, I don't want to wear out my welcome.
Can I be frank? Because now it's your fault. You can't say that he came in here and he was, right?
Addressing Real Problems in Our Community
We are Muslims who have marital problems. And sometimes what is tragic about this is that the problems are not really that deep. They're not really even that serious. And in point of fact, all they need is someone to talk to. But if we have spaces where the standard of expectation is so high that the unspoken message is that if you're a good Muslim, husband and wife, you don't have those problems.
As a result of which, where are they going to go with this? Where are they going to go with it? It is amazing sometimes, you know I have talked to some young couples, it is amazing how simple the solution to what they think the problem is. And sometimes all it takes is a little bit of empathy. People feel alone.
They think they're the only ones that are confronting this. And when I share with them, ma'alish honey. We all go through this.
"You? You mean me? I'm a human being, just like you. Who happens to be a Muslim. Who is struggling to live a life that is reflective of what Imam Qasim was talking about."
My appreciation for all the bounty that Allah has given me. But that doesn't negate my humanity. I have insecurities. I have flaws. And sometimes unfortunately, they come out. And just for a Muslim to be able to hear this, gives them the strength.
Gives them the sense of well-being that enables them to go back and sustain their relationship. We have Muslims who have maybe drug or alcohol problems. I know we don't want to talk about those kinds of things.
But this is precisely the problem. And what I'm saying here is this. Sometimes people need counseling. Sometimes people need professional help. If the masjid is the only institution that we have, where do they go for that kind of help? Sometimes the masjid is not the place for that. And what we need to begin to think about as a community.
Because I'm thinking not about the past. I'm thinking about the future. And I'm thinking not even just about the people in this room.
Because from my perspective, Islam is not finished growing in this country. And the people in this room, they will not necessarily be the majority of the future of Islam in this country. And so we have to begin to think about developing institutions that will enable us to accommodate these realities.
Right now, one of the greatest challenges that we have as a Muslim community in this country is that we don't have those third spaces. We have the home. And we have the masjid.
The Danger Zone Between Home and Mosque
And the space in between is experienced as a danger zone. That is where the Muslim's faith is challenged. And why is it challenged? Because that is a space in which we have not yet developed the
ability to take our values into that space.
And to have that space reflect something of our genius, of our sensibilities, of our vision of the good life. As a result of which, at home, we do what we do. We come outside.
We race to the masjid. We do what we do. We come back outside.
And what do we do? Race back home. There's no future in that. That's not sustainable.
That is not sustainable. And this is one of the reasons why we need to understand the importance of developing institutions that will support the masjid. Not replace the masjid.
But support the masjid.
The Challenge of Education and Recreation
What do we do about recreation? You think about our young people. What do we do about education? You know, one of the things that concerns me, and I'm an educator, so I see many of your children in a setting that many of you don't see them in.
I'm at the university, and I've taught at several universities in America. And one of the things that we have to understand is that our children are going to educational institutions where they are internalizing, they are being saturated by scientism, by secularism, by certain forms of liberalism. All right? And then all of these things, they're then being called upon then to try and reconcile with Islam.
And what we need to understand is that if we are to offer credible alternatives to this kind of hardwiring, in the context of which it is very difficult to see the relevance of religion. Because if reality is nothing but the material world, and there is nothing beyond that, which is precisely what most of our children are being taught in grammar school, in college, this is what they're taught. We need institutions, educational institutions, think tanks, that can begin to address precisely these kinds of issues.
So that our children can be imbued with the kind of hardware that enables them not only to see the relevance of their religion, but the beauty, the profundity, and the absolute necessity of that religion. Where are we going to do this? All the time in the mosque? Sometimes some of these issues are too contentious even to discuss. When I come to the masjid personally, I don't want all these flying all over the place.
People end up in all kinds of grudges, this faction, that faction, on an intellectual issue that may not be central to Islam, but in which people take very hard stands. That can have the effect of sort of polluting the atmosphere of the masjid itself. It makes the masjid feel like it belongs to some people and not to others.
Political Discussions and Community Unity
And so what we need to do is think about perhaps alternative spaces. We have right now a
presidential election coming up. And of course, we all know, Islam is going to be brought front and center again.
And we're going to have to have some serious discussions about some of these issues. Republican, Democrat, are we going to have to discuss these? Are we going to have to discuss these? Yes or no? Well, what if you're a Republican and I'm a Democrat? And what if I'm in a position of influence in that masjid and you are not? And what if we bring that discussion into the masjid? How is that going to affect the functionality of the masjid?
Does everyone understand what I'm trying to say here? We are not a community that has only one institution.
Islam is a civilization. And we must understand that our aim here in America is not to simply survive according to someone else's definition of a meaningful life. Our aim here is to promote our own understanding of a meaningful life.
And we have both the opportunity and the resources and the only question is whether we have the vision and the will to do that.
Historical Precedent: Muslims as Minorities
And I want to share something with you that I think many of you don't know which leaves you in a position of thinking, I mean, this guy standing up there must be, he must be crazy. Doesn't he know we're what, 0.1% of the population here? We're a little embattled minority.
What is he talking about? Defining our own definition of the meaningful life. We will be lucky if we learn to master the meaningful life as it is defined by the dominant culture. Alright? And sort of tap into that, gain acceptance on that basis and go on about our lives.
We'll be lucky if we're able to achieve that. Let me share something with you here. And I shouldn't have to share this but part of the problem is that again, our educational institutions they are so powerful in their hegemonic influence that sometimes Muslims can even imbibe misunderstandings about Islam from the dominant culture.
Many of us don't understand that when Islam left the Arabian Peninsula and went out into the world it evolved beyond that. Islam did not force people to convert. And by the way, this is not my opinion as a Muslim.
This is even the general consensus of orientalists in the academy who study Islam for a living. Non- Muslims. There's a very interesting and important book in this regard entitled Conversion to Islam in the Classical Period written by a professor at Columbia University, Professor Richard Bullard.
One of the things that he makes clear in this study is that in places like Iran, Iraq, Egypt, North Africa these places were not majority Muslim, simple majority, 51%. For about 250 years. Between 250 and 300 years.
Alright? That is to say that Muslims in those places were what? They were a numerical minority. Muslims did not become an overwhelming majority in these places for almost 400 years. Everybody understand what I mean by that?
Now, when we go back to the emergence for example of the Imams of the Muslim schools of thought, guess what? They all emerged at a time when Muslims were a numerical minority.
Does everybody understand what I'm trying to say? Imam Malik died in 179 AH. Imam Abu Hanifa died when? 150 AH.
150. What do you think the population of Iraq was when he died? Not when he was working, when he what? When he died. Imam Al-Shafi'i died 204 AH.
The last of them, Imam Ahmed died in 241 AH. Jafar Al-Sadiq. Imam Al-Shafi'i.
He died before Imam Malik. Imam Malik relates hadith from Jafar Al-Sadiq. So my point here is this.
Our Resources and Potential
We are a minority, it is true. But we have intellectual, spiritual, historical, institutional, human resources. That if we marshal them, we will be able to put into place a definition of the meaningful life that we can live and we can pass on to our children in these United States, in this time, and in this place.
But we have to have courage and we have to be willing to go to work. We have to be willing... We have to be willing to go to work. And if you go back to that early period where our ancestors were laying down the foundations of institutions that we still indulge to this day.
One of the things that you will find is that they were not playing games. They were not playing games. They were serious.
And they got to work. And they pooled their resources. And they understood the importance of pooling their resources.
Time Distribution and Values
One other reason that we need to begin to think about institutions beyond the masjid is that we need to think about the fact that if I pray all five salats in the masjid every day and let's say each salat, give it what? How long it take? 30 minutes. I didn't say taraweeh. Regular salat.
15 minutes. Is that reasonable? I want to be generous. 15 minutes.
Right? So that's what? An hour and 15 minutes a day. If I pray in the masjid five times a day, every day. An hour and 15 minutes in the masjid every day.
You compare that with the amount of time I'm spending at work. I'm spending in recreation, at the gym, maybe, some of you know. Right? Studying.
And especially in front of that television and on that telephone. You compare the amount of time that I spend doing that with that hour and 15 minutes. What is likely to have the greater effect?
And so part of what we have to do is develop institutions that will enable us to infuse our values outside the masjid. To develop those spaces, which enable us to take our values with us wherever we go. And to produce a livable order in which our children can internalize not only values, but sensibilities. Not only sensibilities, but a sense of inspiration.
Where they can see us in contexts in which they can be genuinely inspired by us.
The Central Role of the Mosque with Supporting Institutions
So part of what I want to invite us to tonight is that as we think of the role of the masjid, let us understand the masjid to be the central institution of our community. But not the only institution of our community.
And let us begin to think about how we can develop institutions that enable us to accommodate the reality as it really is. Some of our young people, it wasn't that long ago when I was one of those young people. Another joke.
What's wrong with these people, man? Some of our young people, you know what they need? All they need is a place to hang out. All they need is a place to hang out. And kick it.
Y'all didn't know I knew that word, did you? And kick it. Not as Mr. and Mrs. Muslim. Does anybody understand what I mean by that? Just as Yusuf. Muhammad. In a space where he can get to know me. And I can get to know him.
And we can develop a bond of love. We don't have to pretend to be something that we're not. But we can grow organically as Muslims.
You know it's important for young people to have Muslims not only that they love because they're Muslims but that they like. They like hanging out with.
And it's not all about this.
The Example of the Companions
And this is why we need alternative spaces. And by the way, this is not some Amriqi convert stuff here. This is the companions of the Prophet.
Imam al-Bukhari relates this. He says, what? The companions of the Prophet, they used to sit, eat watermelon, and throw the peels at each other after they got finished. But when it was time to go to work, they went to work, they were men.
Am I following what I'm saying? See brother, I need to love you. You understand what I mean by that? Not this concept of, oh brother I love you, but...
Alright? You're not necessarily even the best Muslim. Because you see, I'm not just reading who you are.
I'm reading who you wanna be. You understand what I mean by that? You might not be the best Muslim, but I know what? You wanna be. Is everybody following what I mean by that?
And if we can establish spaces, where you can be yourself long enough for you to own this desire to be a better Muslim. Without all this pressure. Without all this, and by the way, I'm gonna say the word judgment, but I don't really mean judgment. My time is up isn't it? Let me stop.
Three more minutes. Because see for me, this is real. This is real.
Personal Reflection on Conversion
I'm a convert. And what that means is that I saw the nectar of Islam. Do you understand what I mean by that? I tasted it.
And as an educator, I see so many of our young people, they're not tasting it anymore. And one of the reasons for that, they have spaces that are so unreal. I remember once I was in the masjid in Philadelphia.
You know when you become a new Muslim, you gotta get your gear. You know what your gear is? You don't know what your gear is? You gotta get your gear right? So I went to a brother and I said, can you get me some kufis? Right? So he said, yeah. Come back day after tomorrow and I'll see what I can do.
So I showed back up right on time. Right? He said, oh, I'm sorry brother. I forgot.
Listen, listen. Come back Friday after Juma'ah and I'll have them for you. "That's if I'm still Muslim by Friday."
That's what he said. Now he was joking of course. You found what I mean by that? But the very idea that he could openly even entertain this.
You follow what I'm saying? It empowered me to be real. To be what? To be real. You follow what I'm talking about here?
And what we have now and I'm gonna tell you this because I feel a sense of responsibility to tell you this.
Because this is something that I want to make a dent in. I know too many good young people who are scared to death of their own religion. And the spaces that sometimes we create for them to exist and to grow in.
And this means that we have to begin to think about how we can meet them not where they should be but what? Where they are.
Creating Centripetal Force in Our Mosques
And this brings me not really but since I don't have a lot of time. This brings me to the whole point of the masjid itself.
We have to as a community begin to work to ensure that at the center of every masjid there is a centripetal force. That's a big word from an academic. Let me try and break it down.
Very simple. You know when you take a bath or you wash the dishes or something like that and you let the water out? Water starts going out? You notice what happens? What happens? It's a centripetal force. It all spins and draws it all in.
Does everybody follow what I mean by that? That force at the middle, it draws everything what? Draws everything in. We have to work to get a centripetal force at the center of our masjid. And we have to work very hard, very hard to eliminate any centrifugal force from our masjid.
Centrifugal force is what? That's when the stuff hits the fan. Does everybody follow what I mean by that? It what? It repels it all out. Okay?
If we recognize that we are living in difficult times then these are times when we have got to reconnect with a prophetic legacy of rahmah and of forgiveness.
And we have to understand that if I'm a strong Muslim not everybody has been gifted with what I've been gifted. And if I'm going to bring that person from A to B sometimes, I said what? Sometimes, because this is part of the problem. There is no ipsy-dipsy answer.
Does everybody follow what I mean by that? Some people, they require more forgiveness, more indulgence. And that will bring them to the point where they want to try harder. Other people, they require a higher standard.
You got to tell them how disappointed in them you are. And that is what will what? That is what will bring them to try harder. Alright? We have to, and we see this in the sunnah of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). We see this.
And this is part of why his masjid had what? Centripetal force at the heart of it. No matter what your problem was, you could what? You could come there. No matter what you were confronting you could what? You could come there.
And by coming there, you would cumulatively become what? A better Muslim. A more empowered Muslim.
Empowering Women in Our Communities
And this brings me to the very last point that I want to make. Can I? 30 seconds. Now, this is very important. This is a real challenge that we have.
Because one of the things our masajid have to do a little more of. And by the way, my, how do you say? My hat, my kufi, my turban, whatever it is that I'm supposed to be wearing on my head, it goes off to our imams. No matter what you may think of some of the imams, you have no idea of what some of them have to deal with.
You have no idea of the burdens that some of our imams have to carry. You have no idea of the heartache and the lost nights of sleep and the pressure on their families that some of our imams have to endure. So this is not a criticism of any of the imams.
And I want to say here right now, I'm a soldier. I'm not somebody who's trying to take over anything. And if I can't be a healer and somebody who's adding unity to the community, I'd rather stay home and play with my daughter.
But we have got to do a better job at empowering our women. Hold on. Listen to me.
Listen to me. Some people when they hear this, they think that empowerment means license. I don't mean license.
"That no believing man or woman. When Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any option in their decision."
But notice He said what? They do not have the right to what? To choose.
Our women have agency. And we have to empower them to make the right choices. And they have to feel a sense of empowerment to make those right choices.
And they have to be empowered through a stronger, more intimate connection with their Lord. So that we are not the issue. Does everybody understand what I mean by that? We are not the issue.
Good and evil are the issues. And they are empowered as believing women to make choices that reflect their will to live a God-pleasing life as well. You can have people, I don't care who they are, men or women.
What challenges do we expect them to rise up against? How do we expect them to face the future that we're looking in the face? This is what I mean by empowerment. And we all have a choice. And we all have a role.
And we all have our place. And we need to be mutually supportive of one another.
Community Support and Mutual Understanding
If you have a problem, if you have some indiscretion, you need to be able to come to me to support you in trying to overcome your problem.
And I need to know that you will not take my support of you as an indication that I agree with what you're doing. Does everybody follow what I mean by that? Let me be explicit here, so nobody misunderstands. If you have a drinking problem and you come to me, I'm not going to pound you on your head.
Does everybody follow what I mean by that? I'm going to try to empower you, inspire you, support you, to make you more likely than not to overcome your problem. But you, on the other hand, you cannot take the fact that I'm trying to be a good Muslim brother to mean that I agree with what you're doing. And I do not.
I'm gonna tell you this because I feel a sense of responsibility to tell you this.
Because this is something that I want to make a dent in. I know too many good young people who are scared to death of their own religion. And the spaces that sometimes we create for them to exist and to grow in.
And this means that we have to begin to think about how we can meet them not where they should be but what? Where they are. And this brings me not really but since I don't have a lot of time. This brings me to the whole point of the masjid itself.
We have to as a community begin to work to ensure that at the center of every masjid there is a centripetal force. That's a big word from an academic. Let me try and break it down.
Very simple. You know when you take a bath or you wash the dishes or something like that and you let the water out? Water starts going out? You notice what happens? What happens? It's a centripetal force. It all spins and draws it all in.
Does everybody follow what I mean by that? That force at the middle, it draws everything what? Draws everything in. We have to work to get a centripetal force at the center of our masjid. And we have to work very hard, very hard to eliminate any centrifugal force from our masjid.
Centrifugal force is what? That's when the stuff hits the fan. Does everybody follow what I mean by that? It what? It repels it all out. Okay?
If we recognize that we are living in difficult times then these are times when we have got to reconnect with a prophetic legacy of rahmah and of forgiveness.
And we have to understand that if I'm a strong Muslim not everybody has been gifted with what I've been gifted. And if I'm going to bring that person from A to B sometimes, I said what? Sometimes, because this is part of the problem. There is no ipsy-dipsy answer.
Does everybody follow what I mean by that? Some people, they require more forgiveness, more indulgence. And that will bring them to the point where they want to try harder. Other people, they require a higher standard.
You got to tell them how disappointed in them you are. And that is what will what? That is what will bring them to try harder. Alright? We have to, and we see this in the sunnah of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
We see this.
And this is part of why his masjid had what? Centripetal force at the heart of it. No matter what your problem was, you could what? You could come there. No matter what you were confronting you could what? You could come there.
And by coming there, you would cumulatively become what? A better Muslim. A more empowered Muslim. And this brings me to the very last point that I want to make.
Can I? 30 seconds. Now, this is very important. This is a real challenge that we have.
Because one of the things our masajid have to do a little more of. And by the way, my, how do you say? My hat, my kufi, my turban, whatever it is that I'm supposed to be wearing on my head, it goes off to our imams. No matter what you may think of some of the imams, you have no idea of what some of them have to deal with.
You have no idea of the burdens that some of our imams have to carry. You have no idea of the heartache and the lost nights of sleep and the pressure on their families that some of our imams have to endure. So this is not a criticism of any of the imams.
And I want to say here right now, I'm a soldier. I'm not somebody who's trying to take over anything. And if I can't be a healer and somebody who's adding unity to the community, I'd rather stay home and play with my daughter.
But we have got to do a better job at empowering our women. Hold on. Listen to me.
Listen to me. Some people when they hear this, they think that empowerment means license. I don't mean license.
When Allah says in the Qur'an, that no believing man or what? Or woman. When Allah and His Messenger have the right to choose other than that decree. But notice He said what? They do not have the right to what? To choose.
Our women have agency. And we have to empower them to make the right choices. And they have to feel a sense of empowerment to make those right choices.
And they have to be empowered through a stronger, more intimate connection with their Lord. So that we are not the issue. Does everybody understand what I mean by that? We are not the issue.
Good and evil are the issues. And they are empowered as believing women to make choices that reflect their will to live a God-pleasing life as well. You can have people, I don't care who they are, men or women.
What challenges do we expect them to rise up against? How do we expect them to face the future that we're looking in the face? This is what I mean by empowerment. And we all have a choice. And we all have a role.
And we all have our place. And we need to be mutually supportive of one another.
If you have a problem, if you have some indiscretion, you need to be able to come to me to support you in trying to overcome your problem.
And I need to know that you will not take my support of you as an indication that I agree with what you're doing. Does everybody follow what I mean by that? Let me be explicit here, so nobody misunderstands. If you have a drinking problem and you come to me, I'm not going to pound you on your head.
Does everybody follow what I mean by that? I'm going to try to empower you, inspire you, support you, to make you more likely than not to overcome your problem. But you, on the other hand, you cannot take the fact that I'm trying to be a good Muslim brother to mean that I agree with what you're doing. And I do not.
Conclusion
And if both of us, both sides, can live up to this challenge, to this obligation, this responsibility, then we can be a community that begins to put that centripetal force back at the center of our message.
Because no one will have any reason not to expect to be honored, to be empowered, to be enhanced, to be inspired by that space.
I apologize for going over my time. I had much more to say, but since I still want to be welcomed in California, and I don't want to have to move any place else, especially not back to where there's lots of snow, I'm going to stop right here and say:
Closing
"Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise. I bear witness that there is no deity except You. I seek Your forgiveness and repent to You."