Struggle for Social Justice

Struggle for Social Justice

Opening and Introduction

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

As-salamu alaykum everybody. Let me just begin by saying as a white American, it's very awkward to be talking about social justice in this country. It may be funny, but it's serious. A white, blue eyed, blonde haired man is born in tremendous privilege in this country that grants him utility which has never been seen historically before. So I don't really feel like I should be talking about social justice, as I'll talk about in my next speech.

Personal Reflection on Privilege and Contribution

My contribution to social justice is to denounce whiteness and to disinvest from the dominant ethos or pathos of whiteness, which continues to allow white Americans to have tremendous advantages over other Americans.

That's the best contribution I can make. The best contribution Moses could make was to speak to Pharaoh, right? So I just feel that oftentimes we get caught up in these issues. We don't understand the power of language. We don't understand the power of privilege. And it's weird.

In Boston, when people were at the Black Lives Matter conference, I saw a bunch of white women leading Black Lives Matter. And I said, you know, this is the white savior complex coming into play. It's Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai who can go to Japan and become the greatest samurai in two and a half weeks. You know, this type of disgusting, simplistic, naive, dismissive rhetoric, as well as the rhetoric of people like Donald Trump, who is allowed to be covered, as Tavis Smiley says very beautifully, by the media instead of being rebuked and held responsible by the media simply because he is a white man.

So what I will just do is address it from the Islamic perspective. I believe that my position in America at this stage of the game is to denounce whiteness, not white people, whiteness as a construction, and disinvest as best I can from any of the privilege that my gender, as well as my color, have given me. And as John Abrams, a brilliant Catholic theologian, says, perhaps I find him much more powerful as a critique of whiteness in America and acknowledging the fact that white privilege is something I can never get rid of. And that's why the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, may Allah forgive us for the sins we know and the sins that we're not aware of. And I say that sincerely.

The Islamic Perspective on Justice and Activism

But on the issue of justice and activism, I will speak to it as a Muslim. And I'll hit on a few points. Number one, our scholars say that the purpose of the Quran and the purpose of revelation is justice. The second thing I'll talk about is, why individually do we fail to get involved, perhaps, in social justice movements in this country? I

would argue that Muslims outside of the community of the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, the community of Imam WD Muhammad, perhaps doesn't really understand the Palestinian-American community, also doesn't really understand, perhaps, the complexities of getting involved in social justice in this country, the need for it. And I'll give you an example around sentencing that happened under Bill Clinton, under his incredible, quote unquote, fair crime bill of 1994, I believe, which today, because we failed as a community to speak out against that, we feel the impact. So why do we fail as individuals, perhaps, to get involved in social justice movements? The third thing that I'll talk about is how we are involved in social justice movements in this country.

And I'm sure I'm going to say some things that make people mad and happy. That usually means you gave a great speech. So bismillah.

Justice as the Purpose of Revelation

The first is, Allah says:

Indeed, we sent the prophets and the books with clear signs and temperament and balance so that people could establish justice. Allah says at the end of Surah Al-Hadeed, the last page, the top verse. Our scholars commenting on this verse said this is the proof that the goal of revelation is the establishment of justice.

Allah says in Surah Al-Rahman:

Do not cause the scales to swerve to one side or the other. And Allah recognizes that one of his attributes is to be just.

Allah says that he established لا إله إلا الله with justice.

Lessons from Surah Yasin: Overcoming Inadequacy

Why do we fail to get involved in these issues? We find this in Surah Yasin. The second page of Surah Yasin is a very powerful page in usul al-fiqh. It teaches us the idea of fardh kifaya, community obligations, community organization. Alinsky would have loved Surah Yasin.

And in this short page, we find the story of a community who Allah sent one prophet and they rejected that prophet. He sent them فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثِ - He sent them two prophets and they rejected the two prophets. Then he said فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثِ (Quran 36:14) - He sent three prophets to them and they continued to reject these prophets. I mean, that must have been a really bad community. Three prophets.

And then Allah in the middle of the page, he says:

Allah says, and suddenly a man came. Rajulun is the indefinite article. It's very powerful here because rajul implies someone of very little value.

First Reason for Inaction: Feeling Inadequate

I think the first reason that we fail to get involved in social justice issues is we feel inadequate. You know, often when I'm invited to conventions or places and I know I've got some sins in the closet or I look at my own inabilities as far as the knowledge needed to accomplish a task, I tend to want to pull out. So Allah is saying that your normality, your fallibility is actually what should push you to pull in.

Because when I recognize that I am normal and that I have my weaknesses and my struggles, then the need to work with others becomes heightened. The need to work with others becomes aggravated. That's why Imam al-Shafi'i in the great amount of knowledge that he possessed, he still said when it comes to the science of hadith, I rely on Imam Ahmed.

So the more knowledge that Shafi'i acquires, the greater his inadequacies appear to him and that pushes him to develop the capacity to work with others. I would say that one of the greatest reasons, Muslims, we are so divided and I'm talking to myself, is arrogance. Like we are really, really good at hating each other. Like shaitan has given us all like ijazah. And this hatred that we have for each other is predicated number one on insecurities, number two, the inability to communicate with each other effectively, and then number three is arrogance.

The Blessing of Trials in Bringing Unity

Ahmed Shawqi, one of the great scholars, and this is why I believe Allah keeps sending us tests and trials and Allah knows best. You know, January 2015, Muslims were saying, nothing could possibly be worse than ISIS. We continue to fight and divide and now Allah has sent us Donald Trump and Muslims are saying, nothing, we shouldn't laugh about it because what's after Donald Trump? And what's after that? And what's after that? So we believe that one of the wisdoms of being afflicted with aggressive behavior is that it helps reduce our aversion to working together. We have an aversion to working together because we feel we're good.

I'm good. If I have a BMW i8, I ain't getting no Uber. So there's a sense of, I don't need anyone, I'm good. And as long as we as communities are like, I don't need anyone, I'm good, God knows what will come after Trump. And that's why some of our scholars said that tests and enemies are a blessing because they remind you of your collective need for one another.

The Parable of Prophet Noah's Ark

So Shawqi mentions in this poem, he says:

لَمَّا أَتَمَّ نُوحٌ السَّفِينَةَ وَحَرَّكَتْهَا الْقُدْرَةُ الْمُعِينَةُ

He mentions that when prophet Noah built the boat تَرَامَتْهَا مَا لَا يَرَامَى بَأْرٍ فَمَاجَ الْمَوْجُ كَالْجِبَالِ Shawqi is a great poet from Egypt. He mentions that these massive waves begin to rock the boat.

حَتَّى أَخَذَ الْقِطُّ بِأَيْدِي الْفَارِ وَمَشَى اللَّيْثُ مَعَ الْحِمَارِ وَقَبَّلَ الْخُرُوفُ نَابَ الذِّنْبِ

Then he mentions in this poem that the waves forced traditional enemies to see that what brought them together is greater than what pulls them apart. So he says, the dog and the cat became homies. And the lion and the donkey like hugged each other, like, I'm so sorry for all those years, I hunted you down. And the cat went to the mouse and took it by the hand and they start walking like this. They became he said فَظَهَرَ الْأَحْبَابُ فِي الْأَعْدَاءِ - that in the face of natural hatred, these animals found the capacity to love each other until they landed on the mountain of Judi and then they went back to being enemies.

He said, فَقِسْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَحْوَالَ الْبَشَرِ يَشْمَلُهُمُ الْمَحْذُورُ أَوْ عَمَّ الْخَطَرُ. He said, this is how people are. This is how the Muslims are when difficulties and stuff hit them, they find their commonality.

The Need for Collective Leadership

I would say, subhanAllah, we're in such a state that we laugh about these things and it hasn't caused us to really see the need for our collective strength. And that's why Allah says in the Qur'an:

He doesn't say وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ أَئِمَّةً . Make us as one imam. Do not make us as many imams. So here's this man who sees his inadequacies, who sees his shortcomings and still he goes to help those three prophets.

Misunderstanding Success and Perfection

And I think that our failure to appreciate our inadequacies is that we tend to have a, I would say, disillusioned understanding of success. Oftentimes, we as Muslims expect ourselves to be perfect. Imams have to be perfect. So when the imam makes one mistake, I'm able to say, man, that imam is horrible. Or we see a community make one mistake, I'm never going back to that mosque again. That's your fault that you had these irrational expectations from the ummah where the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَاءٌ )Sahih Muslim 2749(

Everyone will have shortcomings. And he defined perfection as saying, try your best:

سَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا )Sahih al-Bukhari 6467(

So oftentimes, we pull out of activism because of our own fallibility. And then secondly, the irony is we fail to work with others because we expect them to be infallible. This is hypocrisy. If I know that I have shortcomings, I should expect other people to have shortcomings. That makes me real.

The Prophet as Nabi: Informed of Human Nature

And that's why the Prophet, peace be upon him, is called Nabi. Because the word Nabi means to be informed. So before he can serve as a prophet, he spends 40 years living absolute humanity. So that when he begins to work and organize people around issues, he's Nabi. He's informed of the fallibility and shortcomings of people.

Second Reason for Inaction: Our Sins as Alibis

The second reason that we fail to get involved is we feel like we have massive sins, tremendous evil. And that evil comes back to haunt us. Last night if you knew where I was and you know I had a 40 ounce of mad dog or whatever. And that becomes an excuse. My sin became an alibi. And here's the irony. My sin becomes an alibi not to be active.

Allah says:

When I memorized the Qur'an many years ago, I used to wonder about this verse. مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ - Now why did they come from so far? Why did he come from far away? Allah says, this man came from the farthest point of the city. And I thought about this for a number of years. And then it hit me.

If I know that Shaykh Omar Suleiman and Shaykh Nu'man Ali Khan and Laila Muhammad, the daughter of Imam Muhammad. If I know that all these three people are giving a speech somewhere in my city, D.C. If I have any semblance of religiosity like I'm going to be there, I might be in the back in the wall, but I'm going to be there. What kind of man would not be around three prophets? What kind of person would have to come from the farthest point of the city? So obviously he was not the most religious guy. He wasn't the most religious guy.

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that there will come a time when this religion is aided by sinners. Oftentimes we take it to mean something negative. I take it to mean something positive. The hadith of Sahih Muslim meaning that those sinners will find a way to draw near to Allah in spite of their sins. They will have the opportunity to help his religion. And then Allah will help them to repent.

Third Issue: Working Together Without Selfishness

The third problem that we have is our togetherness. Working together. And that's why we see this man when he comes to help these three prophets, it's not about himself.

Follow the prophets. There's very little selfishness in his da'wah.

Fourth Element: Passion in Activism

And the fourth is passion. There has to be passion in activism. Passion is that thing that causes me to continue in

The Community Obligation to Stand for Justice

Now communally, reasons and I'll finish here why we fail to stand up for justice. But let me warn myself and you of the hadith of Imam al-Tirmidhi that the Prophet, peace be upon him, has said, the likeness of the people who do good and fail to call others to it are like people on a boat (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2173). There's people on the top and there's people at the bottom. People at the top are drinking virgin mojitos. People at the bottom, they have nothing. The people at the bottom of the boat begin to ask the people of the top, please give us water. And the people at the top continue to ignore them until those people at the bottom drill a hole and sink the entire boat.

It is considered a fardh kifaya, a community obligation that we organize around justice issues and that we stand up for justice. I'm gonna hand on a few issues and then I'm done.

Avoiding Simplistic Thinking About Justice Issues

Number one is people tend to be extremely simplistic. When you say stand up for justice, the first thing they bring up is the gay community. The gay community is not the only issue in America. Now it's transgendered. Now it's how you're gonna use the restroom. Now it's this, now it's that. And that becomes an alibi to pull out of any situation.

But let me mention to you an example from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who works with people who are considered sinful to achieve a greater good. This is an axiom in fatwa. At an individual level, the man who urinates in his mosque, he allows him to urinate in his mosque. Our scholars took 155 principles from that hadith. And one of them is that there are times where you can use evil for a greater good. This was mentioned by Izzi ibn Abdus Salam, one of the great scholars of the Shafi'i Madhhab who wrote in his book, Qawa'id Al-Ahkam, the principles for working with evil or working with sinful behavior or working with things that you don't agree with.

The Prophet's Example of Coalition Building

Communally we find the example of the Prophet mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari because we're very simplistic as a community. We become modernists. We may not want to believe it but we have been affected by the European Enlightenment which causes us to want to have everything black and white. Whereas the majority of what Islam deals with and this is what makes Islam incredibly beautiful is it deals with the gray and activism is a gray area. Politics is about pushing and pulling. It's a reality.

The Prophet's Message to the Marginalized

And that's why the Prophet, peace be upon him, in Mecca, his message starts with the marginalized except for Abu Bakr because it's very rare to find a rich person who's down. There's no time so I'll pause. I've been trying to look at the time and there's zero since I started. So I'll finish with that point because I want to respect time.

And that is that you have Sayyida Khadijah, she's marginalized in the Quraysh culture. Sayyidina Bilal is marginalized in the Quraysh culture. Sayyidina Ali, a young man is marginalized. And then you have Suhayb and Bilal. And it was difficult on the Prophet socially to kick it with these people. That's why in Surah Al-Kahf it says:

Hold your soul to be patient with these people because these are not the popular folks.

Choosing Between Access and Change

So the second reason I think that, and I'm speaking to myself, I've been in interviews and I've been in certain settings in the Beltway where people want me to take a certain position or want me to speak a certain language and make it very clear that if you don't, you will be marginalized. And that's a great threat. And that's why I challenge all of us involved in civic service to ask ourselves this question.

Is it about access or about change? Is it about access or is it about speaking to power? Is it about BS or BDS? There has to be an acknowledgement that we as a community after 9-11 may have got a little worried about what the dominant white power structure of America thought about us as a community and began to react in a way that would appease that dominant structure. That's a lack of sincerity.

Valuing Skilled Activists Over Pious Nepotism

The last point I'll make is that oftentimes when it comes to this activism work, we think the Shaykh is the greatest person to do it. I'm telling you right now, no. We have brilliant activists in our community, young men and women, older men and women from the Sunni and Shia communities, from the Sufi, the Salafi communities who are extremely gifted, who are community organizers. But oftentimes when we bring up these people's names, someone will say, well, they're not pious. They're not righteous.

Let me end with a simple fatwa from Imam Ibn Taymiyyah. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah was asked by a group of people about a general that was going to be chosen by the Mamluks. It's a political entity of his day. One of those generals was known to be extremely skilled in warcraft, but he was known to drink alcohol. The other was known to be above average in warcraft, but super pious.

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah's answer is very profound. He says, it is an obligation to allow the guy who's drinking to be the general, because he is the one who is most skilled in addressing the issue, and that is what is the obligation. What does that mean for us? That means like people like me who are sinners, we have 99 problems. We understand that there's a place for us to participate in the community through social activism. Number two, it means that strategically, it's not about choosing pious nepotism, is not the answer to thinking strategically.

Summary and Conclusion

So I'll finish now. I just want to recap what I said. I apologize because the timer is not working, and that is, I was trying to do it in my head, and that is that I said the Quran and Sunnah is really about establishing justice. I talked about individually why sometimes we shy away, I shy away from being involved in social activism. We really don't have the time to talk about social justice issues.

Number three, and I'll talk about this in my next speech, is if we as a community are going to talk about social justice issues, we have to really be ready to have our dirty laundry aired out in front of everyone else. Dr. Cornel West said there is no more difficult claim in America now than to claim to be concerned about social justice issues, right? And then the last thing we talked about are really some of the reasons we as communities fail to get involved.

Number one is apathy. Number two is fearing the dominant, you know, shaking, rocking the boat. And the number three we said is oftentimes we may find people who are activists are quote unquote, and I'm using this rhetorically, right, not seriously, not the most pious community members. I don't know if there's like a pious app now you can judge people or whatever, but it's there.

May Allah bless all of you. Alhamdulillah, the next year is going to be awesome. We're going to trump the Trump inshallah, right? As-salamu alaykum.