Standing Alone (42 page)

I still had to sit on trial to be banned from the mosque. I had been told that a panel recommended that I
not
be banned. The board was required to act on the recommendation, but even after repeated requests for a decision, I got the typical response: silence. This experience has underscored what I see as an important goal: this era of pathological passive-aggressive leadership must end if the Muslim world can ever hope to progress. As ordinary Muslims, we must hold our leaders accountable.

My hope for the Muslim world took a hit from the explosion of bombs in London on March 7, 2005. The killing of innocent people in London sent a simple message to Muslims: we are failing in our communities against the seductive forces of the extremists, especially with our youth. If I had any doubts about this, they were laid to rest when I received my third death threat, which I traced back to Seattle. It was from a writer with the e-mail address “Kalaamulaah Ali,”
kalaamulaah
meaning “black cleric” in Urdu. The subject line read: “stop evil act.” The message, for all its typos and bad grammar, was simple: “it is not freedom what you call freedom but it is evil act islam was long time and we never hear women can pray next to men or Women leads mixed-gender prayer before you but if what you say is right we will not be muslim at all but we know what you say is what Bush tell you to do if you are jew or evil we will find you one day and cut your head off it is easy for us to do that if you try to keep your evil act it is our job to kill who like to say bad think our islam if you like to get out home and be save shut your mouth or we send you to hell fire we have your picture.”

I knew what I had to do: I called the FBI.

By June 2005, we had made women's issues and the reform of our communities a priority for even the national Muslim organizations, which issued a twenty-eight-page document, “Women-Friendly Mosques and Community Centers: Working Together to Reclaim Our Heritage.” We haven't won the war, but with this document, we have won a battle. The report represents a huge victory for women's rights in mosques and affirms every single right in the “Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque” except for two I had added: the right of women to be prayer leaders to both men and women and the right of women to stand in the front row with men. No longer can a man stand up in front of a woman and claim that Islam protects his right to order her into the far corners of the mosque. No longer can a man stand up and declare a woman's voice is not to be heard in the mosque. No longer can a man stand up and declare that a woman has to be deaf and dumb if she knows her rightful place in Islam. In recognizing women's rights, the American Muslim community has acted as the shining light I have known it can be to the rest of the world, rejecting antiquated traditions and affirming Islam. The next step: realizing these rights.

99 Precepts for Opening Hearts, Minds, and Doors in the Muslim World

      
1.
  
The Loving One: Live with an open heart to others.

      
2.
  
The Only One: We are all part of one global community.

      
3.
  
The One: All people—women and men, people of all faiths, cultures, and identities—are created and exist as equals.

      
4.
  
The Self-Sufficient: All people—women and men, people of all faiths, cultures, and identities—have a right to self-determination.

      
5.
  
The Creator of Good: All people have a human right to happiness.

      
6.
  
The First: A fundamental goal of religion is to inspire in us the best of human behavior.

      
7.
  
The Preserver: Religion isn't meant to destroy people.

      
8.
  
The One Who Gives Clemency: We aren't meant to destroy people.

      
9.
  
The Absolute Ruler: We are not rulers over each other.

    
10.
  
The Owner of All: No individual or group of individuals may treat any of us as property.

    
11.
  
The Mighty: Spirituality goes far deeper than mere adherence to rituals.

    
12.
  
The Appraiser: We are the sum of our small deeds of kindness for others.

    
13.
  
The Inspirer of Faith: It is not for human beings to judge who is faithful and who is not.

    
14.
  
The One with Special Mercy: Humanity and God are best served by separating the “sin” from the “sinner.”

    
15.
  
The Finder: Virtue doesn't come with wealth.

    
16.
  
The Supreme One: All people are created with an inner nature that seeks divine nature and is disposed toward virtue.

    
17.
  
The Doer of Good: Thus, live virtuously.

    
18.
  
The Greatest: Have the courage to take risks.

    
19.
  
The Possessor of All Strength: Have the courage to stand up for your beliefs, for truth, and for justice even when they collide with the status quo.

    
20.
  
The One Who Honors: Respect one another.

    
21.
  
The Magnificent: Glorify one another with kind words, not harsh words.

    
22.
  
The Forgiver: Forgive one another, and ourselves, with compassion.

    
23.
  
The All-Compassionate: Be compassionate with one another.

    
24.
  
The Compeller: Love the soul even when we don't love the “sin.”

    
25.
  
The All-Merciful: Be motivated by love of God, not fear of God.

    
26.
  
The Supreme in Greatness: Be kind, respectful, and considerate with one another.

    
27.
  
The One Who Rewards Thankfulness: Appreciate the freedoms you enjoy.

    
28.
  
The Accounter: Know that we are all accountable for how we treat one another.

    
29.
  
The Gatherer: Know that anyone you wrong will testify against you on your judgment day.

    
30.
  
The Expander: Be friends to one another.

    
31.
  
The Exalter: Win the greatest struggle—the struggle of the soul,
jihad bil nafs
—to good.

    
32.
  
The Highest: Rise to the highest principles of Islam's benevolent teachings.

    
33.
  
The Giver of All: Rise to the highest values of human existence, not the lowest common denominator.

    
34.
  
The One Who Opens: Live with an open mind.

    
35.
  
The One Who Enriches: The Qur'an enjoins us to enrich ourselves and our communities with knowledge.

    
36.
  
The Subtle One: Islam is not practiced in a monolithic way.

    
37.
  
The All-Forgiving: We allow ourselves to be more positively transformed if we accept rather than despise our dark side.

    
38.
  
The Maker of Beauty: Islam can be a religion of joy.

    
39.
  
The Maker of Order: In any society governed by oppression and senseless rules, there will be rebellion, whether expressed publicly or in private.

    
40.
  
The Guide to Repentance: Evil is social injustice, discrimination, prideful rigidity, bigotry, and intolerance.

    
41.
  
The Nourisher: We were all created with the right to make our own decisions about our lives, our minds, our bodies, and our futures.

    
42.
  
The One Who Withholds: Certain traditions and ideologies betray Islam as a religion of peace, tolerance, and justice.

    
43.
  
The Creator of the Harmful: Repression creates fears that are manifested in dysfunctional ways.

    
44.
  
The Generous: Women possess the same human rights as men.

    
45.
  
The All-Comprehending: Chastity and modesty are not the sole measure of a woman's worth.

    
46.
  
The Last: Puritanical repression of sexuality and issues of sexuality is self-defeating and creates a hypersexual society.

    
47.
  
The Seer of All: The false dichotomy between the private world and the public world leads us to avoid being completely honest about issues of sexuality.

    
48.
  
The Majestic One: The Qur'an tells us: There is no compulsion in religion.

    
49.
  
The All-Aware: The Qur'an enjoins us: Exhort one another to truth.

    
50.
  
The Knower of All: Thus, seek knowledge.

    
51.
  
The All-Powerful: Do not put any barriers in front of any person's pursuit of knowledge.

    
52.
  
The Ever-Living One: Reject ignorance, isolation, and hatred.

    
53.
  
The Truth: Live truthfully.

    
54.
  
The Praised One: Praise worthy aspiration, not destruction.

    
55.
  
The Manifest One: Be the leader you want to see in the world even though you lack position, rank, or title.

    
56.
  
The Perfectly Wise: Lead with wisdom.

    
57.
  
The Originator: Open the doors of
ijtihad
(critical thinking) based on
istihsan
(equity) and
istihsal
(the needs of the community).

    
58.
  
The One Who Is Holy: Honor and respect the voices and rights of all people.

    
59.
  
The Sustainer: Empower each other, particularly women, to be self-sustaining.

    
60.
  
The Governor: Do not allow anyone to unleash a vigilante force on any man, woman, or child.

    
61.
  
The Hearer of All: Be honest about issues of sexuality in our communities.

    
62.
  
The Expeditor: Lift repression.

    
63.
  
The Guardian: Reject a sexual double standard for men and women.

    
64.
  
The Restorer: Reform our communities to reject bigoted, sexist, and intolerant practices.

    
65.
  
The Righteous Teacher: Question defective doctrine from a perspective based on the Qur'an, the traditions of the Prophet, and
ijtihad.

    
66.
  
The One Who Resurrects: Know that we all will face a reckoning for our deeds.

    
67.
  
The Guide: We must open the doors of Islam to all.

    
68.
  
The Creator of All Power: We are in a struggle of historic proportions for the way Islam expresses itself in the world.

    
69.
  
The Mighty: The Qur'an is clear: Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even if it may be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin.

    
70.
  
The Satisfier of All Needs: Political expediency does not override our morally compelled duty to tell the truth.

    
71.
  
The Responder to Prayer: Spiritual activism is a noble pursuit.

    
72.
  
The One Who Humiliates: Sexism, stereotypes, and intolerance are the common denominators of all extremism.

    
73.
  
The Giver of Life: We cannot accept murder in the name of Islam.

    
74.
  
The Inheritor of All: Racism, sexism, and hatred are unacceptable in God's world.

    
75.
  
The Taker of Life: Dogmatism and intolerance lead to violence.

    
76.
  
The One Who Abases: Making women invisible is a defining feature of violent societies.

    
77.
  
The Just: Women and men are spiritual and physical equals.

    
78.
  
The Equitable One: Women's rights are equal to men's rights.

    
79.
  
The Witness: Nothing we do is without a witness.

    
80.
  
The One Who Prevents Harm: Rejecting injustice is more important than protecting honor.