Why I’m Not Going To The MAS Youth Outlandish Concert
Posted by AbdelRahman - 04/28/08 at 03:04 pm
Disclaimer: This is not a post against MAS Youth, Shaykh Qaradawi, Imam Suhaib Webb, Outlandish or Sami Yusuf. It is a discussion about the environment and atmosphere of Muslim concerts. I love MAS and support them in all events that I feel comfortable with.
Outlandish, a European Muslim-pop band, is coming to Chicago on June 7th to perform a concert for MAS Youth. While I love MAS Youth and what they do in different areas of dawah, I’m going to have to question this event and it’s effects on the Muslim youth, particularly in the west. While there is a big issue of debate on the legitimacy of music, specifically musical instruments, being used during the concert, I find discomfort in a different aspect of the event: the environment and mindset it is encouraging.
I used to be a big musician and music-lover. John Mayer, Howie Day, U2, Coldplay - you name the indie-rock band, I’ve been to their concert. I used to love going to and enjoying the music, the crowd, and the artist. The environment at these concerts is not a good environment for a Muslim to be. Alcohol, gender interaction, and a total lack of modesty (mixed with alcohol, not a good combination) are the characteristics that still are clear in my memory. Alhamdulilah, when I began to take Islam seriously later in my teen years, I stopped going to these events.
In the summer of 2006, I went to a Sami Yusuf concert with some brothers. The real reason I went was to see Imam Suhaib Webb speak, but on the side we all were looking forward to enjoying some anasheed. As someone who tries to avoid music, I went to the event under the impression that it would be voice and percussion only.
When we got there, immediately music started playing. However, that wasn’t t part that bothered me the most; what shook me the most was the way that the sisters were yelling and screaming for Sami. During songs and breaks in the set, I could hear shouts like, “I love you Sami!!” and “You’re amazing!!”
I felt my heart sink. I had started taking Islam seriously and tried applying it to my life to get away from places like this, not to find myself back at them. Being at that concert reminded me of the shows I used to go to before, hearing the exact same screams and shouts from the girls in the crowd. A small sample is included here:
These artists aren’t verbally fondled in person only; while checking out the pictures for a certain facebook event that included a concert by another Muslim band, things such as “OMG he’s so cute!!” were written over their picture comments. One girl even got to the point where she wrote, “May Allah forgive me for my thoughts right now! lol!”
Subhan Allah.
I’m not going to argue about the legitimacy of music for the case of dawah.
Let me say that again. This post is not to talk about using music to attract non-practicing or non-Muslims to practice or accept Islam. This post is about my worries over the environment that these concerts produce.
What I’m worried about is more dangerous than music. It’s the pop-culture influence being transposed onto our young sisters and brothers, the attitude that the American youth have towards rock and hip-hop music stars is being transferred wholly over to the minds and hearts of our Muslim youth. That’s what scares me, the poisonous toxic sludge of western pop-culture being pumped into the brains of our youth. Don’t misinterpret the sharp tone of this post as arrogant anger - I’ve just been concerned about this for a while.
No offense to MAS Youth or anyone that supports this concert (you know I love you all), but that’s why I’m not going to the Outlandish Concert.
Allah, help us all.
36 Comments »
Leave a comment
Powered by Gulab Jamun
While I understand your points, I don’t think it’s fair to set your past and these concerts equal to each other. Other concerts have sexual behavior, drinking, drugs, etc. The content of the music was no where near Islam. The Sami Yusuf concert had some overexcited teenage girls. There wasn’t any sexual behavior, any drinking, drugs, etc. The Outlandish concert will have the same setting as the Sami Yusuf one inshallah, and it might even have less overexcited teenage girls, considering their typical audience.
Comment by MASYouthSupporter — April 28, 2008 #
JazakAllah khair for this insight. I feel a lot of people hide behind certain opinions or fatwas and okays only to be tricked into going to these kinds of events with questionable behavior.
Also to empower the youth, we should try and be more creative. Think of new ways to hit the heart, not just imitate others.
Comment by SaqibSaab — April 28, 2008 #
MASYouthSupporter,
Jazak Allah khayr for the clarification.
However, I don’t think they were set equally. I tried to distinguish between the concerts, setting the only common denominator as the comments and atmosphere of the concerts - not the actions going on within. Alhamdulilah, MAS is going to set it up in a way where no harmful substances get into the concert, but when it comes down to it, there’s no logistically possible way immodest behavior can be controlled. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t want my sisters/cousins/wife/daughter dressing up for a night out and going to a concert that will be mixed and will include some raucous behavior.
As far as their audience goes, the video clip above shows what kind of audience they attract, Allahu alam. I think they’re really talented, but I think a conscious effort should be made to maintain an Islamic atmosphere that the Prophet [saw] would enjoy being in.
Thanks for your input though, I appreciate it!
P.S. I’m a MAS Youth supporter too! I love ‘em, just had to voice my concern about the direction this is headed.
Comment by AbdelRahman — April 28, 2008 #
i totally agree with your points. there is no doubt that such an environment is not ideal for practicing muslims. i dont expect you to go to the concert, and rather i would be kind of disappointed if you did. i dont expect most people who read this blog to go.
but thats just the point. its not for people who would read a blog like this to gain knowledge about the deen. its for people who would spend hours on a blog about justin timberlake reading what his favorite asian food is. people who spend their weekends drinking and partying.
these people will NEVER come to any of the events the muslim community normally plans. they wont come to imam suhaib lectures or darul hikmah events. so how are we to reach them? 95% of muslims arent masjid goers. we have to reach them and this is an avenue through which we can do that inshallah.
Comment by Firas — April 28, 2008 #
at the end of the day, imagine if one of those screaming girls hears the song “aicha”, a song about wearing the hijaab, and is inspired to start wearing it. or if a non muslim hears “look into my eyes” and no longer supports israel. people on the fringes just dont listen to shaikhs. they dont listen to shaikh abdur rahman, imam suhaib, shaikh jamal, shaikh qardawi, no one. but they listen to outlandish. and if they listen to outlandish, we have to use that to get to them, because its one of the few avenues to their hearts unfortunately.
Comment by Firas — April 28, 2008 #
You know I really wonder what prompts anasheed artists to start using musical instruments. Hmm. Especially if they initially did not use them. Hmm.
Generally, I’m not all against anasheed concerts, provided again, the atmosphere is halaal. I also kind of like Sami Yusuf, so I’m not gonna diss him or anything. But I do remember my aunt describing one his concerts at RIS a few years ago…it sounded similar to this post.
“He walked out and all the lights went off. Then it went BOOM. And all the girls started screaming. And the MC said, ‘Sorry ladies, he’s already married.’”
Eh…
p.s. what kind of computer am I using?
Comment by mehreen — April 28, 2008 #
Firas,
When the Prophet [saw] went to Quraysh and told them about Islam and they fervently rejected him, emotionally and physically abused him, did he go and research what they enjoyed and tried to funnel Islam to them through their hobbies and entertainment?
Again, I’m not arguing against the musical part of the concert. Shaykh Qaradawi and Imam Suhaib made their stances clear and I’m not debating against them, I don’t even know anything about Islam enough to consider the two stances. My personal choice is not to listen to music, but as Imam Suhaib said, one cannot stop others, with his or her hands, from doing something which there is legitimate difference of opinion about.
I am arguing, however, against the idea of having a concert that influences people in the way that MAS Youth’s 2006 concert did, and the way that this one might. I’m against the idea that a group of girls, dressed in their best going-out clothes, are screaming and professing their undying love to the singers on stage, leaving the concert to go to a Starbucks and discuss how Outlandish are a bunch of hotties. That is not cool, in my book. And to put your name on an event that will undoubtedly have a majority (yes, majority) of the females in the audience doing this is shady.
Not to mention the guys who will be there, seeing all this happen.
Obviously you have a person influenced here or there by something, even in a bad environment. Let’s say a group of Muslims goes to a bar and meets another Muslim who has a beard. One of the bar-going Muslims decides to grow a beard. Does that justify his going to the bar? No, it certainly doesn’t. You can find benefit in anything, this is true; it does not mean, however, that you go searching for the benefit in everything, condoning it all the while.
wAllahu Alam.
Comment by AbdelRahman — April 28, 2008 #
Yeah I noticed the same thing, at an Islamic Relief concert with Sami Yusuf.
shocked about the facebook comments
Comment by maulanaMUSCLES — April 28, 2008 #
I see where the MAS supporters are coming from regarding the benefit of reaching out to the youth and the muslims that are going astray. Lets keep in mind that the prophet said that he has left his sunnah and the word of allah for us. these are the two tools that will not make us go astray insha’allah. The deal with music and use of instruments is a big debate and some scholars differ on it. The prophet SAW did not write books or songs to guide people but instead he carved the quran in thousands of men. The prophet SAW used the best tools possible to establish the deen at the time. If the prophet thought that the use of music was a good way of da’wah, wouldn’t you think that he would use it?
While a little kid, the prophet would attend those festivals and when he would sit down to try to be entertained, allah swt makes him fall asleep in order not to fall in love of such things.
Again, i see where MAS is coming from and I respect that but for an organization/movement of establishing the deen, our needs are the quran and sunnah and that was the way of the prophet peace and blessings be upon him.
Prophet pbuh said: `There will be people of my Ummah who will seek to make lawful; fornication, wine-drinking and the use of ma`aazif ( musical instruments ).` [Narrated by Bukhari]
AbdelRahman: U~~~C, jazak Allah khayr for the comment. Keep in mind, though, that we are discussing the concert environment itself, not the use of music for dawah. Again, there is a legitimate scholarly opinion authorizing the use of music for dawah, with some conditions, but that is not what is being discussed here. Thanks for the comment though
Comment by U~~~C — April 28, 2008 #
im certainly not doubting that the environment isnt ideal. it wont be. but you have to look at this in terms of prespective. how else can you reach out to these people? invite them to a night class, or to almaghrib, or even to jummah, they wont come. invite them to a basketball tournament at a masjid, and they wont come. they dont like to be around a situation where everyone looks down on them for not being close to the deen. and unfortunately this is what happens.
so there is no other option for us to bring these people in. they wont come to us in our settings (masjid, msa, classes, etc) so we have to go out and get them. because we can preach the quran all day if we want. but who are we preaching to? the people who will come listen to that, and thats us anyways. they wont come, so we have to go get them. we have to go to their environment, and peak their interest in islam.
like you said, these girls love outlandish or sami yusuf or anything. theres no denying that. so when they go to the concert, and between songs one of the guys in the band stops the music and talks about the importance of changing yourself to be a better muslim, and the importance of joining a movement like mas youth, those teenage girls will listen!
this is what makes me so excited, because they wont listen to me, to you, to anyone. except their “stars”. so if we use them to reach these girls (and some guys) where is the harm?
again, it wont be an ideal islamic environment, but like many shaikhs have said about this event, the good from it will outweigh the evil, so inshallah it is permissible and Allah will love what we are doing.
wallahu a3lam
Comment by Firas — April 28, 2008 #
Firas,
Read what you wrote again. You think that these people are more hard-headed than Quraysh man? The Prophet [saw] used the Qur’an to do dawa to the people who would theoretically have the smallest chance of conversion, and it worked on them.
We shouldn’t underestimate the book of Allah and it’s effect on people’s hearts.
Just because non-Muslims aren’t flocking to our masaajid doesn’t mean that our methods aren’t practical, it just means that they’re being used incorrectly. Instead of becoming like them, by having concerts with music and letting sisters go buck wild in the audience, maybe we could step up and ask people what they think about God and life?
Don’t underestimate the power of Allah.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be innovative and creative in our dawah, and that we should only stick to the strict sunnah and methods of the Prophet [saw].
We should never sacrifice Muslims for the sake of dawah, and by having a concert that promotes a lack of modesty, we are doing just that - we are compromising Muslims for the sake of dawah.
Comment by AbdelRahman — April 28, 2008 #
assalamualykum
This group type setting is dangerous as it harbors the notion of safety in numbers (meaning anything we do at this concert is ok) and may give a false sense of security because every individual will have to answer for their deeds (there will be none to blame that day but yourself).
assalamualykum
Comment by Jibran — April 28, 2008 #
JazakAllah khair to all the commenters so far. After reading this it makes me ask a few questions.
1) Is that really true? Who’s invited them? Have they even been invited? Do they even know they exist? Sure they may have received a Facebook invite or gotten a flier on the way out from the masjid, but is that really doing justice? Can we we say they’ll never come if they’ve never really been invited properly?
2) The Prophet (SAW) actually gave Da’wah to the some of the worst people in existence. The Jahiliyyah Quraysh were idolators, fornicators, infanticiders, drunkards, the list goes on. Yet when we study his methods of reachin’ out to the people, you won’t find him trying to adapt his ways because the people are a certain way. It was by his character and incredible teaching methods that he changed the entire sprituo-socio-politcal universe of those people.
We should take the example of our Prophet (SAW). We can’t go wrong with it.
3) That’s not true about Darul Hikmah, AlMaghrib, or any other institution, and we can’t say so until we’ve legitimately attended them ourselves. The opposite is not only true, but actually the aim of such organizations; to get that type of crowd, and it works. Just ask the organizers and see how many people from “that” crowd they bring in and give benefit to, the results are much more than one may think!
4) Simple; by thinking outside the box and giving people what they need in a way that they like. Not giving them what they want in a way that they like.
Most groups and organizations only hold events and invite in ways that are too cliche. If we’re creative enough, we can have super beneficial events that help massive amoutns of people without going towards what’s questionable.
In the end, I just question the effectiveness of these events. We want to bring them to what’s good and decide to do them in ways that they like. Are they really so effective? Are they going home with massive benefit and life changing lessons and heart melting experiences? Or is it just another concert, just run by Muslims and without the booze?
We ask Allah (swt) to guide us to what pleases Him.
Comment by SaqibSaab — April 28, 2008 #
http://www.suhaibwebb.com/blog/?p=272
Comment by Muslim — April 29, 2008 #
Jazak Allah khayr for the link, Muslim. The video is talking about the permissibility of music for dawah, though.
Comment by AbdelRahman — April 29, 2008 #
lol, brothers and sisters this post isn’t talking about the permissibility of the music; though it may be hard to distinguish that cuz the topic is about a concert.
The post is about the mentality, the mindset, and the after effects of holding a concert for MAS Youth. Permissibility of music aside, is it really effective? Are people’s hearts melting for Allah as a result by doing what is “their culture”?
Or is it just the same as all the rest? The Facebook comments from the post speak for these questions quite loudly.
Remember to ask Allah to guide us to what’s best.
Comment by SaqibSaab — April 29, 2008 #
khalas, we disagree on this issue and its effectiveness. thats fine. theres no need to argue about whos opinion is right.
Comment by Firas — April 29, 2008 #
No argument, just a discussion
May Allah make the event successful and make it in a way that pleases Him, however that way may be insha Allah.
Comment by AbdelRahman — April 29, 2008 #
Ameen.
Comment by SaqibSaab — April 29, 2008 #
Awesome responses Saqib…and AR, I love you..
…btw, my dad went to the UK conference last year (Global Peace and Unity..) and he said when one of the groups was up there, a girl got so excited she threw her hand out and the artist on stage gave her a five.. talk about thousands of muslims from all over the world coming together for the Sake of Allah.. when my dad came back we asked him how it was, he said it wasnt a “conference” it was just a “concert” (3 day event mind you).
They gave the artists hours and hours, while they give amazing scholars such as Yasir Q, Suhaib Webb, Dr. Israr Ahmed, M.Shareef, etc. a handful amount of time sort of as a “refresher” before going back to the music…if this is the route to Jannah and successful Da’wah, I urge the students of knowledge to leave their Ulemaa’ and start learning under the best musicians in the world. La Hawla Wa Laa Quwata Ilaah Billah.
Comment by adnan — April 29, 2008 #
Asalamu alaykum,
First of all, no offense taken at all. I’m happy to see you brothers and sisters discussing this without going off on each other. Although we differ, our hearts are united. I pray that all of us will maintain this maturity, ikhlas and great work ethic.
Much respect
Suhaib
Comment by Suhaib Webb — April 29, 2008 #
Adnan
Haha, I can imagine your dad at the GPU nasheed concerts. Subhan Allah, while some of us may not want to get involved in music and it’s possible successful results for dawah, that isn’t why I worry. It’s pretty clear, especially with the link to YouTube for Imam Suhaib’s clarification video, there is legitimate difference of opinion, and I respect and appreciate that.
I just don’t want our youth falling into the same traps of pop-culture that non-Muslim youth flock to.
Suhaib
It’s refreshing to see actual discussion instead of argumentation, I know what you mean. Thanks for the comment, jazak Allah khayr :-).
Comment by AbdelRahman — April 29, 2008 #
I can’t believe MSA is under attack here. MSAs have done great work over the past 4-5 decades and they are far above any criticism shown here. May God bless the MSAs and they work they do!
Comment by MSA Supporter — April 29, 2008 #
Very intelligent points brought up by ARM, specifically the points on attracting people to Islam through questionable means. I was going to say something, but he beat me to it
Islamic Daw’ah in general is so weak because its so heavily imbalanced towards passive rather than active daw’ah. Rather than talk to people and invite them to classes and so forth, we rather a poster or flyer do it. Rather than talk and directly invite people to Islam, we rather rely on a concert (whose objective is entertainment).
I’d say our da’ees need to go out and start learning to talk to non or less practicing Muslims, learning to understand who they are, what their concerns are, and bringing them into their circle of friends (control the environment) and if possible, bring them to their events.
Being the religious guy with superficial platitudes of pseudo-wisdom at the bhangra party, in my experience, simply leads the party-goers to say, “Hey man, what’s the difference between our parties and their parties? They also play loud music, dance, and the girls are still screaming for and fantasizing about the artists - the only difference is that they have beards and hijaabs and pray. Masjid hypocrites!” And of course, in some concerts, those people can also say, “I thought these religious people only listened to clean music - why are they sponsoring bands that cuss man?”
I seriously pray and hope that all these concerts go away, and that our well-intentioned da’ees become more creative and intelligent about calling others to Islam.
Siraaj
Comment by Siraaj Muhammad — April 30, 2008 #
with regards to da3wah, i think another issue we have is we expect people to come to us. for example, we have the da3wah booth at uic, and its a great idea of course, but what ends up happening is one or two guys sit at the booth with all the flyers in the world but no one will willingly come and talk. even with someone with a bellowing voice yelling “come learn about islam”, no one comes. from what ive seen, the only people who come are people who are in a class with one of the da3ees and come to ask a question about when a homework is due. and in the process the da3ee will give him a flyer or pamphlet or whatever.
this shows that the only way we can expect to get peoples attention turned toward islam in a positive way is to go and befriend them and through that expose them to islam. i think too many muslims have the idea we can never befriend a non muslim because its such a sin, and they will lead us to haraam and we have to remain secure amongst our muslim brothers. of course im not advocating leaving the muslim community to be with non muslims, but we shouldnt hide behind brick walls anymore. we have to go out and show people, through our actions, what islam is. because islam, as we know, is a way of life. what better way to educate non muslims about islam than to simply show them this way of life?
Comment by Firas — April 30, 2008 #
Salaam alaykum Firas,
I agree with you 100%. About the daw’ah table, in my school, it was actually a school policy that anyone who set up a table had to stay behind it and not harass people as they walked by
But generally speaking, yes, I completely 100% agree with you.
Siraaj
Comment by Siraaj Muhammad — April 30, 2008 #
Firas, so true.
Shaykh Muhammad Alshareef mentions just this in Fiqh ad-Da’wah, and explains that the “come to us” Da’wah that most Muslims do is not the way the Prophets (AS) did it, and gives tons of awesome pointers.
Btw, Fiqh ad-Da’wah is an AlMaghrib Institute seminar
. It’s actually recorded and produced as a CD set. I’ll hook you up with it if you want. It’s awesome.
Comment by SaqibSaab — May 2, 2008 #
Going back to the idea that these concerts are the only way to reach people who wouldn’t regularly attend seminars, lectures and conferences… what makes anyone think that the average lesser-practicing Muslim will actually be enticed to attend a Native Deen or Outlandish concert when they probably can easily attend a Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Beyonce, or Mariah Carey concert, which most likely, in their opinion, is probably a lot more fun and entertaining.
The type of person that we are trying to call in through concerts doesn’t need another concert, they need something different. And I really do think that lesser practicing Muslims are very well responsive to conferences that focus strictly on the state of the heart and imaan: case in point–MMYC!
AbdelRahman’s note: Check out what MMYC is here and here.
Organizers need to make events Islamic and *then* fun. Not fun and *then* Islamic.
Comment by Ayesha — May 4, 2008 #
May Allah guide us all, our youth, our communities, and revive this Ummah! ِAmeen ya Rab. ِ اللهم رد المسلمين الى دينك رداً جميلا
Comment by Asking4Allah's Ridaa — May 5, 2008 #
firas, let me say one thing about our dawah booth.
we might give out hundreds of fliers out each time, but even one of those fliers goes through, then it is worth the time and the effort.
and our job is not to convert people to islam, its to teach them about islam. we just show them the door, and if Allah wills they will walk through it.
each person is responsible for themselves.
the worst part about being a da’iee at our uic-msa booth is watching the hundreds of people walking by consciously avoiding us because they willfully CHOOSE to ignore us. you know what their punishment will most likely be; and that hurts a lot.
hell is not a joke.
there are better ways to integrate ‘fringe’ muslims, and we need to work on a more micro-scale with each individual striving for their best before we target a macro-scale audience of ‘fringe’ muslims.
and Allah knows best.
Comment by shehan — May 6, 2008 #
Asalaamu alaykum..
I want to agree with you wholeheartedly; however, I have a tendency to respect the decisions made by others in our community. I commend you for standing up for what you believe in AlhamdulIllah! My reasons for not attending this Outlandish concert are slightly different than yours, yet parallel to them nonetheless.
I resent the fact that we view a “pop-culture” event as a form of daw’ah. The unique aspect of Islam is it’s universal truths and undeniable beauty. If someone wants to support or sponsor Islamic pop-culture, then that is that person’s decision. But, to be honest with you it is nothing more than a cheap ploy to attract people to Islam. If a concert like this was the way Islam was introduced to me, it would not have compelled nor enamoured me. Daw’ah should be conducted through sincere actions and appealing arguments. To try and sell Islam via pop-culture is just as unIslamic as selling alcohol, sex, and materialism through pop-culture. Our Ummah should rise above these cheap tactics and stand for the beauty that Rasulullah (salallahu alayhi wasalaam) endowed upon us.
May Allah make us all steadfast in the face of temptation and thoughtless actions. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen!
Ya brother in Islam,
mike
Comment by mike swies — May 6, 2008 #
Assalamu’alaykum, my 2 cents:
If you have ever been to an indoor concert, it’s very hard to hear what the singers are singing (unless you have memorized the song). I doubt the effectiveness of this da’wah to people who aren’t already aware of Outlandish, since they won’t be able to make out the lyrics. To those who already know the lyrics, what would be the benefit of them going?
Also, to people who aren’t “masjid-goers” etc., “religious music” always has an element of cheesiness. I felt that way before I came closer to the deen; I never liked pop music and I definitely did like pop music with religion. Religious music never attracted me or brought me closer to the deen.
What attracted me were good examples; people who were God-conscious, yet led fairly normal lives. People who were close to finding the correct balance of striving for the dunya and the akhira. People who were practicing but down to earth at the same time.
If Allah chooses to guide people, He will do so whenever He pleases. If there are people who are non-practicing right now…they may be more practicing than you in 6 months. It takes time…sometimes Allah will make a person hit rock bottom before they finally get it.
I personally feel that such a concert will not bring much benefit.
Atif
Comment by Atif — May 12, 2008 #
Asalaam u Alaikum
I have read an I have agreed with what you are saying, as I have come from a similar background of focusing on deen in my late teen years.
That said, I agree with Firas, we need to bring the Islam is cool back. It may seem as if we are sinking to their level, which is not good, but if we don’t who will? We cannot expect them to rise to a higher level on their own, a catalyst must be instituted for a change such as the ones we aim for to occur. Granted Allah (swt) will guide those whom he wishes at any time, but that in no way entails us not to strive to achieve that. With the same theology, we should stop spreading the message of Islam because Allah (swt) will give it to them anyway..no! We must take an active role to be the messengers of this religion.
As to the behavior, inshAllah I am going to control that as much as i can. The concert will inshAllah inshAllah inshAllah be 100% segregated, courtesy of yours truly. We inshAllah going to discuss methods to stop the screaming.
My idea is this: the whole culture here in the west, is the hot, cool, sexy, awesome thing to do, which radiates from the superstars. If inshAllah we can get the artists themselves to demote that kinda behavior, then respect and attitudes will change.
sorry for the rant and any gap in logic
Ibrahim
Comment by Ibrahim — May 21, 2008 #
Asalamu Alakum, I do not agree that in an environment like that anyone will listen to anything Islamic. When one is in a bad environment, doing good becomes harder, even listening to good. Imagine yourself in a concert, full of girls screeming, you look to the sisters side and a girl catches your eye. You look away once, then look again and you realize you are both looking at each other. You turn again and there is another sister who is dressed improperly and that also makes your iman weaker. Than you hear a speaker come and talk for a few minutes about the importance of coming to the masjid, is that an environment that will really allow you to listen? I am not speaking about listening of the ears, but the listening of the heart…We should not compromise our deen in order to bring others to the deen. This concert will not change most of the peoples lives, they will go listen and go back to their same ways. However we will leave with the sin of allowing such an environment. The Quran is clear, whoever wants to accept it, he does so for his own soul, who ever rejects it harms no one but themselves.
Comment by Abd — June 1, 2008 #
Salam Alaikum,
Wow. As I’m reading all these comments, I get a little offended because half of them are describing me…as well as 100’s of others out there that are just like me. I am a Mulsim, you could say I am not the best practicing Muslim, but I am Muslim. I do not go to most Islamic events, lectures, masjids, etc. anymore because the amount of “judging” and “comments” by the ladies that goes on is ridiculous. You can’t even walk down the hallway with your little brother before someone starts talking that he is your boyfriend. You can’t even hug your uncle because someone say’s they say you in the lobby hugging on “some guy”. On the men’s sides, I don’t think it is that bad, but speaking for many young Musilm women, we just don’t go.
We do not go to “American” concerts, we do not drink and do drugs, we do not have boyfriends, etc. So this misconception is incorrect when people say, “how else are we going to reach ‘THESE PEOPLE”? And that saying that we probably don’t go to these anasheed concerts anyway is aso a very large misconception. I’m telling you now, that 80% of the people that go to these anasheed concerts are like me…people you will not see at the Masjids, and other Islamic events, but are not doing anything really “haram”.
In order to reach “us people”, you will have to continue putting on these concerts, because we won’t miss a single one. And you will have to continue to publish the “Muslim Girl” magazines, because we son’t skip a single issue and will read every single article.
This is reality, you can talk about how “haram” these concerts are, but deep down, in reality, they really aren’t. This is the reality of many Muslim girls/women in the US today….and it won’t change. So in order to get to “us people”, I strongly suggest MAS continues their hard work.
As a mother of 3…I can’t wait for my daughters to grow up and be a part of this “new wave” of more realistic accepting Islam. I can’t wait for my daughters to go to a Sami Yusef concert, and I can’t wait for my girls to be able to go to a “MAS Youth center to hang out with their friends…both female and male, and I can’t wait for them to be able to read a “Muslim Girl” magazine….because I had none of these…and it truly makes a difference in a young girls’ opinion on Islam.
PS…if my kid is the one screaming “I love you Sami”..she will also be the one getting her butt kicked at home….and please, let’s not judge and say, “all the girls were screaming out to Sami how much they loved him…because it wasn’t all the girls, it was a few stupid immature ones who haven’t been taught any better.
Thanks for listening and please do not misread my tone in this post…I have the best of intentions and don’t mean to offend anyone. JAK
Comment by M.A. — June 18, 2008 #
Sister M.A.
I appreciate the feedback, jazak Allah khayr for the critical advice, I really didn’t mean for it to come off holier than thou. My intention wasn’t to judge anyone or generalize - it’s the unfortunate truth that the syntax of our beloved English language doesn’t have specific enough words to differentiate between generalizations and examples.
As humans, we all have tests and trials. For some people it’s backbiting, for others it’s using interest, and for others it may be gambling or drinking or even drugs. Every one of us is on the same level in that regard; we all struggle, and we all strive to improve ourselves. Let me be the first to admit, I have no right (along with all of humanity) to judge anyone, and that was not the intention of this post. This post was written more out of concern than judgmental spite, it really was. As my brothers and sisters in Islam, I’m sincerely worried about things that may hurt us more than help us, and just wanted to drop a bit of advice against anything I see as harmful.
I understand where you’re coming from though. We live in a judgmental society. Before we even know a person, we may have already scripted their entire life story by their appearance, dialect, ethnic origin, etc.
As far as the mixed-gendered gatherings, that’s each and everyone’s personal choice, I agree with you. There’s no doubt that it’s best to stay away, because that’s exactly what Allah [swt] and Muhammad [saw] said, it’s best to lower our gazes and maintain our modesty in regards to our interaction with each other (men and women).
I wasn’t bashing on MAS or MAS Youth - I happily attend their events as long as I feel comfortable attending them. But just as fellow Muslims, such as yourself, may express their comfort and love for events, I feel it is my right and duty to express my discomfort and concern for such events. It’s not about assimilation into American society, it’s about long-term effects of injecting our simple and beautiful religion with the deep, dark, poisonous complexities of American/European pop-culture (anyone seen Britney Spears lately? how about Lindsay Lohan? Rehab again, right?). Do we need to be “like Americans” in order to be accepted? We’ve seen the effects of assimilation on Native Americans, then Africans who were brought here, then the Japanese, now the Hispanic/Latin population is on it’s tail end, and it seems American Muslims are getting pushed into the wave. I am worried about the detrimental effects about this assimilation, because history shows that it destroys any religious or ethnic independence.
Also, a referring to others as “them” isn’t supposed to be mean or judgmental. It’s just another flaw in the English language that the connotation or context of referring to a group of people is seen as negative.
Jazak Allah khayr for your advice, sister, it’s awesome to see that we can have constructive discussion about relevant topics. I hope you enjoy the blog and become a regular reader (as soon as I update with more posts!).
Comment by AbdelRahman — June 18, 2008 #