I am writing this, after hearing the news that Islamic Shura Council of Southern California has joined the condemnation statement against Shaykh Kabbani.
We have attended for several years the Jum`a Khutba at Umar bin al-Kattab Mosque headed by Dr. Khayri, and Islamic Center of Southern California headed by Dr Hasan and Maher Hathout.
We have seen on many occasions that they do not define a line on pertinent Islamic issues. For example: On Eid, at Dr. Khayri’s mosque, pamphlets were distributed with Takbirat el-Eid, which contained only a part of the takbirat that are well recited by Muslims all over the world.
A confusion started there when someone started reciting loudly the whole takbirat. When Dr. Khayri entered the mosque he went along with the whole takbirat, reciting it without need of a paper, like most of us.
However, still he did not define if his mosque will or will not use the full length of Takbirat on the next Eid.
Dr. Maher Hathout at one of his Jum`a Khutba he said that we are approaching a controversial day, the birthday of the Prophet, Milad Annabi. Some people celebrate it and others do not. At this mosque we will not involve ourselves in this debate.
Both above mentioned masajids in Ramadan bring reciters of Quran from Egypt to recite but never to explain Quranic verses. It is always the Doctors who do the explanation. Why not invite `Ulama from Azhar to do the explanation of Quran?
So my question, taking it from husn niyya, and the hadith that says – Al-fitna na’ima, la`ana Allah man ayqadhaha- Dissention is sleeping, Allah curses whoever wakes it- we should assume that these imams of the mosques are tying to keep a fitna from rising in their community.
Thus, we see now a flood of condemnation of Shaykh Hisham Statement. Analyzing the situation, we assume these scenarios.
First Scenario: Shaykh Hisham Kabbani and his followers are a small group and does not weigh in the formula of the whole Muslim representation and community in the USA. As such, and so as not to raise fitna, AMC and CAIR and other political organizations that had access to the State department, that meet with officials on a regular basis, could have setup a meeting with the state department and explained their point of views and it would have ended there.
Second scenario, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani and his organizations and community followers are a big part of the Muslim community in the USA.
As such and so as not to awake fitna, since this would divide the community, the Muslim organizations should have set a meeting with Shaykh Kabbani and went over the points of his speech and diffused the problem, or upon failing so, could have went public with condemnations and action alert.
Third scenario, Each of these organizations are, in essence, in competition with each other. Here comes Shaykh Kabbani and in less than one year on the political arena, is being invited to Eid celebration at the white house (which usually included only representatives from these organizations), invited to Vice President Al-Gore summit on corruption in governments, and lately by the State department. And in a unprecedented move, never seen before, all these organizations agreed on one thing. Condemnation of Shaykh Kabbani, without ever sitting with him on a round table, neither at the launch of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, nor when he started publishing the Muslim Magazine, and surely not after his State department address.
As none of these scenarios have been used, we wonder if the talk that Shaykh Kabbani presented at the State department or is it the condemnation letters from the major Muslim organizations are the one to blame for putting the Muslim community in danger.
Jaafar Ibrahim,
Culver City
California
