In order to punch above your weight and power, you hunt in packs.
Muslims have no idea how to amplify their voice and have an impact BECAUSE our Ulama and leaders don’t cooperate with each other. Every Alim, every Institute has their own two-penny WhatsApp group or Facebook page and they continue to work in silos. This results in duplication of effort and wastage of resources.
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Now I know much more accurately where you are coming from on this problem.
All of us agonizing over the problems of the Ummah of our beloved Prophet SAW are a sensitive lot. That is a strength but a strength that is easily inclined to become a liability. We have to be alert about it and do something about it. The trick starts with becoming aware and conscious about this weakness on our part.
Once we manage this issue then we can move on to the issues that we have taken upon ourselves.
That is where the observations you have made above come into picture. Indeed disintegration, lack of unity and nucleation of our most worthy assets is a problem. But needless to say that the strategy here will be to file this division and parochial fragmentation of worthy units of Ummah as one additional problem. In no case we should switch to the disappointment mode and through our hands in air.
Remember that the organization and constitution of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board in our country by Qari Taiyyab Sahab in 1978 was a milestone that is a practical and working example of a paradigm that we both can take heart and emulate ourself.
Clearly when we have an additional problem at hand we have to make additional effort to set the things right. This kind of eventuality is inevitable in that phase of Ummah when it is in the decline mode. Luckily we are responsible only up to our abilities and capabilities only.
So let us not ignore the task that the duty to unite these splintered factions is ours. Incidentally we are already in that age group that we better become aware of the reality that full responsibility of Ummah is already on our shoulders in spite of all of our lack of not only resources, human and material, but lack of competence too. At least our friends should not take it as delusion on fake grandeur but as a manifestation of a very bitter reality that we are living in those times when the responsibility of Ummah is on our incompetent hands. It is out of this realization that I am in the field. Plus it is my standing invitation to all of my friends to be part of this task. You can adopt whatever position you like - lead or be lead by some one. My focus is academic push and in that I do desperately need company but this is an angle where the question of leadership is not important at all. We simply have to communicate and talk to each other and then lay the facts before the world.
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Working with others requires patience, perseverance and tolerance WHILE working in a WhatsApp group (in a Silo) requires none of that. [/quote]
Clearly have your own group. Collect the like minded people and do your bit.
Incidentally from the Sunni Forum days till now this has been amongst the most sobering realizations. People have their own ideas and opinions and they hardly care about others ideas, if at all.
In view of this we are exceptionally lucky if we have anyone else with us.
Again my impression is that this ultimately does not really matter. I need a few bytes to explain myself.
Allah SWT says that the number of people who listen to His words is small. Then there is another fact - Allah SWT said that people will enter Islam in crowds. So which one is the operative clause? This too can be decided. One Sahabi RA entered Islam after Makkah victory though he was offered Islam much before. Rasoolallah SAW told him that it is not the same level whether you enter Islam before or after Makkah victory. This Sahabi RA used to cry for the rest of his life because of this.
My impression is that in todays Islam there is a large population who is in the fold of Islam because of and for the facilities and blessings that it provides. There are not Muslims for the purpose of making sacrifices and for the purposes of taking the responsibility of the Ummah and the purpose of doing the duties for Ummah. Unfortunately that is the majority. That was the case yesterday and that is what it is now.
Because of this do you see that the revolution that late Dr Israr Ahmed was looking forward to does not seem likely to me? But let us set that aside and focus on what we can do and what we should do.
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Take a look at one thousand and one Fatwa sites who essentially and effectively answer similar set of questions AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN. Everyday some Mufti sets up a new site or Facebook page or WhatsApp group to do the same thing and answers similar set of questions in a similar manner. Even students of the same Mufti setup duplicate sites INSTEAD of directing a question to already existing responses to a classmate etc.
Then it falls upon the Ummah to financially fund and sustain these one thousand and one individuals and institutes
Since I am not very inclined towards the Fatwa angle of Ummah's life I am not at my brightest on this aspect. But I do believe that some efficient organization can be done in this department too.
Personally I would like to use you on other issues. The worldly matters. Of course choice is completely yours.
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People are essentially followers and they follow the examples of whom they admire. The Ummah has no leadership and no aspiring role models to inspire for people to aspire to.
When you use leaders operating in Silos and duplicating effort, people follow.
I suppose the trick is to use this for our advantage. Have your own group following.
[quote]End result is 1-2 people getting battered on Facebook and Social Media when they try to counter arguments against Islam and Muslims and NOBODY even makes their efforts public let alone try to help.
