We Failed...

Today I was visiting a few friends that I went to school with and I haven’t seen in a while.  One of my friends was very close to me, especially during my last few years in college.  She’s an incredibly genuine and kind-hearted person; a great friend to have at the end of the day.  There are times we disagree and sometimes I feel I hear her other friends talking, not her.  Today was one of those days.

We were talking about the MSA in our college and the Imam of our Islamic Center.  I’m not really sure how it all came up, but she said some things I didn’t quite agree with.  She mentioned how much the Imam has changed and some negative things floating around about him.  We started talking about the pivotal moment we saw our MSA shift from one that was conservative to one that was a little too liberal.

I did agree with her that there are some decisions the Imam made that I wouldn’t make and I am not comfortable with myself.  Basically, I remember being one of the few on the MSA board with some knowledge of Islam, still barely what it should have been.  The other kids had very minimal knowledge and were just beginning to practice.  It was difficult for them to understand many things and the points I was making along with a few other people.  Unfortunately, somehow they were placed in positions of leadership.  How they got there?  I wish I knew.  The kids were great, but I don’t believe they were making the best choices.

Unfortunately, the students that disagreed with their choices decided they would just boycott the Islamic Center.  It wasn’t your full blown orchestrated boycott.  It was just a group of people, including my friend, that decided they wouldn’t go to the Islamic Center anymore and they wouldn’t attend any more of the events.

While I was talking to her, I began getting a little defensive about the Islamic Center.  Why?  I knew there had to be good there.  It’s the place I started hijab, it’s the place I found friends that understood me and helped me become a better person.  It was through this same center that is too liberal that I became conservative and started to practice what I preach!!!  How could it be such a bad place if I found that there and I know others had, too?

And then I realized…it was because of us, all of us!  It’s our faults because we didn’t do anything or we didn’t try hard enough.  We just watched it fall into the wrong hands and go down the wrong path.  We didn’t do anything practical and useful to stop it from heading that way.  We didn’t give it everything it gave us.  We took all the good from it and we didn’t go back to strengthen it.

How often do we do this as Muslims to everything around us?  We take all the good around us and many times we never go back and return the favor.  We went to Sunday Schools that may not have given us the best Islamic education in the world, but it gave us something.  Do we ever go back?  Do we ever give back?  We get busy with our lives and ourselves.  We denounce and we shut out.  We bad mouth and criticize.  We do not act.