I'm on a bit of a Malcolm X trip at the moment...so to get us thinking...
"You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."
- "Prospects for Freedom in 1965," speech, Jan. 7 1965, New York City (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 12, 1965).
We, (Wife, Dad and I) will be going to see a few scholars who will be speaking on the topic of moving from 'Protest to Engagement' hosted by the Radical Middle Way.
Some of the speakers are amongst my favourites like:
Shaikh Suhaib Webb - one of the few people who can get away with using the words "hoochie-mama", "Britney Spoons" and "Rumpshaker" into a lecture about the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
Shaikh Hamza Yusuf - one of those speakers you either love or hate, but generally someone I can listen to quite comfortably.
I'll post up a review next week sometime God willing, but in the meantime, lets think about this the topic to be discussed:
Moving from protest to engagement as a principle moves against all that the radical groups within the Islamic fold want and also against what the radical elements of the non-Islamic contingent want. The moment people start moving away from protest to actually talking and getting involved, we suddenly realise that we all have more in common than we would care to admit. Looking past the beards, and hijabs and hoodies and combats we are all actually just trying to get by in this world and trying to find some meaning to our lives, whether that lies in buying that 60" plasma screen or in spending all your time looking for God.
Engaging with each other simply means that the best of our common capabilities and desires will naturally rise to the top, but as soon as we decide that one human is better than another, thats when the slope downwards begins.
If Yusuf thinks he is better than Joseph then he will try to find a way of getting one over on him. And that is the essence of what causes engagement/collaboration to fail. This 'getting one over' may not necessarily be financial, it could range from being just nasty so other people get the wrong impression of the victim to the the ultimate crime - murder.
Shapps the Hippy
