Community Dialogue has to do with Questioning and Listening
Many ask us what exactly is this Muslim community dialogue we keep mentioning? What are these interviews that the children of the Salam Academy are engaged in? Why am I trying to gather groups of people to discuss their hopes for the new masjid and to understand what are the qualities they wish to find in their imam?
I began by asking all these questions on purpose. You notice that we ask questions of each other all day long. If you think about it, we are sort of question machines:
We also expect an answer for every question we ask. By asking a question we create a social vacuum that needs to be filled. Unless it is filled we feel uncomfortable. If the one asked does not answer we might interpret it as hostility, or unfriendliness, or lack of respect. But we also don’t want questions to open the door for a long exchange that waste time, unless we are taking care of business, solving a problem, or seeking some specific goal. We also use our questioning skills to socialize with friends, family, and people we respect, appreciate, and feel comfortable with. But how often do we truly question a person for the sake of Allah? How often are we patient enough to take our time and truly listen to another without allowing our ‘nafs’ to react? When do we ask the kind of questions that bring a deeper understanding of what another person is saying?
The prophet ‘alahi salatu-was-sallam taught us that we are mirrors for one another. We need each other to be able to see our own faces which we never can see with our own eyes. No one has ever seen his or her own face except in the mirror. Do we dare to believe the truth in the mirror when in our pride we think we know better? How close do we dare to come to the mirror before our nafs reacts to what it sees? One reaction is to turn away and run. Another reaction is to break and destroy the mirror. But we are commanded to be patient and to recognize God’s signs in his creation and in ourselves.
My ummah will never agree on error promised us our prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This is the meaning of the Ummah’s voice. This voice is both the voice of succession of our ulama transmitting the knowledge of Islam through history, and the voices of brothers and sisters who are near to us in community and who profess to be Muslims. Here I am not referring to democracy but rather to listening and giving voice to all our brothers and sisters. Allah did not create any of us in vain and all our voices must be encouraged and heard. A shaikh in al-Quds once explained to me that Islam is like a live tree of which we, the Muslims, are its components. The sap that flows through the tree represents the living truth of the religion, but take away the bark, this thick layer of dead cells, and the tree will die. All parts of the Muslim community are created by God and are essential and must be recognized. The Ummah’s voice must be heard.
So this is where Muslim dialogue comes in. This is where deep questioning and deep listening are needed to welcome all Muslims to be under one roof and to feel safe in each other’s company. To dialogue is not to convince others that we are right. It is not to confront one ideology with another. It is not a moral struggle for political power. But it is a way to build relationships among Muslims who are not afraid to look at the mirror and say: I love you, or at least: I respect you; even when I don’t agree with you.
I began by asking all these questions on purpose. You notice that we ask questions of each other all day long. If you think about it, we are sort of question machines:
- Who are you?
- How are you doing?
- Where have you been so long and how is your son Ahmad anyway?
- How much did you pay for this car (or coat, or the dentist…)?
- Did you see such and such show on TV last night and what did you think about it?
- What is your opinion about the war in Iraq?
We also expect an answer for every question we ask. By asking a question we create a social vacuum that needs to be filled. Unless it is filled we feel uncomfortable. If the one asked does not answer we might interpret it as hostility, or unfriendliness, or lack of respect. But we also don’t want questions to open the door for a long exchange that waste time, unless we are taking care of business, solving a problem, or seeking some specific goal. We also use our questioning skills to socialize with friends, family, and people we respect, appreciate, and feel comfortable with. But how often do we truly question a person for the sake of Allah? How often are we patient enough to take our time and truly listen to another without allowing our ‘nafs’ to react? When do we ask the kind of questions that bring a deeper understanding of what another person is saying?
The prophet ‘alahi salatu-was-sallam taught us that we are mirrors for one another. We need each other to be able to see our own faces which we never can see with our own eyes. No one has ever seen his or her own face except in the mirror. Do we dare to believe the truth in the mirror when in our pride we think we know better? How close do we dare to come to the mirror before our nafs reacts to what it sees? One reaction is to turn away and run. Another reaction is to break and destroy the mirror. But we are commanded to be patient and to recognize God’s signs in his creation and in ourselves.
My ummah will never agree on error promised us our prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This is the meaning of the Ummah’s voice. This voice is both the voice of succession of our ulama transmitting the knowledge of Islam through history, and the voices of brothers and sisters who are near to us in community and who profess to be Muslims. Here I am not referring to democracy but rather to listening and giving voice to all our brothers and sisters. Allah did not create any of us in vain and all our voices must be encouraged and heard. A shaikh in al-Quds once explained to me that Islam is like a live tree of which we, the Muslims, are its components. The sap that flows through the tree represents the living truth of the religion, but take away the bark, this thick layer of dead cells, and the tree will die. All parts of the Muslim community are created by God and are essential and must be recognized. The Ummah’s voice must be heard.
So this is where Muslim dialogue comes in. This is where deep questioning and deep listening are needed to welcome all Muslims to be under one roof and to feel safe in each other’s company. To dialogue is not to convince others that we are right. It is not to confront one ideology with another. It is not a moral struggle for political power. But it is a way to build relationships among Muslims who are not afraid to look at the mirror and say: I love you, or at least: I respect you; even when I don’t agree with you.
