New Islamic DirectionsThe official site of Imam Zaid Shakir
Notes

Misunderstanding Not Treachery

By Imam Zaid Shakir · October 3, 2008

The blog entry I wrote several days ago in defense of Shaykh Hamza Yusuf was based on my misunderstanding of the events leading up to Shaykh Hamza’s participation the malaria eradication program sponsored by the Tony Blair Foundation in Los Angeles, September 25, 2008. In reality, it was a lot of misunderstanding and a breakdown in communication that led to Shaykh Hamza’s participation in that event and not any treachery or deceit on the part of the organizers. The organizers tried to communicate that the venue, sponsorship, and participants in the program had changed due to the cancellation of the original host. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Shaykh Hamza was traveling right up to the day of the program, he never received the above information. As soon as this was clarified to me, I responded by immediately removing my post from the NID website, as what I had written did not accurately reflect what had actually happened. Although that message was only posted for a few hours, it spread far and wide. I now encourage anyone who still has that message posted on their websites to remove it, and replace it with this one. To reiterate, there was no treachery on the part of the organizers in their dealings with Shaykh Hamza. No matter what your opinion of any of the organizers, you should not allow a false accusation against them to stand uncorrected. To do so is to deviate from the teachings of our religion. I further encourage anyone who has been involved in the vital work to eradicate malaria, one of the few remaining public health scourges on this planet, to continue that work with anyone who is making a difference. This is an issue that should transcend politics, and it is an issue that Muslims should be highly motivated to be involved in because of the disproportionately high numbers of Muslims who are suffering from it. At the end of the day, we have to be submissive to the truth and the pursuit of good and justice, wherever they are to be found. We have to work hard not to allow our passions, especially those that are stimulated by the fleeting vicissitudes of the world and time to move us away from the truth. Let us be ever mindful of the commandment contained in the following verse:
O you who believe! Stand up firmly for God, as witnesses to fairness, and let not the hatred of a group of people lead you to deviate from justice. Be just! That is closer to piety, and fear God. Surely, God is well-informed of all that you do. Qur’an 5:9
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Comments (11)

  • susan

    October 12, 2008

    Salaams Imam, Just thought I should let you know that the old article is still available on your facebook profile. You can delete it if you want by just clicking on the little 'edit' icon on the right hand side of the title when you hover your mouse over the title. May Allah reward you for your honesty and bravery in admitting you made a mistake, and teaching us all a lesson in swiftly rectifying things, even if (or especially if) we have errored, even with the best of intentions. Wishing you the best in this life and the next. Wasalaam susan

  • samieh

    February 6, 2009

    Asalam 'alaikum those muslims who doubt shaykh hamza should know that things arent always as they seem. and should have a good opinon of shaykh hamza yusuf. The american muslims are despised by those treasonist crimanals in the current and past administrations even more than the clearly innocent goat herders in guantanimo bay. and we dont know the whole story

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