[citalopram]

May Allah (swt) reward you br. suhaib for your efforts to bring our Ummah together and may Allah (swt) raise up more people like you to fight the oppression in the world and end this fitnah.

[cliceperperIa]

Asalamu alaykum,

Bismellah wa salatu wa salamu ala sayedenaa rasulellaah salahualayhe wa salam:

It is great to hear from all of you and I'm honored to meet and spend time with each of you. Inshallaah, I'm currently in Egypt taking the exams for Azhar. Entrance into Azhar is not a difficult as you might believe however; here are a few points of interest for those interested:

1. If you haven't memorized a good deal of Qur'an and don't have a lot of time, then considered other options. They like a person to have at least finished 8 ajzaa of Qur'an.
2. If you not fluent in Arabic consider studying in an Arabic school in Cairo for a year before taking the exams. Azhar has no department for teaching Arabic to non-Arabs.
3. Realize that Azhar is a great symbol of our tradition, thus they love a student who has memorized. Thus, try to memorize as many hadith, sayings, poems and especially the mutuun if you can.
4. Remember that Azhar, in its great days, existed in a first world setting. Now Egypt is no longer as it once was. Therefore, and this is why many people leave sad, know that although the scholars are amazing, especially in the morning in the Masjid, Egypt is today a third world country and this has taken its toll upon this great institution.
5. What you need: Ikhlaas and a heart dedicated to your Lord. They require photo copies of your passport and a letter from the US embassy. In addition you have to take blood test at the Hussein Hospital for men and the Zahraa hospital for women. Azhaar only except results from these two hospitals as they are under the Azhar system. If you've accepted Islam you will need proof of Islam if your name is not changed on your passport. You can get that from Azhar as well.
6. Finally, you will need a lot of thikr, dua, and sabar as it is an interesting process. Inshallaah, as I proceed through it I plan to publish notes on the entrance process so that others can benefit.
7. The entrance exams begin in Oct of every year, thus you must plan your studies and preparations around that time frame. The exam is in three parts a brief oral exam, a written exam and a Quranic exam. Note if one fails to do well on these exams then they can send you anywhere from Junior high to high school. The ideal goal for most students is to reach the last year of high school and then proceed to the university.
8. Finally Egypt is made up of all types of groups from the Salaifs to the Shadillis. Thus, they like students who have a balanced comprehensive outlook. Avoid being too extreme on any ideology and carry yourself in a balanced manner remembering the statement of your Lord, "Thus we've made you a balanced nation." Although you have these different groups there is a general feeling of love and brotherhood amongst most of them which we lack in the West.

May Allah bless all of you.
Suhaib D. Webb

[nicktender]

I think he perhaps has Salafi tendencies... but his CD collection on "Mothers of the Believers" is brilliant .

[JoZertekAdv]

Assalaamu alaykum,

I have met him several times. He studied in Malaysia for a while doing hifdh, and studied in Egypt I believe. As of know, he links himself with the ikhwaan. Very nice brother I must mention though, masha'Allah.

[ligeplodore]

mashallah that interview with Shaykh Suhaib Webb above was a really interesting and worthwhile read. (thank-you for posting it)

i have only listened to one of the shaykhs talks and im just curious as to his background.

his accent sounds like he is from the north of england....but mention is made above of how he migrated from the states to egypt.

does anyone know where the shaykh was born and brought up? (brief description of his journey thru places in the world would be nice)

jazakallah khayr.

[kavaTeexy]

What a surprise.

Jazakallah for posting and thank you for the clarification.

I for one enjoyed your lecture on disagreement during this ISNA at Rosemont and found you to be a very balanced and clear person.

I understand your dilemna regarding quoting different scholars. I myself get funny looks when the sufi brothers see my books that have been authored by shaykh 'Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya'

but that's good, keeps them on their toes. You know it's a good thing when the salafis call you a sufi and the sufis call you a salafi.

[wsbizwsa]

Ma Sha Allah and Assalam Alaykum.

Welcome to our board Imam Shuaib.

Jazakallahu Khayrun

[ligeplodore]

^^^

i may have a wrongly labelled tape of his then.
the tape i listened to was titled "Burning the Bridges (or boats?)" i think and it was given at a conference in Scotland (glasgow mebbe?) titled "World out of Order" i think a few years back.

the talk was very good....very balanced and the speakers accent was (to my ears) a bit like a yorkshiremans.


does shaykh suhaib webb have a distinctive accent?
and just to clarify, is he ethnically african-carribean or caucasian or something else?



[i have a feeling that ive listened to the 'wrong' tape]

[sallythetolly]

As sallamu alaikum

Is there a link to the lecture about zina-the desease with 1000 faces?

Wa alaikum as sallam

[exhibeKed]

I believe, he is oklahoma born and bred. was recently (ramadan of 03) the imam of a masjid in santa clara, which is one of the main masajid in san jose.
just met him when I visited there. I dont think he sounds english at all, but that is my personal opinion.

[Breevereurl]

WOW!!

Asalamualykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh Imam Suhaib Webb,

MashaAllah i really love your lecutures, and i heard really good reviews on your CD collection Mother of the Believers.

I was wondering what is your contact information if My MSA or Masjid would like to invite you to come lecture and share with us knowledge.

subhanAllah!

Walykumsalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

[clip - no email addys]

[Marlboro-oroblraM]

another beautiful article by Imam Suhaib: (i liked the fact about Baqarah and its middle verse):

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله الذي حعل هذه الأمة أمة وسط. وأصلي وأسلم علي خير خلق الله محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وسلم
وبعد:

The Answer (Part 1/2):

One of the amazing features of our faith is balance or what is known as tawaazun. A quick glance at the noble text of our religion reveals a grand respect for balance and moderation.

Allah (Most High) created the Heavens in a perfect balance:

وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ (7)

Ibn Kathir commented on this verse: "Meaning, He (Most High) created the heavens and he earth in truth and justice."



An Amazing Secret and Surah Al-Baqarah

Allah (Most High) says:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً (143)

"Thus We've made you a balanced nation.[1]"

This is verse 143 found in Surah Al-Baqarah. Now, stay with me and watch this. Surah Al-Baqarah consists of 286 verses, now, divided the number of verses in the Surah by 2. Amazing! Thus, this verse marks the middle of this noble Surah and is further proof for the importance of balance and moderation in the life of the Muslim.



The purpose for sending books and messengers/balance and justice:

Allah says:

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ (25)

"Indeed, we sent the messengers with clear signs and sent them with the book and the balance, so that they would establish justice amongst people.[2]"

Imam Al-Qurtubi stated, that, "Balance means the ability to weigh and stabilize the affairs of people.[3]"



Our Shariah is a system of worship and morals based on balance:

Commenting our scholars have stated that, the Shariah came with justice and balance in every way. Thus, extravagance in aspects of worship represents a deviation which is abhorred and forbidden by our sacred law, which orders for balance and moderation in all forms of worship. Thus, we are ordered to break our fast quickly and delay the suhor. In addition we are forbidden to fast consecutively with out breaking our fast. And the best fast that any one can observe after the fast of Ramadan is the fast of Dawud (Allah bless him and give him peace). The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "The best and balanced fast is the fast of Dawud (Allah bless him and give him peace). He used to fast one day and eat the next.[4]" Thus, justice and balance are from the greatest goals of Shariah."



The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and balance:

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

"Indeed I was sent as a facilitator not one who makes thing difficult." When the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) sent Muath to Yemen he ordered him, "Make things easy on others and don't make things difficult." In a sound hadith the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Islam is ease, and none makes this faith hard upon himself except it will defeat him." "Don't make things hard on yourselves, or Allah will make things hard on you.[5]"



And important story:

Once a group of men enquired about the worship of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) from his wives, After listening they each took vows. One said he would not sleep but pray the entire night. The other swore that he would never marry and the last promised to fast every day for the rest of his life. When the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was informed of this he went to them and said, "I sleep, I marry women and I eat meat. Thus, whoever rejects my sunna is not from me.[6]"

Balance = The Straight Path

It is well known that the recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha is from the obligations of prayer. Thus, at a minimum of 17 times a day a Muslim recites, "Guide us to the Straight Path." However, what is this way? And what are its signs?

Jabir bin Abdilah relates: "Once we were sitting with the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and he drew a straight line. Then he (Allah bless him and give him peace) drew two lines perpendicular to it. Then he placed his hand on the line in the middle and said, 'This is the way of Allah.' Then he recited, 'And, indeed, this is my straight way so follow it. Don't follow others lest they divert you from His way.[7]"

Thus, the straight way is the way of the Prophets, the truthful and the righteous. And, this is the way of balance and moderation.

Lack of balance has great ramifications:

Allah (Most High) says that the purpose for creating the heavens and the earth in balance was:

أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ (8)

"That you not exceed the balance.[8]"

This order of Allah (Most High) has great importance. And if applied can bring much benefit and happiness in one's life and community. If we look most of the major problems of the world, we will find that they are rooted in the absence of balance and moderation.

1. On an individual level, perhaps, one of the greatest diseases to appear is the disease of obesity. In recent month numerous articles have appeared warning of the grave dangers posed by obesity. However, the simple answer for obesity can be found in eating a balanced moderate diet.[9]

Allah says:

وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ (31)

"Eat and drink but don't waste. Indeed Allah despises the wasters.[10]"

2. Consumption and distribution of wealth: Recently articles have appeared threatening that irreversible damage is being done to the earth. In addition, her resources are being horded and wasted by nations whose populations are not the largest. Thus, hunger and poverty are two diseases which, till this day and age, are burning out of control in our small global village. The key to solving many of these problems is greed and desires.

Allah says:

وَمَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ (9)

"And whoever saves him self from greed will be successful.[11]"

The Muslim and Balance:

After pondering on the above mentioned points we can greater appreciate why, in every prayer, we ask Allah:

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ (5)

"Guide us to the straight path.[12]"

If world poverty, disease and crime are all diseases of imbalance, then what are the spiritual disease that reek havoc on the life and personality of the Muslim?

In recent years Muslims have began to ask themselves many questions about balance and moderation. For the Muslim student these calls can make understanding his role as Muslim student a great challenge. From no women in the Masjid to women Imams, the university student is drowning in a sea of extremes and ideas which, if one is not careful, can lead him down a road that will not actualize his talents nor bring about the greatest reward. In addition, many of the differences which plague our communities are rooted in identification politics. In other words my team your team. However, if one observes balance exhibiting a comprehensive understanding of Islam, he will find it easier work with other and accept their ideas.

Thus, the important question arises, what are the components of the Muslim personality as illustrated by the Quran and life of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) which, if understood and applied, will greatly assist the Muslim in passing the high-wife of life towards the pleasure of his Lord? Inshallah, we plan to address those in the next part of this answer, Allah willing.

Please pray for me and my family

Suhaib D. Webb
Cairo April 5, 2005

Our nation is a nation of balance:

Allah (Most High) says:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيداً (143)

"Thus we've made you a balanced nation so you will be a witness upon humanity and the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) a witness upon you."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Surah Al-Baqarah verse 143

[2] Surah Al-Hadid verse 25

[3] See Tafsir Al-Qurtubi Surah Al-Hadid verse 25

[4] A sound hadith

[5] Note that all of these hadith are considered sound.

[6] A sound hadith related by Al-Bukhari #. 5063

[7]Related by Ibn Majah #.11 in his introduction and the verse is from the 6th chapter verse 153

[8]Surah Al-Rahman verse 8

[9]For a frightening assessment of this see Eat This Now at www.usnews.com

[10]Surah Araf verse 31

[11]Surah Al-Hashr verse 9

[12]Surah Al-Fatiha verse 5

(sunnipath)

[Kilaoksrsa]

Asalamu alaykum Imam Suhaib Webb,

Keep up the excellent work! May Allah swt reward your efforts.

Wasalam.

[Marlboro-oroblraM]

sounds like you are referring to someone else; Imam Suhaib Webb is Caucasian and has an obvious american accent.. you can't get more american really.

[dAy2EWlg]

As salaamu alaykum and welcome brother Suhaib.

I have a few questions regarding the Azhar admissions process. I know that you are short on time, so if you are not able to answer the
questions, I will understand.

1) With regard to fluency in the Arabic language, must one also be fluent in the "aamiyya" (general, local) dialect of the Egyptians, or will "Modern Standard Arabic (i.e. Fushaa) suffice?

2) You mentioned that Al-Azhar loves a student who has memorized, but is our acceptance into the University conditional upon our memorization of hadith, sayings, etc.? If so, then how do they test this?

3) How much does Al-Azhar charge in terms of tuition and others fees from its foreign students?

4) Of what do the Oral, Written, and Quranic Exam consist? What do they really examine?

5) When you speak of a person, based on how well they do on their exams, being put in anywhere from Junior to High school before being placed in the University, are you saying that the Junior Highs and/or High schools are also administered and run by Al Azhar? Or would you have to study privately with a teacher or go to some private school and literally be placed back in High School?

6) Do they teach all four madhabs of fiqh? I am particularly interested in knowing if they teach the Hanafi madhab, which I make Taqleed of, and, especially, the HANBALI madhab which is I am VERY interested in and
which now, in this day and age, seems to be a neglected madhab that for which few resources seem to exist in order to study it.

7) Is there set cirriculum that EVERYONE must go through before being able to study and specialize in a particular subject in depth? For example, let's say that a person is really interested in learning all that Azhar has to
offer in the field of hadith and this person would eventually like to get a PhD in that area. Would this person have to first get some kind of general degree, e.g. BA in Islamic Studies, before being admitted to a Master's,
and then, Doctoral program in Hadith? Or could they, from day one, declare that they want to study Hadith and, after finishing the general entrance exam(s), be admitted to the BA of Hadith, and the general cirriculum that
everyone must go through would be incorporated as part of the BA in Hadith? Likewise for stuff like if you are interested in studying some other non-fiqh subject such as the Arabic language, Aqeedah, etc.

8) Can women study the Islamic sciences at Al-Azhar? If so, are all the faculties that are available to men also available to women, or are they limited in Number? Furthermore, do females teachers teach the sisters?

9) If women are also allowed to study at Al-Azhar, are the classes separated according to gender?

10) In order to apply to Al-Azhar, who must one contact (the Egyptian Embassy perhaps)?

I know that I have asked many questions, but if you could answer them, as well providing any other relevant insights or info, I would really appreciate it.

Jazakallahu Khair.

Wa'salaam.

[Breevereurl]

Salamu Alaikum

*our* msa : P

salman me and u should go on the board inshaAllah and make everyone tassawwufi haha

[JoZertekAdv]

Assalaamu alaykum,

I would like to offer my sincere apologies to you Shaykh Suhaib for mistakingly linking you with the ikhwaan. I honestly do not see it as something bad in the first place (Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah aligned himself with them), but I guess I should speak from clear knowledge. I was told by some brothers that MAS is basically the Ikhwaan in America, for which reason I thought they were one and the same.

Just for the sake of memories, I was a student at the institute that you had lunch at around 3 years ago during the fundraiser for Ahmad Adnan Chaudry in California. I remember you saying, "Probably the only madrasah in the world where you get enchiladas for lunch."

Anyways, please remember us in your du'aas.
faiz

[chuecafressds]

Imam teaches Islam with a distinct US style

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/re...052,full.story

May 27, 2011

Oklahoma-born convert Suhaib Webb, who sprinkles public addresses with pop culture references, has a growing following, especially among young Muslims. Traditionalists are leery.

At the pulpit of an inner-city Chicago mosque, the tall blond imam begins preaching in his customary fashion, touching on the Los Angeles Lakers victory the night before, his own gang involvement as a teenager, a TV soap opera and then the Day of Judgment.

“Yesterday we watched the best of seven…. Unfortunately we forget the big final; it’s like that show ‘One Life to Live,’ ” Imam Suhaib Webb says as sleepy boys and young men come to attention in the back rows. “There’s no overtime, bro.”

The sermon is typical of Webb, a charismatic Oklahoma-born convert to Islam with a growing following among American Muslims, especially the young. He sprinkles his public addresses with as many pop culture references as Koranic verses and sayings from the prophet. He says it helps him connect with his mainly U.S.-born flock.

“Are we going to reach them with an Arab message or with a Pakistani message? Or are we going to reach them with an American message?” asks Webb, 38, of Santa Clara. He is a resident scholar and educator with the Bay Area chapter of the nonprofit Muslim American Society, but reaches others in lectures and through his popular website, which he calls a “virtual mosque.”

Webb is at the forefront of a movement to create an American-style Islam, one that is true to the Koran and Islamic law but that reflects this country’s customs and culture. Known for his laid-back style, he has helped promote the idea that Islam is open to a modern American interpretation. At times, his approach seems almost sacrilegious.

Although the call to prayer at a mosque is always issued by a man, Webb once joked about it being made by one of his favorite female R&B artists: “If Mary J. Blige made the call to prayer, I’d go to the mosque; I’d be in the front row.”

At a Muslim conference in Long Beach last year, he suggested that mosques adopt a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gays. Afterward, he was accosted by a local imam who accused him of poisoning Muslim youth. “I told him, ‘Quite frankly, you’re going to be irrelevant in 10 years,’ ” Webb says.

He is fluent in Arabic, the language of the Koran, and studied for six years at one of the world’s leading Islamic institutes, Egypt’s Al-Azhar University. His time in the Middle East convinced him that not all religious practices there make sense for Muslims here.

As recently as a decade ago, U.S. congregations readily accepted immigrant imams who had arrived straight from Islamic universities, often with a traditional approach to preaching. Many spoke little English and were unable to communicate with non-Arab congregants or connect easily with youth.

But increasingly, U.S. Muslims expect their religious leaders to play a broader, more pastoral role, says Hossam Aljabri, executive director of the Muslim American Society, a national religious and education group. “Communities want imams who can come in and go beyond leading the prayer and reading Koran. They want them to fill the social role of counseling and dealing with neighbors.”

Religious scholars say the faith’s basic tenets would not change but much of the law that governs Islam may be interpreted differently in various communities.

Webb believes, for example, that barriers between men and women in U.S. mosques are not necessary, although they continue to be used in many traditional congregations. Unlike some imams, he does not object to music and believes Muslims here should be free to celebrate such secular holidays as Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving.

But given the ethnic diversity of U.S. Muslims, finding a consensus for a single American Islam could be difficult. Some favor major reforms that would alter the faith’s core beliefs. Others oppose any change.

In 2007, Webb stopped teaching at SunniPath, an online academy of traditional Islamic education, tussling verbally in the process with a few of its scholars, who are critical of what they term “modernist Islam.”

“Modernists are doing a disservice to Islam…. They validate things that are slack in Islamic practice,” Sheikh Nuh Keller, a teacher at the academy, said at the time. “We say to the modernists, nothing needs to be modernized.”

Although Webb has spent much of his time in Egypt in recent years, his U.S. following has grown. His website, where he posts writings on such topics as relationships, personal development and Islamic studies, gets more than 10,000 visitors a day, and sparks extended conversations.

In November, one reader asked if it was OK for Muslims to celebrate Thanksgiving. Webb’s response that the holiday was allowed upset some who thought that could lead to more questionable practices.

“Soon it will be [permissible] for me to take that ‘Santa Claus’ gig at the mall…….or it is already????” asked one commenter, Ahmed.

Others appeared to appreciate Webb’s effort to balance Muslim teachings with life in the West.

“We prefer to dismiss all culture as the antithesis to Islam,” wrote Tricia. “We lack … indigenous scholars who can give us a refined view of culture that distinguishes blameworthy from admirable cultural practices.”

Imams need to be culturally relevant, Webb says. When young men ask his advice on becoming religious leaders themselves, he tells them, “Go watch ‘Nick at Nite’ for a year.”

“He’s the most approachable imam in the U.S.,” says Nour Mattar, founder of the country’s first Muslim radio station. “And he’s not boring to listen to, that’s huge.”

Christened William by his parents, Webb grew up in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond. His father, David, is a professor of American history at a local college, and his mother, Mary Lynn, worked as a human resources director.

Webb attended a local Church of Christ twice a week throughout childhood. “In my family, on your birthday you got a Bible with your name on it,” he says. But even at a young age, he questioned some Christian beliefs, including the Trinity.

When he was a teenager, he and several friends became immersed in a burgeoning hip-hop scene. After the others joined a local street gang, Webb, then 17, did too.

But his participation in the Bloods Pomona 456 was relatively minor, he says. He didn’t sell drugs and mostly hung out with other members looking for fights; at 19, he spent a week in jail for stealing hubcaps. In one serious incident, Webb says, he was the driver in a drive-by shooting, although no one was hurt or charged with a crime.

His teenage time in the gang and as a DJ at house parties figure prominently in his speeches and public persona, as a way to gain traction with young Muslims. That appears to work, at least with some. After his sermon in Chicago, a boy of about 12 turned to his mother, asking, “Did you hear his speech? He said he’s from the ‘hood.”

Webb was introduced to Islam at 19. He was selling music tapes at a swap meet when he met a Muslim man selling incense and handing out Korans. Webb took one home and read it in secret for several months.

He converted during his freshman year at the University of Central Oklahoma and broke the news to his parents at Thanksgiving dinner that year — when his mother had cooked a turkey and a ham, the latter forbidden by Islam.

Mary Lynn Webb says she was not happy at the time about her son’s conversion, but is pleased today when she sees him preaching to eager audiences. “I’m proud of him. It’s amazing, really, when you think that he doesn’t have that background” in Islam, she says. “I think it may have saved him from something had he stayed in the rap world.”

In college, Webb met Asma Ayoub, a Muslim Malaysian immigrant who was studying anthropology. They married in 2000 and have two children. Webb calls his wife his “greatest teacher.”

As he worked toward his bachelor’s degree in education, he also studied intensively with a local Muslim scholar. He later became imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City before moving to Santa Clara in 2002 at the behest of the Muslim American Society there.

The group sponsored Webb’s formal Islamic education at Cairo’s Al-Azhar. He returned to the Bay Area full time last summer.

Since then, he has worked on an educational curriculum that will focus on the experiences of young Muslims in the West. He is contemplating turning it into his own institute.

Webb hosted a town hall on his website last year where Muslim leaders debated the issue of youth radicalization. He reposted it during recent congressional hearings by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) on militancy among U.S. Muslims.

But only rarely is Webb approached, he says — in person or by email — by anyone tempted by calls to violence from extremists. Young Muslims more often ask him about Darwinism or student loans.

When he does get such questions, he directs the youth to what he says their true jihad should be, including assimilating into American society and supporting their families.

“You see people who come to listen to him that wouldn’t listen to anyone else … people they were never able to reach out to,” says Imam Khalid Latif, Muslim chaplain at New York University.

On a hot day last year, Webb walked into Chicago’s Marquette Park, where dozens of artists were gathered for a Muslim music festival. He had been invited to speak and felt it was a good way to ease back into U.S. culture after his time away.

“I don’t think you’ll have a lot of clerics showing up here,” he said. “I know I’m going to see some things I’m not going to like.”

The festival was a departure from another conference he had just attended, where most women wore the hijab and the audience was divided into sections — for women, men and families. At this one, called “Takin’ It to the Streets,” women in shorts, tank tops and tattoos mingled with men in traditional robes. During the headlining performance by Grammy-nominated rapper Mos Def, Webb watched as couples danced and people near him smoked pot.

As he walked among the stages and booths, he was stopped often by admirers — at 6-feet-4, the blue-eyed imam stands out at Muslim events. Some asked for on-the-spot advice, as if he were a walking confessional: What should I do about this guy I broke up with? Where should I study Arabic? Is what I’m doing as a Muslim rapper OK?

Rami Nashashibi, executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, the event’s organizer, said not many scholars would accept the group’s invitation.

“It means a lot when people who represent scholarship and … authenticity within the Muslim community are present,” he said. “Even though they are not necessarily saying, ‘I condone wholesale what’s going on.’”

After Mos Def’s performance, Webb hugged him, saying, “Don’t let the community make you feel guilty about what you do.”

“Man, thanks,” said the rapper, a convert to Islam.

But for some, even this imam, despite his talk of gang life and near-encyclopedic knowledge of rappers, is too conservative. His invitation to the festival stemmed from a heated discussion on his website about the negative influences of Muslim hip-hop. Some artists initially had mixed feelings about his attendance.

And that is the challenge Webb faces, Nashashibi says. “He is trying to speak to multiple audiences in what is perhaps the most diverse subsection of the Muslim community across the world.”

After the panel, a man handed Webb a flier for a party after the festival.

“I can’t go to that; smoking weed, dancing with girls and wet T-shirt contests,” the imam said of the event, which promised none of that. He added with a grin, “I gotta draw the line somewhere.”

By Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/re...052,full.story

[vernotixas]

Assalamu Alaikum, SubhanAllah, Suhaib Webb!!, I am used to hearing Brother Suhaib not Imam Suhaib since the time he was studying in the University in Oaklahoma and was memorizing the Qur'aan. I wonder if he remembers Huzaifah Khan (my son who was 15 in 1996) who went from Canada to lead Taraweeh in Oklahoma and brother Suhaib was more or less like his big brother and guardian there. JazaakAllahu Khairan for helping Huzaifah out at that young age in an unknown town and being there for him and yes scaring him over the phone once, hehehe.....

MashaAllah, you have come a long way, may Allah accept all of your efforts and bless you in this World and the Hereafter and bless your wife and children too, ameen and may Allah give hidaayah to your parents and other family members, ameen.

I know that this post is off the Topic, but when I saw the Title I had to post here, I know Imam Suhaib doesn't know me, but I did talk to him quite a few times when my son was there and I found him to be a very respectful and a generous young man.

Salaams.

[TeLMgNva]

Imam teaches Islam with a distinct US style

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/re...052,full.story

May 27, 2011

Oklahoma-born convert Suhaib Webb, who sprinkles public addresses with pop culture references, has a growing following, especially among young Muslims. Traditionalists are leery.

At the pulpit of an inner-city Chicago mosque, the tall blond imam begins preaching in his customary fashion, touching on the Los Angeles Lakers victory the night before, his own gang involvement as a teenager, a TV soap opera and then the Day of Judgment.

“Yesterday we watched the best of seven…. Unfortunately we forget the big final; it’s like that show ‘One Life to Live,’ ” Imam Suhaib Webb says as sleepy boys and young men come to attention in the back rows. “There’s no overtime, bro.”

The sermon is typical of Webb, a charismatic Oklahoma-born convert to Islam with a growing following among American Muslims, especially the young. He sprinkles his public addresses with as many pop culture references as Koranic verses and sayings from the prophet. He says it helps him connect with his mainly U.S.-born flock.

“Are we going to reach them with an Arab message or with a Pakistani message? Or are we going to reach them with an American message?” asks Webb, 38, of Santa Clara. He is a resident scholar and educator with the Bay Area chapter of the nonprofit Muslim American Society, but reaches others in lectures and through his popular website, which he calls a “virtual mosque.”

Webb is at the forefront of a movement to create an American-style Islam, one that is true to the Koran and Islamic law but that reflects this country’s customs and culture. Known for his laid-back style, he has helped promote the idea that Islam is open to a modern American interpretation. At times, his approach seems almost sacrilegious.

Although the call to prayer at a mosque is always issued by a man, Webb once joked about it being made by one of his favorite female R&B artists: “If Mary J. Blige made the call to prayer, I’d go to the mosque; I’d be in the front row.”

At a Muslim conference in Long Beach last year, he suggested that mosques adopt a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gays. Afterward, he was accosted by a local imam who accused him of poisoning Muslim youth. “I told him, ‘Quite frankly, you’re going to be irrelevant in 10 years,’ ” Webb says.

He is fluent in Arabic, the language of the Koran, and studied for six years at one of the world’s leading Islamic institutes, Egypt’s Al-Azhar University. His time in the Middle East convinced him that not all religious practices there make sense for Muslims here.

As recently as a decade ago, U.S. congregations readily accepted immigrant imams who had arrived straight from Islamic universities, often with a traditional approach to preaching. Many spoke little English and were unable to communicate with non-Arab congregants or connect easily with youth.

But increasingly, U.S. Muslims expect their religious leaders to play a broader, more pastoral role, says Hossam Aljabri, executive director of the Muslim American Society, a national religious and education group. “Communities want imams who can come in and go beyond leading the prayer and reading Koran. They want them to fill the social role of counseling and dealing with neighbors.”

Religious scholars say the faith’s basic tenets would not change but much of the law that governs Islam may be interpreted differently in various communities.

Webb believes, for example, that barriers between men and women in U.S. mosques are not necessary, although they continue to be used in many traditional congregations. Unlike some imams, he does not object to music and believes Muslims here should be free to celebrate such secular holidays as Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving.

But given the ethnic diversity of U.S. Muslims, finding a consensus for a single American Islam could be difficult. Some favor major reforms that would alter the faith’s core beliefs. Others oppose any change.

In 2007, Webb stopped teaching at SunniPath, an online academy of traditional Islamic education, tussling verbally in the process with a few of its scholars, who are critical of what they term “modernist Islam.”

“Modernists are doing a disservice to Islam…. They validate things that are slack in Islamic practice,” Sheikh Nuh Keller, a teacher at the academy, said at the time. “We say to the modernists, nothing needs to be modernized.”

Although Webb has spent much of his time in Egypt in recent years, his U.S. following has grown. His website, where he posts writings on such topics as relationships, personal development and Islamic studies, gets more than 10,000 visitors a day, and sparks extended conversations.

In November, one reader asked if it was OK for Muslims to celebrate Thanksgiving. Webb’s response that the holiday was allowed upset some who thought that could lead to more questionable practices.

“Soon it will be [permissible] for me to take that ‘Santa Claus’ gig at the mall…….or it is already????” asked one commenter, Ahmed.

Others appeared to appreciate Webb’s effort to balance Muslim teachings with life in the West.

“We prefer to dismiss all culture as the antithesis to Islam,” wrote Tricia. “We lack … indigenous scholars who can give us a refined view of culture that distinguishes blameworthy from admirable cultural practices.”

Imams need to be culturally relevant, Webb says. When young men ask his advice on becoming religious leaders themselves, he tells them, “Go watch ‘Nick at Nite’ for a year.”

“He’s the most approachable imam in the U.S.,” says Nour Mattar, founder of the country’s first Muslim radio station. “And he’s not boring to listen to, that’s huge.”

Christened William by his parents, Webb grew up in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond. His father, David, is a professor of American history at a local college, and his mother, Mary Lynn, worked as a human resources director.

Webb attended a local Church of Christ twice a week throughout childhood. “In my family, on your birthday you got a Bible with your name on it,” he says. But even at a young age, he questioned some Christian beliefs, including the Trinity.

When he was a teenager, he and several friends became immersed in a burgeoning hip-hop scene. After the others joined a local street gang, Webb, then 17, did too.

But his participation in the Bloods Pomona 456 was relatively minor, he says. He didn’t sell drugs and mostly hung out with other members looking for fights; at 19, he spent a week in jail for stealing hubcaps. In one serious incident, Webb says, he was the driver in a drive-by shooting, although no one was hurt or charged with a crime.

His teenage time in the gang and as a DJ at house parties figure prominently in his speeches and public persona, as a way to gain traction with young Muslims. That appears to work, at least with some. After his sermon in Chicago, a boy of about 12 turned to his mother, asking, “Did you hear his speech? He said he’s from the ‘hood.”

Webb was introduced to Islam at 19. He was selling music tapes at a swap meet when he met a Muslim man selling incense and handing out Korans. Webb took one home and read it in secret for several months.

He converted during his freshman year at the University of Central Oklahoma and broke the news to his parents at Thanksgiving dinner that year — when his mother had cooked a turkey and a ham, the latter forbidden by Islam.

Mary Lynn Webb says she was not happy at the time about her son’s conversion, but is pleased today when she sees him preaching to eager audiences. “I’m proud of him. It’s amazing, really, when you think that he doesn’t have that background” in Islam, she says. “I think it may have saved him from something had he stayed in the rap world.”

In college, Webb met Asma Ayoub, a Muslim Malaysian immigrant who was studying anthropology. They married in 2000 and have two children. Webb calls his wife his “greatest teacher.”

As he worked toward his bachelor’s degree in education, he also studied intensively with a local Muslim scholar. He later became imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City before moving to Santa Clara in 2002 at the behest of the Muslim American Society there.

The group sponsored Webb’s formal Islamic education at Cairo’s Al-Azhar. He returned to the Bay Area full time last summer.

Since then, he has worked on an educational curriculum that will focus on the experiences of young Muslims in the West. He is contemplating turning it into his own institute.

Webb hosted a town hall on his website last year where Muslim leaders debated the issue of youth radicalization. He reposted it during recent congressional hearings by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) on militancy among U.S. Muslims.

But only rarely is Webb approached, he says — in person or by email — by anyone tempted by calls to violence from extremists. Young Muslims more often ask him about Darwinism or student loans.

When he does get such questions, he directs the youth to what he says their true jihad should be, including assimilating into American society and supporting their families.

“You see people who come to listen to him that wouldn’t listen to anyone else … people they were never able to reach out to,” says Imam Khalid Latif, Muslim chaplain at New York University.

On a hot day last year, Webb walked into Chicago’s Marquette Park, where dozens of artists were gathered for a Muslim music festival. He had been invited to speak and felt it was a good way to ease back into U.S. culture after his time away.

“I don’t think you’ll have a lot of clerics showing up here,” he said. “I know I’m going to see some things I’m not going to like.”

The festival was a departure from another conference he had just attended, where most women wore the hijab and the audience was divided into sections — for women, men and families. At this one, called “Takin’ It to the Streets,” women in shorts, tank tops and tattoos mingled with men in traditional robes. During the headlining performance by Grammy-nominated rapper Mos Def, Webb watched as couples danced and people near him smoked pot.

As he walked among the stages and booths, he was stopped often by admirers — at 6-feet-4, the blue-eyed imam stands out at Muslim events. Some asked for on-the-spot advice, as if he were a walking confessional: What should I do about this guy I broke up with? Where should I study Arabic? Is what I’m doing as a Muslim rapper OK?

Rami Nashashibi, executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, the event’s organizer, said not many scholars would accept the group’s invitation.

“It means a lot when people who represent scholarship and … authenticity within the Muslim community are present,” he said. “Even though they are not necessarily saying, ‘I condone wholesale what’s going on.’”

After Mos Def’s performance, Webb hugged him, saying, “Don’t let the community make you feel guilty about what you do.”

“Man, thanks,” said the rapper, a convert to Islam.

But for some, even this imam, despite his talk of gang life and near-encyclopedic knowledge of rappers, is too conservative. His invitation to the festival stemmed from a heated discussion on his website about the negative influences of Muslim hip-hop. Some artists initially had mixed feelings about his attendance.

And that is the challenge Webb faces, Nashashibi says. “He is trying to speak to multiple audiences in what is perhaps the most diverse subsection of the Muslim community across the world.”

After the panel, a man handed Webb a flier for a party after the festival.

“I can’t go to that; smoking weed, dancing with girls and wet T-shirt contests,” the imam said of the event, which promised none of that. He added with a grin, “I gotta draw the line somewhere.”

By Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/re...052,full.story

I think that piece is a twisting of his true stances, wa Allahu A`lam.