It is a powerful video message for Muslims everywhere. Sameer Ahmed Siddiqui seems to be paving the way for Indian Muslims to change their future.
Sameer mentioned digitizing history; even if transitory rulers wipe out the records, the narrative will remain in the digital world.
A few years ago, I talked to a wealthy Indian Muslim about building a Muslim History Museum; he was interested in the return on his investment and not preserving the Muslim heritage. I guess he will die with a lot of money left behind to be squandered by his offspring. I appeal to my rich friends to do something lasting and enjoy its results while they are alive. It is real happiness when you see the fruition of your investment in creating a better world.
Sameer urged everyone to study IAS, and he and his group are training the seekers. Indeed, that’s the best civil society education syllabus. It has enriched us and empowered us with the knowledge of our country. I can vouch for it; both Abusaleh Shariff and I studied for IAS through self-study in the Bangalore University Library and the Bangalore Central Library and passed but failed in the viva-voce.
Sameer is correct; as a community, Muslims do not have a ten-year, twenty-year, or hundred-year plan. We need to write one for India. Thanks to Allah for getting me to write one for America. The book is American Muslim Agenda; it’s a plan, a road map for American Muslims to chart their course. The book is available on Amazon.
One of my friends, Javed Iqbal, wrote one on India, but that was making one too much of a Muslim and not a civil society citizen. We need a balance between Deen and Duniya.
One of the flaws we have as a community is the focus on Aakhira. Allah has given the Hazira to live it up to the fullest and not skip it. “So which of your Lord’s blessings will you deny?” Aakhira will come anyways if we live our Hazira soundly – The most significant responsibility we (all humanity) have is sustaining harmony among his creation.
What can empower you? Take a leadership course offered by the chamber of commerce in your city and see what it does to you. It grounds you in America and India. If you are in India, it connects you with fellow Indians. We can build secure societies by being a part of it and not apart. Razi Radiuddin wrote, “But even before Hindutva’s rise, in so-called good days” of secular India, most people of both communities did not have much affinities with each other, except a minuscule leftist liberal of both communities.” Yes, we need to build affinities, when we are paving the road map for Muslims.
You will die one day, and all of us will. Let’s not hoard our funds like a snake, but put them to good use and watch the benefits of it to fellow humans.
Please watch the video. It gives us hope that efforts are on an accelerated pace for Muslim empowerment. The last 3 minutes of the video must go viral.
Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW8w6HNEDzo
Thank you
Mike Ghouse