Making It Grow

Many Muslims want to see mosques provide more social services, not just more social events. This Saturday, July 17th, from 10 to 3 pm, ICNA will sponsor a family health fair, with vans coming from Jamaica Hospital to provide free testing and screening in a variety of illnesses. Other medical services will be provided in the building. This event is for the whole family, services will be provided for men and women separately and confidentially, and there will be activities and refreshments for the children.

All of this can be done with little or no money. But mosques should also raise money to have trained staff. If we do not, our people will go elsewhere for services. It is surely not enough for us to say, as I read in this newspaper recently, that there are no illnesses in the world other than toxemia. For thousands of years, philosophers have said that illnesses derive from lack of harmony in the organism, but that truth has not stopped medical science from advancing technically. While there are distortions in knowledge and inequalities in delivery, with 40 per cent of US residents without medical coverage, we cannot agree with the columnist that there are no cures or improvements in treatment. And if our children are sick, we will seek the best care we can find.

When we neglect our own health, by not taking proactive and preventative care, we may think we demonstrate faith in God. However, we may just be demonstrating our own fatalism, laziness, and wish to avoid bad news. We must leave these bad habits behind to be responsible and healthy Muslims. A healthier mind in a healthier body should open our faculties of perception, encourage honest inquiry, and awaken the conscience, which is a wonderful but neglected gift to humanity. Let us be creators, not destroyers. This commitment to healing is an answer to this troubled world that sees Muslims also as trouble.

There are many forms of disease that need healing. For example, violence against women is a major problem in the US. Even within the military community, that should nurture solidarity and mutual support, 170 service women may have been raped by their fellow soldiers during the current conflict. Many of these women complain that their cases are not being investigated. Perhaps in place of providing mutual support, the military culture tends to hide crimes and present a united front to the world, at the expense of justice to individuals. But are we Muslim Americans similar in this regard?

The rate of domestic violence is also high in the USA, and our Muslim American community is not immune to this problem. Indeed, cultural conflicts, often rooted in patriarchal notions but leading to abuses of power, result in a high rate of domestic violence. When this is reported to him, will we find our imam trained to deal with this properly, with sensitivity? Unfortunately, we have heard of many cases of irresponsible, even illegal advice. However, free trainings do exist. ICNA staff has attended them and can attest to their usefulness. Knowledge can be adapted to Islamic norms, but western protocols should also be taken seriously. We hope you will encourage your mosque staff to attend.

As we face a series of alerts and other political scare tactics, with the government even planning to postpone elections in case of a terror attack, we cannot help but wonder how prepared our Muslim community is if another attack or any major disaster should take place. If you represent a nonprofit, community based group, such as a mosque, you can register to attend a free training to help you prepare for emergencies. The Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York will offer trainings on July 19 (Monday) 3-5pm at Vera Institute for Justice (233 Broadway); July 20 (Tuesday) 9:30-11:30 am at Staten Island AIDS Task Force (56 Bay St); July 27 (Tuesday) 3-5pm at Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (161-04 Jamaica Ave); July 28 (Wednesday) 3-5pm at the Interchurch Center (475 Riverside Drive) and July 29 3:30-5:30pm at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (58 Seventh Ave). If you can commit to attend, you may register by calling NPCC at 212-502-4191 extension 35.

After his voyage through one fantastic disaster after another, Voltaire’s young hero Candide famously turned from the rationalizing of his Philosopher guide Pangloss, to join his betrothed Cunegunde on making his own garden grow. Is this a lesson for us Muslims? Though they may work in accordance with nature, with the rhythms of season, sun and rain, gardeners and farmers cannot be fatalistic. They cannot avoid responsibility. Retiring to ones own work does not have to mean isolation, but it does reflect the giving up of illusions. But how do you define your garden? Is it only your family, or your soul? Should it not also include your community?

In the latest and very good film, another very human hero, Spiderman, demonstrates a reluctant but very deep commitment to community service. He may not garden, but through his service connects his fellow citizens in a complex web of human relationships. Fighting with illusion, and learning from error and self-sacrifice, he strives to make the city a safer place. He feels the call, just as we Muslims must hear the call, to serve Justice, to help the most vulnerable, the poor, the needy. What have you done today to help humanity? Do you really think your smile is enough?