A Canadian's Eid in New York

By Raheel Raza

Eid – a word that means joy – it’s the ‘feast after the fast’, a major celebration for Muslims after fasting in the month of Ramadan. Deciding to spend Eid in New York this past weekend, turned out to be a ‘joyous’ decision on my part, and while tradition has it that Eid last for three days, I celebrated in a variety of ways for the whole week.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I went to NYC ostensibly to attend the launch of the Progressive Muslims Union of North America and I got there two days early. My hosts in Manhattan are part of a group that had decided that through science and technology, Ramadan and Eid can be predicted in advance so that Muslims can begin and end together. The decision was for a Sunday Eid and they invited me to join them at the Eid prayer and celebration.

We drove to the Dorral Arrowood Convention Center in Rye Brook New York where the auspicious event was arranged by ASMA (American Sufi Muslims Association). 300 men, women and children prayed together in the great Ballroom – yes, side by side with no partition. These people have broken away from the traditional mosque culture (where usually women are relegated to another area) because they want to offer prayers with their families, friends and loved ones, and they took another bold step by inviting an Imam of their choice. And what a brilliant choice!

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a dynamic man with a vision as large as his heart. Author of a new book titled “What’s Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims in the West”, he was educated in England and Malaysia and has a degree in Physics from Columbia University. Founder and CEO of the American Sufi Muslim Association (ASMA Society) and Imam of Masjid Al-Farah, a mosque in New York City, twelve blocks from Ground Zero, he has dedicated his life to building bridges between Muslims and the West and is a leader in the effort to build religious pluralism and integrate Islam into modern American society.
Regarded as one of the world’s most eloquent and erudite Muslim leaders, Imam Feisal is a charismatic public speaker and has appeared in national and international media such as CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS and BBC. He has been quoted in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Jerusalem Post, and Associated Press.

The Imam’s sermon could have been easily accepted in a church, synagogue or temple as he spoke about two kinds of religion – good and bad. He talked about Islam with a small “i” and said it means submission to God by anyone: Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist. This must have sat well with John Bennet, a lone Buddhist in the congregation who heads Imam’s Feisal’s Cordoba Initiative. Imam Feisal is the architect of the Cordoba Initiative, an inter-religious blueprint for improving relations between America and the Muslim world and pursuing Middle East peace. As a tireless advocate for an ecumenical solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he has impressed his vision on US lawmakers and administration officials, most recently as member of the National Inter-religious Initiative For Peace in Washington DC.

Young people surrounded the Imam after the sermon but the surprise did not end there for me. Following the prayer, there was brunch and live music – some enthusiastic families also indulged in a bit of ‘bhangra’. I was also astounded to see the Imam Feisal’s wife does not cover her head. Daisy Khan leads women in prayer at their mosque and is involved in interfaith dialogue at an international level. Upon my questioning, she said “I’ve done my own ijtihad (research and reasoning) and found that modest dress is what is required so I believe this is fine for me.” Wow, I felt I had found the ‘progressive’ Muslims.

However, next morning (Monday 15 Nov) was the official launch of The Progressive Muslims Union of North America (PMU). The Union Theological Seminary of Columbia University hosted this event in The Bonhoeffer Room (at one time called The Prophet’s Chamber). I was the first one to get there in my enthusiasm to beat New York rush hour traffic. PMU is the result of months of work and planning by a diverse group of American Muslims including well known academics like Omid Safi, Professor of Islamic Studies at Colgate University, professionals like Hussein Ibish, Communications Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee & Sarah Eltantawi, a Consultant to American organizations plus community activists like Ahmed Nassef, editor-in-Chief of MuslimWakeup, the worlds most popular Muslim online magazine.

Sarah who is communications Director with PMU opened the media event by saying “PMU seeks to expand the range of spiritual, social, intellectual, and political choices for North American Muslims, and to challenge the narrow set of "normative" Muslim ideas and behaviour expected of all of us both within and beyond the North American Muslim community”. When asked if they are a ‘break-away group’, she responded that the aim is not to create some sort of "new Islam" or "American Islam". “Rather, we seek to join the work already underway by so many others to bolster the sense of pluralism, commitment to justice, and diversity within Islamic discourses which has been undermined by the spread of literalist and dogmatic interpretations of the faith in recent decades.”

Ahmed Nassef spoke about the four different areas that PMU will work in: Arts, Reform and Education, Spiritual Awareness and Politics. He said that PMU is like a “Big Tent” under which they hope other existing organizations will gather to defend civil rights at home, human rights abroad and celebrate an enlightened vision of Islam.

Joining the PMU Board is Torontonian Tarek Fatah, founder of Muslim Canadian Congress who pointed out that Canada has made great contributions to the progressive religions agenda. He started off by stating “Canada has more to offer the US than just cheap drugs for seniors. Canadians don’t just pay lip service but actually practice a separation of religion and state”. MCC will pursue the Canadian component of the progressive Muslim agenda here at home, not without controversy I may add. Tarek had hardly come home, when he was slapped with the label being a “progressive extremist” (whatever that means).
During my interaction with other American Muslims over Eid celebrations, I heard some criticism of PMU. One was that they might compromise basic Islamic principles and “pander to western popular ideology”. Others referred to this group as “being too liberal” because they feel the PMU mandate is too wide. The PMU Board seemed well aware of the challenges ahead of them and said that expect the community will go through denial, anger and then hopefully acceptance when they see that there is a need for reform from within.
A New York Times Reporter who had come to cover the event, said that the kind of message being given by PMU through their mission statement is a discourse that is not heard in the mainstream and felt it’s important to get the message out.

I found the PMU Board very sincere in their efforts to try and find a balance. I fully support their mandate for exorcizing the excesses of many within the community who veer towards polemics and hate propaganda, which has no place in our faith. I applaud their decision to avoid extremism of every kind and to be inclusive, respecting the diversity of our faith, culture and traditions.

Upon returning to Toronto, I encountered my own pluralistic experience, which is worth sharing. I am teaching an 8-part series on “Understanding Islam” to a group called Learning Unlimited. 200 educated Canadians (mostly Christian and some secular) Yesterday, the presentation was on Spirituality in Islam and sharing the stage with me was a Sufi who is a holocaust survivor from Hungary. Yet, this man of Jewish heritage led the entire audience in dhikr of Allah and His Prophet, explained the concept of Sufism better than I could ever have done, read poetry from Rumi and Ibn-Arabi, submitted himself to questions till he was exhausted. It was a sight to see this crowd, some who had never said the word “Allah” in their lives, experiencing chanting the kalma, not once but repeatedly. Some people asked for the written words.

So, my faith reinforced, my energies recharged and my spirit rejuvenated over Ramadan and Eid, I wish to share my lesson with you: “If it’s not moderate, progressive, enlightening, delightful or tolerant – it’s not Islam.”

Raheel Raza is a Toronto-based media consultant, writer, public speaker, and interfaith advocate.