veiled4allah: what Islam says about how immigrants should act veiled4allah: what Islam says about how immigrants should actWe need to turn again to the founding story of Islam for guidance on the correct conduct of guests. An insulting guest will not be tolerated indefinitely even by the most religious of hosts; and our communal condemnations of Western culture have to be seen as at best discourteous. A measured, concerned critique of social dissolution, unacceptable beliefs, or destructive foreign policies will always be a required component of Muslim discourse, but wild denunciations of Great Satans or global Crusader Conspiracies are, for Muslims here, not only dangerous, but are also discourteous - scarcely a lesser sin. Imam al-Ghazali provides us with some precious lessons on the conduct of the courteous guest. He cites the saying that "part of humility before God is to be satisfied with an inferior sitting-place." The guest should greet those he is sitting beside, even if he should privately be uncomfortable with them. He should not dominate the conversation, or loudly criticise others at the feast, or allow himself to be untidy. Ghazali also tells us that he should not keep looking at the kitchen door, which would imply that he is primarily present for the food. It is hard to avoid thinking of this when one contemplates the loud demands of many Muslims, particularly in Europe, for financial payouts from the state. If we wish to be tolerated and respected, one of our first responsibilities is surely to seek employment, and avoid reliance on the charity of our hosts.
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Subject: Re: what Islam says about how immigrants should act
great article -- a simple plea for respect and personal responsibility, backed up eloquently by examples from the "founding story." what a shame that this does not seem to be the prevailing and embodied teaching given to muslim immigrants by their imams/leaders. the information i get (and it is limited -- basically from english language news) is that the opposite is happening: anti western , fundamentalist preaching which undermines the integration and success of immigrants, as well as alienates the second generation. basically everything i read about muslim immigrants in europe -- the suburbs, unemployment, crime, alienation , etc -- is pretty dismal. this situation, coupled with a high immigrant birth rate, spells trouble for the stability of these societies further down the road...are things not quite so dire? basically i am interested in some feedback regarding this assessment and some direction for further info...websites , etc.. thank you, nice site.