Summary: How can you explain the existence of god logically rather than spiritually to someone who doesn’t believe in god? May Allah preserve you! Sidra - UK I would like to ask Imam Zaid. The topic is forgiveness. Allah wants us to be forgiving. HE says that if you are not forgiving to others the HE will not be forgiving to you, I think that is pretty much how it goes. How do we know if we've sincerely forgiven someone? Does forgiveness mean that you try to put what someone has done to you in the past even though the same type of things keep on happening? How do you forgive someone when it seems that things are never resolved? Please explain what forgiveness means. Sister Shannon Hayward, CA How do we deal with a situation where one is living in an ethnic Muslim society that is dominated by its cultural background and norms that are not always compatible with Islamic teachings? Where do we draw the line between Islam and culture and to what extent may one seek dispensations in this regard? (I'm sorry if my question isn't entirely coherent. Please give my salaams to Imam Zaid if possible) Haris Zuberi, Karachi, Pakistan How far would you agree with the statement that "entrenched ulama and accreted cultural practices are a serious block on establishing functioning Muslim communities and spreading the message of Islam? The question is prompted by my reading this: "As the Shari'a is a blueprint for the harmonious cultivation of such values and this blueprint has not been followed correctly, Ibn Rushd's attack is directed at those responsible for conveying the injuctions of the Law to the people. Political reform, he maintains, is only possible by means of a reduction in the authority of those who have obstucted the correct implementaion of the law, namely the jurists and the mutakallimun" In the intoduction of "Ibn Rushd: Mujtahid of Europe". Ma`a salaama Kareem Abbas How would you encourage young muslims from around the world to participate and realise the importance of local community work and working with the 'under privelaged' (although I dislike that term) Zeshan - UK Does the imam have any suggestions for how native born American Muslims, whether converts or their adult children or the American born children of immigrants, can bridge the cultural gap between us and the converts who tend to be in charge of our masajid, the organizations, etc -- particularly the middle aged ones. B/C there is a lot of alienation and resentment -- esp. for converts, who are sometimes not considered as good or "real" Muslims, etc. (And maybe it goes both ways, I don't know). As someone who is working in da'wah, there seems to be a disconnect and a misunderstanding of American culture and ways of thinking in Islamic da'wah books, among some da'wah workers, and I know a lot of people want to try and improve that and work on that. The Oakland liquor stores incident was sort of illustrative of this disconnect, I think. So what can we do to work on this? Jazakh Allah khair. Umm Zaid As a black convert to Islam, one of the things that I've always had difficultly accepting, is the institution of Slavery in the religion. I understand that slavery in Islam is different from the transatlantic slave trade which resulted in my forefathers being sold and enslaved with the result that they ended up in the West Indies. How is it that Islam banned alcohol, interest, prostitution, fornication and other societal ills, but only 'encouraged' the freeing of slaves? How is it that a nafs is allowed to OWN another nafs? Incidentally I'm reading "Islams Black Slaves" by Ronald Segal at the moment - are you familiar with the book? jai byron Manchester, England
