the Islamic Ummah? Perhaps we could start afresh by reframing our responsibilities to ourselves, and to others as well. Rather than asking one another about family name and bloodlines and religious sect, we might each determine to respect the individual before us no matter what background they have. And at a more mundane, prosaic level, what if speaking about the Muslim individual gives us a better insight into what is wrong with our education system and our job market and our health systems? And, of course, our political systems. It has become clearer to me over the years since 9/11 that even if I am incorrect in diagnosing the absence of the Muslim individual from our way of looking at the world, there is at least much merit in bringing the Muslim individual to the fore in terms of the way we look at the Muslim world. Perhaps it is time to really dig deep into our culture and our politics and think about why the Muslim individual might be the best starting point for a discussion that can then take us to questions of politics, the economy, safety and security, and global peace. It is when you and your generation start looking at one another and yourselves as individuals that you may begin to build better societies. It is when you look at each other as individuals that you will begin to memorialize the insane number of people killed in the Arab and Muslim world through civil wars and suicide bombings. It is when you and your generation memorialize, not the overall number, but the individual names and photos and life stories of each victim of our own follies that you will begin on the path to building a society that can move forward beyond the impotence and death and destruction that we are all too familiar with. This is not the feared deification of the dead, but rather a recognition of our responsibility to preserve their honor and dignity in life and in death. There is a powerful answer or response to these very heavy demands, which is that you and your generation can each be a True Muslim in your own way. Your essence is defined by the choices you make and the actions you take. This is where you need to take hold of your fate, to take hold of your lives, and to begin to craft yourselves step by step. Saif, I really believe that the idea of the Muslim individual is the simplest and most effective unit for the regeneration of the Muslim world. There is no need for us to build bombs and regiments and religious cults that promise a return to a glorious past in order to build a glorious future. Our personal, individual interests may not align with those of the patriarch, the family, the tribe, the community, or the state. But the expression of each Muslim’s individuality will lead to a rebalancing of our society in favor of more compassion, more understanding, and more empathy. If you begin to accept the individual diversity of your fellow Muslims, you are likely to do the same for those of other faiths as well. Neither as Muslims nor as Arabs are we the only people in the world. We can and should live in harmony with other people in a crowded world. As long as we do not recognize the individual within our societies, we will not be able to live with humanity outside of our faith. In ending these letters to you, Saif, I want you to promise yourself that you will always maintain your dignity, your individuality, and your independence of mind. If you can do this, you will be
likelier to see life for what it is and what it can be. You will be the decider of your own path. You should also insist on discerning the dignity, individuality, and independence of mind in others. By presuming others are similarly endowed, you will create the space for them to rise to the challenge, to express themselves, and to live up to our highest standards. Now go and write your own letters.
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Begin Reading Table of Contents Abo
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To my mother for all her patience,
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PREFACE I have two sons. My older s
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My work in diplomacy came later, an
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playground gossip about the Jews or
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THE GRAY AREA Habeebie Saif, You ar
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debates that are taking place in Eu
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have your favorites. My favorite is
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They have stories to tell you about
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LANDSCAPES OF ISLAM Saif, You know
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Yemen, you will find an intellectua
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lot of power and influence at stake
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egion—are dry and relatively hars
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FRAGMENTS OF MEMORY Habeebie Saif,
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impossible to know what my father d
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THE LIMITS OF WHAT WE CAN KNOW Dear
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MY FIRST DARK DAYS Saif, The summer
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He took out a pen and paper and beg
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clearly that Allah may intend for u
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and therefore, there is some kind o
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spread of the Islamic values of res
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Perhaps an extended statement like
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most important ways are going to be
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our lives. I believe we owe that to
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Orthodox Islam brought the spiritua
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So there are leading Muslim figures
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home you were discriminated against
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the earth at the end of our lives
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accordance with the Quran and the P
- Page 61 and 62: would wonder why I could hardly mem
- Page 63 and 64: slightly more at ease in a world of
- Page 65 and 66: VIOLENCE Habeebie Saif, As much as
- Page 67 and 68: they commit. I want you to see how
- Page 69 and 70: ROLE MODELS Habeebie Saif, You will
- Page 71 and 72: are always called to return by thos
- Page 73 and 74: Everyone seemed to have had a cousi
- Page 75 and 76: Qutb was an extremely fluent and pe
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- Page 79 and 80: Of course we instinctively want to
- Page 81 and 82: REVELATION AND REASON Habeebie Saif
- Page 83 and 84: that for a thousand years we have t
- Page 85 and 86: SERMONS AND WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE M
- Page 87 and 88: y its practitioners. Do you underst
- Page 89 and 90: differs from the Sunni method. The
- Page 91 and 92: opened up the world of knowledge an
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- Page 95 and 96: learning from their stories. In his
- Page 97 and 98: Remember that I realized that what
- Page 99 and 100: MEN AND WOMEN Habeebie Saif, You ha
- Page 101 and 102: asic respect that any human being d
- Page 103 and 104: FREE SPEECH AND THE SILENCE WITHIN
- Page 105 and 106: a dream come true. Some people cher
- Page 107 and 108: A CLOSER LOOK AT A MORAL CONUNDRUM
- Page 109 and 110: When he saw them again, he inquired
- Page 111: choices that have been made for us
- Page 115 and 116: ABOUT THE AUTHOR Omar Saif Ghobash
- Page 117 and 118: Contents Title Page Copyright Notic
- Page 119: LETTERS TO A YOUNG MUSLIM. Copyrigh
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