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is where I believe you will be able to serve this world and the next—in being a thinking, ethically directed young Muslim. There is much room to grow as individuals, and in doing so we can discover truths about our own inclinations. You should know that for every action, there is a reaction. Your perseverance, kindness, or humor creates a ripple effect in our culture just as much as your indifference, violence, or negativity. But in order to understand the Muslim individual, it is necessary to begin with an understanding of the Muslim landscape. It covers the Arab world and much of Southeast Asia as well as Central Asia and North Africa.
LANDSCAPES OF ISLAM Saif, You know that Islam is the religion of the Muslims, as revealed to us just over fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet Mohammed. The Prophet lived in Mecca but had to flee to the nearby city of Medina with the early followers of Islam because the people of Mecca rejected the message of Allah. Soon, though, the followers of Islam grew in number and power and took over command of Mecca. These two cities are now the holy cities of Islam and are located in Saudi Arabia. You might not yet know about the different schools of Islam. You belong to the largest group within Islam, called the Sunnah or Sunnis. The Sunnis came into existence sometime after the passing of the Prophet when disagreements arose as to who should take up his position as head of the Muslim community. There were those who believed that the next leader should be a member of the family of the Prophet, and there were those who believed that the best man should be the next leader. In the end, the next leader was someone that many Muslims regarded as the most able to lead, and the fourth leader after the Prophet was a member of his direct family. Those who supported the family are now called the Shia, and those who supported the best man to lead are called the Sunnis. When I say best man, the group around the Prophet—known as the Sahabah—were all men with the best moral qualities. Each had his own particular personality. I do not want to go into the detail of the disputes that have pursued the two groups through the centuries, because the Sunni-Shia divide is one of great stress for the Muslims of the world. While you will hear loud voices on both sides denouncing the other, you should know that there is a vast number of Muslims on both sides of this divide who see the differences as minor and the joint faith as central. Given that there are said to be three hundred million followers of the Shia sect, and fourteen hundred million Sunnis, we must look forward to the day when Sunni and Shia clerics can put their differences behind them and thus remove the main obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Beyond these broad groupings, you will be able to find all kinds of approaches within Islamic life. You will find Muslims like the Salafis, who copy every action ever recorded about the Prophet. Their worldview is that the only way to be a Muslim is by copying, or emulating, the Prophet. There is a powerful logic behind this. The Prophet was the Messenger of Allah. Who would know better than the Prophet what being a Muslim means? How do they know what he did in such detail? Through the
Page 3 and 4: Begin Reading Table of Contents Abo
Page 5 and 6: To my mother for all her patience,
Page 7 and 8: PREFACE I have two sons. My older s
Page 9 and 10: My work in diplomacy came later, an
Page 11 and 12: playground gossip about the Jews or
Page 13 and 14: THE GRAY AREA Habeebie Saif, You ar
Page 15 and 16: debates that are taking place in Eu
Page 17 and 18: have your favorites. My favorite is
Page 19: They have stories to tell you about
Page 23 and 24: Yemen, you will find an intellectua
Page 25 and 26: lot of power and influence at stake
Page 27 and 28: egion—are dry and relatively hars
Page 29 and 30: FRAGMENTS OF MEMORY Habeebie Saif,
Page 31 and 32: impossible to know what my father d
Page 33 and 34: THE LIMITS OF WHAT WE CAN KNOW Dear
Page 35 and 36: MY FIRST DARK DAYS Saif, The summer
Page 37 and 38: He took out a pen and paper and beg
Page 39 and 40: clearly that Allah may intend for u
Page 41 and 42: and therefore, there is some kind o
Page 43 and 44: spread of the Islamic values of res
Page 45 and 46: Perhaps an extended statement like
Page 47 and 48: most important ways are going to be
Page 49 and 50: our lives. I believe we owe that to
Page 51 and 52: Orthodox Islam brought the spiritua
Page 53 and 54: So there are leading Muslim figures
Page 55 and 56: home you were discriminated against
Page 57 and 58: the earth at the end of our lives
Page 59 and 60: 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
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Everyone seemed to have had a cousi
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Qutb was an extremely fluent and pe
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eject it, as is possible in Western
Page 79 and 80:
Of course we instinctively want to
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REVELATION AND REASON Habeebie Saif
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that for a thousand years we have t
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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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knowledge from other cultures—cul
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learning from their stories. In his
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Remember that I realized that what
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MEN AND WOMEN Habeebie Saif, You ha
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asic respect that any human being d
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FREE SPEECH AND THE SILENCE WITHIN
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a dream come true. Some people cher
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A CLOSER LOOK AT A MORAL CONUNDRUM
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When he saw them again, he inquired
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choices that have been made for us
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likelier to see life for what it is
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Omar Saif Ghobash
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Contents Title Page Copyright Notic
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LETTERS TO A YOUNG MUSLIM. Copyrigh
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