Sects and Cults in the Muslim World – Intro to Class

So you've already mentioned this a limit limited seating

Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem hunter ally who won't be allowed to mean on Sunday when we sell Amara Salle overlay will occur in Vienna Mohammedan. Allah He was happy about Aqua Salah. Our prayers are due to Allah, Lord of the world's peace and blessings be constantly showered upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, the master of the first and the last, and upon his family, his companions and all those who call to his way, and establish his son, to the Day of Judgment. As to what follows my beloved brothers and sisters, to our viewers to our friends. Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

Alhamdulillah we again, thank Allah subhanho wa Taala for the gift of life, and the ability to reflect upon His mercy on humanity.

And that ability is coming here with the classes that we are having the interactions that we are having, online and in person.

And I want to say at the outset of this class, that it is not just virtual people because of the COVID-19 we're in the habit of just going online. But this is virtual and life. So we are recording here live and there's there's a limited amount of seats that will be available live for you.

The only drawback with being live in the institute itself is that at the time of the salaat personally salado mobile app is coming in. right in the beginning of our class we will take a break a short break and perform much better but then we will return to complete the class.

This year we are looking at the issue of the sex and cults in the Muslim world. And

we want to look at the history and also challenges that Muslims are facing from the different schismatic groups, the different names, the different concepts of Islam that have spread around the planet and

In this chaotic world today, I want to begin again as I do in many of my classes in the past few years by looking at certain Tilak verses two to three, where Allah Subhana tells us are already below him in a shaytani regime, or may attack in La Jolla Jolla. humara Maharaja zoku Minh hi Tula Yasin Romania to waka La la la Hua hospital. In Allah ballyhoo hamari kajiado, long liquidly Shay in cada

Allah has revealed and whoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he is knows not. And whoever depends on Allah, that Allah will be sufficient for him. Surely Allah will reach his purpose, and he has made a limit for all things.

This verse is so relevant to us today in this ever changing world that we are living in. with major upheavals happening, whether it be in the climate, whether it be in the politics, the economics, we are seeing, sometimes within the space of a week or two, a complete reversal, and how people are looking at each other and looking at the world. And this is where it's so important for believers for Muslims, who hold on to the last revelation to realize

that the ultimate decider of affairs is Allah azza wa jal

and also to recognize that if we are conscious of Allah, if we keep our duty to Allah subhanaw taala, then Allah will make a way out for us in this life or the hereafter.

And if we depend upon Allah to work on Allah, then Allah will be sufficient.

And in his world today, with so things, so many things happening again, look at the words of Allah, in Allah, how ballyhoo Omri, Allah will reach his purpose,

he will reach his purpose, and he has made a limit for all things. So there is a limit to oppression,

there is a limit to genocide,

there's a limit to climate change, there's a limit for all things prescribed by Allah subhanaw taala. And that is critical for the believers to keep that in mind as a source of hope, and as a source of strength that we can hold on to as we move chaotically through the world that we are living in.

And so we want to look at

the different groups in Islam, the divisions

and in order to be able to understand this properly in the context, because remember, contextualizing is so important for us to understand our faith. And so in the present context, there are so many challenges in front of us. But there are two challenges, which are especially relevant not only to the world and the Muslims, but relevant to the course that we are embarking on, which will help us to develop a different understanding of the world that we live in.

The first is the threat of climate change. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made a startling report in August, just this year.

And they came to the conclusion that we are facing Code Red for humanity. Code Red, that means it's total emergency. We've reached the bottom line, the red line.

After that, we're on the precipice. We're about to fall over a Clift and they recognize the fact that

last year was the hottest year on record. 2021 is already moving in to be the hottest year ever recorded. In Canada, just now last month, in August, this July and August. These are the hottest ever recorded

and so heat waves are spreading around the earth.

And that's a type of fire. You can see how tests come through fire also through water and that is through rainfall massive

rain fall,

historic amounts of water coming down, and floods that are resulting from the rain, the rains, they're not just monsoon rains. But this is rain that is happening all over the planet.

And so the water is causing massive destruction.

While this is going on, people, because of the misuse of technology, and greed, have actually put certain parts of the planet into a famine.

And this famine is literally where there are hundreds and 1000s if not millions, of people who are at the brink of starvation.

Surprisingly enough,

when the heat sets in,

when the destruction sets in, on the earth, certain creatures from the planet are unleashed. And as in the time of musala, a Salaam with Pharaoh. Remember, this is like over 3000 years ago, locusts, locusts, unleased on East Africa and other parts of the world. And the locusts is a creature that comes in and eats the crops. So it literally destroys your food economy. This is a great test. Also, viruses, we know the code COVID-19 what it has done in the world. This is something which many believe we've never faced it in the way we're facing it now because of transportation. So yes, they were worse viruses and diseases, but they couldn't travel to every single corner of the earth

because of man's separation, we were not able to necessarily travel and cross international borders. So the IPCC is un body made a very important statement. And I want to reflect on the statement, because this is not Muslims who are talking about. And they said, We need transformational change, operating on processes and behaviors at all levels, individual communities, businesses, institutions, and governance, we must redefine our way of life and consumption. This is a very relevant statement to Muslims, because we're talking about change. And remember, in the law, Halla, you know, maybe Coleman, had Thai yoga, you know, maybe and foresee him, Allah said it in the court,

and he will not change the condition of a people until they change that which is in themself. So this change must come about.

And now secular people who have no belief in God, who don't care about revelation, are literally saying that as a human race, we need to transform ourselves, the processes by which we function, our behavior, or FLAC, our interpersonal relationships. And this is on all levels. And it's interesting that they begin with the individual. So we're not just talking politics, they're saying individual behaviors, and communities, businesses, institutions, and governments. That's a sweeping statement. And one which is so important to me this part of the the IPCC statement, they said, We must define our way of life. And the way of life we know is the beam. Because beam is not just a religion, it's

your way of life. And so this secular, governmental agency International, having looked at the condition of humanity, comes to the conclusion that we need a new way of life.

That is where Islam is the solution. But I want to compare this statement, which is coming out in the let's look at Ralph Waldo Emerson. And he was a 19th century American poet and philosopher. And, you know, he affected a lot of people in North America and other parts of the West. And he said, Let men Stand erect, go alone, go alone, and possess the universe. So this is individualism. He doesn't care about even other people, especially doesn't care about the environment, about other creatures, that man or humanity co alone.

possess to control see what the

IPCC is saying, we need to change our concept of consumption. How are we consuming things Emerson is saying possess everything.

But the natural way is to flow with the creation of Allah subhanaw taala. And so major changes are happening in people's minds because of the

climate disaster that is happening around us. And this disaster as many disasters give us, a people a type of

strange response. And many people in the face of disaster, they become apocalyptic. They start thinking about the apocalypse, the end of time,

the prophets, they start thinking about the Day of Judgment, the end of the world. And this is coming out in the literature, in the movies, it's coming out, especially for the younger generation. And so this apocalyptic change, change and concept, it's affecting us as well as Muslims. And so we need at this point in time, to be able to know what is happening around us.

And so the threat of climate change, and again, for those who may not have been in other classes of us, and as a type of review, review, remember that Allah subhanaw taala, said, insert or ruin, verse 3031, the huddled facade filled very well by hobbema Castle, but I didn't ask you the caramba, let the amilo la la homeodomain. Corruption has appeared on the land and the sea, because of what humanity has earned, we will make them taste something of what they have done, in order that they may or may return to the straight path, this facade, this corruption, it has appeared, happened in the past. But now, the level of facade and corruption is unprecedented. The amount of pollution, the

destruction of wildlife,

the destruction of our sea, our water, our air, everything that a loss of Allah has made around us, in order to sustain us, it's being destroyed by our corruption, but wonder that the richest of the people are now looking at flying out to outer space. They want to invest in space stations, and other planets, because they can see that the whole planet is being destroyed. So this is the first area to reflect upon. The second area is the universality of Islamophobia.

And this is extremely relevant to us, as Muslims, because Islamophobia that we know has existed for a long time. It has now taken especially this summer 2021, it has gone to a new stage. This picture tells it all.

This is a picture of the Taliban leadership, taking control of the palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.

And it's very interesting if you could see that picture, and maybe you could review it in some of the magazines. The picture and back of them is a picture of a Sufi mystic, named cyber Shah. And he is crowning

Ahmed, Shah duranie,

who and again, this is back in the 18th century, but the Sufi saint, the Wali, he is crowning Ahmed Shah Rani

as the leader.

And so that's the spiritual crowning the military. And this for Afghan people is very sacred because this is meant what many people believe, is the formation of the modern Afghan state. We know that Afghanistan is made up of many different groups. There are different tribes there are different nations. It used to be called called Hassan. But now in the form that it is in.

This is really the beginning.

And this is the Taliban leadership. This is an iconic picture.

Go back and look at this many people there's different reactions to this. Many people especially in the West, when they saw this picture, they were terrified. How can these people take over after 20 years we thought we had destroyed that

a ragtag group

of people how could they take over

the leadership and the palace in Kabul?

We're going to take a break for a moment. This is now not a matter of coming in and so we'll take a break for a few moments and inshallah within 10 minutes or so. We'll be back. We'll be talking

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now as we continue in our introduction, our orientation to our course on sex and

groups and cults in the Muslim world.

We want to set the stage, the census type of

context for why we are studying this, the relevance of it. And the importance of this are in facing challenges as Muslims. The first we saw of the many challenges that are facing us what Islam was was the climate change.

And that, of course, needs no introduction. And we've gone through some of this already.

Second point, however, is Islamophobia. And the picture

that I'm putting online for you, is the iconic picture. And if you can't see this one, you can go to the pictures all over the media of the Taliban movement taking over the Royal Palace in Cabo. This is an iconic picture. And you'll see many times at the great artists, they will set a base of a picture and around it, there's many different things are the many different issues that are happening. And if you look at the face of the Warriors, if you look at the taller bar on the left side of the picture, his head is bowed.

They're all wearing black turbans.

They're in this palace. And if you see the whole picture and the whole video, they're like, stunned by the beauty of the palace. These are people who live on the ground, who live in tents live in mountain caves, who have suddenly inherited the leavings of one of the richest countries on Earth. Of course, the leavings of the Western countries, and especially the United States, that is the most powerful nation, physically that probably has ever left. But yet this ragtag group is now in control.

People react in different ways

for Muslims,

this different reactions, some Muslims react in a euphoric way, because we've been knocked down so many times. And finally, there's victory. There are Muslims who claim to be on the Sunday they have turbans and they have beards and they they claim to be on the Sunnah, and they've literally inherited this. And the picture in the back for Afghan people and people have caught a son is an 18th century picture of the Sufi mystic what

sabia shot, and he is crowning a kneeling political leader. This is Ahmed Shah duranie, who was a powerful Afghan leader, who is considered to be the founder of the modern day Afghan state. So this is like a sacred, spiritual thing. for them. All of this is contained in this picture.

Other Muslims react in a different way, because the Taliban in their previous dispensation were very extreme. Yes, they were coming out of the terrible destruction of the Russians and the fighting of the different majority groups. But they were very extreme. And, to a certain extent, narrow minded. The harshness on women has something to do with the baton, mountain man type of macho society they live in, but also their interpretation of the shutout.

And their emphasis at that time was the wrong emphasis.

The point is now, Paul is in accord again, how will they react? Will they allow women to be educated to be involved in the society? Or will they go back to their previous dispensation?

That is the question. But for non Muslims, generally, they reacted with fright. they reacted that this group of extreme what they call Islamist fundamentalists have taken over power. And this brings us back to the concept of Islamophobia. Now, a phobia itself is a fear and aversion. It's an unreasonable dislike of something. And you could say, you know,

a phobia and the noun form, it's like an extreme phobia. And you have different types of arachnophobia, which is the fear of spiders. So you have different types of phobias, and it's usually unfounded. Islamophobia is the unfounded hostility toward Islam and Muslims, and the consequences. What comes out of this is unfair discrimination, exclusion from the mainstream of the political and social affairs, physical violence, and genocide. So this is a very serious issue, the issue of Islamophobia.

And if we go back in history, of course, we could go back to the time of Prophet Muhammad SAW them, and the way they treated him, because the Quraysh, when they wanted to stop his message, they tried to call him, Majnoon known that he's crazy that he's a cat and

like a wizard, that that he is a poet,

that that he is a magician, he is an extreme is a madman. So this creates this type of aversion to the person. So in a sense, they were using a type of Islamophobia and trying to spread it around about this new message that Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was spreading. But we could say for the further recent time periods, you could say the more modern form of Islamophobia. You can really see it popping up in the 11th century. And this is when Pope Urban, November 26 1095 at Claremont. He talked about the Muslim countries that were the most powerful countries in the world that actually was helping Europe through its Renaissance. But because it was a power struggle, the church

wanted power. The nobility in Europe wanted power. He said to the people, the masses of people enter upon the road of the holy settler rested from the wicked race and subject it. He said that the true cross of Christ has been taken by these wicked people. And definitions were being used, and they call them they stay a rallying cry was, God wills it? God wills it. And the real reality we know was economic factors, political factors, but what comes out of this are words that they started to use for Muslims. Instead of identifying the person as a Muslim, they would say Sarris, which is shark pigeon, they come from the east infidels, for the Prophet Muhammad, so Southern, they sent Muhammad

like a devil worship. And when they describe Muslims, they said, who did hordes Turks, and these vocabulary words literally became popularized, popularized in Europe itself. Until when you described Muslims, you wouldn't even refer to their religion but

You would refer to them as this wicked race of people who was trying to take over. The innocent Christians who were living in the Holy Land, had to take control of the true cross of Christ. This we know was not true, because the Christians and Jews were living there in peace with the Muslims. But despite this, because of the strength of the message of Islamophobia, the crusade in the crusades, which were launched by Pope Urban,

when they finally reached their Pinnacle,

in July 15 1099, they slaughtered over 70,000 people, you know, x, our mosque, in Jerusalem, over 70,000 people.

And they killed everybody, male, female, young, old, Arab, non Arab, even Christians, Arab Christians, they kill them as well, because literally, they were so

brainwashed with Islamophobia.

that anybody who looked like a Muslim or looked like a Turk, or looked like an Arab, or any of the races and groups of people, they would kill them, Jewish, Christian, whatever.

And so it wasn't until soltana Saladino, or UB Rahim Allah in 1187, he was able to take back over that Muslims were able to come out of this terrible destruction that came from Islamophobia. But don't forget that in 1920, when the French entered Damascus, their commander, he marched straight to the tomb of Salahuddin, he kicked it. And he said, we're back, Saladin.

So in his mind, the Crusades had not ended. And he said, Now we're back. That's 1920. Right? Look how long ago from 1099.

But we're back. And so the crusade continued.

And in the modern crusades, there's a number of factors that are very important, these are very deep studies, that that that you need to consider. And most people do not study history, say 100 years ago, even 50 years ago, to a great extent, or 200 years, they tend to go way back in time, or just to present.

But don't forget that in the modern crusades, a major changed happened with the fall of communism. And this struggle between East and West started to make a major change, because now the West that needed an enemy

began to focus their attention on the Muslim world. Another important factor in the modern crusades is the rise of banks. The banks were the primary sources of power. It was no longer groups of knights or

wealthy people or the church. The banks is not the military even, even though the military is important. But how do you have a military especially a modern one, if you're not financed. And so the rise of the banks is another aspect of the modern crusade

with the change in the world, and this is coming in the 80s, and the 90s. And right into the 21st century, it's a type of resurgence in the Muslim world. So even though the Muslim world had had been down, after the colonial period,

Islam began to rise, Muslims began to return back to their faith, and there was a resurgence. And so this now,

this got the Crusaders more angry and more upset, because they saw their old enemies, who was rising back up again.

Next point is the growing presence of Muslims in western countries. And this also is part of the modern Crusade, you have to remember that even the crusades, back in the 11th century, it wasn't just east.

Most people think that the Crusaders went from France, and Germany, and they went east. But there was also a crusade that went west. And that was into an endless into Spain and Portugal.

Today, Muslims are making up large majorities in many parts of the Western countries. People are not aware of the fact that in Belgium and in Holland, that 50% of the children are born in hospitals and Muslims.

That in France, which is implacable enemy of Islam,

That in paracin, must say that the majority of people under 25 years old, are Muslims. This is in France. And you'll see Muslims all over the place. And so therefore, this is the rise of the right wing that is now champion, the new crusade that is happening right in front of us. So the crusade has not ended.

Samuel Huntington, one of the Western scholars put forth an idea and this is from back in the 90s, he put forth the idea of the class of civilizations. And this is that there's an inevitable clash between the Western powers. And he put within the Western powers, Europe, America and Russia. That's different than even Australia.

And the confusion based powers, which, of course, is China, and those countries that are following China. And finally, he said, the world of Islam.

And so this concept now is the whole world of Islam, that there is an inevitable clash. This is the theory that is fueling many of the intellectuals, and many of the decision makers that are coming out of the Western countries. So this is the modern crusades, that is going on. The Quran tells us and Sora alley and Ron, verse 186, you shall certainly be tried and tested in your wealth, and properties and in your personal selves. And you shall certainly hear much that will review from those who receive the scripture before you and from those who ascribe partners to Allah. But if you persevere patiently and become a God fearing,

then verily, that will be a decisive factor. In all affairs, when tous biru were tactical, for in Nadella come in asmin. More. So Allah subhanaw taala. And we need to look at problems and solutions. And right away we go to the Quran. And we see that Allah told us, we're going to be tested. We're going to be tested in our wealth, our properties, and our lives. Look at what's happening. Look at Syria, look at the beautiful countries. Look at Iraq.

Look at even Afghanistan, which is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of minerals.

Look at Somalia.

You go around and you will see different parts of the Muslim world

that we're going to be tested in this. We're going to hear terrible things that they will say about us. They will call us fundamentalists, they will call us Islamists. In China, they will say that Islam is a disease, literally.

But Allah said,

you'll be tested and tried. And yes, they will take your lives. But if you patiently persevere, persevere, when tests Bureau, if you have Saba, hold the line.

And if you have the consciousness of a life, you have Taqwa. And there's that important word again, this will be decisive.

And we see what is happening. And I believe in Sharla, that we're going to be seeing more and more. But the question is for many of the Muslims, and I say this to those who are taking power now, whether it's in your home, in your community, your family, whatever it is, what do you do when you get power?

How do you react to this? Saba and taqwa never forget the Creator of the heavens in the earth. And so, in this light, and again in line with our course that we're taking,

we want to go back to the prophetic sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him.

And he was speaking about the Muslim world in the last days. And Abu huraira Allah one reported that Prophet Mohammed Salim said Almighty has he or mutton mahoma laser a laser adab and Phil akhira. At the Abu hanifa dunya. l fitting was alasa button. Raw Buddha waban imagine

the Prophet said peace be upon him this my oma

is a nation that has mercy on it. Its punishment will not be in the hereafter. But in this life that being fitna meaning trials and temptations

earthquakes and murder.

It's very important, authentic tradition.

Prophet peace and blessings be upon him, says Almighty,

my oma.

Okay, and then he said, Oh, Matan martoma so this word Omar comes up.

And it's just interesting because he's saying that the trials that we are going through whether it will be the fitna and a fitna can be a tribulation. It can be a gray area. It can be Murdock genocide. It can be many different things. But these trials and tribulations and the natural disasters, and the genocide, this is actually a mercy, because we're getting punished now in this world. And if we look at the Muslim world, and up until now, how secularism has affected us, or the colonial period, has affected us and even to a certain extent, there are Muslims themselves, who are Islamophobic.

They're afraid of their own Sunnah. They're afraid of their own way. And this is part of the fitna, and even in Canada, which is a country that has had a fairly balanced approach. A recent Islam Islamophobic summit was held. And this was supported by the government and major organizations. But lo and behold,

the mainstream Muslim groups of Anderson ojima, were excluded. Literally excluded, only a few individuals were picked. They were marginalized. And the groups that were put forward were different names. They are Medea ideologies.

Or Smiley's Where did these names come from?

And one of the major groups that spoke you know, claiming to be a major representative of Islam and Muslims. From now Medea even mentioned the Khalifa,

the word Khalifa twice. This is a government is Islamophobic summit to deal with the crisis, the real issue of Islamophobia was pushed to the side. This is a fitna. This is a trial and tribulation that Muslims are involved in, and

Prophet peace and blessings be upon him. He's using the word oma. So he says amati, what is an ombre? This is important for us to understand. And I'm making this these definitions as a base because we're talking about the cults and the groups in the Muslim world. And we need to understand first, what is the Muslim world?

What is the oma of the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon because if we don't understand that, then we can easily be caught up like many innocent people have been caught up by these different groupings, that have claimed to be Muslim, using the names using the images. But there's something else. So back to our definitions and oma coming out of the literal Arabic can be a community. It can be people, it can be a nation, it can be generations, it could actually apply to all forms of life. And even if you look at different animals, you look at bears and insects and fish and birds. These are referred to even in the Quran as common as nations. So there is a nation of

birds. There's a nation of fish. There's a nation of the wolf. So there are different types of nations in a general sense of the term. And in the Quran itself, the word oma in the singular, has been mentioned 50 times

and it can refer to an era or a time period.

It can refer to a single individual and Imam, as it refers to Nabi Ibrahim Alayhi, salaam, Prophet Abraham, and that's in chapter 16 verse 120, in the Ibrahim acana omoton Khanate Allah. So Ibrahim was like a nation unto himself. So that's an oma, that's a use of the term oma. It can also be a followed practice. And you find that in chapter 43, verse 22,

it can also mean a group of people in general that's how it comes into court and it can be people of the same faith. You'll find that in 1693 it could be a group of believers taken from the Muslims while tuck on men come oma

You know, Allah said let there be a nation that comes from you. You are the owner lol here we are Marina Del Mar roof we are in Hong Kong Mancha, Willa eco home, they should let there be a nation or group that comes from you.

And they call to the good they've been evil.

They are the ones who are going to be successful.

So Omar can be used in in many ways, even the Quran itself. Now what we are referring to here, I want to give you a loose definition. When we talk about the Islamic oma or the Muslim community.

This Islamic oma Muslim community is a group of people from diverse backgrounds, ancestry, locations, and nationalities. They are community without borders, yet united in tawheed, meaning monotheism and rissalah. The finality of prophethood those separated by distance and often constrained by borders, they are united. They are one nation or community united under the guidance of Allah. So when we talk about the Islamic oma the Islamic nation,

then then we are talking about the group of people who are motivated, added, guided by tawheed. That is to believe in one God, it's going to affect everything that they do their complete outlook, and also reseller and that is the finality of prophethood. That Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him is the last of a long community of prophets that came to every nation and every time. Allah says in verse 23, Chapter 23, verse 52, and verily this oma is yours is one oma and I am your Lord and cherish, therefore for me and no other. Okay, oma. So this is an important definition. Now, I want to give you some other ways that this oma comes up, and it's usually translated as nations. So

the library are best narrated, that the prophet SAW seldom said,

nations were displayed before me. One of the one or two profits would pass by, along with a few followers, our profit would pass by accompanied by nobody.

Think about this. Now the Prophet gets visions, right. visions of Yama, visions of what's going to happen. Some prophets had nobody with them. Then a big crowd of people passed in front of me. And I asked, Who are they? Are they my followers? It was said, No.

It is Musa Moses and as follows. He was said to me, look at the horizon. Behold, there was a multitude of people filling the horizon. Then it was said to me, look there and they're about stretching sky, behold, this multitude, and it was said, this is your nation, out of whom 70,000 shall enter Paradise. Without reckoning behavior, his app will Behari that from this vast nation 70,000 will enter Paradise with no his app.

There will be no reckoning.

So this concept of the oma it's extremely important that we understand what it is because people will say, what is Islam? Who are the Muslims? Will the mayor will a real Muslims stand up?

Wow, we are ready last one, he narrates that he heard the Prophet Sal seldom say, If Allah wants to do good to a person, he makes him comprehend this religion.

I am I am just a distributor but the grant is from Allah. And remember that this nation, meaning true Muslims will keep on following Allah's teachings strictly. And they will not be harmed by anyone going on a different path. Till a laws order is established. extremely important. What is the true nation?

What is the true oma? They will be following the teaching strictly

toe hidden reseller right their belief system comes from the wonders of Allah subhanaw taala. They asuna their way of implementing comes from Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him. And even if everybody goes away, maybe somebody from their own group, they take

a different path. And they might even call themselves Muslim.

It's not going to harm the believers, it's not going to stop them. So this is an extremely important concept to keep in mind when we are dealing with the oma. And when we are going to look at the so many different groups that have come about

in the world, and the oma, again, and these are a few important points that I just want to, again to emphasize over for those who may not have seen previous presentations, that we make up over 26% of the world's population. Our countries are rich in natural resources, strategic position, look at Afghanistan, you think that Afghanistan is a bunch of ragtag Mountain Men and mountain women that live in a desert or on a mountain, Afghanistan has some of the most important minerals on Earth, just about everybody on Earth, not everyone who's carrying a cell phone is carrying a piece of Afghanistan, lithium. The second largest deposit of lithium is in Afghanistan.

So our countries are rich in natural resources, strategic positions. We have huge standing armies. We have millions of young people all over the place. Our Muslim youth, not only in our countries, but in Europe, in Canada, in the Americas, we have intellectuals, we have a strong

resource, educational materials, we have the Quran still in its original form, we have explanations of the corner. We have sayings of the Prophet Muhammad SAW some identically did that still with us. We have 1000s of books written by scholars.

We have some of the richest people on earth, even though in most cases they squander their wealth.

But there is wealth in our nation.

There is a history of respect, power. Even Europe itself, had its Renaissance based upon what Muslims were doing, and an end to loose in Baghdad.

We also still have the fastest growing religion on earth. And that might sound strange to you. But the oppressed people when they see Muslims standing up, when Muslims interact with people one on one, it's still causing 1000s of people to embrace Islam. But there's a contradiction with all of these discrete wealth. We have extreme poverty. Look at the situation in Afghanistan. Look at the wealth that's on the ground.

The people are starving. They say within a couple of weeks 1000s could be starving to death. Look at Yemen. It is not it is the greatest famine on Earth. Go across the border into East Africa. Look at the roe hanga look at what's happening in Kashmir. Look at the Uighur people. We have huge armies but we're being defeated, humiliated.

We have intellectuals really well spoken people well read, but what do they spend their time on debating with each other

with trivia,

things which which make no sense. And the Prophet Solomon had said ma dolla, Coleman cut by the Huda Illa O'Toole juggle, that people would not go astray after guidance until they were given the ability to argue with each other. Now, it's kind of open up to you how do these cults and these groups start to come in the Muslim world? The message is clear. But the prophet SAW Solomon's saying, after they are guided,

because humans have this ability of gentle arguing with each other over trivia.

So this potential power, it's causing frustration. And this is one of our challenges that we have to face today in this hectic situation, that we are living in, but we have to remember that with with difficulty that comes ease.

Remember, when task biru taco for inner Dally comm and asmall Amore. If you have patience, and the consciousness of Allah, that will be a decisive matter for you.

And so again, just looking at some of the obstacles that we're facing, this is a general look because we want to have a context at why you would spend time going over different groupings and whatnot. Some people say well, doesn't matter.

We're in the 21st century No,

no, we have some serious internal issues amongst ourselves. It's not just all the enemy. We have internal issues of the hot. We have tribal differences. We have sectarian differences. And we're going to look at some of these sectarian differences. We have inequality and wealth distribution. There's oppression in our lands, there is injustice in our lands. And so as we cry for change, Allah tells us in Surah, to Rogers, 11 in Allah, Allah, you ready, Robbie Coleman? What are you very roomy and fuzzy? Surely Allah will not change the condition of a people to they change that which is in them self

starting with their hearts right inside of themselves. And so

this is critical for us, to look within ourselves, and to make some serious changes, and to understand what happened in the Muslim world, in order to make solutions to it, and even to help people who may be confused.

Up until recently, in America, there was a group called the Nation of Islam.

And this group Nation of Islam, it sounds like Omar Islamia. But what were they

they were a sectarian group, whose leader Elijah Muhammad claimed Prophethood. But the people of America did not understand. They did not have the teachings of Islam at that point in time in the 1930s in the United States. And so because the movement was standing for liberation of African people in the West, he was struggling against white supremacy. 1000s of people join the ranks, especially when al Hajj Malik Chavez, Rahim Allah known as Malcolm X, embrace those teachings, and he spread it around. And but the people were, for the most part, innocent.

And it was the first start of the change. Malcolm himself went to this change. And he eventually embraced real Islam,

made pilgrimage to Mecca. And he's one of the icons one of the great examples of how Islam can influence people in the world today.

And so

many different groups have come up. But we need to understand, just as the Nation of Islam went through its changes. Malcolm was assassinated, yes. But then Elijah Muhammad passed away his son water, the dean came in, what is the dean made great changes said, Follow the Quran.

He said, My father is not a prophet. He said, Allah is not a man as a nation of islam used to teach.

And the majority of the followers made a transition into the real Islamic message. And so knowledge, knowledge and action

was so important. making the changes within the changes within ourself, the changes within our community.

And so, this is extremely important. I remember back in the 90s, when I was taking time off from the masjid, I was the mom and the master, but I entered the Ph. D. program, history department, and I was in the Islamic Studies. And I wanted to take a course in Islamic Studies. So there was a course on the great groupings and of the Muslim world, sex in the Muslim world. And when I entered the course, I realized that they only spent like one day dealing with the life of Prophet Muhammad, Salah Salem, Mecca, Medina, Sunnah only one day and the rest of the whole semester. They were dealing with all these schismatics groups, isms, and schisms. And by the end of the course, the

average person would say these people are crazy.

These people want division. They don't want to be united. They'll take splitting of hairs and make a movement out of it. This is a confusion. Muslim world is confusion. And that's what the course was designed for. To make you confused. If they had spent time on Sierra

time on the sun.

If they understood the background properly, then they could see how individuals not the mainstream body, not a swaddle

not the major group of the Muslims who

continued on Sunday, they would be able to see it. They might even hear the traditions where the prophet SAW Salam is saying that you know, my nation following strictly they will not be affected by people who take another path.

And so, we want to set the stage for this context. We want to give a historical background. So you understand something about the names, about the places you hear about Mecca. You hear about Medina, you hear about Banu Hashim, you hear about Romania and Romanians. You hear the word Shia. You heard his smile. You hear Hassan Hussein,

you hear so many different names, that within the original Sunnah generally have beautiful meanings, but later on, is adopted by somebody else.

And so it's important for us to be able to distinguish between it and to be able to point out the problematic issues facing the unknown. And so this is part of the context for our class. This is the first one we're having people are just getting adjusted. Now. This is like part of our orientation to the class. And we will be continuing on next week with this context, contextualize, contextualizing, giving the base and then following the history and looking at the challenges that Muslims faced throughout the ages. I leave you with these thoughts. And I ask Allah to have mercy on me and you

were accurate that one and 100 now lillahi Rabbil alameen wa salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.