Mirza Yawar Baig – Problems and Solutions
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of addressing issues broadly in order to address problems and solutions. They outline the three core areas to analyze, including education, leadership, and Muslim society. The history of schools and the Golden Age of Islamic highlight the need for a focused approach to learning, as well as the importance of science and technology in creating ideas and the evolution of Islam. The importance of history and the need for everyone to learn to disagree with views and actions is emphasized, along with the need for leaders to stop the pressure of parenting and promote unity. The segment ends with a warning about the consequences of not meeting certain goals and the need to rethinking one's behavior.AI: Transcript ©
Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen
wa sallahu wa salam ala Shara villa, we were mousseline Muhammad Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa and it was it was no disagreement because because I'm about to this is the final lecture in the series of lectures that I have been doing called the way forward. This is called problems and solutions, I thought I should end with a overall broad diagnosis of what I believe are the key issues that we need to address and also suggest some solutions to that so that we can then start talking much more
granularly and granularly and looking at implementation strategies. I want to begin with the beautiful Hadith from the reminder from photography 10 Narrated by Bordeaux the long
walk all callers all right but Islam already but but Al Islam or even was a yo do over even for tuba
Islam began as soon as salam said Islam began as something strange, and it will return to be to being strange. So Blessed are the strangers.
Let him as in although it was very, very doesn't mean poor means strange.
Way Stringer's
because in a world which is based on oppression, courage, to stand against the oppression is strange. In a world based on amassing personal wealth, charity is strange. In a world where net worth means dollars, net worth meaning character is strange. In a world ruled by merchants of deaths, saving lives is stretched. In a world where making money is the goal. The means be damned. Virtual is strange, therefore blessed other strangers, because they struggle for a world where charity, character courage, virtue and kindness will be the standard. And that is Islam.
We Muslims today are like those on a sailing ship caught in a storm.
As the captain of such a ship, there are two paradoxical things that you must be able to do. Simultaneously. Well
be aware of the forces that are trying to sync you
as well as be disconnected enough from them. To be able to focus on the best way to navigate you have your way out of the storm. If you ignore the forces around you, in order to focus, they will sink you
if you get distracted by what the forces throw at you and lose focus on your goal that will sink you just as fast.
Time is of the essence.
And urgency is a competitive advantage.
That is a difficulty. How to Be aware, yet emotionally disconnected.
emotional reactions no matter how justified always lead to bad decisions. Ciara is the answer.
So David, Libya,
the treaty or whether we are an incident surrounding it is Rasul Allah salams masterclass in dealing with this dichotomy.
First, a quick, essential history lesson.
The proliferation of nation states started after World War Two.
That is a reference point for us to understand that the nation state as we know it is still very much a work in process project, and is by no means complete.
I have given the link to a very interesting and very good article on this issue of evolution of nation states and the role in the future. Add to this the complexity of the multinational corporation we haven't seen, some of which are wealthier than many nation states. Amazon, add 1 trillion which it was in 2018 wouldn't be number 17 in rank, if it were a country
in terms of GDP, and therefore, what such companies are those who own them can do to impact global politics is a very important aspect to consider.
Given the increasingly important and powerful role
are online technology including AI, and the enormous resources that these companies wield. It will be extremely naive to imagine that they wouldn't want to influence present and future markets. This will lead to a new form of colonialism which will be far more pervasive, insidious and powerful than anything we have seen in the past.
Here people's minds will be the playgrounds and we will voluntarily allow them to use our minds to make profits for their owners.
Facebook and Instagram members are already doing this.
More will follow.
The nation state idea differs from empires principally because of the because for the first time, common people were given a voice in lawmaking. Like all work in Brazil work in process projects, it is far from perfect. But from our perspective as common people it is a very big step in our development, which must be cherished and supported. The alternative is dictatorship.
The biggest strength in data like this is to have a historical perspective, and as clear ideas as possible about the best way forward.
To do that, effectively, we must be prepared to face facts squarely without any sugarcoating. If you can't diagnose the disease, you cannot prescribe or implement the cure. And you cannot diagnose with your eyes blindfolded.
So here's a no press no blame view as I interpreted the history of our people. You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you. It's your choice. Let me choose three core areas to analyze broadly, and suggest alternatives, education, leadership, and Muslim society.
To start with education, the biggest calamity that happened to education was the separation of religious education from modern education as two completely separate things.
It happened originally,
long back, first after the brutal suppression of Muslims in Baghdad in the 13th century, and then under rose, in 7091, and India in 87, and the genocide of Allah in all places, but continuing primarily because teachers in Medallia's didn't know science, math, or English.
English, whether we like it or not, is the language of global communication today. Without English the doors of much of the world remain shut no matter how learned or creative you may be. Thus, the gulf between Islamic and other knowledge was established and grew.
The same restriction the restriction of curriculum and teaching methodology happened in the Arab world with similar results.
Regular schools removed all reference to the Creator, Allah subhanaw taala and taught science as if there was no creator, while madrasahs taught the Quran as if there is no creation.
Roughly from the 18th century onwards, Muslims Duster is of scientific discovery and invention, and are not even contenders anymore.
The so called Golden Age of Islamic science, from the eighth to the 15th century took place in centers throughout the Islamic world, such as the loose in Spain, the Near East, central and west Asia, Turkey, and India. In contrast, since 1900, only two Muslims were awarded the Nobel Prize in science, in chemistry.
And in the same period, from 1900 to 2010. Over 200 Jews
earned and won the Nobel Prize in science.
We satisfied ourselves by talking about the glorious past and forgot that it is the present which matters and which impacts the future, not the past. This situation continues and each passing year composite. What is required is not scientific or Islamic education in isolation, but both in consonance, each building on and supporting the other.
It is bridges which must be built. The task is monumental, and so must be addressed in a highly focused manner.
Allah subhanaw taala taught us this in the Quran. He said interviews Alcazaba they will not give up the leveleleven Rila
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and Levina years guru, Allah keyamo Whoa, don't wanna, you know, be why not have a Corona
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and most of our data centers, which means
in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, there are signs for people of intelligence. These are people who remember Allah subhanaw taala, standing, sitting and lying down, which means that every aspect of their life and allow us though the preposition, wow, Wyatt Africa, and he didn't say, Oh, he didn't say all this, all that noise and this and that.
And who do this and who reflect and research and invent and,
and work in the area of the creation of ideas, the other countries
and they think and they reflect the research in the creation of the heavens and the earth. The result of this, these two together, and the sequence recognize the Creator first, and then researching the creation produces around Panama to have a battlelands of Anika forget
all my Rob, oh my lord, oh, my OMA created, you have not created all this in vain. All this is not an accident. This is a result of your desire and your design.
I glorify You
glorified, are you Subhanak Okay, now, when saved me from the save me from punishment.
Automatically the heart of the other person is drawn towards his grid. And he remembers that one day he will meet him a sense of accountability which is the essence of being Muslim.
Allah taught us
the sequence of heritage.
And he told us that Islamic knowledge which is thicker, about Allah subhanaw, Taala
and thick and preserve it along with the scientific knowledge of not juxtapose against each other. They're not antagonistic.
They're part of a sequence
and the flow must go into direction, first recognize the Creator, then look at the reasons and outcome of our approach to Islamic teaching, which is this fractured way
and our blind and so unquestioning support for all of that led to increasingly divisive version of Islam, supported by convenient interpretations of the Quran and Sunnah by each sect.
One of my friends and continue to feel very insecure unless they have blind loyalty of their followers, for which each sect promotes the idea that only their way is the right way. And everything else is false and leads to the hellfire.
We have learned to live with this dichotomy of beliefs and ideas. This is the classic description of hypocrisy omnipaque
The situation is beyond ridiculous, it is shameful and dangerous. We have 1400 years of history to prove this, how much longer
we choose to let this continue is in our hands and to Allah, we will answer
a lot so swallow della told us to be united and not to form divisions and sects. He said What does he move we have any leverage for Rocco was Coronavirus Allah and equal is going to murder and for Allah Verbena Rubicon for us back to minyama D one contour Ira Chabahar for a team in a naughty fun other co minha casa Anika you will be you know, low level my idea I don't understand what it means at all firmly to the rope of Allah subhanaw taala hold firmly to his level for me to have it hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Allah said
let the follow up. Well, I did not say that the study for it didn't say don't disagree on matters. I always disagree. But do that
in the best possible way. With the focus on coming to a better understanding of the of the of the matter, not of putting somebody down.
So Allah said, and hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah subhanaw taala has favor upon you when you were enemies, and then he united your hearts. So you by His Grace became brothers. You were at the brink
Have a fiery pit, and he saved you from it.
This is how Allah subhanaw taala makes his revelations clear to you, so that you may be rightly guided. We recite the melodiously and explain it eloquently. And then we preach sectarianism without any thoughts about what we will say, to the one who commanded us to be united.
We talk about each other, we still have the etiquette of disagreement, but don't practice those. We don't know how to disagree without being disagreeable, and we pay the price in blood, loss of influence, angst and frustration.
Second issue is leadership. Conflicts and leadership started early within 30 years of the passing away of us organizing a set of men continue to this day.
It is not in the scope of this lecture, the word or the details of the graphics and certainly not my intention to go into the rights and wrongs of it. But I want to say that it is essential to study history objectively and emotionally and extract lessons.
We must learn to differentiate between critiquing and criticizing. You critique the incident, you criticize people, we must critique incidents and extract lessons. criticizing people is not our intention, nor do we have the authority to do so. critiquing, however, is essential to all learning. Without that you repeat mistakes at ever increasing costs. The only use of history is to learn lessons, critiquing is how you do it.
Empire became our default which led to several attitudes which remain, and which must be addressed and corrected. We see these reflected in our organizations and cultures. Though the last Muslim empire ended in 1977.
Our default preference is autocratic leadership, with zero tolerance for dissent. You see this in every organization, every organization that I can imagine.
Blind loyalty gets precedence over competence, competence and leadership ability are seen as threats and suppressed or eliminated. We have no succession planning, as leadership is for lifetime. Elections are either a sham, or a popularity contest, which is a leadership within a leadership context makes no sense. Popularity is neither proof nor substitute for competence and ability.
both consciously and unconsciously. walima and O'Meara, theologians and kings fueled and promoted sectarian politics.
leadership was suspect and brutally suppressed leadership education was and is in the Muslim world taboo. Consequently, the quality of leadership deteriorated steady, apart from the rivers of blood that our history is colored with. There was a steady decline in leadership in leadership quality, academic excellence, scientific development, and consequently Muslim contribution to the world and therefore, a decline in Muslims roles and power the word respects and listens to contributors, and users consumers.
When Muslims slipped from being contributors to consumers, they became a commodity to be used.
Which brings us to our present state,
where despite being one four, in terms of population, we are like full on the front, without weight or value, to be ignored, exploited and discarded at will.
And not around that I said, that he sent us for the benefit of people to teach them how to live a life of virtue and goodness, compassion and justice. And lots of annadelle book is witness, whether for or against us, is for us to decide and work for, unless it go to Cairo but then of rigidly pneus that more will be tomorrow. If you are then how now you won't carry over to winner of Allah. Allah said you are the best community ever raised for humanity. You encourage good, forbidding evil, and you believe in Allah.
Third point, Muslim society to use transactional analysis terminology. The parent giant ego state was and is the preferred norm of Muslim society
with the VR leaders, and all attempts to develop the adult ego state
to become independent, to become to have autonomy, and personal authority are repressed.
It creates in us a tendency to blame others for our situation, be it local or global. Just listen to our conversation and you will almost never hear statements owning responsibility for our problems. The Rule of Life, however, is that only owners can change what they own. If you don't own it, you can't change it.
So if we do not take ownership of our problems, we condemn ourselves to living with them in perpetuity until we decide to accept responsibility. This is our single biggest problem, and the biggest cause of our dismal and very painful state as a nation,
because not allow what is not in our control. To prevent us from doing what is in our in our control,
we come to solutions.
There is no example better than the example of Russell relies on self driving lessons from his Syrah
from his example, there are four things that we need to do urgently. Number one, unity, it's time to stop paying lip service to unity and actively work to promote it. Stop preaching or supporting those who preach divisions and sectarian politics. reject anyone who tells you to hate anyone, especially another Muslim.
History is history. Don't let it color your present. Learn the lesson. But remember that what happened happened in a different time and place and with different people, not the one you must work with today, to solve problems that affect all of us. Remember, that whatever we are here, we have critical, even existential problems that are common to all Muslims. I'm not talking about reconciling different ideologies or opinions or converting anyone that is impossible, and it is unnecessary, there is no need for that. I am talking about working with people with different ideologies, that is possible and critical. Leave the leader to Allah, we must work with others here
or we will perish. It is as simple as that.
Number two, central fund, no long term strategic planning can be done without an assured source of funding. Sporadic charity is not sufficient. In Islam, we have zakat, but the user's accounts one is strictly governed by the Quran. Therefore, I propose that a separate fund be created to which every Muslim man woman and child must contribute a small amount every month,
a small amount actually every day.
This is where we can leverage our numbers where the compounded result will be significant.
To give you an example, just the price of one cup of coffee per day, that is $5. Cumulative for 10,000 people for the year, amounts to $18,250,000. In one year,
we'll find out and people are talking about $9 million.
Are we ready to do this? Everyone was $5 a day. That's all it takes.
And you can ask yourself what you can do with 9 million or 18 million for the year.
Number two, number three, so unity, central fund three education. As I mentioned, we need an education system that bridges the gap between theology and science. Add to this education in manners, ethics, values, morals, leadership, communication, conflict resolution and a whole host of critical life skills that do not form part of our school curricula.
It is out of the scope of this lecture to go into detail, but I will suffice to say that it is all doable and joyful and eminently possible. If we have the will,
we must feel the urgency of the situation and pull together as one if we are to succeed.
Number four, collective leadership structure, collaborative leadership structure.
This consists of two major things.
One is the structure itself, where leaders must have fixed terms of leadership and a critical to success assignment to develop successes.
Success depends on developing successors better than we are not equal to us definitely not less than
us
better than we are. The big challenge will be to break out of our shooter mindset and embrace collaborative leadership.
The second part of this is the process of decision making. We must practice the shura method which Allah subhanaw taala commanded and which soldiers are certain practiced, and he taught us this automatically supports successful development and builds good interpersonal relationships. I must sound a warning in advance. We are talking about rewriting the destiny of our own the OMA. It will take time, tears before Allah, patience and investment
of every kind, be prepared for pushback from current leadership because they will feel threatened.
But then we must fear the day of no return the Day of Judgment, when we will meet Allah subhanaw taala. And we will be asked, What did you do
on southern island that will vary wildly he was building that up together.
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