Reviews: Reviving the Islamic Spirit 01/09/2010
 Christmas Day was celebrated a little differently for Muslims all over the world this year, who gathered in Toronto for the annual "Reviving the Islamic Spirit" Conference. The theme of the conference was SOS: Saving the Ship of Humanity. It was a perfect theme for the end of the year, as many of us were coming up with our own New Year’s Resolutions for the upcoming months. For most who attended, it was a perfect conference that went off without a hitch. The speakers were eloquent, intelligent, analytical and relevant. Fan favourites were Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Dr. Tareq Suwaidan and Professor Tariq Ramadan. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf delivered a powerful speech about what the West can learn from Islam. He suggested that the West could learn from Islam two things: one, how to adeptly integrate science and religion, and two, how to remedy the race problem in the world. He pointed to historical evidence, hadiths and verses from the Qur’an. Though it was an empowering speech which reminded listeners about the growth and influence of Islam, it seemed to ignore Islam’s downsides. While the Qur’an has proven remedies for dealing with race relations, Muslims in the 21st century have not necessarily been the harbingers of peace. How to make this transition from theory to practice - this was something he neglected to consider. Dr. Tariq Ramadan, on the other hand, addressed this very limitation by suggesting that Canadian Muslims need to change themselves. We are getting ourselves into a great deal of trouble because we are ghettoizing ourselves – turning ourselves into minorities and rejecting our Canadian identities. In his speech he declares that young Muslims must go beyond the “minority complex” trap – to look at themselves as being Canadian citizens and forget about being a minority. Muslims in today’s world are enforcing and encouraging a sense of “us” versus “them”. We need look only at the comments section of our latest article on the Canadian Olympics to see how right he is. Dr. Ramadan did not just focus on politics and society. He provided some stirring religious advice, reminding listeners that Allah (SWT) is very forgiving. There are many people who have done wrong and assume that they are too far gone – they cannot redeem themselves. But Allah (SWT) is very merciful and always able to forgive, no matter how much you have to be sorry about. For him, tearing is an important part of the forgiveness process. If you’ve done something wrong, knowingly and willingly, and the very thought of it brings tears to your eyes; you know you are on the path to redemption. But if your actions can not move you to tears, you should be concerned about your niyaat and your imaan. Dr. Tareq Suwaidan also spoke of the link between science and religion, in a speech entitled “Do not disrupt the balance between religion and science.” He asserted that there is no science without religion, and that in fact, Muslims were the first to combine the two. There is indeed a great deal of science verified by the Quran and vice versa. Fun fact: his daughter is president of the Ryerson MSA! In terms of entertainment, Junaid Jamshed and Dr. Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) were huge crowd pleasers. Not just because of their voices, but because of their stories. Both talked about their transformations and their growing acceptance of Islam. Junaid Jamshed moved the masses by saying that “I used to once draw crowds and fans with my devilish lyrics, and now I draw them to myself with my nasheeds.” Maher Zain also drew a great number of young listeners, but his nasheeds are certainly controversial for their use of beats and modern instruments. “David Letterman, the American comedian, could say on television, “I went to my doctor today and he said, ‘Turn to Mecca and cough’, because millions of Americans would easily get the joke.” – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf There were a few things that were a little disconcerting. The presence of P4E (Paradise Forever) irked a lot of people, as they are alleged to be funded by CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Administratively speaking, guests were bothered by the immaturity and rudeness of most RIS volunteers, who were unfairly breaking rules for their friends and family (such as reserving seats). Considering the ticket price was so expensive, and the food was so overpriced, it did not help to be disadvantaged by a few childish volunteers. All in all, the event was everything that we had hoped for. I end with this anecdote shared by one of the speakers, reminding the listeners that even the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had a sense of humour: When the prophet got married to Hazrat Aisha RA (after marrying Hazrat Khadija RA), the former used to bug his daughter Hazrat Fatima RA by saying that “I am the first virgin you’re father ever married.” When Fatima RA went to her father to complain, he told his daughter. “Don’t worry. Next time she tells you that, tell her I wasn’t a virgin when I married her.”  CommentsA Volunteer 01/10/2010 11:47am
Give the RIS volunteers a break. Everyone's always on their case. Their unpaid, unfed, & overused throughout the conference and prior to it. Lots of them don't even get the opportunity to hear a lecture. Volunteers Suck. 01/10/2010 12:28pm
That doesn't give them the right to break rules. If a volunteer, like yourself, feels that way dont volunteer at such confereneces. A Volunteer 01/10/2010 12:35pm
Maybe you should volunteer and have people scream in your face. If you want professionalism tell the RIS organizers to hire staff or treat them better. volunteers suck 01/10/2010 1:23pm
I have volunteered in the past years. And trust me sister volunteers aren't as bad as they were this year. If you treat guests with respect, maybe they would respect you back. I think the expression is "two cents" confused:s 09/06/2010 4:33pm
I didn't get either if the jokes... any1 care to enlighten me please... sorry to seem silly but I just don't get it... Leave a Reply | Writers WantedCategoriesAll ArchivesFebruary 2012 About Us
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