Bias against Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad; is he a Khalifa, Pope or what?

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/05/bias-against-hazrat-mirza-masroor-ahmad.html

Bias against Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad; is he a Khalifa, Pope or what?

As an individual, my intention is to stand up for every one's right, every one's right to be who he or she wants to be,  and as an individual, I  stand against those who want to deny and oppress those basic humans rights to any one, yes anyone, and that makes me a stronger Muslim.   

I call on you to think critically by dropping your bias against Ahmadiyya Muslims. I am writing this particular note, and hope you will take the time to understand the depth of it.

Didn't the Prophet say something to this effect, that if you are un-just to a Jew or a Christian, he will stand up for him against you on the Day of Judgment? Did he not say that? Isn’t he the Rahmatul Aalameen?

Western World is familiar with Dalai Lama for over 40 years now, his case has been made by major movie stars, and he has been invited all over the world. He is Dalai Lama. The western media is scrambling to find a title for the Ahmadiyya Khalifa; POPE is a description that they understand to describe the head of a religious institution, hence they have called Hazrat Mirza Masroor the POPE. You may consider writing to Wall Street journal and offer them the alternatives.

 In contrast Ahmadiyya Muslim Khalifa Mirza Masroor Ahmed is relatively unknown in the western world. He can legitimately make the case in the western world about the denial of voting rights to the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan, the humiliation they have to undergo to apply for the passport or visa and violation of basic human rights to have their name as a Muslim on their graves. If he does, he will eventually be known as the Khalifa - with whatever prefixes or suffixes suits his community.

Just as Martin Luther King Jr., freed the American people from the eternal burden of prejudice, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad can free the people of Pakistan from drowning in the cess pool of prejudice. What is shameful is a majority of Pakistanis are free people without prejudices and bias, but held hostage by a few, and someone needs to speak up for them. A majority of Republicans are great people, but a few are giving us an ugly name, and we need to speak up. A majority of Muslims are great people, a few of them give us the bad name, and we need to speak up.

Alhamdu Lillah, I am doing my personal share of speaking up as a Republican as well as a Muslim. If ten of us in each city can muster the courage to write and speak in every major city in the world, people will switch gears toward where the wind seems to be blowing. The right wing Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus effectively practice this technique.  I have experimented in Dallas Morning News and Washington post and a few forums – if three ugly comments are made, experiment overwhelming them with six people writing goodness notes – they will shut up and run. Guaranteed!

You may want to consider listening to the Message of Hazrat Masroor Ahmed in Los Angeles. You will appreciate him. When the media is hitting negative images of Islam, he is giving a positive image of Islam. We should be thanking him and not criticizing him.  Indeed, the three hundred plus men and women who attended the event walked away thinking positively about Islam. I appreciate and thank Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad for the same.

Recently, I received an email with picture and audio clips, where a man and a woman comments on each one of the statements by the Hazrat in Southern California. I could not find the link although I spent time searching for it. As a Muslim when we see something wrong, it is our duty to spend the time to share the right information, it is up to the recipient to receive the message. To me, my time is worth doing and talking what is right, even if one person gets it. Here is an alternate link. http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2013/05/ahmadiyyat-true-islam/head-of-ahmadiyya-muslim-community-delivers-historic-address-in-southern-california . If I find the right one, I will plug it in here.

Shame on our bias, if Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad was a Jew, Hindu or a Christian saying the exact same words, word for word, we will be so excited and start sharing the link with everyone we know with a note, “see this Jewish man speaks the truth about Islam, or see this Hindu woman speaks the truth about Islam”... what is wrong with us in appreciating a fellow Muslim saying the same thing.


As a Muslim I cannot conclusively say, my method of praying, or admiring the prophet is the right way, there are at least 10 different ways even among Sunnis and Shias. Homogeneity can reasonably be expected among smaller branches of Islam, like Ahmadiyya, Ismaili, Bohra, Wahhabi or WD Muhammad denominations. Let’s be respectful of each other; it restores sanity within. Hate and bias eats our psyche, whereas repentance, forgiveness and acceptance make us a healthy human.

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace,Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity showon Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.

The Real Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey

This article is worth reading, it highlights a weakness among Muslim leaders to lean towards dictatorship, an apparent deficiency in their faith in God, that they do not consider God to be supreme and start elevating themselves to be God like.

 Qur'an is crystal clear; you cannot force any one to believe in what they don’t want to believe, and it asserts, let there be no compulsion in the matters of faith. Then God beefs it up and tells the Prophet that you need not be frustrated if people don’t get your message, you role is to simply deliver it, and I reserve the right to guide them. There is a lot of wisdom in the above two statements.

Contrast this with the inclination of Muslim rulers, who are eager to usurp the liberties of people, and want to impose their beliefs on their subjects. Islam was really for these men, and not necessarily for the average moderate Muslim, who practices the values of Islam without wearing it on his sleeve or her saree.

The dictator Zia ul-Haq badly messed up Pakistan, he did not trust in the God given freedom of individuals, and believed in subjecting them to his version of Islam. He was ready to play God and punish those who did not obey his damned laws that he passed out as Islamic. Now when I read about Erdogan, the popular Prime Minister of Turkey, I get the feeling that he will sink Turkey into a fascist state.

What is wrong with Muslim leadership? Why do they want to become dictators? Do they ever learn the Golden rule that Prophet so eloquently put, think for your brother what you think for yourselves. I pray to God that he save us from religious bigots running the governments and making a hell for those who differ with them.

I don’t know how many Muslims are aware of the Alevi Muslims of Kurdistan. They seem to have become equivalent of  the Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan, being harassed by the Sunnis. Of course, Muslim nations are not the only ones who are uncivilized, even America has her own share of bigotry towards minorities

However, I’ll take this piece with a grain of salt because it originates from the Center for Islamic Pluralism, run by Steven Schwartz. I am not sure about his agenda, but he is yet to sound sincere to me. We need to verify the veracity of the information presented in this piece. Finding the truth is your own responsibility.


I had a severe encounter with him, he was going to sue me for my write up asking him to back off from approaching the Union of Rabbis. He and others wrote to them, that ISNA is not the legitimate representation of Muslims, but they are, and that the Rabbis need to deal with them. I said baloney, the market is too big, go get the others instead of undermining the work of ISNA.

Israeli aggression towards the Palestinians made Erdogan speak up in strong terms, and that instantly made him a hero in the Muslim world and earned huge support for him. It's wrong to say that Muslims rejoice when some one stands up to Israel, but the whole world does rejoice. I pray that the people of Israel wake up and take back their governance from the leadership that continue to deeply isolate Israel,  and deplete the moral standing in the community of Nations. Erdogan would not have had a chance to rise, had Israel followed the principles of justice.

Mike Ghouse for cohesive societies and for democratic governance.

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The Real Erdoğan

by Veli Sirin
Gatestone Institute
May 13, 2013

http://www.islamicpluralism.org/2237/the-real-erdogan

 Recep Tayyip Erdog(an, born on February 26, 1954, comes from a shabby Istanbul waterfront neighborhood where children grew up between rusting ships and old tires. He sold snacks on the street as a youth, to help his family. He called himself "the black Turk." He emerged, a parvenu in Istanbul's elegant, secular social strata, as a much-feared religious advocate for the masses. He is now married to Emine, with whom he has four children: two sons, and two daughters. His daughters, like his wife, wear headscarves (hijab).

Erdog(an graduated from a religious high school, was a semiprofessional soccer player for various teams, worked in municipal bus services, and served as an accountant and manager in a food company. He completed his education in business administration and served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998 – but was then tried and sentenced for anti-secular incitement, and spent four months in prison. In 2001 he founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which swept the Turkish elections of 2002 in a landslide majority.

Since then, Erdog(an has turned Turkey upside-down. The Islamist outsider, the extreme religious believer, the failed soccer player, now determines the future of his country. He is the most powerful Turk since the legendary founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His history is that of someone who, in seeking to change his country, was transformed from a fighter to a reformer, and then a ruler.

In 2002 people in Turkey already seem to have viewed Erdog(an as an "alpha male;" but his mastery is now obvious. Assistants and advisers crowd around him, bowing and scraping. Does he actually need their support to remain standing?

He had claimed to be seeking "Anglo-Saxon" secularism and was quoted in the London Economist in 2001, saying "I am not an Islamist – I'm just an observant Muslim and that's my own business." That was the genius of Erdog(an: to profess loyalty to secularism while, once in authority, acting with determination to dismantle it.

Turkey, he repeated in political speech after speech providing the early basis of his appeal, was administered badly. His party's predecessors in government, in 2000, faced a deep economic crisis. Erdog(an argued, "We want a Western standard of living and to join the European Union."

This requires reforms. The old secular elite challenged Erdog(an from the time of his rhetorical excess as mayor of Istanbul in 1998, while the army warned the AKP openly in 2007 that it was on dangerous ground and could be removed. Nationalist groups summoned mass demonstrations, which the secular media applauded. The chief public prosecutor attempted to ban the AKP and its prime minister in 2008. The attempt failed and left Erdog(an more powerful than before. The military delivered a more subtle series of hints about their willingness to act against the Islamists during the approach to the election of 2011, but was ignored.

Erdog(an cultivates the art of provocation, as seen in his confrontational rhetoric toward Israel and Germany. He is self-confident and controlled, but aggressive. He rebuffed Angela Merkel's criticisms of Turkish press restrictions in February 2013, with the result that the dream of rapid EU entry, already clouded, appeared to have failed definitively. He called for more Turkish-language schools in Germany, where people with a family background in Turkey account for about 4.5 million, or 5% of the population. He criticized the Americans over sanctions against Iran and supported defiance of Israel's Gaza blockade by backing the Mavi Marmara maritime attempt to break the embargo, and officially endorsing the Islamist Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or I.HH. He currently plans to change the constitution by expanding presidential powers, and for this many citizens are lauding him.

The constitutional referendum he called in 2010 reduced the independence of the judiciary. Three constitutional court judges are now chosen by parliament and 14 by the president. In this way Erdog(an and the AKP gained dominance over the court. Similarly, and with the same intent, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors was enlarged, from seven to 22 members. Trials of anti-Islamist public prosecutors and journalists began. A justifiable investigation of conspiracy within the army became a blind pursuit of opponents of the AKP. Generals and lawyers, until then the backbone of the Turkish state, were sentenced to prison. The army, which had long guarded Turkish secularism, was to be expelled from politics, leaving governance to party functionaries.

In every election, Erdog(an gained more votes. The AKP has an absolute majority, but the separation of powers in the state is irritating to it. Erdog(an seems to think he must be the only boss.

When they hear the way in which he speaks, secular and sophisticated Turks are frightened. At 59 years of age, Erdog(an apparently loves to deliver advice. He criticizes the increase of single people living in the cities and calls on the young to marry as quickly as they can. A happy family, according to him, will need to produce three children or "Turks will become extinct." He calls loudly for the reintroduction of the death penalty, abolished in 2004 as an element of the nation's approach to the EU.

Erdog(an seems to have two major goals: The first is the protection of his own political future, the second is that of aggrandizing what he sees evidently as Turkey's geopolitical ambitions. His accomplices also appear to envision a new constitutional order in which the president will hold the highest authority. This could work in a federal country or one with other checks on power. But Turkish centralism could easily slide into authoritarianism. The opposition denounces him, and the majority of Turks would reject a dictatorship, but Erdog(an, a political rock star, looks likely to be chosen for a new-style, expanded presidency.

His project for the protection of Turkey encompasses some accommodation with the Kurdish minority, who make up as much as a quarter of Turkey's population of 85 million. Worried by the Syrian civil war and the success of the Kurdish autonomous, oil-exporting zone in northern Iraq, Erdog(an would do well to solve the Kurdish issue. His representatives negotiated with the radical leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK], Abdullah Öcalan, while he was in jail, and offered political and cultural reforms in eastern Turkey – if the PKK agreed to cease fighting. Were Erdog(an to establish Kurdish rights within Turkey he would repair a birth defect of the Turkish Republic and complete the legacy of Atatürk.

At Nowruz, the Kurdish and Central Asian New Year celebration on March 21, 2013, held in the eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, which has a Kurdish majority, hundreds of thousands of Kurds were electrified by the announcement that Öcalan had declared an end to the PKK's insurgency. At least 40,000 people had died in the struggle. Öcalan endorsed a cease-fire, and the PKK revised its earlier demand for independence, now asking only for autonomy.

Erdog(an's presidential system may be a curse, but if Erdog(an is still partly a reformer, peace with the Kurds would be a blessing. Erdog(an has the future in his hands and many hope he will act wisely. Few really believe in this promise, but hope dies last.

Meanwhile, Erdog(an must also face the problem of the Turkish and Kurdish Alevi minority, which also totals about a quarter of the Turkish census, or 20 million. Alevis are heterodox Muslims following a tradition fusing Shia Islam, metaphysical Sufism, and pre-Islamic shamanism. In 1995, an Alevi leader, I.zzettin Dog(an, launched an "officially-approved" Alevi group, Cem Vakf?. As members of the spiritual movement do not pray in mosques, a cem is an Alevi meeting house.

The Turkish government then used Cem Vakf? to split the Alevi opposition to the regime. The government, even when it was secular, favored Sunni Islam and harassed Alevis. Politically, Dog(an represented the extreme nationalist right, and was linked to the fascist Nationalist Action Party or MHP, known as the Grey Wolves, from the title of its paramilitary branch. The MHP supported the military in its campaign against the Kurdish PKK, and the Grey Wolves have been charged with at least 5,000 murders of Turkish and Kurdish leftists, including Alevis, in the 1980s. Today the veterans of the Grey Wolves are intertwined with the state and are responsible for countless abuses of human rights in both the Kurdish areas of eastern Turkey and in localities of the country's western region, where they hold political office.

In 1978 the Grey Wolves committed a massacre of Alevis, calling all "believers" to aggressive jihad, or war on alleged non-Muslims, against Alevis and leftists. The Grey Wolves proclaimed, "One who kills an Alevi will enter paradise, and the death of an Alevi is equal to five hajj pilgrimages to Mecca."

In 1980, after a military coup, the MHP was banned, along with all other political parties. Nevertheless, many supporters of the Grey Wolves achieved careers in the military and state bureaucracy. The ban on the MHP was eventually removed and in the late 1990s the party changed its public orientation in a religious direction. In 1997, I.zzettin Dog(an introduced his Cem Vakf? in four different towns in the Netherlands, under the auspices of the foreign branch of the MHP, the so-called Federation of Turkish Democratic-Idealist Organizations in Europe or ADÜTDF.
Erdoğan's government has approached the Alevis in Turkey with plans for ambitious construction of mosques in their communities, even though Alevis meet for their rituals, as noted, in cem houses, and only a few Alevis attend mosque services.

Mosque-building in Alevi villages, therefore, is a waste of public funds, but since the 1980s, pressure for "Sunnization" has been intense and has provoked political protest among the Alevis. Today, Alevis increasingly refuse to conceal their identities, as they might have done in the past; instead, they present themselves openly as Alevis, defending the Alevi faith. Alevi books and magazines are now issued prolifically and Alevism is offered as a counter to Islamist ideology.

Support for Cem Vakfı and İzzettin Doğan by the Turkish state institutions and mass media has failed. The democratic Alevis reject him, and the situation should remain as such.

Nevertheless, the AKP regime, through its apologists, including the journalist Mustafa Akyol, who has performed brilliantly in convincing Washington politicians of his moderation, accuses the Alevis of supporting the bloodthirsty dictatorship of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria. There is no serious corroboration of this claim, which has also been made by Erdoğan himself. Its proponents assert falsely that the Alevi movement in Turkey is similar to the ostensibly Shia Alawite cult ruling Syria. This is denied by Alevis themselves as well as by authoritative, objective Western academics.

While Erdoğan contends with the appeals from Alevis and Kurds for an end to discrimination against them, the AKP's purge trials of military officers and journalists grind on. The Center for Islamic Pluralism has received a communication from Yasin Türker, one of 328 victims sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment in the "Sledgehammer case," in which the defendants were charged with attempting to overthrow the AKP government in 2003. According to Türker, the evidence in the "Sledgehammer" proceedings was falsified by the introduction of unprinted, unsigned, digitally-fabricated documents. Forgery of the material was proven by its appearance in Microsoft Office 2007 format, which did not exist in 2003. Not a single item of evidence or eyewitness testimony has ever supported the indictment.

Türker, a former lieutenant commander of the Turkish Navy, was tried in a courtroom in a high-security prison, away from the public and without any attorney-client confidentiality. The burden of proof was on the defendants to establish their innocence. There was no procedure for evaluating the evidence. The court refused to analyze the authenticity of the digital files included in the indictment, and refused to call witnesses for the defense. No opportunity was provided for the defense to cross-examine the prosecutors' "experts."
According to Türker, the Turkish judiciary has become a weapon for settling scores, silencing opponents, restructuring Turkish society as an AKP party-state, and undermining secularism. That is the true nature of Erdoğan's program and reveals the real character of Erdoğan as a politician.

A Visit to Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Muslims

By Dr. Jari Khan, published in Dallas Morning News, Neighborhood News
URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-visit-to-khalifa-of-ahmadiyya-muslims.html

Khalifa of Islam Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who represents millions of Ahmadi Muslims, Muslims who believe in the Messiah Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India, is visiting West Coast and is residing in Chino, California these days. He arrived on 5th May, 2013 in LA. During his visit he met several hundred families and all the families strived hard to get an appointment for the a personal time with the Khalifa. I was the lucky one among them and was able to meet him along with my wife and children. It was one of the joyous day for my family.

My children were very happy to have a chocolate candy and a pen as a gift from him. He also delivered a speech in famous Montage hotel in a meeting held in his honor where he was presented the Key of City of Los Angeles on May 11th, 2013. His message with clear that Islam is a peaceful religion and here is some important part of his speech. He is the only single leader all over the world against any kind of aggression and oppression and wants to engage the whole world in stopping the next world war which is inevitable if the world powers do not act in unison to prevent such a catastrophe.

He said” There can be no doubt that this state of fear and anxiety has been fueled by the acts of certain so-called Muslims or so-called Muslim groups.

However there is also no doubt, that the acts of terrorism or extremism they perpetrate have nothing whatsoever to do with the true teachings of Islam.

The very meaning of ‘Islam’ is peace, security and giving a guarantee of protection against all forms of harm and evil.

Indeed, the Holy Quran declares that this is the teaching that every single Prophet of God taught.”
He further said” Islam requires Muslims to abide by its teachings and fundamental amongst them is that they must not only fulfill the rights owed to God Almighty, but just as importantly they must also fulfill the rights owed to God’s Creation.

The Quran has shined a bright light on the beauty of the teachings of all Prophets by making it clear that they all drew mankind’s attention to fulfilling the rights owed both to God and to His Creation.”
Further expounding on the teachings of Holy Quran he said, “The first verse of the Quran reads:
“All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.”

This verse means that the God who Muslims worship, is the One God, who sustains and nourishes everything and everyone without any distinction.

He fulfils all of the needs of His Creation.
In other words, He is the God of the Christians, the God of the Jews, the God of the Hindus and indeed He even gives nourishment and provides to those who do not believe in His existence.

Whenever I reflect upon this particular point, I realise that I believe in that One God who is the Lord of all nations, all races and all religions, and so it becomes impossible that I could ever develop any hatred in my heart for any nation, any race or any religion. In this context I would like to say that my sympathies and my prayers are with the victims of the recent Boston attack. We fully condemn that attack”.

Then he further explained, “The entire world is God’s Creation and He loves His Creation dearly. Thus the reason we praise the ‘Lord of all the Worlds’ and repeat this prayer so many times each day is so that we realise and accept the beauty of all people and all nations because they are all part of God’s Creation.
When the beauty and merit of something is accepted, then it is impossible to bear hatred or malice towards it, rather love and compassion shine forth.

If this point is understood, then the question can not even arise in the heart of a true Muslim that he should bear enmity, ill-will or hatred towards any of God’s Creation. This is why the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who had the greatest insight and understanding of God’s Word, used to recite the words “All Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds” not just in his obligatory prayers, but also in the countless voluntary prayers he used to offer”.

Talking about Ahmadiyya Muslim Community he said, “Today, when we the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat raise the slogan of ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’ as a means to establish global peace, we do so directly in fulfilment of the teachings of the Holy Quran and the practice of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)”.
He also sets the direction of the world leaders to prevent next war. He said, “The direction the world is moving in suggests that the dark shadow of war is being cast over a very large part of the globe. If war breaks out then countless innocent women, children and elderly people will all die. The destruction will be greater than was witnessed in the previous two World Wars and I say this knowing full well that during the Second World War tens of millions of people lost their lives. The world’s population is now far greater and there has also been a vast increase in both the number of weapons of mass destruction and the countries that have developed a thirst for war. Under these circumstances destruction will be manifold.

In light of all of this, it is imperative that the world and particularly the major powers reflect upon what efforts are required to save the world from a horrific destruction.|

Fear of Islam or attempts to defame it will not achieve anything or lead to peace and reconciliation. Instead, the key to peace is to stop cruelty and oppression wherever it occurs with justice and equality. Only when this principle is followed will global peace develop. This will only happen when the people of the world come to recognise their Creator”.

I hope we choose the right direction for our future generations and reserve a peaceful earth for generations to come

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How much do Muslim Charities pay their top people?

How much do Muslim Charities pay the top people?

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-much-do-muslim-charities-pay-their.html

Charity is way of doing good deeds, the good that people cannot do it themselves but pay to get it done.

The article below is about the people who run charities, and get paid well, and they should, without them, the funds would not be raised. A friend of mine argues, that he hates to go to fund raising dinners, as the fund raiser gets a cut from the funds, he would rather give it himself un-asked.

My point is people do want to pay, but unless you goad them, they will not open the check book. People simply do not walk up to a Mosque, and say, here, take this big check. I seriously doubt people would voluntarily write more than a $500 check. If people paid on their own voluntarily- every Mosque will be rich Mosque - nearly 70% of Muslims who visit Mosques don't even pay the membersship dues of $50 or even $100 in some cases.  Your Mosque, the Islamic School and other good things you take it for granted would not have been there without the efforts of these executives. Who can pull a Millions Dollars in one night.

People do pay charity, but these executives are able to get more funds to serve
the people,  and they deserve the income they earn.  Boy Scouts guy gets paid over
1.5 Million, without him, those funds would not be raised.

I was going to write a full essay, but my friends have short-circuited me, they wrote it very well.  I appreciate Iqbal Kazmi and Aurangzeb Khan for making the points in favor of good pay. Everyone should get paid well, that is how the economy thrives.

The only problem I have is the exaggerated claims of a place in the middle of the Jannah. I don't know how much of a truth is involved in it when they say,  your house will be build close to Allah - as if Allah is a being and lives next door. We need to test, how many fall to usage of Arabic language v. Just plain English.

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

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 Salaries at Muslim Charities

How much do Muslim Charities pay the top people.  Following is a list of 5 charities and the compensation for the tax year ending 2011.  This information is available to public.  Islamic Relief among the five pays over 1.2 Million Dollars in compensation a year to 9 top people.  It will be interesting to find what compensation is paid to the average individual in these organizations.  

Muslim Charities Compensation Information Top People 

           

Organization /Year 2011

Islamic Relief USA         

Abbd Ayub    $167,568

Anwar Khan  $155,123

Khalid Falah  $141,586

Tariq Osman  $136,252

Adnan Ansari  $124,218

Hebah Reed   $121,815

Beverly Ferel  $123,343

Azhar Azeez   $133,286

Omar Shahin  $132,990

            Total   $1,236,181

Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)   

Muhammad Usman   $38,743

Maqsood Ahmad     $54,000

Mohammad Arif      $79,990

Mohammad Ansari $28,200

                       Total   $200,933

Helping Hand For Relief And Development, Inc.  
     

Shahid Hayat   $62,237

Raza Farrukh   $33,000

Saqib Attique    $47,590

                Total   $142,827

Mercy-USA

Umar al-Qadi   $81,437

Anas alhaidar   $74,276

               Total   $155,713

Life For Relief and Development, Inc.      

            Total   $351,561

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BY IQBAL KAZMI, DALLAS

Assalamu Alaikum!

Good observation about Muslim Charity executive compensation. It is good information to raise a question   but it fails to show the production of these executives. No comparison has been made with Non-Muslim  American   Charities either.  I feel that the e-mail author sincerely believes that we are paying too much to these executives.  I want to show that he is probably missing some data from his equation. Following is the data I am talking about:

Look at big Non-Muslim American charities and you will find that these Muslim Charity executives are getting peanuts compared to their peers.

Some of the people identified, I have listened to, are highly motivational and help collect millions in charities. They work 80 to 100 hours week, are on the road most of the time. Assuming a person making $130,000/yr is working 80 hrs weekly then hi s actual compensation when compared with 40 hr worker is basically $65,000 /yr. A fresh engineering graduate makes that money when he starts working right after college.

We are not living in the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (Radi Allah Unho) who was initially working as Kahilfah by earning his livelihood and working for free as Kahlifah of Muslim Ummah. Upon insistence by some Suhabah Karam he started taking a small compensation and devoted his full time to working as Kahlifah of the Ummah. We are living in twenty first century and our needs are different.  It is unreasonable for us to live in a tent and not send our children to a school or college. These workers need reasonable compensation for their hard work.

We don’t have Abdul Sattar Edhi in our ranks either. If we will wait for persons Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (Radi Allah Unho) we will have very few charities operating in a professional style as they are operating now.

We can always hire someone at $10 an hour and chances are we will get what you paid for. In some cases we will get lucky and we will find some good people but chances are little.

Many of these executives have worked for free in the beginning for a long time then they moved full time by saying goodbye to their respective career.

These charities are working on national and international level and need very capable people. I feel that compensation for these executives is hardly enough for the work they are doing. Many of them have come from private sectors and were earning similar salaries for their 40 hr work in their professional field and were able to spend good amount of time with their families. Now they work 80 to 100 hrs week and are away from their families for a good amount of time.

If a charity is spending more than 10% of its income on operating expenses then one may complain otherwise we must support the hard work these charities are doing. A few decades ago we did not have Muslim charities in USA and we had nowhere to go in the time of need. Alhamdulillah, some of us sacrificed their careers and easy family life and have taken a full time position with these charities.

We should be thankful for these individuals whose hard work has expanded these charities nationally and internationally and are taking care of the needs of Muslim Ummah.  I am proud of the work these charities are doing nationally and internationally.

Iqbal Kazmi

DFW area, TX

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BY AURANGZEB KHAN

Even if we believe or trust you for these figures, and with your only faceless introduction through this forum, it is a Big IF, what is the problem?

Firstly, these salaries are not that big. United Way is known for many times higher salaries. 

Is us illegal to pay midrange salaries to your Charity executives?  Is it even Haraam?  Are these salaries outrageous.  I think not. 

Success for any organization lies in its decision makers. Islamic Charities are no exception. Muslims must pay good salaries to have right executives in their organizations. Muslim Organizations executives should not be expected to live hand to mouth, worried about the future of their families. 

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 BY MOAZAM SYED

If we want to survive as a community, we need to nurture it too.I have been associated with Muslim community activities in various capacities over the past so many years.

I can tell you,  even with these numbers, we are still not there.There are a number of volunteers who do not get a dime.  Our institutions struggle for fundings. 

I wish somebody would compile that data also, and see how many are not getting what they deserve. The numbers posted indicate that barring a few, we are still below the datum.

Some of the people quoted, I know how hard they work and what they can make in open market, had they stayed with their professions.

Free market enterprise would get them lot more than what they are making with these associations. Not to mention the demands and the unspoken career vulnerabilities.

Our growth as a community, in numbers, is phenomenal. Whereas, in stature and standing in this society and around the globe, we are still among the"Masakeen".

It is is not because we are a poor community.

It is just that our commitment is not where our community is. 

I am rather surprised that such a posting is made. 

The numbers without the full story leave a very bad impression and indicate a questionable motive.

If any of the names posted are not doing their jobs, that should be taken up and reported to the organization for corrective measures.

I work at a Nuclear Power plant as a consulting engineer.

I will be very unhappy if anyone posts my salary like this. 

I will be very happy to advice that the person reporting this data establishes an organization to survey / oversee all Muslim charitable organizations comparing them with other charitable organizations on equal footing (based on their service value) and publish the data for community use. 

I feel that would be a great service. This peicemeal information may be counter productive.

Think about it.

Moazam Syed

Fort Worth