Where is the Money Going?

Receiving multiple e-mails and newsletters from mosques collecting donations to cover the basic bills and utilities, and repeatedly being badgered by marketing spam from other institutes selling Islamic knowledge to the desperate, I thought enough is enough.

I’ve been doing some thinking about the current state of affairs and I am so sick of this mismanagement of funds, lack of transparency, unprofessionalism and straight milking the community for every penny.

What makes matters worse is that when I brought my concerns up to students of these so-called institutes, they don’t seem to even care about where their money goes. They just want to sit in a class and listen to someone preach to them so they can feel better about themselves.

In an attempt to clarify the situation, I went as far as e-mailing (multiple times) the institute’s officials to ask for some answers as to why :

1- They feel like they’re entitled to take money from these people for courses that don’t add up to an actual degree accredited by any body or board.

2- Instructors teaching university-level courses only have Bachelors degrees. On what planet does someone with a BS teach undergrad classes? And why is it that students wouldn’t invest a penny in secular education at a school that wasn’t accredited or recognized, but would pour thousands into Islamic knowledge that is backed by no one?

3- So much of the leg work of these institutes is done by volunteers, they handle marketing, logistics, booking and even get access to free venues through their colleges and universities. Again, raking in that kind of cash and running the program with mainly volunteers, where on earth is the money going?

4- Students treat these instructors with cult-like followings as though they’ve crossed the desert on a camel with no water to bring them the knowledge of the religion from Madinah, as though they aren’t getting paid for what they do.

5- There are now all sorts of gimmicky programs coming out that just ask Muslims for more money, life coaching, business help, self help blah blah blah. Who went to school and studied psychology or organizational behavior so they could qualify to teach this course? Let alone give their even less qualified students the right to charge others for the service?

This is just absolute nonsense and I’m really disappointed that by the students being so caught up in the dream of becoming scholars from taking weekend courses. It’s simply the case that they can’t see what’s happening right in front of them, or see and don’t care. Imam Suhaib Webb said it clearly, when he said these courses don’t build scholarship they are for literacy.

I was going through my RSS feed and I came across this post by Seth Godin. Just to explain briefly, he’s talking about when companies want to hire people that are submissive and do what they’re told. They focus on people that are easily bossed-around and can’t really think for themselves. Seth makes a great point that I think unfortunately, is applicable to many of the students of these institutes as well as the management I’ve been exposed to; from Mosques to Weekend Schools to Summer Camps etc.

That is essentially what were seeing, someone thought up the idea to make themselves the shepherd to all the thoughtless sheep out there. It almost seems as though they were thinking, “let me sell Islamic knowledge to people who think they can’t access it on their own. Not just to cover my expenses but extortionate pricing and since they don’t use their minds, they won’t object or question our authority on the topic.” and it worked.

What’s the solution to all this? Some transparency, I just want to know where the money goes. I have a nagging suspicion that someone is getting or got rich off these kids’ money and it’s just going on and on, and no one seems to care. All of this in the name of spreading Islamic knowledge, so a simple reply or response or report or even statement that explains what’s happening would solve the problem.

It has nothing to do with covering expenses, because I know for sure that there are times when venues are 100% free, volunteers do everything except teach the course really and print the booklets. So the cost of course material and the instructor’s flight and accommodation don’t add up to the thousands they are collecting each course. I’m sorry, no one here is stupid.

Al-Kauthar institute has Mercy Mission, which is a charity sub-division that is run with the funds from the educational program. That is beautiful, Mashallah. I plan on taking more course with them, because I know where my money is going. Other institutes claim to be applying for non-profit status and claim to be in the process of getting accredited, but still take money and teach courses with unqualified instructors and charge premium prices for it.

It’s not clever marketing, its disgusting.

What Confidentiality?

A serious issue I have been wanting to cover was confidentiality in our community, or the lack thereof. It has been happenning repeatedly, that if someone comes and speaks to an Imam about an issue they were having, he would do the Friday khutbah about it the following week. I have nothing against him wanting to teach the public, however, it is embarrassing for the person that came to him. They feel as though they are being exposed and due to the level of detail the Imam describes their situation in, sometimes others can figure out who it was.

To the extent that it has become a sort of guessing game, where everyone is in the other’s business. I have seen it with my own eyes several times, that someone will come to the Imam about an issue and it would be all over the masjid in a matter of days. The reason this happens is because he may allow mosque staff to remain in the office during his talks with people from the community, when these meetings should be private. So, that person tells his wife about what happened and she would tell others and so on and so forth.

Confidentiality isn’t as simple as removing the names and telling the story, because if you aren’t careful, people can put one and one together and figure out who you are talking about. I personally would never tell my issues to the Imam of my local mosque. The trust isn’t there, I am confident that my business would be everyone’s conversation by the end of the same day. Then to top it off some sisters would come and randomly advise me about my weak Iman. Patience is a huge part of dealing with any affliction or test, but just because people are going through a tough time doesn’t mean they have weak faith.

This is a very real problem, it makes people insecure about their issues, because they never know what others know about them. This is one of the things that alienate people from the masjid. One young lady in the community was having difficulties with her family and wanted counseling, but she emphasized that she wasn’t ever going to talk to any Muslims about her issue. She would feel more comfortable speaking with someone external to the Muslim community. There is a huge danger in that the youth will look towards non-Islamic sources for their guidance and advice. Why wouldn’t they? All the local mosque has to offer is criticism and exposing your secret.

Imam Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, and others recorded the hadith of Jaabir, that the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم ) said: “When a man narrates (hadatha) something, and he (iltafat) turns around, then it is a trust (amaanah).”

Then what if he tells you it is a secret? What if he makes you promise not to tell?

The problem lies in poor manners and people not having the basic knowledge of Islam. Backbiting, spying and slander are among the sins that we are clearly warned against in the Quran. We are too quick to tear down our brothers and sisters when we are sometimes doing worse things than they are. We can be arrogant and want one over on our sister or brother and take joy in bashing them every chance we get.

Grow your beards, roll up your pants, wear niqab, wear hijab read Quran, quote hadith, talk about your jahileyya days, sprinkle your words with Islamic terms, and trash talk other Muslims.

Doesn’t add up does it?
Looking Muslim on the outside isn’t all there is to it.

We need to act like it too.

Islam & Ethical Decisions – Part II

Part I | Part II

Excuse # 4: We’ll wait until the lawyers tell us it’s wrong:

I was recently told the story of a school that had been instructing its employees to report lower income so they could meet the requirements for their desired tax bracket. In addition they were going as far as explaining the process of applying for benefits from the council (welfare) to their staff with the promise of higher income. Not only were they shortchanging the government for the tax they should have been paying out, but they were also encouraging others to apply for benefits they didn’t need.

When an employee that had a confrontation with the school (not over this issue) took legal action against them. They offered to settle outside of court, as long as the employee didn’t report them to tax authorities.

Isn’t it enough that Allah (swt) sees what you are trying to do? Does it have to come to local authorities attention before you decide to stop what you are doing? Actions speak louder than words, and it is now the case that we fear people more than we fear Allah (swt).

Excuse # 5: It doesn’t really hurt anyone:

There are tons of examples of this, from littering to wasting water. I won’t bore you with specifics, but pay close attention to what I am about to tell you. There are approximately 6.9 Billion people on this planet, if all of them think like you, we are going to be in big trouble.

Change starts with individuals.

Excuse # 6: The system is unfair:

So is life. Just remember that you will stand before God alone, and He is fair.

Excuse # 7: I was just following orders:

Returning to the example of the school, the first employee that was told to get involved with their tax scam should have refused and left. It would have forced them to at best think twice before asking that of someone again. However, as people continued to gradually buy into this culture of dishonesty, it became acceptable.

The Messenger Muhammad (SAW) clearly said:

“There is no obedience [to any creation] in disobedience to Allah” Sahih Bukhari & Muslim.

Excuse # 8: It’s a gray area:

On the authority of An-Numan Ibn Bashir, who said: ‘ I heard the messenger of Allah (pbuh) say :

“That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is plain and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah’s sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be good, all the body is good and which, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart.“

- Bukhari & Muslim.

This hadith nails it. It’s basically telling us not to play around in or near the gray areas because we can fall into the black. You are better safe than sorry, and should try your best to avoid actions whose permissibility is in question.

The leadership in a large corporation wanted to take a huge step that would be considered unethical but not illegal. So when deciding whether to go ahead with it or not, the CEO asked them if they would feel comfortable with their decision being published as tomorrow’s newspaper headline. His statement made everyone scrutinize their decision a little more, and as a result they abandoned the idea.

This brings to mind yet another hadith, where the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says:

“Al-Birr (piety & righteousness) entails good conduct, while Al-Ithm (evil) is that which crosses your mind and which you hate for people to find out about.”

In closing I just want to emphasize how fortunate we are as Muslims to have such clear guidance when it comes to dealing with the ethical aspects of our day-to-day lives. Unfortunately we aren’t applying these solutions as we should and are lagging behind when we should be shining examples of the best morals and behaviors.

May Allah (swt) bless us with better morals, manners and conduct in general.

Ameen.

Islam & Ethical Decisions – Part I

Part I  | Part II

My business ethics text had listed some reasons for why we fail to make ethical decisions, and I will go through those in a minute, but the concerning part was that it was followed by a table listing nations in the order of how corrupt their governments and institutions were, not surprisingly many Muslim countries were ranking as the most corrupt. Seeing this as an actual statistic really struck a chord with me because I couldn’t help but feel that Islam gave us the remedy to these social ills, and it’s the Muslims that are failing to do this beautiful religion any justice.

Excuse # 1: Everybody Else Does it:

A prime example of this is copying your friend’s homework in highschool, or college. Of course you don’t mean to cheat, but class is in 45 minutes and you don’t have time to think through the problems yourself. So, you don’t think too much of getting a grade for  work you haven’t done.

Another one that comes to mind is downloading music, movies and anything else you can’t get for free in a store. It has become so common that we don’t even give it a second thought. Just because our secular legal systems are still in the process of creating more comprehensive laws that protect intellectual property doesn’t make it okay for us to steal it.

In a hadith narrated by At-Tirmithi, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) warns us not to be Imma’ah. The Imma’ah is the one who if the people are doing good, does good, and if the people are doing bad, does bad. But, he orders us to be steadfast in doing what’s right at all times.

Excuse # 2: If we don’t do it, someone else will:

In an article I read in the New York Times, the writer was talking about Muslim delis that sell alcohol, cigarettes, pork and other non-halal items, because they believed that it was these are the things that made their money. To stop selling these things would be the death of their business because they would miss out on the big bucks and everyone would just go somewhere else.

This excuse makes perfect sense from a capitalist perspective. I say this for two reasons, the first is because in Islam we have the concept of rizq (sustenance) being pre-determined – of course given that you put in the effort.
” And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised. Then by the Lord of the heaven and earth, indeed, it is truth – just as [sure as] it is that you are speaking.” Chapter 51, At-Thaariyaat (Drivers of the Wind),  22-23.

Having this in mind, it makes no sense once so ever to try and increase your income by doing something that is illegal or unethical. Muslims should be under no illusion that doing anything haram (unlawful) could increase their sustenance or make them better off. They may enjoy temporary financial gains, but at what expense?

The second reason is because capitalism is all about wealth-maximization. In other words, to do whatever it takes to win. By making financial gain your number one priority, ethics are the first thing to go out the window, along with  justice and social responsibility.

Excuse # 3: That’s the way it has always been done:

The example that comes to mind is women removing their hijab (headscarf) on their wedding day. Random example, I know, but it was one of those things that I saw as a sort of norm in Egyptian culture and seemed to be acceptable just because of the sheer number of people that did it.

Abu Sa”id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had said:

“Whoever among you sees anything objectionable, let him change it with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest form of faith.” – Muslim

We are all reformers in our own right. Islam requires us to enjoin good and forbid evil. Social reform isn’t achieved over night, it begins with you making the choice to do the right thing.

Obviously, changing your family’s understanding of hijab or overhauling your company’s corporate culture isn’t something you can do alone. The hadith acknowledges that, and we are advised to at least, make the change in our own hearts. Consequently it would be reflected through our actions and we would gradually teach others by example.

Stay tuned for part II.