he’s a wahabbi brainwashed guy, nothing going on here, Omar Suleyman is a great sheijhHis beef with Yaqeen institute and Imam Omar Suleiman (who’s the head of Yaqeen) is because he got fired from the institute and his writings were taken down which is why he’s desperately trying to defame them (and most American Muslim Imams and preachers) as modernists and liberals. It has nothing to do with Yaqeen allegedly spreading heresy.
Indeed, no doubt he is a great Imam who has contributed a lot. Unfortunately if you go on social media, you’ll find many people who fell victim to his deception and actually bought into his nonsense.he’s a wahabbi brainwashed guy, nothing going on here, Omar Suleyman is a great sheijh
most converts are ignorant and easily buy into wahabbi propganada like @Omar del SurIndeed, no doubt he is a great Imam who has contributed a lot. Unfortunately if you go on social media, you’ll find many people who fell victim to his deception and actually bought into his nonsensee
His beef with Yaqeen institute and Imam Omar Suleiman (who’s the head of Yaqeen) is because he got fired from the institute and his writings were taken down which is why he’s desperately trying to smear them (and most American Muslim Imams, preachers and activists) as modernists and liberals. It has nothing to do with Yaqeen allegedly spreading heresy.
Following a debate that took place at the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) in 2016 regarding how American Muslims could maintain their commitment to Islam’s normative position on marriage and sexuality while also practically navigating the political challenges in the United States associated with defending Muslims’ safety and religious rights against rising Islamophobia, Yaqeen Institute published a scholarly debate on the subject between Dr. Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee Elmasry. Dr. Brown, who had already published his views elsewhere, stridently upheld the orthodox Islamic sexual norms while, following other leading American Muslim scholars, advocated the path of political accommodation to secure reciprocal rights for Muslims as a religious minority. Dr. Shadee Elmasry argued that no such accommodation is warranted. Given the subsequent cultural and political developments, Dr. Brown no longer holds this position. He agrees that his earlier treatment of the subject has been rendered obsolete by Supreme Court rulings that entrench and enforce understandings of sexual and gender identity in law. We have decided, therefore, to archive this article and hope to address this topic in the near future, inshaAllah.
Muslims in the U.S. should affirm and advocate for many (but not necessarily all) LGBTQ rights, not because of a quid pro quo they-stood-by-us-so-we-have-to-stand-by-them logic, but rather because Muslims in the U.S. and LGBTQ groups seek protection for the same rights and, ironically, arguably have a common vision for the country’s future (I’ll explain below). But, crucially, Muslims should advocate for these rights while strenuously affirming that many aspects of LGBTQ lifestyles are indisputably religiously prohibited in Islam.
This position will cause cognitive dissonance in those who adopt it. Beliefs and political stances must be aligned and should not contradict the Sacred Law or else one will internalize this contradiction and never be able to escape the agitation that dissonance causes. Separating what you believe religiously from what you support politically is the very eye of secularism
There's a difference between constructive genuine criticism and clout chasing. Now I don't know what's in DH's heart but DH exhibits the behavior of a clout-chaser. DH's fear mongering against mainstream Muslim leaders, Imams, organizations etc who have contributed a lot, to the point of trying to destroy their reputation is not at all justified. I'm well aware of the controversies Imam Omar and some of the writers on Yaqeen institue were involved in, which they either clarified or they need to clarify, but whatever mistake they had done was not intended, these scholars genuinely care about the religion, they are not at all "Modernists" or "liberal semi-murtad/agents" looking to destroy this religion as DH tries to give such misleading impression.His criticisms are actually valid and put question marks regarding the questionable actions taken by yaqeen. I suggest that you read the article itself from yaqeen instead of the summary provided by that guy. Yaqeen as of now has archived the article, it can only be accessed via sign in, they list their reasoning as follows
Dr brown's position was one where he was advocating for the following
Just think of the implications of such a position ? imagine believing that lgbt is haram etc but you go on ahead to advocate for people to engage in it and support their right to do so all for a supposed benefit. Do the pros of lgbt advocacy outweigh it's harms ? lgbt people are fighting to end criminalization of their lifestyle why would they stop at christianity. Even more absurd why would they accept the islamic stance that not only forbids but considers their lifestyle as one of the worst immoral actions ?
How can you partner and support lgbt groups while maintaining to hold onto the islamic beliefs that their lifestyle is not just wrong but also are not allowed to support it. This is why Dr shadee critiques this in the same article by stating the following
You can read the entire article from dr brown's website
LGBTQ and Islam Revisited
Daniel has basis for his criticisms on yaqeen's stances and manner in how they deal with issues like the above one. He highlights the negative consequences of siding with the liberal groups granted he overexaggerates in some instances but he's spot on regarding the dangers such affiliation to such groups and ideologies cause. Case in point in a border demonstration that took place for migrant right's, CAIR's executive director is seen receiving an "oil blessing" from priestess that supports lgbt. Omar suleiman and other muslim public figures took part in that same demonstration, this is why it's very risky to engage in social justice causes that aren't based on islamic ethos.
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Bal ka waran ariintan sxb ?
There's a difference between constructive genuine criticism and clout chasing. Now I don't know what's in DH's heart but DH exhibits the behavior of a clout-chaser. DH's fear mongering against mainstream Muslim leaders, Imams, organizations etc who have contributed a lot, to the point of trying to destroy their reputation is not at all justified. I'm well aware of the controversies Imam Omar and some of the writers on Yaqeen institue were involved in, which they either clarified or they need to clarify, but whatever mistake they had done was not intended, these scholars genuinely care about the religion, they are not at all "Modernists" or "liberal semi-murtad/agents" looking to destroy this religion as DH tries to give such misleading impression.
As for the pagan rituals Omar Suleiman engaged in years before this controversy resurfaced on the internet (thanks to DH), the Imam didn't know what the ritual was about and didn't know what was happening, usually when you're in a crowded protest mixed with all sorts of people, confusion starts to kick in. He did clarify the situation in a Facebook post back in 2020:
Now keep in mind the protest took place years before 2020, if DH was sincere he would try to contact Imam OS for clarification and they could have got the video removed off the internet, but instead of keeping the unknown video out of the public eye, he used it to bash and demonize him.
Yaqeen is a platform that promotes dialogue and civil discussions between scholars from different lines of thought and explicitly states on each paper that. When you go on their website, you'll find articles with differing views that contradict each other. For example, there are about 4 articles on Yaqeen discussing the age of Aisha رضي الله عنها, at least 3 of those articles agree that Aisha رضي الله عنها married the Prophet ﷺ when she was 6 and the marriage consummated when she was 9, they were defending the standard traditional narrative as narrated in all books of Hadith, only one article on Yaqeen claimed she was 19 or a lot older than what the Authentic Hadiths says. This is just an example of one difference of opinion on their platform.
“Yaqeen does not endorse any of the personal views of the authors on any platform. Our team is diverse on all fronts, allowing for constant, enriching dialogue that helps us produce high-quality research.”
Daniel himself agreed with this disclaimer and even supported Yaqeen’s approach as a platform before he started attacking Yaqeen continuously since he is no longer part of the organization.
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Besides outright denial, Yaqeen as an institute often “muddies the waters” on issues that are clear cut in Islam, issues where there is no actual legitimate scholarly disagreement. For example, on the issue of human evolution and the origins of mankind, this is a clear cut issue that all Muslim scholars have agreed on past and present. There is no scholar who has ever said it is permissible to believe that our father Adam had parents or that it is possible for humans not to have descended from Adam. So what does Yaqeen do? They publish one paper in line with the orthodox position on evolution and then publish a second paper that contradicts the orthodox position based on nothing but the personal opinion of some academic.[
The most egregious example is on the issue of LGBT rights. One paper from an Islamic scholar clearly explains why Muslims supporting LGBT rights and politically allying with their cause is categorically forbidden in Islam. But another paper, written by an academic, advocates the exact opposite, encouraging Muslims to affirm and support LGBT rights.
There would be nothing objectionable here if Yaqeen were presenting multiple scholarly views within a range of acceptable ikhtilaf. But in these examples and others, Yaqeen is taking an established, clear cut Islamic position and problematizing and undermining it by publishing its antithesis. What should be crystal clear and unquestioned becomes muddied and obfuscated. Is this conducive to yaqin or its opposite?
“Deviant opinions preluded with disclaimers such as: “The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers and articles are strictly those of the authors,” are simply not good enough when approaching the Muslim public. One wonders if such a disclaimer will absolve them before Allah on the Day of Judgment as they hope to be absolved in this world.
His beef with Yaqeen institute and Imam Omar Suleiman (who’s the head of Yaqeen) is because he got fired from the institute and his writings were taken down which is why he’s desperately trying to smear them (and most American Muslim Imams, preachers and activists) as modernists and liberals. It has nothing to do with Yaqeen allegedly spreading heresy.
most converts are ignorant and easily buy into wahabbi propganada like @Omar del Sur
Many converts disproportionally end up being terrorists as wellit varies from case to case but people who convert to a religion often take it way more seriously than the people born into it. my family is Catholic and I've never really taken Catholicism seriously but I've heard of people who aren't from a Catholic background, who became Catholic and who became very serious Catholics, much more than people born into it- which kind of amazes me in a sense.
Many converts disproportionally end up being terrorists as well
Dr. Julio RiveraDirector of Research OperationsDr. Julio Rivera holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Master's and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago. In addition to his dissertation on modern Syrian history, Julio has conducted research with institutes and government at the intersection of Middle East politics and security studies. |