Develop a dialog
with an Imam

Intolerance is one of Pakistan's major obstacles in Pakistan becoming an ideal society. The problem of prejudice is not only ingrained in the minds of children as they grow, but also shows up when well meaning Muslims feel that they are the only party in the right regarding an Islamic issue or method. This later situation is not only common among average Pakistanis, but also among the lesser educated Imams and religious leaders.

Because an Imam is the leader of his followers, he will be able to influence the minds of many people. So if our goal is to show people an alternative to tolerance, our strategy should be to influence the Imams.

Our suggestion is that the next time you are in Pakistan, you put time aside for the Imam of your local masjid. It will take however more than just a short lecture to convince an Imam who knows he is in the right.

The best strategy to win over someone, is to develop a relationship of trust with the individual. Developing a relationship of this type requires assisting the Imam during his regular masjid duties, inviting him for your home, and showing a genuine interest in all his affairs.

To have a genuine interest is essential in fostering a relationship of this sort. If you are not sincere in your relationship it will not be blessed by Allah; you will not be able to understand the individual you are trying to persuade, and thus will not be able to persuade him.

After you have a good understanding with the Imam, you will be able to talk about issues such as tolerance convincingly. It will be important to keep in mind that converting a person to your beliefs, 100%, is unlikely. Rather you will need to open a window, and pray that Allah allows a full breeze to go through.

The next step will be to come up with projects for increasing tolerance in the community. For this you may want to do activities that will serve a common cause while uniting people from groups that have tensions with each other. This way the people will be able to learn about each other as they work together. They will also be able to make long lasting friendships with people whom they had earlier misunderstood. The masjid as a whole may also want to have a inter-masjid dialogue in which issues such as security, education, and health maybe discussed while bringing people together.

The opportunities that a project like this will succeed are great. After initiating dialogue and communication between people, the community will be able to work on greater projects to improve their condition. For example the community may want to work on education, cleanliness, and immunization, among other things in their neighborhood.

A masjid brings together people who pray; people who utilize their time and energies to do something good that they feel is important. Thus the likelihood of people having positive energy is greater than other areas. And Allah will bless the effort that comes out of His house of worship, inshallah. You will also be helping the masjid to go on the right course and do positive things, rather than propagating intolerance and sectarianism.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:48:18 PM

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