Religious leaders go through special education in America. There are many specialized universities that play that role for Jews and Christians in America. There are also many institutions, like al-azhar university, and university of Madina, which play that role in the Muslim world. However, this is a nascent phenomena for Muslims in the west.
For the Muslim community in America, the following models are often found in trying to find scholarship in America. I have listed them in order of frequency and influence (highest to lowest) :
1. Bringing Imams from overseas to serve the local Muslim communities, usually in local mosques, or local schools.
2. Lay leaders who develop some rigorous Islamic knowledge, while maintaining another full time career/commitment.
3. Individuals taking some courses, or even degrees, from young Islamic educational institutions (such as the Islamic American University or American Open University).
4. Individuals graduating from American secular institutions
5. American Muslims going overseas to learn about Islam and then come back and serve their community.
1. Bringing Imams from overseas
This model is the simplest model. There are many Imams in the Muslim world that would like to come to the US. This model woks well in only a small fraction of the cases. These Imams have usually gone through traditional schooling and university education, in a Muslim country. Usually it takes the Imams who come from overseas a long time to understand the unique dynamics and challenges that face Muslims in America. There are no systematic mechanisms to educate these new Imams to the realities of Muslims in America. Most of the times, they fulfill the immediate tactical needs of the community – such as 5 daily prayers and other “simple” religious tasks. However, they are not as able to help the community fully integrate with the larger society and achieve all its potential, since they themselves are still struggling with the new realities of a new world. In a mature community, which has strong support, these Imams can grow and mature into scholars who more fully understand and appreciate the American society. But for this to happen, they need a lot of support from other community leaders, who are more experienced with America. Imam Basyouni Nehela and Imam Mohammed Magid are two successful examples.
These Imams are respected by their community and they are an influential part on the local decisions that are made. They influence the day to day decisions made by many Muslims.
2. Lay Leaders
These individuals have a deep interest in Islamic sciences, and in serving their community. They find creative easy to learn Islamic sciences, to be able to play a role as a community religious leaders. They may not be full fledged “scholars”, but they are, as usually termed in Arabic, “students of knowledge”. To achieve this knowledge, they usually do one or more of the following
o Take courses by correspondence
o Read a lot of Islamic books
o Study with a local scholars in the mosque
o Engage in some classes overseas for a short period of time (3-18 months)
These individuals are very effective in shaping the Muslim community since they are respected leaders and are more able to articulate a vision to engage the community with the larger society.
Every Muslim community will have many of these individuals. They are usually the ones giving Jumma Khutba (Friday Sermon) in the majority of mosques which do not have a full time Imam. They are also very influential in shaping other policies in the community at large.
3. Graduating from American Muslim Institutions offering “degreed” programs.
This is a new but growing trend. Institutions such as the American Open University and Islamic American University have been offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in Islamic studies for a number of years. They are struggling to attract students, and to offer a model that would work best. They have physical classes, as well as correspondence courses that can be taken for a degree, or as standalone courses.
Zaytuna institute is another institution that may fall in this category, although they do not offer undergrad or grad degrees per say.
Zaytuna College is a new exciting project that may take this initiative to a higher level by offering a full fledge university style program for aspiring American Muslim scholars
4. American Secular Institutions
American colleges have been offering degrees in Islamic studies for a long time. For example, Harvard University and Boston University offer such programs. For a while, these degrees have been looked upon skeptically by the Muslim community. That is, these degrees, by themselves and without another “credential”, have traditionally not been enough to position an individual for religious leadership in the Muslim community. Although often times they are influential to position the Muslim individual as a Muslim scholar in the larger society. The question is raised on how the secular institutions are able to fully educate a person in their religion.
Institutions like Hartford Seminary have often been received more favorably within the religious community for educating religious leaders, as they are perceived as more sensitive then the purely secular/academic institutions.
In the past 5 years, and since 9/11, American academic Institutions have become more desiring to recruit American Muslims in their Islamic studies program. There are a number of reasons for this : a) Muslims are becoming more an integral part of the American society, b) diversity is becoming important for these institutions, and c) the US desire to be engaged with Islam and Muslims is generally increasing. This has positively influenced the programs to become more understanding of Islam and Muslims, rather than simply viewing Islam with a skeptical lense, or as “the other”.
Although initially with some hesitancy, more American Muslims are pursuing this as an option for Islamic education, including many young Muslims desiring to take religious study as a career. Some of them also enroll in additional traditional scholarly routes to enhance the spectrum of their Islamic education.
Scholars such as Sulayman Nyang have been able to combine both an academic as well as religious leadership in the Muslim community. On a local level, individuals such as Mohamed Lazouni have been able to do the same.
5. Eastern (overseas) Education
This option requires more commitment, and usually produces positive results. American Muslims go overseas in order to enroll in programs to study Islamic education and come back as scholars in their community. Hamza Yusuf is one individual who engaged in this process. The Islamic American University (IAU) has sponsored a dozen or so students, for 3-10 years each, to live overseas, and learn in a Muslim religious institutions. With their understanding of the American society, they are more able to articulate a new message for Muslims in America that fits their environment. Many of these aspiring scholars come back to the US in the summer to “practice” their knowledge in America, so that they are not “isolated from the motherland”, and are able to continuously refresh their analytical skills to apply what they learn overseas to the Reality of Muslims in America. There are some women (Muslema Pearl for example) who are part of this initiative. Suhaib Webb has been supported by this initiative as well. Zaytouna institute has also sponsored individuals to study Islam in Muritania for more than a year.
The success of this option depends on a number of factors
- The commitment of the individual to learning: living overseas is more difficult than living in America. People need to have tough skin to be able to withstand the pressures of a new environment.
- Finances: 5-10 years of learning need some backing : either your parents, or some Islamic organization that supports the person
- Where you go: not all institutions are equal. For instance, there are some institutions overseas that are on the conservative side of the spectrum (such as some Saudi universities). This makes it more difficult for the student to apply what they learn in a way that moves Muslims in America forward.
- The support system in America: some mentoring in the process is important to ensure that the student is able to come back and indeed benefit the American Muslim community with their knowledge.
Scholarship in Islam
To the Muslim individual, a scholar’s opinion is very important and needs to be taken in serious consideration. It cannot simply be “discarded”. However, a Muslim (individual or community) has the ability to “shop around” until they find the scholar that they are most comfortable with. This comfort should, ideally, not be based on what is closest to my personal desires, rather, to what an individual feels is closest to the truth.
Especially in the Sunni tradition, Muslims do no have a pope like-figure. Scholars do their utmost to interpret God’s rules and commands. They can make mistakes in that interpretation. If the mistake is an “honest” mistake (one done with utmost sincerity and with a clear desire to look for the truth, while taking the necessary scholarly steps in the research), then they are not held negatively in account (by God) for their position or fatwa. Muslims should be very weary to follow their personal opinion, without scholarly “backing”.
Many Muslims will have an Imam or scholar that they trust, and will go to him (and sometimes her) in order to find out what they need to do. Lay leaders also play this role in many communities in North America. More learned individuals will often consult with scholars and make up their own mind as to the fatwa or opinion with the most “backing”, and then follow that particular opinion.
Scholarly bodies in America
In the Muslim world, Al-Azhar University is one of the most renown bodies.
In Europe, there are more established Islamic scholarly bodies, which issue legal opinions and fatwas (ex European Fatwa and research council)
In America, this is even younger than Europe. One of the more prominent bodies include ISNA Fiqh Council.
Why is American Muslim scholarship different
Muslims in America need to build their own systems and institutions to produce scholars that understand the western and American dynamics well enough to shape Islamic opinions based on the realities of western (or more specifically American) Muslims. This is a trend that scholars like Tarik Ramadan are moving along. This is also a process that went through all societies where Muslims lived. For example, the trends of scholarship in Saudi is different than in Egypt which is different than Maylasia, which s different than China. Each society faces radically different challenges and opportunities, which allowed culture, politics and other dynamics to change the legal opinions provided.
Islam has a core that is unchanging (ex: belief in One God, Pillars, etc..). There is another part of Islam which is dynamics and changing, and has changed across different times and different space or culture.
In fact, this was one of the reasons that traditional scholars (such as the 4 Imams of schools of Fiqh) differed in their fatwas. Ibn Hanbal who was living in the traditional and conservative Saudi came up with categorically different opinions than Abu Haneefa who was living in Iraq’s open society. This continued to be the case for future Muslims.
Shaping of a genuine (and authentic) American Muslim Fikh, this will take time.
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