Having Fun while others Suffer

Sister Yvonne Ridley vs Brother Sami Yusuf

Sister Yvonne
"Quite frankly, I really don’t know how anyone in the Ummah can really let go and scream and shout with joy at pleasure domes when there is so much brutality and suffering going on in the world today. The rivers of blood flow freely from the veins of our brothers and sisters from across the Muslim world. Screaming and shouting the names of musical heroes drown out the screams coming from the dungeons of Uzbekistan where brothers and sisters are boiled alive in vats of water. How many will jump up and down and wave their arms in the air, shouting wildly for justice for our kin in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine, and Iraq? There are many more killing fields as well across the Asian and Arab world. Will you climb on theater chairs and express your rage over Guantanamo Bay and other gulags where our brothers and sisters are being tortured, raped, sodomized, beaten, and burned? Or will you just switch off this concerned sister and switch on to the likes of Sami Yusuf because he can sell you a pipe dream with his soothing words and melodic voice?Oh, Muslims, wake up! The Ummah is not bleeding; it is hemorrhaging.
Listen not to what is haram. Listen to the pain of your global family."

Brother Sami
"It is true that the state of the global Muslim community is saddening but are we meant to live in perpetual grieving and lamenting and dress in black? Despite all the oppression and persecution suffered by the Prophet, he would always find time to celebrate the different joyful moments in life such as marriages, births, Eids and other happy occasions. He, peace and blessings of God be upon him, also found time to enjoy poetry and even had appointed a personal poet – the notable companion Hassan ibn Thabit.

Maintaining balance and adopting the middle way is the key in these troubled times of ours. Extremism and extremists have no place in Islam and in our civil societies. “Perished are the extremists” is a famous Prophetic tradition. Extremism is not a problem unique to Islam. Every religion, every way of life, every ideology has its puritans and those willing to distort and misinterpret it to meet their own agenda. And these are no different to those that commit acts of terror, who preach extremism, and who sow seeds of hatred in the name if Islam. There is no denying that Muslims in places like Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir and Chechnya are facing oppression and tragedy every day, and both the Muslim world and the West need to come together to solve these problems in the greater interest of humanity. Western governments in particular must understand that to help the majority of Muslims defeat the minority of extremists, they must assist us in eradicating the daily humiliation faced by Muslims across many parts of the world. Ending this humiliation is the only way forward for us."

So here, in our final comparison, Sister Yvonne reminds us of all the pain and suffering occuring in the Muslim world, whereas Brother Sami reminds us that there can still be enjoyment and laughter while suffering is going on elsewhere around the world.  I agree with him, as there is always to be pain and suffering in the world, and we cannot always be in anguish and pain ourselves, although we must be aware of it, and be willing to do something about it as and when we have the power to do so.  However, brother Sami has committed a serious error in his writing because he has misunderstood Sister Yvonne completely and her position.  I omitted one statement she made at the beginning of her article and it was this:

"Eminent scholars throughout history have often opined that music is haram, and I don’t recall reading anything about the Sahaba whooping it up to the sound of music. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for people letting off steam, but in a dignified manner and one which is appropriate to their surroundings."

So really, there is agreement in that people can take the time for enjoyment and other such activities.  Brother Sami has created an argument that does not exist and then beaten it, and that is a huge mistake.  Sister Yvonne is not saying that one cannot have fun – she is simply saying that sisters going crazy in public by hollering and cheering is not becoming of women of their stature and that it should not be encouraged.

Furthermore, she is commenting on the fact that sisters would rather whoop, cheer, and show passion and zeal towards their favorite nasheed artists rather than channeling all that emotion into helping the Ummah.  She wants to see that same passion, that same zeal, and so forth, towards helping Muslims and not towards pop personalities, as Brother Sami is or has become.

While Brother Sami also speaks about the issue of pop music generally, he fails to speak about specifically with regards to himself.  He expounds on responsibilities that he and others must take, or have taken in his case, to use the medium for good, but he does not explain how to take away the poison that is generated from the industry (one example, as I mentioned earlier, his official "people" passing on his pictures to the official Sami Yusuf fan club site).  Meaning, I can feed you something unhealthy, and I can give you something nutritious with it, but if I keep poisoning you along with the nutrition, that's still not good enough.  We have to first stop the poison, and then and only then can we truly enjoy the benefits of the nutrition.

Round 7 Winner:  Sister Yvonne

The Adab of Advising Muslims

Sister Yvonne Ridley vs Brother Sami Yusuf

Brother Sami
“However, I definitely did not see girls dancing or behaving indecently in any of my concerts. To state otherwise is a gross exaggeration if not an outright fallacy. And if indeed that did take place then let’s deal with it in the true Prophetic tradition – a tradition that imparts love, mercy, tolerance and wisdom. Let me share with you the story of the Bedouin who came to the Prophet’s mosque and started urinating in the mosque itself. The Companions rushed to grab him and give him a ‘good beating.’ But the Prophet did not allow them to do so and told them to let him be. After the Bedouin had urinated, the Prophet asked his Companions to bring a bucket of water and wash the place. Afterwards he called the man and with gentleness and affection explained to him that this was a place of worship and that it should be kept clean. Though I have to say that had the Bedouin been around today he would be lucky to get away with just a ‘good beating’!”

“You have every right to criticise and disagree with me or anyone else for that matter, and I always welcome any advice and constructive criticism for I know my defects and shortcomings are many. I am guided by the ancient wisdom which states ‘May God have mercy on the one who shows me my defects – for that is the best gift he could give me.’ However, in the Islamic tradition there are adab (ethics) of criticism and disagreement. I know you wrote your article with sincerity and zeal, but on a more personal level, I was deeply pained and saddened by the hostile tone and the vulgar style of your language that was brimming with sarcasm and was clearly un-Islamic, indecent and a gross violation of the beautiful teachings of our beloved Prophet who said “I was not sent except to perfect your manners.” Using words such as “astagfirullah dude,” “lap-dancing,” ‘whooping and dancing,” and describing the volunteer stewards as “pipe cleaners” and “bulldozers” are inappropriate to say the very least. What shocked and even angered me was the way you shamelessly insulted our pure innocent sisters who were supporting a charity concert by describing them as “fluffers”! (Incidentally, these very sisters managed to raise over £100,000 for orphans all over the world.) I – like the vast majority of those who read your article – was blissfully ignorant about the very existence of this disgusting obscene word, and I would question the wisdom of introducing it to the vocabulary of your readers. As to my performances, I always consciously endeavour to be responsible, respectable, modest and dignified on stage.”

Sister Yvonne
“I FEEL very uncomfortable about the pop culture which is growing around some so-called Nasheed artists. Of course I use the term ‘Nasheed artists’ very lightly. Islamic ‘boy bands’ and Muslim ‘popsters’ would probably be more appropriate.”

“Even the security guys who looked more like pipe cleaners than bulldozers were left looking dazed and confused as they tried to stop hijabi sisters from standing on their chairs. Of course the stage groupies did not help at all as they waved and encouraged the largely female Muslim crowd to “get up and sing along.” (They’re called ‘Fluffers’ in lap-dancing circles!)”

“Apparently Sami also said one of the selling points of Brand UK was having Muslims in the Metropolitan Police Force! Astafur’Allah! Dude, these are the same cops who have a shoot-to-kill policy and would have gunned down a Muslim last year if they could tell the difference between a Bangladeshi and a Brazilian. This is the same police force that has raided more than 3000 Muslim homes in Britain since 9/11. What sort of life is there on Planet Sami, I wonder? If he is so proud to be British, why is he living in the great Middle Eastern democracy of Egypt?”

In previous articles, Sister Yvonne’s article would start and Brother Sami’s would follow because it would be her accusation, and his response.  In this particular discussion, the opposite took place – Brother Sami went on the offensive, and we are examining Sister Yvonne’s letter in light of his statements.

From previous articles, we showed the attitude of the scholars towards people who opt for a career as Brother Sami has, and needless to say, it was not positive.  However, while this is the case, brother Sami brings up a valid point regarding Adab, particularly when speaking about the sisters who were, in a sense, equated with fluffers.  Now, mind you, I kind of guessed at what they could be when I read the article, and thought brother Sami’s reaction was a bit childish initially.  That was until I actually read the definition of what a fluffer is.  You can read about that here:

Definition of a Fluffer

I couldn’t even find this definition in dictionary.com.  I had to resort to wikipedia for my answer, and when I read it, I felt this was a highly inappropriate description for our Muslim sisters, even if they were trying to rouse the crowd into cheering.  These specific statements, I believe, should be censured and rebuked because of what they attribute to our Muslim sisters.

Round 6 Winner:  Brother Sami