“I think 2001 was the year of ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ when the United Nations accepted Iran’s proposal for the dialogue. We need the talks between Muslims and Christians, especially Muslims and Christians who are like half of the world’s population. If we have this, we will unite half of the planet.
This is a good thing, but it has yet to reach that point. Fortunately, we have social networks. Today we have these tools and technologies that make dialogue easy. So we should not be lazy and we will witness this renaissance in the future. There are good voices of humanity. There are good voices of morality. And the good voices of peace and justice are working, but we need to work on it more and have a vision,” Imam of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Michigan expressed in an interview with Shafaqna English.
Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi is the founding Imam of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, in Michigan, USA. In an interview with Shafaqna English, Imam Elahi talks about Shia Islam in Dearborn and the concerns of Muslims in the United States.
Shafaqna: Please introduce the Islamic House of Wisdom and its activities.
Imam Elahi: The Islamic House of Wisdom is one of the main mosques in Dearborn Heights, in Michigan, USA. In 1995, we established the Islamic House of Wisdom. The mission of our organization can be summed up in six words: faith, education, love, justice, outreach and action. It is obvious that we are basically a Shia organization, the Ithna Ash’ari Shia organization, and we consider ourselves Shia Muslims, and we follow the voice of Imam Ali (A.S), which is the voice of unity, when he said: “People are of two categories, either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity.” Brotherhood and creating community, making relationship as well as coalition, that is, creating allies based on trust and responsibility.
From our point of view, who are Shia Muslims, we consider Shiism to be following the Ahlul-Bayt (AS), which means commitment and responsibility. So, when we live in such a wild world that suffers from heat, hunger, disease, war, terrorism and natural disasters, we feel how we as Shia community can be part of the solution. Recently, unfortunate events have happened and only once news such as earthquake in Afghanistan has been published. Three thousand people were killed or wounded in just one day. It was announced in the news one day and then forgotten. And nobody really cares about them, not even their own government. They are busy with other things. So, we think that while we live in America, where there is still an opportunity, there is a possibility for us, how can we help as individuals or organizations.
“Since 1912 and before that, there were Shia Muslims in Michigan”
Shafaqna: It is known that a large number of American Shia Muslims live in Dearborn. Tell us about the history of Islam in Michigan and the life of Muslims in Dearborn.
Imam Elahi: Regarding the history of Islam and especially Shiism in our area of Michigan, it’s been more than a hundred years since the people of Syria and Lebanon – which being part of Shamat at that time – came here from about 1900. One lady, Fatemeh Mosalmani, was one of the passengers of the Titanic. As you know, the Titanic sank in 1912 and this lady miraculously survived. She was from southern Lebanon, Tebinin. Her two cousins, Mustafa and Yusuf, died on the Titanic with possibly 1,500 others, but Fatemeh survived and was in Dearborn until her death in 1973. So, I would say that since 1912 and before that, there were Shias and Muslims in Dearborn area in Michigan where we are.
Imam Chiri was also from Lebanon and moved to this country. He went to Egypt in 1959 and met Gamal Abdel Nasser and sought his help. I think $40,000 at that time and that was to help establish the first Islamic Center of America in Detroit in 1963 and that was the center that I was the director of when I came to Michigan for the first three years before Islamic House of Wisdom was founded in 1995. Now we are in a situation where about half of the residents of Dearborn Heights are Shia Muslims, and interestingly, as a result of last year’s elections, the mayors of both cities, the Mayor of Dearborn and the Mayor of Dearborn Heights, are both Arabs. They are Muslims, they are Shias. They are of Lebanese origin. Even Dearborn’s Police Chief is of Lebanese descent and a Shia Muslim. So this history is nearly a hundred years old and now it is progress, success and participation. During election seasons, I always say to my friends: “Use it or lose it, you have this democracy to participate in the elections or not.”
“American Religious communities worried about assimilation of their members to the secular culture”
Shafaqna: What special issues and problems do American Muslims face?
Imam Elahi: In general, there is a concern among Muslims that in the United States, with the secularization of the country’s culture, this temptation and secular culture will lead to assimilation for Muslims. This means that some call America a melting pot where Muslim brothers lose their identity. Some Muslims are isolating themselves, which is bad, and there are some Muslims who are being digested, which means Ifrat and Tafrit. But we advise people to have an interpretation, that is, to interact with the society and maintain your religious and cultural identity and values, and at the same time, be active and, as Imam Sadiq (A.S) says: “Be an invitation and actually promote with your actions before your words”.
The problem is the breakup of families, the culture of boyfriends and girlfriends instead of marriage. At present, the same sex marriage is called a civil union here, but they only mean the failure of the family. The number of divorces in some American cities is truly frightening. Now I am speaking in general and not just about Muslims. There are states where we hear about 70% of marriages are falling apart and that’s why some other religious communities are concerned like the Jews. In America, the number of Jews and Muslims is probably the same, they say that approximately six million Jews live in America, and about Muslims we have different information, from three million to six million.
But for some minorities, such as Jews, there are many educational supports. There are almost a hundred Jewish seminaries in America, 800 full-time Jewish schools, and 4,000 rabbis, and so they are very eager to preserve the language of their people and participate in elections and make sure that they elect Jewish representatives who support Israel. In general, they are very worried about this assimilation that they don’t want to lose their Jewish identity.
“One of the problems is that many times people do not talk to each other”
Shafaqna: What are your activities in the field of interfaith relations?
Imam Elahi: Imam Ali (AS) said: “Ignorance makes the living dead and prolongs misery.” He also said: “Our enemy is our own ignorance.” Therefore, we try to be the voice of unity in this area. In 2007, when there was severe tension especially in Iraq and sectarian tensions there, we invited Sunni Imams to Islamic House of Wisdom and created a code of honor and approximately 30 Shia and Sunni Imams met in Islamic House of Wisdom. And they signed to promote respect and unity and non-aggression to each other and thus bring further education.
One of the problems is that many times people, whether Shia and Sunni or Muslim and Christian or Sunni and Sunni or Shia and Shia, do not talk to each other and remain prejudiced and ignorant. They don’t even try to reach out and check if what they believe is true. Therefore, we try to follow and promote what Shiism is about in the hadiths, that a real Shia is a person who is generous, loving, a person of outreach, peaceful, balanced and is a blessing for his neighbors. These are really the qualities that if someone is a Muslim and a Shia, he should be righteous, humble, compassionate, and useful for humanity.
IHW’s Imam: Terrorists are not representatives of their religion
August 19, 2022 | 8:59 PM0
talks between Muslims and Christians
SHAFAQNA | by Zahra Asadian : “I think 2001 was the year of ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ when the United Nations accepted Iran’s proposal for the dialogue. We need the talks between Muslims and Christians, especially Muslims and Christians who are like half of the world’s population. If we have this, we will unite half of the planet. This is a good thing, but it has yet to reach that point. Fortunately, we have social networks. Today we have these tools and technologies that make dialogue easy. So we should not be lazy and we will witness this renaissance in the future. There are good voices of humanity. There are good voices of morality. And the good voices of peace and justice are working, but we need to work on it more and have a vision,” Imam of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Michigan expressed in an interview with Shafaqna English.
Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi is the founding Imam of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, in Michigan, USA. In an interview with Shafaqna English, Imam Elahi talks about Shia Islam in Dearborn and the concerns of Muslims in the United States.
Shafaqna: Please introduce the Islamic House of Wisdom and its activities.
Imam Elahi: The Islamic House of Wisdom is one of the main mosques in Dearborn Heights, in Michigan, USA. In 1995, we established the Islamic House of Wisdom. The mission of our organization can be summed up in six words: faith, education, love, justice, outreach and action. It is obvious that we are basically a Shia organization, the Ithna Ash’ari Shia organization, and we consider ourselves Shia Muslims, and we follow the voice of Imam Ali (A.S), which is the voice of unity, when he said: “People are of two categories, either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity.” Brotherhood and creating community, making relationship as well as coalition, that is, creating allies based on trust and responsibility.
From our point of view, who are Shia Muslims, we consider Shiism to be following the Ahlul-Bayt (AS), which means commitment and responsibility. So, when we live in such a wild world that suffers from heat, hunger, disease, war, terrorism and natural disasters, we feel how we as Shia community can be part of the solution. Recently, unfortunate events have happened and only once news such as earthquake in Afghanistan has been published. Three thousand people were killed or wounded in just one day. It was announced in the news one day and then forgotten. And nobody really cares about them, not even their own government. They are busy with other things. So, we think that while we live in America, where there is still an opportunity, there is a possibility for us, how can we help as individuals or organizations.
“Since 1912 and before that, there were Shia Muslims in Michigan”
Shafaqna: It is known that a large number of American Shia Muslims live in Dearborn. Tell us about the history of Islam in Michigan and the life of Muslims in Dearborn.
Imam Elahi: Regarding the history of Islam and especially Shiism in our area of Michigan, it’s been more than a hundred years since the people of Syria and Lebanon – which being part of Shamat at that time – came here from about 1900. One lady, Fatemeh Mosalmani, was one of the passengers of the Titanic. As you know, the Titanic sank in 1912 and this lady miraculously survived. She was from southern Lebanon, Tebinin. Her two cousins, Mustafa and Yusuf, died on the Titanic with possibly 1,500 others, but Fatemeh survived and was in Dearborn until her death in 1973. So, I would say that since 1912 and before that, there were Shias and Muslims in Dearborn area in Michigan where we are.
Imam Chiri was also from Lebanon and moved to this country. He went to Egypt in 1959 and met Gamal Abdel Nasser and sought his help. I think $40,000 at that time and that was to help establish the first Islamic Center of America in Detroit in 1963 and that was the center that I was the director of when I came to Michigan for the first three years before Islamic House of Wisdom was founded in 1995. Now we are in a situation where about half of the residents of Dearborn Heights are Shia Muslims, and interestingly, as a result of last year’s elections, the mayors of both cities, the Mayor of Dearborn and the Mayor of Dearborn Heights, are both Arabs. They are Muslims, they are Shias. They are of Lebanese origin. Even Dearborn’s Police Chief is of Lebanese descent and a Shia Muslim. So this history is nearly a hundred years old and now it is progress, success and participation. During election seasons, I always say to my friends: “Use it or lose it, you have this democracy to participate in the elections or not.”
“American Religious communities worried about assimilation of their members to the secular culture”
Shafaqna: What special issues and problems do American Muslims face?
Imam Elahi: In general, there is a concern among Muslims that in the United States, with the secularization of the country’s culture, this temptation and secular culture will lead to assimilation for Muslims. This means that some call America a melting pot where Muslim brothers lose their identity. Some Muslims are isolating themselves, which is bad, and there are some Muslims who are being digested, which means Ifrat and Tafrit. But we advise people to have an interpretation, that is, to interact with the society and maintain your religious and cultural identity and values, and at the same time, be active and, as Imam Sadiq (A.S) says: “Be an invitation and actually promote with your actions before your words”.
The problem is the breakup of families, the culture of boyfriends and girlfriends instead of marriage. At present, the same sex marriage is called a civil union here, but they only mean the failure of the family. The number of divorces in some American cities is truly frightening. Now I am speaking in general and not just about Muslims. There are states where we hear about 70% of marriages are falling apart and that’s why some other religious communities are concerned like the Jews. In America, the number of Jews and Muslims is probably the same, they say that approximately six million Jews live in America, and about Muslims we have different information, from three million to six million.
But for some minorities, such as Jews, there are many educational supports. There are almost a hundred Jewish seminaries in America, 800 full-time Jewish schools, and 4,000 rabbis, and so they are very eager to preserve the language of their people and participate in elections and make sure that they elect Jewish representatives who support Israel. In general, they are very worried about this assimilation that they don’t want to lose their Jewish identity.
“One of the problems is that many times people do not talk to each other”
Shafaqna: What are your activities in the field of interfaith relations?
Imam Elahi: Imam Ali (AS) said: “Ignorance makes the living dead and prolongs misery.” He also said: “Our enemy is our own ignorance.” Therefore, we try to be the voice of unity in this area. In 2007, when there was severe tension especially in Iraq and sectarian tensions there, we invited Sunni Imams to Islamic House of Wisdom and created a code of honor and approximately 30 Shia and Sunni Imams met in Islamic House of Wisdom. And they signed to promote respect and unity and non-aggression to each other and thus bring further education.
One of the problems is that many times people, whether Shia and Sunni or Muslim and Christian or Sunni and Sunni or Shia and Shia, do not talk to each other and remain prejudiced and ignorant. They don’t even try to reach out and check if what they believe is true. Therefore, we try to follow and promote what Shiism is about in the hadiths, that a real Shia is a person who is generous, loving, a person of outreach, peaceful, balanced and is a blessing for his neighbors. These are really the qualities that if someone is a Muslim and a Shia, he should be righteous, humble, compassionate, and useful for humanity.
Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi
Shafaqna: What is your solution for interfaith dialogue in a wider space like the media?
Imam Elahi: Well, first of all, you know that it is the activities and politics that do not want to see unity. We know that there are many differences between Shia and Sunni, between Muslims and Christians, between Shia and Shia. Therefore, the solution is to promote dialogue. When people don’t talk to each other, they go to what they know, and especially on social media, there are so many fake accounts that share fake stories and superstitions and claim that this is what Shia is saying and this is the Shia belief system and for those who don’t check, they don’t ask the Shia Imam or check from their real sources, they believe what they hear.
“In the absence of dialogue, there is war”
Shafaqna: From your point of view, what are the roots of Islamophobia in the United States? What tangible social and political consequences has it created in American society? What changes will these conditions have in the future?
Imam Elahi: Karen Armstrong, a British lady who wrote “Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time”, says that Islam is a religion of success, and Muhammad [PBUH] is a stunning success, political and spiritual. Michael Hart of New York, who wrote “The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People in History,” placed Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] at the top of the list and Jesus at third. Don’t be surprised, he says, because Muhammad was the most successful leader in history, both secularly and spiritually. Even George W. Bush, the man who invaded Iraq and 9/11 happened during his time, said after 9/11 that Islam brings hope and comfort to millions of people in my country, the United States, and to more than a billion people in all around the World. Islam created a civilization rich in science and benefited humanity.
So, we have all the Islamophobia and then we have these kinds of statements. Jimmy Carter also said that we and Muslims have deep faith in a supreme being. We share the values of compassion, justice, responsibility, family, hospitality, generosity. So we should appreciate Islam. The problem of politicians is that they say all these things, but when they go to their place, they forget that they talked about opportunities, security, honor, respect, honor, all these things.
Richard Labévière wrote a book called “Dollars for Terror” 20 years ago. In this book, he says how Saudi dollars and Mossad, CIA and all these organizations are behind all the so-called Islamic terrorism, but the point is that at least we can talk, agree, disagree and sometimes get angry with each other but at the same time we continue this dialogue and this is the solution. I remember Mr. Khatami, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the time, proposed the idea of ”Dialogue Among Civilizations” to the United Nations and said that in the absence of dialogue, there is war. I mean, we have only two options, either to have a dialogue or to destroy. So, we have to talk and the same thing about Islamophobia. We have Shiaphobia and sometimes Iranphobia, but Islamophobia generally includes hatred, fear, hostility, stereotypes, discrimination, exclusion and marginalization.
“Over the years, it has been Islamophobia all the time and they ignored white supremacy”
We have seen and experienced it and all of these starts with ignorance. For those people who are unaware of the situation, they say you cannot be a Muslim and American. Now you have to choose either to be an American or a Muslim. Over the years, it has been Islamophobia all the time and they ignored white supremacy. They focused on Islam and thought that Islam is a problem, an enemy and a threat. And suddenly they realize domestic terrorism like what happened on January 6, 2021 in Washington DC, where Congress is still investigating the case like a coup d’etat against Congress.
So, Trump supporters woke up and realized that the real danger is the neighborhood, this racism, this white supremacy, all these mass shootings. We are now only 6 months away from 2022 and we have already had over 300 mass shootings in the United States. Hundreds of people were recently killed in suburban Chicago by a 21-year-old white boy, Robert Cremo. You don’t hear the word terrorist for him. They call him a gunman or he had a mental problem. No one talks about his religion and no one calls his action terrorism. Sometimes they use the word terrorist more and less lately, but they don’t say it right away.
If it was a Muslim who did this, they would say Islamic terrorism, Muslims are terrorists and they talk about his religion. In all these mass shootings, no one talks about the religion of these criminals, which is true, because they don’t really represent Christianity. Terrorists are not representatives of their religion, but why is there hypocrisy and double standards that if the perpetrator is a fake Muslim, such as claiming to be a Muslim, they talk about his religion and all the details that Islam is this and the Quran so on and so forth. So we still have this hypocrisy as going on.
Meanwhile, America is not like black and white, America is neither heaven nor hell. In the same America with so much Islamophobia and people like Palma Geller and Terry Jones, we also have people like Noam Chomsky who has written many books about human rights, democracy, elections, Palestinians and Iran. Sometimes I think like an intellectual renaissance is starting in America. For example, regarding the situation that happened to Mrs. Shireen in Jerusalem, the US said that yes, the Israelis did it and they confirmed that yes, it was an American bullet that killed an American citizen and was killed by Israeli soldiers. Therefore, gradually we see this awareness.
“Chomsky says the only way we can end terrorism is to stop participating in it”
Shafaqna: What future do you foresee for the American Muslim community?
Imam Elahi: Noam Chomsky says: “If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope.” Therefore, you cannot lose your optimism. Optimism is a strategy for building a better future, he says, because if you believe the future will be better, you’re more likely to step up and take responsibility for building it. He also says: “Whoever controls the media controls public opinion. If you are teaching today, what you were teaching five years ago is either a dead feed or you are. Because everything is changing every day.”
Chomsky says the only way we can end terrorism is to stop participating in it. These people talk about terrorism but they participate in terrorism by supporting them financially. Then he says, “There is a good reason why no one studies history. It just teaches you so much.” The problem is that, as Einstein said, “The definition of stupidity is repeating the same thing and expecting different results,” because people don’t want to learn from history. A person like Martin Luther King was also from America. If you look at his speech the night before he died on April 3, 1968, he said, “I may not get there with you, but I want you to know that tonight we as a people will get to that promised land.” So, he always gave hope to people even one night before his death.
“Good voices of peace and justice are working, but we need to work on it more and have a vision”
Shafaqna: How is it possible to make a better future for American Muslims?
Imam Elahi: Thinking about this question, verse 13:11 always comes to my mind: “Allah does not change what is in a nation unless they change what is in themselves.” So if you want to change your destination, you have to change your dialogue, your mind, because man is a mind, you are your own mind. That’s why I mentioned hope, because it is very important to be hopeful and optimistic in the first place. Especially for us Shia Muslims. We have a philosophy of Mahdism, and Mahdaviat is the hope that there will not be constant oppression and injustice, and that the righteous will be the rulers of the world.
So, it’s important that we focus on good ideas, and one of the things that Chomsky said was, “No one puts the truth in your brain. There is something you have to discover for yourself.” And the Quran also says: “And there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives.” You are your mind and you are your action. This is why one of the things that the Islamic House of Wisdom says is we are about actions, we are about outreach and we are about thinking critically and be mindful and thoughtful, so if we proceed wisely with these principles that the Quran says, with actions, with outreach and dialogue, we can do it.
Look at the power of the Jews in this country. About 100 years ago, you couldn’t find a synagogue in the United States. I mean, the Jews were the most hated people in this country, but now you see their influence is amazing, so that some call the White House the Occupied Territories because of the Jewish influence. Even the politicians are so scared that they have to put the interests of Israel even before the interests of the United States. So, the Jews were like a minority, they are still a minority, but they invested, worked hard and entered the game of politics and elections and now they are very powerful. It was also when the KKK killed Catholics. Even the Chinese, the Japanese, the Italians, the Catholics, the Jews, all of them were going through worse than the Islamophobia that we have now, but these people are now so powerful in this country with their participation and presence, and Muslims are not exceptional.
“I am very optimistic and hopeful about the future of Muslims in the USA”
As a matter of fact, we have a better chance, because Islam and Christianity have so much similarities. Jesus (AS) and his mom are mentioned in the Holy Quran almost 70 times and there are so many similarities in values in Christianity and Islam and we just need to use that. We don’t have what the Jews and Christians have. We don’t have too many Imams here; we don’t have even a seminary in the United States to raise Imams who were born here. We have some Imams that came from Iraq. Many of them don’t speak English. But I see something positive and like a renaissance in the new generation and the youth.
They are very much aware and they are getting involved and if this continues, I am very optimistic and hopeful about the future, but of course it does not mean that we shouldn’t be worried and we shouldn’t be concerned when you see something like January 6 happened and these white supremacists are attacking with weapon on the capitol of United States and the president of the time was kind of supporting this violence.
We are concerned, we are worried when our women want to go out with hijab. In our area because we have a big Muslim community, we don’t feel this problem that much but if you go to other cities that they don’t have a big Muslim community and they are minority in the neighborhood, there is always somebody looking at them because still majority of Americans don’t know Islam. All they watch was like ISIS and Al-Qaeda. So much negativity about Islam, about Muslims, so much Islamophobia is not easy. Based on some studies the majority of American population don’t have knowledge about Islam. So, our job is really a serious job of outreach and bringing the education to the society but in America still there is some opportunities. America is a nation of immigration and cannot survive without immigration. So, this white supremacy and all of these things, extremism that is going on is based on real ignorance.
“We need the talks between Muslims and Christians”
Shafaqna: In 2021, we witnessed the historic meeting of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani and Pope Francis, as an example of interfaith dialogue between the world’s leading religious leaders. How do you assess the impact of this meeting on strengthening peace, mutual understanding and interfaith relations?
Imam Elahi: First of all, the Pope has a hard time to walk recently and as a matter of fact now he is using wheelchair. But when he went to Najaf, he walked through the alley close to the house of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani. And then what he said after that meeting was amazing although it was in CNN Arabic and unfortunately, I didn’t see the translation of his word in English. The reporters on board of his plain were asking him about his impression and he was answering that the Grand Ayatollah Sistani was man of God, he was a light and he was man of wisdom and I am so honored to meet with him.
He was so proud and so honored that the Grand Ayatollah Sistani met with him. I am talking about Pope with so much power; Nothing compares this like Catholic Church. A man of this power was so much spiritually impressed with the majesty and the simplicity of Ayatollah Sistani and the atmosphere of his simple office and he was proud of being accepted. He was saying that Ayatollah Sistani doesn’t even accept the politicians but he welcomed me and we sat down and talked. I think it was a very historic thing. The fact that the Pope met with Ayatollah Sistani was good but we hope that this kind of event continues.
I think 2001 was the year of dialogue among civilizations when the United Nations accepted Mr. Khatami’s proposal for the dialogue. Iran started it, then President Rouhani met with the Pope and the Pope received him with great respect in the Vatican. We need the talks between Muslims and Christians, especially Muslims and Christians who are like half of the world’s population. If we have this, we will unite half of the planet.
This is a good thing, but it has yet to reach that point. Fortunately, we have social networks. Today we have these tools and technologies that make dialogue easy. We have all the tools of communication and dialogue and if we do not use this and do not bring this awareness, this is our laziness. So we should not be lazy and we will witness this renaissance in the future. There are good voices of humanity. There are good voices of morality. And the good voices of peace and justice are working, but we need to work on it more and have a vision.
Source: en.shafaqna.com
