http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/imam-daayiee-abdullah-welcomes-gay-muslims-to-worship-marry/2013/04/17/3ebcab3a-a5db-11e2-b029-8fb7e977ef71_story.html

From my understanding of the Qur’an, marriage in Islam is between members of the opposite sex.  Yet, I believe that people can engage in many types of sexual behaviors and still be Muslim.  The goal is to try to understand God’s message and then to apply it.  The way one has sex is not be their public definition.  As a person of faith, the primary identifier is one’s relationship with the transcendent God/Allah and not one’s appetite for food, drink, sex, race or gender.

In America, religion is a very personal thing.  As such, very few individuals like to be told how to define their relationship with God and wish to define their relationship with God on their own terms without government involvement.  It is for this reason that I believe that faith in America is still very vibrant, while it is falling by the wayside in Europe.

Likewise on the issue of marriage, I do not believe that our government should ever have gotten into the business of “sanctifying” marriage. In other words, the gov’t should not define what “is” and “is not” marriage any more than they should define who “is” and “is not” a Muslim, Christian or Jew. In marriage, the gov’t should only be in the business of enforcing binding contracts between adult aka “civil unions”!

The issue of (religious) marriage as should have been put into the authority of religious communities. If we do that then, everyone would be free to practice whatever they like in their own religion as long as they do not infringe upon the constitutional right of others.

This is perfectly in line with my own faith tradition. The Qur’an says:

“To you be your way and to us be our way….”

Within Muslim history there have been many groups, sects, offshoots and various interpretations of the faith, each group interrupting the scriptures on their own terms in context, content and time and today is no different.

I have a particular reading and understand of Islam that puts sexual behavior in the light of specific verses and prophetic traditions, but he priority in religion is to find out what God wants and then to do that, not to find out what you want and then find the text that you think allows you to do it.

From Evernote:https://www.evernote.com/shard/s118/sh/55026239-a2d9-4014-8721-5bb1f9bfd5d6/77643a7fb88e489fb113c1608043c57a

Fusilat 41:34

The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better (i.e. Allah ordered the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly), then verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend.

The Washington Post recently quoted only a “sound bite” of my comments on marriage in America, the role of religious interpretation, government and law.  My comments were distilled into a discourage about same-sex marriage, which is a narrow slice of my comments.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/imam-daayiee-abdullah-welcomes-gay-muslims-to-worship-marry/2013/04/17/3ebcab3a-a5db-11e2-b029-8fb7e977ef71_story.html

Press Release: The Heinous Attack on the Boston Marathon

Falls Chuch, Virginia, April 16, 2013, In response to the recent attack at the Boston Marathon,Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center sends our sincere condolences to those who lost loved ones due to the cowardly and heinous acts of violence.

As part of the trarditions of Patriarch Abraham, we, Muslims, believe in only one God and one universal message sent through many messengers. That message is one that condems the acts perpetrated in Boston. We believe in the screptures sent to David, the Torah of Moses, and the Gospel (Injil) of Jesus as holy books.
The Quran teaches that to take the life of even one innocent person is a grave injustice.
“… that if anyone slays a human being-unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth-it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind…”
” Chapter 5:31
We extend our prayers to the injured and to their families.
It is clear that the violence perpetrated in Boston was an attack against American values and our way of life; regardless of religion, race, national origin or ideology.  This was an attack directed against all of us.
We encourage everyone to participate fully with law enforcement as they work to bring the perpetrators to justice.
On behalf of the Muslim community, we appreciate the leadership of President Obama as he urged the media and the law enforcement authority for not to rush to judgment about the perpetrators or their affiliations.
Washington, DC, similar to Boston, is the home of many outdoor gatherings; and members of the Washington, DC community often participate in the Boston Marathon.
We can all take comfort in the knowledge and reality that the people of Boston and all Americans are resilient; and together we will continue our way of life in the face of uncertainty with dignity, unity, faith and resolve.

Friday, April 26th – Jumah Prayer PGMA: 1:15 pm

Friday, April 26th Lecture @ Masjid Ibn Taymiyyah:  7:30-8:30pm

Monday, April 29th Rally Realco Guns: 5-6pm

Realco Guns Shop -6108 Marlboro Pike

District Heights, MD 20747
http://ow.ly/i/1Q7ME

For more info: imamjohari@gmail.com

or http://www.heedinggodscall.org/content/greater-washington-dc

Re: US Muslim Delegation to Moroccan March 2013

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله – peace be upon you,

Dear Mr. Driss El-Yazami,

Oh Allah Bless Muhammad (pbuh) and the followers of Muhammad, pbuh. as Allah blessed Ibrahim (pbuh) and the followers of Ibrahim.

It was my pleasure to meet with during our brief stay in The Kingdom of Maroc. Congratulations to the King and the people of Morocco for this critical effort. May Allah strengthen you in achieving you these noble objectives.

I serve on the board of the Council of Muslim Organizations of Washington, DC (The Council) representing over 100 mosques and Muslim organizations. As an American, I wish to extend thanks to The Kingdom for being the first nation to recognize the sovereignty of The United States of America. We applaud the efforts of the current governments efforts to remove corruption, increase transparency and accountability.

As a descendent of Africans brought to America as enslaved people, many of whom were Muslims, who were denied our most fundamental human rights but who never lost the faith to live free. Dr.King reminded us,

“the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice”.

Please do not under estimate the power of words and your efforts. Everything that exists came into existence with the word!

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِذَا قَضَىٰ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ

To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: When He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: “Be,” and it is.

The prophethood of Muhammad, pbuh, began with the word,

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-

You have many challenges ahead of you, as you know the constitution of the US was amended to emancipate its former slaves and the power an independent judiciary including the US Supreme (Constitutional) Court has been critical for the implementation of these laws. We wish you the best in establishing a “High Council of the Judiciary” to defend and interpret the new constitution of Morocco.

We pray that in time the powers of your commission will expand allowing you to directly bring cases to the court with a team of constitutional lawyers.

I must take a moment to applaud your efforts to produce public education programs on human rights and the engagement with ‘Citizens Clubs’ in colleges and hopefully in High Schools that teach about the concepts of human rights. Your work with police reform, especially in rural areas, serves as a ray of hope to the common man that a new social order is being achieved.

The first amendment to the US constitution, enshrining the freedoms of conscience (religion), freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly are critical to ensure the continuous struggle for human rights. I would love to receive copies of the six films that you have produced documenting human rights violations in Moroccan prisons.

Lastly, the public “Truth and Reconciliation” progress that the government and civil society conducted was a giant step for the peaceful transition in the “Moroccan Spring” which began many years before the current “Arab Spring”. May Allah continue to strengthen these efforts.

Chairman middle

As a member of executive board of The Council , I express my commitment to support your efforts in establishing a modern Moroccan constitutional society. We are blessed to have a growing Moroccan community in the US and particularly in Washington, DC and we look forward to working with you in areas of common interest in the future. If you are coming to the United States please know that we will do our best support your efforts.

May Allah continue to bless you, your family and your noble work in the bringing of benefit to the people of Morocco and the region.

Sincerely Yours in Islam,

Imam Johari