Rise and Fall of the Salafi Movement

[Kashafa]

Comprehensive narrative of the so-called Salafi movement in contemporary America., good read.

 

The zealots were also prone to banging brothers over the head on their position on the Saudi King. It was not good enough to recognize that Saudi Arabia printed copies of the Qur’ans and gave money to spread the dawah. One – in these people’s minds – must be loyal to and praise the Saudi rulers. You couldn’t even remain silent on the issue. I was not – and am not – anti-Saudi per se, but I grew tired of brothers trying to force the Saudi throne down my throat. To the contrary, their insistence would MAKE me – and others – have a disliking of them to some extent because they were trying to MAKE me love them, while I wanted to stay neutral as it was of no concern to me.

Marriage is an issue that came to think about after reading the comments. I have known for some time that there were speakers in Salafi circles who had been married and divorced 20 times and that it was very common for brothers to be married 10 or 15 times. Just as these brothers did in the streets before they were Muslims, they left a trail of children that they are not taking care of and abandoned women behind as they talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk. In the comments to the series we have heard the pain of these sisters who were sincere in the deen, devout in their practice, and had a love of the Sunnah; but were abused by a community that did not take the interests of sisters to heart.

 

Many of these abused sisters have left the deen, and may Allah guide them back to the Haqq, and many, masha’ Allah, have remained in the deen. One sister commented that problems began when “marriage became a joke” and can anyone argue that did not occur when you had speakers who would come in town for lectures and marry a sister they met that night and consummate the marriage only to never see the sister again?

They were all, with the exception of one, married to black women and on the prowl for a second or third wife—preferably a white one. Their families lived on welfare because it was “haram to work for the kuffar”. The kuffar would not allow you to wear a turban and jalabayih to work, so you couldn’t work for them, as “Islamic” clothing for men was wajib. It was not haram however to take charity from the kuffar. So these families existed on full welfare, which back in those days—before Clinton’s welfare reform—was a bundle. You could very easily raise a family on cash allotments—which by the way increased with the birth of each new child, food stamps—again increased with each new birth, medical care, WIC and free housing or ridiculously low monthly payments via a section 8 housing allowance. Most of these brothers lived better than others who had jibs for a living. They weren’t getting all that help, and struggled to make ends meet.

 

It was suggested to me that I might like to become the wife of one of these fine brothers. I politely declined, not just because I was uninterested in living on welfare, but because I couldn’t get with the polygamy aspect, being that not only was it illegal, but I would have to lie and pretend I wasn’t married to my husband. This is how the welfare department in our city came to call the Muslim women on the welfare role “the Holy Whores” – because they were often dressed in all black and niqaab and having children (as far as the state was concerned) out of wedlock. The second and subsequent wives could not be legally married to their spouse, and the government didn’t give a damn about or recognize a so-called Islamic marriage. And so the “Holy Whores” were born and I wasn’t eager to join their ranks.

 

My polite refusal was met with scorn. I was refusing a life with a decent Muslim man just because I thought myself above welfare and being known as a “whore”. Well, truth to tell, I was. I think there’s no shame in that.

[Nur]

Kashaafa bro.

 

I guess everyone is claiming love of Laylaa, but Laylaa doesn't acknowledge that their love is genuine!

 

 

Nur

[STOIC]

I have been reading Omar Lees blog for quite some time now and I think he has done a good job.I live in a predominantly muslim city (Philadelphia) where guys with beard and timberland boots are seen walking everywhere.I pray in a SALAFI masjid. I think he has hit the nails.Some people in that sect preach anti-secular education bashing...

[bint hamid]

jazakallah khayran akhi

this story is really sad. may Allah stop the imitators pretending to be muslims who turn true believers away from the deen. as Allah (SWT) says: don't grieve for the people who purchase belief at the price of faith because they will not harm Allah but they will suffer grievously in the hereafter

 

ameen

[Polanyi]

After Salafeeyah, Dreams of Sheikh Gilani, and the Path to Sufism

 

 

http://umarlee.com/2010/07/27/after-salafeeyah-dreams-of-sheikh-gilani-and-the-path-to-sufism/