Dana Nawzar

Basically, as Nike says, ‘Just do it.’

Moses had many doubts & fears but each time he feared or hesitated, God’s voice demanded him to take action regardless. ‘Throw down your staff’ (27:10), ‘Go to Pharoh’ (79:17), ‘strike the sea with your staff’ (26:63) Don’t wait for *perfect* external/internal conditions to act!

America is now the big fat drunk father who has withdrawn from house affairs after messing everything up. But he still comes home drunk and smashes things between now and then. He is still powerful enough to hurt. Feared but not respected. Syria and Libya as an example.

"Be conscious of Allah wherever you are, do good deeds after doing bad ones, the former will wipe out the latter, and behave decently towards people". -Prophet's saying as narrated by Tirmidhi

Prophet's order to follow a bad action with a good one serves as a methodology to remove negativities in life. The prophetic method is to let go and move on. Follow a negative thought with a positive one instead of getting stuck at the negative. Move forward and don't turn back.

Thanks for the suggestions. Let them continue coming. Also include your favourite sermon/lecture/speech from the person you recommend if possible. Thank you :)https://twitter.com/DanaNawzar/status/1218600868305670146…

I believe western Muslim context is a helpful indicator of many challenges that are going to face traditional Muslim societies. Since we already have established responses in the West tha are authentic but also products of experience, a transfer of such experience is helpful.

A popular Kurdish TV is intending to translate and broadcast contemporary Western Muslim scholars especially those addressing modern challenges with a language comprehensible to the educated youth. Who do you think they should include? Thank you.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Make things easy and do not make them difficult, cheer people up by conveying glad news to them and do not repulse (them)." - Bukhari and Muslim

Perfect doesn’t exist in the realm of humans. Be gentle on yourself and others. While ideals are always good to hold, keep in mind the human fallibility. Don’t judge a person or yourself by a weakness, a mistake or a tweet. Always leave the door open.

As evident from the example of Salahaddin, I don’t mean by happiness instant and constant comfort. Not at all. Happiness is finding meaning and purpose. The moment you know what your purpose is, happiness is the journey towards it. Results are just a bonus.

Everyone’s blueprint for a happy life is different. If you aren’t happy, it is certainly because the gap between your dreams and your reality is too huge to be tolerated. Salahaddin couldn’t smile until he entered Jerusalem. Find the thing that can make you smile and get it.

It is telling that the first person sent to Medina by prophet to lay groundwork for the mission was a young man, Mus’ab. And the last army sent out by the prophet outside Medina was led by a young man, Usama bin Zayd No movement that can’t incorporate component youth survives.

Prophet Muhammed sent Mus’ab bin Umeir to Habasha when he was in his mid 20s. He appointed him his personal ambassador to Medina when he was in his early 30s. He also was tasked with carrying the banner of the Muslim army during first 2 major wars. Talking of youth empowerment!

Each of the first four caliphs had a dominant trait. Abubakir was known for calm and compassion. Omer for justice and decisiveness. Othman for politeness and manners. Ali for knowledge and courage While each a glorified name, each person feels closer to one more than the other.

Interesting map of percentage of men in Turkey who go to mosque once a week or more. Basically the more Kurdish the area, the more religious.https://twitter.com/Dilannn_1/status/1217865038482026497…

Leader of secular Turkish opposition CHP says ‘Before, those fleeing Syria used to be civilians. Now, everyone living in Idlib are members of terrorist groups. The real problem will start when a million of them come to Turkey’ This is an outright call for genocide from CHPhttps://twitter.com/ismail_halis/status/1218092427283701761…

“Many think dedicating time for prayer reduces the time available for them for their work and career. But it is a false notion. Just as giving from your money is called Zakat (growth), giving time to prayer expands time” Sheikh al-Sha’rawihttps://twitter.com/txC1ixfExh3eC40/status/1218126467269300225…

“When something is taken away from you, don’t look at what is taken but look at what is left.” Sheikh Al-Sha’rawihttps://twitter.com/ahmeda255912/status/1215594758321659910…

Singing has a tremendous spiritual and physical power. I don’t know what is going on down there but singing is my peak joy.

I was reading about Salaheddin, our proud symbol of justice and chivalry even to enemies. His path to Jerusalem was filled with envy, racism, tribalism and jealousy of other Muslim leaders. ‘Who am I to complain then?’ I told myself. Indeed , who am I to complain.

I still listen to the Quranic order(5:8) ‘never let the hatred of anyone lead you into injustic. Be just, this is closest to being God-conscious’ But we are a tiny minority in this world, homeless, stateless and powerless .

But I am aware how difficult this is in this day and age. Unfortunately majority of Muslim nations are drowned in racism, tribalism, fake border patriotism. I reach out with the clean heart of a mountainous Kurdish Muslim but I get tribalism in return.

My alliegence since early age has been to ‘good’ and ‘righteous’ only. I remember when Mohammed Durra was killed, I read a poem against Israeli injustice. I was called to principal’s office. I told the principal ‘a good Arab’s shoes is worth a thousand bad Kurds’ and vice versa

As a kid I never understood these. I saw moms of some family and friends lying outright to promote their kid or protect them while my mom only was happy when I prayed morning are mosque. Now I get it.

She also taught me to be principled. When I was arrested demanding justicel and freedom, everyone was worried except her. She said she was proud of me. She can’t read and write, but after 20 years of studies, I haven’t reached an ounce of her faith.

I learnt justice from my mother. When my brother broke someone’s head, she called the other boy & his family and broke my brother’s head in front of them. So whenever someone expects tribalism from me as opposed to justice, I say ‘you can’t be more dear to me than my brother’.

The underlying issue are not tribal. Pretence and superficiality are the defining features of our era. Traditribal caregivers and attention givers -family, husband, wife- don’t fulfil anymore. So here we are.

Feminists have more ‘pick me’ desire than the women they accuse. And men have more pick meness-though bit more subtle- than women in general. Some men whose job has become representing the Male community for example have a greater need for women attention haqiqatan.

Women here and there are accused of being ‘pick me’ girls but who isn’t a pick me person nowadays? I don’t know who is doing the picking but anyone with a CV, social media profile, concern for image and desire for attention has the ‘pick me’ gene.

We see Islam as a way of life. It includes praying right before defecation up until being just as a ruler. We have no gap years and no breaks for Islam’s ethical influence. Smile to a stranger, serve elderly parents, save a life and serve a community all are as Islamic as Shahada

But the tankies don’t get that. Never have. Their secular/religious dichotomies which doesn’t hold true in any context let alone Islamic context makes them see moderate Islam as this cute wild bird that can be put in a cage on a shelf somewhere. It doesn’t work that way.

This is like saying I have decided to eat healthy and eat a super size pizza. Moderate Islam -if we assume there is such a thing- can’t exist with oppression. You either take ablution or fart. You can’t do both together.https://twitter.com/BakerInstitute/status/1217524859854557184…

I certainly recommend learning Arabic. Not only because it is a beautiful language but because the spiritual influences of Quran increases exponentially when one really gets it. But Quran is not just Arabic. No other text in Arabic comes close to the power of one single verse.

And yes the classic ‘of all holy books were burnt today, print and digital, Quran is the only book that can be written again verbatim word for word, letter for letter’ stands true. This was a small mosque of zero Arabs and at least 3 people know Quran by heart.

Bangladeshi Imam with a heavenly voice led morning prayer. I asked him if he understood Arabic and he said no. Quran is an entire language for itself. Many non-Arabs speak, breathe and live Quran without knowing Arabic. It is not easy but utterly beautiful.

Following the Quranic call for consensus with all people of faith, the only truth I care about is to recognise the Highest Power of All, the One and Only, The Guardian, The Almighty, The All Praiseworthy, The First, The Last, The Patron, The Light, The Guide, The Incomparable.

Our emphasis on forms and rituals might have led to a formalisation of our ties with the Creator and Owner. God is not within the walls of mosques and churches. He is everywhere. Anywhere we turn there He is. His HQs are in the heart not the mouth.