In U.S. Mosques, A Debate Over English

Category: Americas, Faith & Spirituality, Life & Society Topics: Friday (Jumuah) Views: 8214
8214

Sana Rahim was born in the cowboy country of southeastern Wyoming, to Pakistani parents who had emigrated so her father could earn a doctorate.

She speaks Urdu with her family, but can't read or write the language. She recites prayers in Arabic, but doesn't know exactly what each word means.

Now a 20-year-old junior at Northwestern University, she, like many other American-born Muslims, is most comfortable with sermons and lectures in English, although they can't always find U.S. mosques that offer them.

"I don't really get the time to study Arabic," Rahim said. "With all the different groups in America, English is a unifying thing that ties us together."

Like Jewish immigrants who fought over English-language prayer and Roman Catholics who resisted the new Mass in English, U.S. Muslims are waging their own debate about how much English they can use inside mosques without violating Islamic law and abandoning their culture.

The issue is part of a broader discussion within the Muslim community about young U.S. Muslims and their alienation from American mosques. Houses of worship founded by older immigrant Muslims often held fast to the culture and language of their native countries. For them, English in the mosque threatened Muslim identity. Their American-born children, however, can't relate.

"This is a constant problem talked about young people in mosques," said Shahed Amanullah, co-founder of salatomatic.com, which lists thousands of mosques and reviews from users. "It's not just about the Friday prayers. It's the response that mosques have to the cultural reality of growing up Muslim in America. If young people don't find what they need in the mosque, they'll find it on the Internet."

The language of obligatory Friday prayers, called juma, is not part of the debate; those prayers must be in Arabic, the language of the Quran. The disagreement focuses on whether that requirement should extend to the sermon, or khutba, on Fridays, the Muslim day of congregational prayer, and other assemblies in the mosque.

Imams and scholars who insist on using Arabic say it's mandatory because the Prophet Muhammad gave his sermons in the language. Others say that Muhammad used Arabic only because it was what he and his community spoke, and that Islam is a universal faith.

On suhaibwebb.com, a Web forum for Muslims in the West, writer Abu Majeed said in a post last month that while his English-language sermons were accepted without protest at several U.S. mosques, he was derided by one South Florida congregation as a modernist who violated Islamic law. Foreign-born imams, or prayer leaders, who moved here to serve immigrant communities, have sometimes reinforced the thinking that only Arabic is acceptable. Other mosques might use Arabic and Urdu a language from Pakistan, India and elsewhere in Asia but no English.

"My worry is that younger people who do not find the mosque a satisfying experience, and women who find it a hostile environment, will drift away from the mosque," said Abdullahi An-Na'im, a specialist in Islamic law at Emory University School of Law. "That means the mosque will become the exclusive domain of a very archaic understanding of Islam."

On a recent Friday, at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, Imam Mohamed Shamsi Ali climbed the narrow stairs to the top of the mimbar, or pulpit, and began his sermon in English. The mosque is one of the largest in the city and attracts a diverse group of Muslims who sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the carpeted floor.

Shamsi Ali spoke about the need for a positive outlook, human dignity and connecting prayer and fasting with behavior. He underscored his points by quoting Arabic verses from the Quran. The imam is Indonesian and a fluent English speaker who said later in an interview that he struggles with all the invitations he receives to lecture Muslim student groups.

"My schedule is tight because I'm among the very few who can address the English-only speakers," Shamsi Ali said.

Some imams bridge the language gap by giving a lecture in English and a short sermon in Arabic at Friday prayer. But only the sermon and the prayer are obligatory. As a result, many people skip the English-language talk, even if they don't understand the Arabic sermon, said Asad Ba-Yunus, 35, an attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and board member for the Islamic Society of North America.

Muslims of South Asian descent often have a particularly strong attachment to using Arabic for sermons because it is a tradition in mosques in their native countries. About one-third of Muslims in the United States are of South Asian descent.

Amanullah, 41, said he found a particularly dramatic example of the problem in a predominantly South Asian mosque he visited one Friday in California. The prayer leader read a sermon written in Arabic, even though neither he nor the worshippers understood the language.

"It was the blind leading the blind," Amanullah said. "Nobody in the room knew what the sermon was about. It could have been a recipe for baba ghanoush and no one would have been the wiser."

Location matters. In small communities comprised of immigrants from many countries, the prayer leaders have no choice but to use English so they can be understood. However, in major cities, immigrants usually arrive in such large numbers that they can find a mosque where their native language is spoken.

The growing number of American-born Muslims is likely to force a resolution of the issue.

Imam Hassan al-Qazwini leads the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Mich., a community with a mix of recent immigrants and families who have been in the U.S. for generations.

When he first arrived at the center in 1997, he noticed most of the mosques in the Dearborn area used Arabic only. He decided to give his sermon first in English, then in Arabic to serve English speakers. He also lectures in English on Friday nights for young Muslims and again on Sundays, even though some older attendees speak only their native language.

"Some people say I'm too Americanized," said al-Qazwini. "I would say I'm being realistic. We have to be realistic. There are more and more Muslims who are born into this faith in America and there are more and more people who are converting to this faith in America and these are non-Arabic people."


  Category: Americas, Faith & Spirituality, Life & Society
  Topics: Friday (Jumuah)
Views: 8214

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Older Comments:
BELAL AHMED FROM BANGLADESH said:
May Allah give us the understand of the blessing of Islam. we must have our masjid ready to serve our future generation otherwise we will lose them.
2010-03-01

FAHAD FROM PAKISTAN said:

I have a comment about this article,according to some Islamic Scholars and Imams ,the bayan(lecture)should be delievered in Arabic since Prophet(pbuh) use to give lectures in Arabic.
I don't think their is any restriction regarding delievering lectures in other languages.
According to me,Prophet(pbuh)use to give lectures in Arabic because he only knew Arabic and the public to whom he spoke was Arabic.
What if your public is Turkish,African or Chinese? Will they understand the lecture in Arabic?
I don't think their should be any restriction regarding the language in which the bayan(lecture) is given.
2010-02-28

ASIF KALEEM FROM USA said:
Two mosques in Anniston and Gadsden, Alabama are a noted exception. Under the guidance of our PhD ,arabic speaking Imam Ahmed Shaheen, Jumah Khutba is delivered in both Arabic and English languages. Each paragraph consisting of 2-4 minutes os speaking time is first delivered in Arabic followed by an exact translation. This satisfies the needs of all the community members. The quintessential purpose of friday sermon is guidance for muslims. And guidance cannot be understood if not related in an understandable language. Its simple common sense!
2010-02-27

ZU FROM USA said:
Well said Dellie, I totally agree with you
2010-02-27

NAIM ABDUL RAHMAN FROM USA said:
In the Mosque I attend in Albuquerque,NM both english and arabic are used while giving the Khutbah. Salah is in arabic which is perfect, but I appreciate the Khutbah in english and arabic. We live in the US so english is the main language, therefore english must be used, because immigrants come to the US and the english language is our common link to each other, as well as our faith.
2010-02-25

JAAFAR FAHEEM FROM USA said:
As Salaam Alaikum. In the Atlanta metro area, this is not really a problem, especially at the Salafi Masjids. The Kutbah is given in Arabic, then immediately English. The masjid I attend is mostly Somali. I am African-American, my wife Moroccan. We have no problems. During conferences, various lectures are given in 3 languages. It's great. Allah made us different so that we may know one another.
2010-02-25

DELLIE FROM USA said:
This really is silly and another example of the way Muslims hurt Islam. There is nothing wrong with the Kutba in English or the language of the local community as it is to be an instruction and you cannot be taught or instructed if you don't understand what is being said to you. The prayers and all attached to them ie Azan and Iqcama are in Arabic. As far as learning Arabic goes all non Arabic speakers should make effort to learn the language, but if you cannot it is no sin as everyone will speak Arabic in the next life. In my travels I found the most effective means of handling the Friday prayer is to either give it in the language of the local community or to give it in Arabic with a translation in the language of the community. I have attended Friday prayer all over the world and it has always been done this way, so what is the problem? We have better things to do and more to worry about than things that only divide us rather than bring us closer together. I mean we can find more silly things to argue and seperate about. As I said 15 years ago, I am glad I became a Muslim before I ever met one.
2010-02-25

YOHAN YISHAI FROM BHUTAN said:
Sara uses English seeking to be understood but speaks against the language that conveys her point. This is hypocrisy and anti-Islamic.

Language promotes culture, understanding promotes enlightenment that follows us to the after world... the choice is of the importance between the two... the importance is of the value between the two, the value is of the usefulness between the two... I prefer the use of available vernacular facilities to convey myself and receive from others. This is the best by situation....
2010-02-25

RASHID SAYYED FROM UAE said:
Assalam alekum
On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. Al Quran 2:86
Quran revealed in Arabic language. It is the language of ALLAH and his last messenger.
Translation is human handy work. If the translator does some mistake. That mistake will be attribute to Allah, as already many translators have done as per their understanding.
Lecture can be given in English but the sermon should be in English or imam should explain the meaning of that, its hardly takes few minutes.
If today somebody start giving sermon in English later on people will say lets do salah (prayer) in English,
Then which translation will recite in prayer yusuf ali or pickthal or mohsin khan, again there will be fight. And if the prayer in English, but natural Azan should be in English. If I'm in France and moazzin (one who call for prayer) giving azan in French, I think whom is he cursing. For the universal brotherhood one language and one direction, otherwise in one masjid people stand in different direction and pray in different languages.
People has a tendency to change the words. Like for example; ALLAH was there in the BIBLE, then author changed it to ALLA, then ALA, then ELA now only EL or ELI is there. israEL, ishmaEL, samuEL, joEL, gabriEL, michaEL. These are the distorted names of ALLAH .
Same thing happened with prophet Mohammed (pbuh). Jesus Christ prophesied Mohammed. There is bible in 2000 different languages and 2000 different translated names for Mohammed like comforter, spirit of truth, muazzi, thruaster, umthoboti, madadgar, sahayak ,but original name is not there.
You read the bible but you will not make out that in this verse Mohammed is mentioned.
So please put some effort to understand the original language.
2010-02-25

MOHAMMAD YACOOB FROM USA said:
I arrived in California in Septembeer 1962 as a student and later became a citizen. In my country of birth, Hyderabad, South India, I learned Arabic Sarf and Naho - the grammar books of Arabic from a teacher at Secunderabad Jamia Masjid. Secunderabad is the twin city of Hyderabad.
Professor Mohammad Ali, Professor of Arabic at Osmania University, Hyderabad, was my teacher, who taught Arabic at the Masjid in the evenings.
I also used to listen to his Juma Khutbas at the Secunderabad Masjid. He had argued way back in 1940's that the Khutba in the Masjid should be given in Urdu language. I think the first Khtbah I listened to was in 1947. There was no arguement. People understood and listened to his Khutabs in Urdu.

Now, the religious poeple and scholars or tabligee people who come to the US, from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, want to speak in Urdu. I argued with them that our children do not understand Urdu; but they don't listen - hard headed.

This goes for those who want to deliver the Khutba in Arabic. Come hell or high water, they want to do that which does not stand the test of common sense.

Mohammad Yacoob
2010-02-25

SARA FROM USA said:
Our beloved prophet pbuh instructed us how to give a khutbah, as he taught us how to pray. We must make an effort to learn arabic. As we make an effort to learn the quran (in arabic). The day of judgement will be very near, when people do not recite the quran. People will move away from what islam is supposed to be. We must not create innovation. By the same tolken we need to understand (if English is our primary language), as the language of Jannah will insha Allah be Arabic. If we can learn spanish or french, why can't we learn Arabic. There are so many programs to teach us. Many non arabs are learning arabic just to get newly created jobs in the Middleast, or to serve in the military. There is no excuse not to learn. There is no reason to move away from what our prophet instructed. We already are seeing the reprocussions of that.
2010-02-24

AICHAONE FROM USA said:
As a young Muslim, I would appreciate the sermon be recited in English so that I can fully understand the message. However I would want the prayer to be recited in Arabic because that is the language the Koran is written in, and the Koran is more powerful in Arabic then in English.
2010-02-24

ABDUL FROM USA said:
The Qutbah, should be in the language of the locality you are in. The Salah should and always remain in Arabic. When you are giving Khutbah you are trying to deliver a message. What good would the message be if people don't understand or comprehend it.
2010-02-24

JOE FROM SCOTLAND said:
Assalamualaikum.

I live in Glasgow which has substantial number of
Mulsims. Most of the Muslims her are of Pakistani
background. I am a Malaysian and I do not speak
and understand Urdu. Almost all the mosques here
conduct their Friday sermons in Urdu only. That is
very unfortunate for non urdu speaker like me. The
mosques. I have to go to the central mosque or the
mosques at the universities to listen to sermon in
English, which logistically more difficult for me.
I believe that the mosque should at least conduct
the sermons in both English and Urdu, so all those
who attend can understand them. What is the
purpose of the sermon if it cannot be understood?
Giving sermon in English is also more appropriate
for dakwah too.

Wassalam
2010-02-24

RASHID SAYYED FROM UAE said:
Assalam alekum
On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. Al Quran 2:86
Quran revealed in Arabic language. It is the language of ALLAH and his last messenger.
Translation is human handy work. If the translator does some mistake. That mistake will be attribute to Allah, as already many translators have done as per their understanding.
Lecture can be given in English but the sermon should be in English or imam should explain the meaning of that, its hardly takes few minutes.
If today somebody start giving sermon in English later on people will say lets do salah (prayer) in English,
Then which translation will recite in prayer yusuf ali or pickthal or mohsin khan, again there will be fight. And if the prayer in English, but natural Azan should be in English. If I'm in France and moazzin (one who call for prayer) giving azan in French, I think whom is he cursing. For the universal brotherhood one language and one direction, otherwise in one masjid people stand in different direction and pray in different languages.
People has a tendency to change the words. Like for example; ALLAH was there in the BIBLE, then author changed it to ALLA, then ALA, then ELA now only EL or ELI is there. israEL, ishmaEL, samuEL, joEL, gabriEL, michaEL. These are the distorted names of ALLAH .
Same thing happened with prophet Mohammed (pbuh). Jesus Christ prophesied Mohammed. There is bible in 2000 different languages and 2000 different translated names for Mohammed like comforter, spirit of truth, muazzi, thruaster, umthoboti, madadgar, sahayak ,but original name is not there.
You read the bible but you will not make out that in this verse Mohammed is mentioned.
So please put some effort to understand the original language.


2010-02-24

NORIDAH OSMAN FROM USA said:
Salam. I'm for it. Praying everyday 5x in arabic and understand the mean is understandable, logic and a must, routine action with a slight different in surah. Versus Quthbah or Sermon as topic change from time to time, speaking in English in non-Arabic speaking country is a lot rational to understand and meaningful, As long it does not change the context of the Quthbah. This article is not about changing the law of Allah swt, it is about giving the muslim the best sermon/qhutbah for the sake of Allah swt. Please, read carefully the article before posted your comment. Islam is universal, simple , common sense & truth , unite people from all respective background not just arabic people. That What Allah swt said in the Holy Quran Diversity and Serve Allah swt only. Insyallah , Waallahualam.
2010-02-24

BEYYAH FROM U.S. said:
I think it was summed up in the 4th paragraph...
where Rahim said "with all the different groups...english is the unifying thing.." As an english only speaking muslim convert I say we as muslims should learn arabic so it could be our "unifying thing" not english,spanish,urdu, but Aribic .it should be the primary language of all Muslims
2010-02-24

ASLAM FROM SA said:
The Qutbha and prayer must be Arabic as it provides unity with the Ummah.No matter were you go in the world Arabic unites us as Muslims.It is the language of ALLAH.It is much more poetic,beautiful and an soothing to listen to the QUTBA IN ARABIC.Definetly you Bayaan(Lecture) can be given in the language of your choice.If we change this then next we want to do HAJ in our own language.ARABIC UNITES ALLHS UMMAH,THEBEST LANGUAGE AND THE LANGUAGE OF JANNAH
2010-02-22