Written By: Ishaque Bingham

A Struggle against Silence

2013
This essay address the eBook The
Ruling on Muslims Attending Mixed
Universities by Abu Ismael Mustafa
George.

All Praise is for Allah Alone, and May His Peace & Blessing be Bestowed upon His Final
Prophet & Messenger Muhammad.
Recently I had an opportunity to read the E-book, "The Ruling on Muslims attending
mixed Universities" (written by Mustafa George). I did so more than once, submerging
myself deep into a topic of great debate and utmost concern for those of us residing here in
the United States, with hopes of surfacing with a plausible and concrete solution. To my
dismay, it only revealed a lack of study and comprehension of our present reality and
further fueled despair for those already suffering a desolate existence. I offer the following
points for consideration without contention or intent to debate. I concur wholeheartedly
with the Islamic proofs and evidences cited in the E-book, though I lack accord with their
implementation due to the complexity of our circumstance.
In the introduction it states that the offering of such E-book is for English speaking
Muslims in the West. The usage of this broad and general term to define us, indirectly
implies that we all share similar circumstances. Though western nations are alike with
regards to their non-Islamic systems of governing, they vastly differ in their political,
economic, racial and religious construction and more importantly, their tolerance of
Islamic practices.
For example, Muslim women in France are challenged by legislation that bans the hijab
and veil in certain public institutions, while in other western countries they're free to
exercise outward symbols of Islamic adherence. In France, more specifically, with relation
to the matter of higher education, it is basically tuition free whereas in America it expensive
and usually involves an interest based loan to supplement grants and scholarships if
available. In America there several all-female colleges and therefore the question should
be: Is it permissible for a Muslimah to attend an all female college on an interest-based
agreement? My point is that the geographical generalization of Muslim minorities in the
West permits their specific conditions to be overlooked and therefore their individual
needs to go unaddressed.
I hold an intimate love and concern for the predominately African American Salafee
communities here in the United States. A blind eye and heedless heart cannot be shown
towards the history of my people regarding our development from enslavement through
the civil rights movement, and up until our present day condition. We enter into Islam
downtrodden, yet hopeful, burdened by the dysfunction bred within every inner-city ghetto.
No people have suffered the brutal, inhumane and holocaustic conditions that we have
endured, and the utmost vigilance must be exerted in defining the matters that plague us
with a solemn intention to devise an effective plan that will initiate real change. Though
bound by the same borders and English tongue as our Arab and Indo-Pakistani brothers
and sisters, our communities, conditions, and needs are severely dissimilar.
It is well understood that intermingling of sexes is threaded into the social fabric of the
United States. In fact, the only places where intermingling doesn't exist are in prisons
amongst the inmate population, public restrooms, a few institutions of education, and in
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most Islamic centers. We're forced in almost every regard to deal with the opposite sex,
and due to its' unfortunate normality, it has become virtually unavoidable. In most
circumstances our common recourse is to fear Allah as much as we are able, and that has
become the standard. Consideration must be given to this fact with regard to higher
education and its dire need for community development.
There were several detriments proposed by the author that accompanied the concern for
the harm of intermingling that are questionable. Some might argue that it would behoove a
Muslim living in "The West" to become familiar with the intricacies of democracy in order
to avoid its' evil citing the narration of Huthayfah Ibn Al-Yaman as evidence. Likewise, the
allowance for a Muslim man to marry a Christian or Jewish woman though disliked shows
the ultimate level of tolerance in the most intimate of relationships for other religions. That
preached tolerance stated that western universities promote is actually a national liberty that
grants us the right to outwardly display our own religious beliefs and works to our
advantage in the form of dawah. Homosexuality is spreading like wildfire, being
propagated through mass media outlets and seen openly everywhere. To avoid a college
classroom as a means of protection from it is utterly useless. Darwinism is not a required
course of study for every single major & thus avoidable. All of the immoralities that were
gathered are evils we strive to avert daily and not confined to a college education.
Since the rise of Islam as a topic of popular discussion due to several deplorable events,
colleges are now offering many courses that detail its' ideology and culture. Ive
encountered college students who've ventured to the masjid in order to gain insight for
research papers. I've also witnessed bus loads of non-Muslim high school students arrive at
the masjid I frequent for Jumu'ah prayer to be given a first hand, real life account of who
and what Muslims are. Justice is only served when the claim of the potential harms are
weighed with the spread of Islam on college campuses, the rapid growth of Islam in
America amongst the general population, and the opportunity to enter into the realms of
higher learning to give dawah.
There were four points of response written in this compilation that were offered as a
rebuttal to the matter of intermingling in mixed universities that were accurate in question,
yet failed to touch on the grave reality of these matters and the perpetual stagnation that has
birthed retardation and regression in many Salafee communities.
The predominately African American Salafee communities are mostly comprised of
salaried blue collar workers and welfare recipients who are in most cases considered
working poor, a term used by sociologists to define people with full time jobs whose
wages are insufficient to raise their income above the official poverty level. The relationship
between higher education and a greater earning potential has to be factored to conclude a
just ruling, given that the sole funding for the operation of such masaajid at large are
contributed by the frequent, general assembly. Is it fair to exclude this fact when the
Imam's salary is paid by those already shouldering the burden of providing for their own
families in constraining economic times from such meager means?
Islam has an open door policy allowing all walks of life to embrace our faith. Many
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sufferers of festering mental and physical ailments do so, in hopes of an amicable remedy.
Trained Muslim medical professionals are required to meet their needs, as non-Muslim
programs rarely give precedence to our creed and Islamic values while attempting to
provide medical/mental first-aid services. The potential for relapse amongst these needy
brothers and sisters is great if they go unassisted within our own communities. The mention
of women and the welfare system without a shadow of a doubt indicate that its functioning
wasnt fully comprehended. Women who are given cash stipends are mandated to seek
higher education in some form lest they lose their benefits, leaving them without choice to
intermingle.
African Americans are a minority, and Muslims from that racial class are a sub-culture,
susceptible to social assimilation, the process by which members of a racial or ethnic
minority take on the characteristics of the mainstream culture by adapting their cultural
patterns to those of the majority group. We find our beloved sons turning towards a life of
crime, drug abuse, and incarceration and our cherished daughters stripping off their hijab
and becoming pregnant out of wedlock. They are victims of the lifestyles we've shunned
and vehemently despised, seeking self-validation and destruction of every shred of our
former selves but only to be haunted by it resurfacing amongst our offspring later on. This
is the true burden when it comes to our progeny and due in most part to our remaining in
poor, grief stricken ghettos amongst the underclass, where crime, unemployment and
illiteracy prevail.
Socialization must become one of our main concerns. We cannot continue to remain in
these areas without stressing the need for higher education, as our only expectancy can be
what we've already sadly experienced. Our children aren't straying in large part to
intermingling at universities; instead it is occurring in our very own homes, at malls, and on
street corners. Their minds and hearts are being overwhelmed by an engulfing popular
urban culture long before they can complete a college application.
Separatism is implicitly promoted in this E-book. Self- sufficiency in every facet of our
existence is necessary for such a course of action, yet how can it be established without
acquiring the necessary resources to do so? A grand example to bear in mind are the Saudi
founders who sent their inheritors to the West to get secularly educated, understanding that
the combination of Islamic and worldly knowledge would formulate a thriving, balanced
nation. An elevated insight is the best vantage point to effectively handle the charge of our
affairs. The valued verdicts of the scholars utilized as supporting evidence are textually
accurate but inapplicable due to the specified aforementioned details.
I found the contradiction and ambiguity in this writing insulting. If western universities
promote democracy, Darwinism, homosexuality, and everything else mentioned therein,
then how can online college courses be permissible? Aren't these abominations contained
in course material and will the doubt they muster mysteriously vanish if one is safely
secluded in the confines of his or her own home?
Furthermore, online education doesn't address our urgencies, as one cannot become a
doctor or midwife solely by its means. Allah's speech was cited regarding the woman
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remaining in her home, yet Allah states that men are their maintainers and providers. The
relevant contrast of these two verses to our social dynamic mandates that the scenario of
Muslim men attending mixed universities as a provisional means, needs to be directly
addressed by a group of qualified and well-informed scholars.
The consequences or repercussions of this E-book have to be entertained. Our young,
gullible brothers could use this poorly written and researched treatise as an excuse to
underachieve, idling all day in the masaajid on ill advice. Our women will lack the critical
thinking skills acquired through higher education necessary to home school their children.
Our decaying schools would be dealt a disastrous, finishing blow without competent, welltrained and competent educators to meet the growing academic demands of our future
generations. How can we cultivate a love of Islam in our children if they are prohibited
from pursuing their individual interests and ambitions so as long as there are within the
parameters of the religion?
The failure to offer any real plausible solution(s) to our dilemma compels me to do so.
Marriage serves as means of safeguarding chastity and attending local colleges with other
members from our immediate communities can forge support. Students of knowledge and
Imams should work diligently with Muslim Student Associations, offering lessons and
counseling and being directly involved in the religious activities on campus. Our children
should remain living at home as opposed to on or off campus alone, and actively involved
in community affairs. Majors should be chosen that service the individuals personal
ambitions as well as those that will add spiritual value and growth to the community at
large.
The matter of attending mixed universities in the West is of such enormous caliber that it
warrants address by a board of senior jurists/scholars who have at their disposal accurate
and relevant details of our unique and imperfect Islamic existence as Muslim minorities
living in this country. This information should be conferred by one who has first hand
knowledge, practical experience and sound understanding of the intricate complexities that
constitute the environment we reside in.
And this endeavor should not be embarked upon by someone who, in a vain but selfish
attempt to refute a previous position taken by others, gathers random pieces of
inaccurate information and produces the like of this poorly written and researched article
for the masses of Muslims living in the West. Every Muslim community in the West,
whether African American, Arab, Indo-Pak, Afro- Caribbean etc. has their own unique and
individual set of circumstances and conditions that have to be investigated on case-by-case
basis by those who are religiously and academically qualified in such delicate matters that
affect the very essence of their livelihood, communal development and progression.
I hope that this well-intended critique can serve as a basis for formulating a sincere, wellconceived and balanced discussion for our scholars sometime in the near future. And with
Allah lies all success. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Prophet and upon
his family and companions.
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The One in Need of Allahs Mercy,

Ishaque Bingham
Durham, North Carolina

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