Written by Ify Okoye at
MuslimMatters:
Adapted from a lecture given by Yasir Qadhi in Baltimore at IlmFest 2009
Primary Intellectual Crisis
Al walaa wal baraa is the primary intellectual crisis of generation Islam. The essential question being asked is,
“What do we do as practicing orthodox Muslims living in secular lands, when our religion demands one thing and the land demands something else?” In Qadhi’s opinion, the answer to this question has yet to be formulated properly. We do not have an answer. We cannot look up the answer in some medieval textbook because this situation has never existed before. Never before has there been no Islamic khilafah. Never before have there been 40-50 million Muslims living in western lands in “secular democracies.” Never before has there been a system of nation-states. Never before was there a concept of secularism. Previously, Europe was very Christian in nature.
Intellectual Tug-of-War
On the one hand there are nationalistic identities (American, Pakistani, Somali) and on the other hand there are ethnic identities (Black American, Desi, Arab). Added to this mix are religious identities, asking what type of Muslim are you? These disparate identities can be challenging to reconcile, particularly for young people. As polling by the Gallup Center and recent events demonstrate, Muslim youth in the 18-29 age bracket are struggling in the post-9/11 era to reconcile their conflicting identities.
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