Review of An evening with Baba Ali at Imperial College 23 rd March
By Showkat Ali
http://www.7cgen.com/index.php?showtopic=9280
The event advertised as an evening with Ali at Imperial College, in my case became a 30 minute session with Ali and I interviewed him for two newspapers and several online journals and forums.
The event was a sell out with all the 800 tickets sold weeks ago and another 800 could just as easily have been sold.
The audience comprised a mixture of people, from the Islamic minded to the type of people you don’t normally see at Islamic talks. I also spotted a few non-Muslims and according to Ali he does receive many emails from non-Muslims who converted as a result of watching his videos and then researching Islam for themselves. Incidentally a sister in the audience was an example of this.
His videos on Youtube have been watched by 1.3 million people and rising and its no surprise that many media companies have been after him with offers to do several shows. His blog has received 150 000 visitors.
The evening started of with recitation of Surah Maryam and then Ali came onto the stage. There was no big introduction, just a formal “ Ali from Ummah films”.
Ali introduced Ummah films and explained his motivation to do something for the Muslim youth and tackle issues in a light hearted manner which the youth can relate to. He appeared a very humble brother and made a point of emphasising that he does not see himself as a celebrity and refuses to sign autographs in order to keep his intentions pure and for the pleasure of Allah only. This comment led to the loudest ovation all evening.
The audience as promised were given the premier launch of two of his latest videos which are not available on Youtube yet. The subjects covered were surprise surprise , marriage and the dilemma Muslim youth face when discussing this subject with their parents. Some of his examples like marrying your cousin and the father’s attitude made the crowd laugh so much that it was hard to hear what was being said in the video.
Many of the people present could relate to what was being said and also see the funny side as well as the serious side.
The other videos like Muslim while flying and Muslims at work were very powerful as well as funny and passed a message that we should not be ashamed being Muslims and it is the non-Muslims who need to think and reflect on some of their practices such as personal hygiene. His examples from the bathroom were really funny especially the things his colleagues at work say and do.
The question and answer session was by far the best aspect of the evening and lasted almost an hour. Questions ranged from “why he converted” to our responsibility to carry the dawah as well and not leaving it to certain individuals.
Ali’s main message was that we as Muslims should not be ashamed of who we are and always refer to Islam for all of our solutions, “ Since 9/11 many Muslims have changed the way they act and behave in public, but there is no reason for us to be embarrassed for the actions of a few individuals and we should take our example from the prophet Muhammed saw and his sahabah who followed Islam without compromise and conveyed the message to the society “.
I would definitely advice anyone who hasn’t seen any of his videos on youtube to do so and if u can get hold of his dvd then even better. He is an amazing person in terms of his personality and the message he passes via his clips.
There is a huge number of people who are not religious nor completely westernised who are not being accessed by Islamic groups and organisations and this is the void which Ali has filled with great success as the evening showed.
His last words on all of his videos seem very appropriate “This is Ali reminding you just in case you forgot”.