ICBMN-Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Minnesota

Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come. Jalaluddin Rumi
9 years ago (09-03-2017)

As a Muslim, when entering a mosque, Bosnian or otherwise, you must extend the universal greeting of Muslims which is: Asalamu-Wa-Lakium generally and to those in and around the proximity of the mosque specifically. The other day, I experienced something for the first time when frequenting the Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Minnesota. I greeted people inside the prayer area with the standard greeting of Asalamu-Wa-Lakium and received no reply. No one appeared to be engaged in prayer, but were orating chapters and passages of the Quran aloud. It is a matter of fard, religious obligation, to reciprocate to a fellow Muslim when extending the universal Islamic greeting. Otherwise, if the greeting is not extended by the passing individual, the individual sitting stationary must make the initiative to do so. This is simple Islamic etiquette that transcends all aspects of manmade culture. Nonetheless, we are faced with a big picture disparity that is much greater than this particular incident experienced at ICBMN. It is simply flabbergasting to empirically observe the current state of the Muslims. We cannot even extend a simple Islamic greeting to each other in and around the mosque! We are creating mosques and community centers in our own image for exclusionary purposes. A mosque is first and foremost Bait Allah or House of the Almighty. A mosque receives no baraqah when established under a basis of cultural self-exclusion. The ICBM must clarify its purpose as to what function it aspires to serve to eliminate existential confusion. From the outside looking in, the prevailing trend here seems to be centered around Bosniaks first and Muslims second. It is for this reason why a great distinction must be made between mosques and community centers. One is a place for prayer, education, and meditation and the other is for the exchange of cultural familiarity in a foreign locality. No conflict of interest exists when one mosque is facilitated and frequented by one predominate community, but cultural impartiality must be reciprocated if its basis is to remain authentically Islamic.
9 years ago (24-04-2017)