THIS MAHE RAMADHAN--LET US NEVER TURN AWAY THOSE WHO WANT TO RECITE AND TO SERVE. With the approach of the blessed month of Ramadhan comes the huge responsibility of community leaders of Islamic centres all over the world to allow a fair opportunity for all lecturers, volunteers, reciters of the holy Quran, Duas, munajat, nawha and marsiya to shine. This issue is especially close to my heart because I have personally experienced the painful struggles, since I was a little girl, to be given a chance at the microphone. It shatters my heart every time I see eager reciters (of all ages) waiting for just one chance, just one chance--and their dejected faces when they are refused. I share my thoughts on this sensitive topic in the (*attached link) interview with Torontos Jaffari News which focuses on my journey as an Islamic speaker. Here is an edited (for length) passage and select portions of the interview: *with sincere thanks to editor Sameer Dattu and writer Ruhula Dharsi for the valuable opportunity to speak about this very crucial issue. JAFFARI NEWS: What is your advice to the youth of the community, and especially the young girls who wish to become public speakers and Zakiras like yourself? ZAKIRA SHYROSE: I would say, first and foremost, one has to stop thinking of this as a profession. Being an Islamic preacher means that one truly has to do a lot of soul-searching, reflection and striving to be true to the faith; it means truly living Islam, in the holistic way that it is meant to be lived. ...My advice would be to serve in ALL ways possible in the community. This means teaching at madressa, serving as a volunteer, being on the ghusl/mayyet team and not just reading but actively writing about Islam. This is how you make sense of what knowledge you have gained. ...But to tell you the truth, this is still not enough if our community wants to produce more Zakireen. No matter how much training and sincere efforts potential speakers make, Islamic speakers will flourish only when we, as a community, learn to nurture budding talent. By recognizing talent and allowing it to blossom. By making room for new voices and by letting new faces come to the forefront. So many potential marsiya and nawha reciters stand beside the microphone, waiting for a chance to recite. So many potential Islamic Preachers wait with their handwritten majalises waiting for an opportunity to address the audience. So many young people practice reciting duas but then are rarely given a chance to recite in large gatherings. So many wish to volunteer but are turned away. In every community, there are heartbreaking stories of promising talent facing so much rejection that it finally leads to a total abandonment of the quest to recite or to volunteer. We may not realize it but that is a huge loss every time it happens!! Not everyone has the resilience to withstand so much rejection. And why should expressing love for Allah (swt) be only for the tough, thick-skinned ones who are aggressive enough to grab the microphone? Until we give new people a chance and respectfully treat everyone as a potential, future marhoom Mulla Saheb or Nadeem Serwar, we will never truly find fresh faces at the microphones of our masajids. We lament that no one wants to take up the cause. But in all honesty, we need to do some deep reflection to understand if we, as a community, are doing everything possible to make the path easy for those who dare to tread it. Talent must be nurtured, supported and appreciated. Our relentless standards of perfection often lead us to be highly critical of those who have the guts to attempt lofty ambitions. And it becomes the familiar dilemma we hear from unemployed people who complain that they are turned away because they lack “work experience” but how on earth can they gain work experience if no one gives them a chance to work in the first place? We must open our hearts and make room for the young, the old and yes, even those who seem the most unlikely to be a future Zakireen. Give them a chance and if they fail to impress, give them another chance. And another!! I have seen so many preachers significantly improve over the years and it stands to reason that the more you have an opportunity to address a crowd, the more you can learn from your mistakes. Everyone is on a path to discover the message of Allah (swt) and thus everyone has something to share about what has inspired them. Age and experience can be surmounted; even knowledge can eventually be attained. What is most rare, most priceless is that inner spark to serve and to speak about Him and to express love for Him that is a refreshing and most essential quality. We must be careful not to extinguish that spark for it is a huge responsibility and we will have to answer to Allah (swt) for silencing those who loved Him.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 04:53:35 +0000
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