https://www.karima.org.uk/futuwwah

#chivilary #men #mamasboys

“Futuwwa means to overlook the faults and failures of your brothers” – Fudayl bin Iyad

“Futuwwa means to be just, but not to seek justice” – Haarith al-Muhaasibi

“No-one is able to attain perfection in Futuwwa except the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, for all people will say on the Day of Judgement; “Myself! Myself”, and he will say “My Ummah! My Ummah!” – Imam Daqqaq

To say masculinity in crisis is an understatement; low educational attainment, the rise of masculine criminality, “arousal addiction” driven by pornography and video games and the lack of desire to take on moral responsibilities and obligations has left many thinkers and researchers in a tailspin. To add insult to injury, this crisis is one Muslim communities are uniquely affected by, their socioeconomic struggles further exacerbated by the abundance of Muslim boys masquerading in men’s bodies – sending the Muslim community down a slippery slope of inadequate male leadership and rising drug use and criminal behaviour. It wasn’t always like this; the Islamic tradition has always prided itself on its ability to nurture strong, spiritually nourished men; who not only led the armies, but provided a caring concern for their communities in times of tribulation. Think of Umar Mukhtar, Salahuddin Ayyubi, Hazrat Umar ibn al-Khattab and ultimately the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Along with these physical exemplars, the Islamic civilisation has also produced a healthy amount of literature providing guidance to Futuwwa (masculine chivalry) for Muslim communities to emulate especially in times of difficulty.

Join us as we host a book launch for Imam Dawud Walid’s forceful attempt to revive this long-forgotten tradition and provide a first step in solving the Muslim masculinity crisis, accompanied by his dear friend and the erudite historian of Islam in Africa, Dr Bilal Ware.

There will be online provision for those who are showing symptoms or would rather watch from home.

Imam Dawud Walid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America’s largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee.

Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada.

Dr Bilal Rudolph Ware

Dr. Rudolph Bilal Ware is a historian of Africa and Islam. He earned his PhD in history in 2004 from the University of Pennsylvania where he was trained in African History, African-American History, and Islamic Intellectual History. He is currently an associate professor in the department of History at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and the founder and director of the Initiative for the Study of Race, Religion, and Revolution (ISRRAR). His first book, The Walking Qur’an: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, and History in West Africa, explores the history of a thousand years of Quran schooling in the region. He is the author of multiple articles on Muslim anti-slavery movements in Africa and the Atlantic World, and his most recent book, Jihad of the Pen, explores Sufi thought in West Africa.