Convey The Message In Language They Understand

Millions Of Expats Don't Understand A Word Of Friday Sermon
by Mariam Nihal

JEDDAH: Muslim expatriates in the Kingdom say there are no mosques that deliver Friday sermons (khutbah) in their languages.

"The whole point of a sermon is to understand and spread the word of Allah, but it seems no one cares enough to delve into the matter. People repeat verses or utter 'Ameen' without understanding what is being said. It has become a formality that they just want to get over with. That is not the purpose or way of preaching Islam," Indian expatriate Hannah told Arab News.
The khutbah is used to preach about Islamic issues during Friday prayer. The expatriate population in Saudi Arabia was 8.4 million as of August 2010, compared to 18.7 million Saudis, according to General Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economy and Planning.
“Most expatriates do not understand or speak Arabic. No one thinks about these 8.4 million people who are hampered by language barriers. We all want to learn about Islam, the difference is no one wants to walk that extra mile and help us to connect with society,” Indian expatriate Hussein told Arab News.
“At the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), mosques used to be full of knowledgeable and meaningful debates about Islam. The purpose of the khutbah is defeated because most of us do not understand a word but we go (to the mosque) because we are obliged to.”
Other countries in the Middle East where Arabic is the first language have mosques that deliver Friday sermons in English. Shaista, a Pakistani national, said: "When I lived in Dubai, our whole family and children would make it a ritual duty to go to the mosque where the khutbah was delivered in English every Friday. It was enlightening and taught us so much more about Islam."
Middle Eastern society experienced profound changes in the 19th century due to the impact of European expansion. In time, ideas about politics changed as technology advanced and a diverse culture was introduced. Mixed marriages and foreign minds began to infiltrate Arab society.
Bangladeshis, Indians, Indonesians, Pakistanis, Filipinos and Africans started to make their presence felt in the labor force. However, Arabic is not the first language of any of these nationalities. English is a common second language spoken by nurses, assistants and salesmen in contrast to Arabic.
“Society should cater to others’ needs and instill a sense of unity at the mosque, as the purpose of religion is to come together to share the same beliefs and follow them. It is unfair to hear talk about equality and brotherhood at the khutbah when none of the brothers cares to ensure his expatriate brothers even understand what is being said. Islam is not limited to one language,” said Mohammed, a Filipino.
Lubna, a local Saudi said: “We all know the best way to preach Islam is through compassionate dialogue. If the Arabic khutbah has been going on for centuries, we must adapt it to our culture so our Muslim brothers and sisters in the country can also follow the message of Islam.”
Young male expatriates told Arab News most of them do not understand the khutbah but nevertheless attend the Friday prayer because it is an Islamic duty.
“Even though we don’t understand a word, I make sure I go to listen to the khutbah because it’s obligatory and I do not want to miss out on the rewards from Allah. There is no choice. If there was a choice of a few mosques where they deliver the khutbah in Urdu, then it would be up to us to go,” Indian expatriate Faisal said.
Saira, an Indian expatriate, said: “We have a lot of non-Muslim friends who would be interested in listening to the words of Islam. However, they are rather stumped by the fact that we do not have access to a sermon in our language and I wish we had a few mosques specifically for us so even if women hear the sermons at home through loudspeakers, they will gather so much more knowledge and wisdom about."

Source: Arab News - February 5, 2011

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SPEECH BY HJ MOHD ALAMI MUSA
PRESIDENT MUIS
AT THE MOSQUE COUNCIL MEETING
SAT, 16 MAY 2009
AT AL-MAWADDAH MOSQUE

The Singapore Muslim community is generally homogeneous.  Nearly all of them are from the “Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah” (Sunni) school of thought.  A majority of them embrace the Shafi’e School of Law. Therefore, they share many things in common from the theological and jurisprudential perspectives. This has in many ways contributed to the unity of our local Muslim community in leading their Islamic life.  This spirit of unity is further reinforced as the majority of Muslims share a common language and culture, as they are Malays.
2 Singapore has positioned itself to be a talent magnet in the world.  In other words, Singapore strives to make itself attractive to individuals with the knowledge, expertise and capital to come to our shores to work, operate businesses and eventually make Singapore their home.  Besides these new resident Singaporeans, there is a sizeable force of transient foreign workers who are now contributing to Singapore in several ways, namely, in the construction industry or the domestic work sectors.  There are now about one million of them in Singapore.
3 The local Muslim community is also seeing more foreign Muslims in their midst today.  They attend prayers in our mosques and they participate in our religious events.  We must make them feel welcomed.
4 I am pleased to say that our mosques have been very open to welcoming foreign Muslims who work and reside in Singapore.  In fact, a number of mosques are providing useful services or forging collaborations with them.  Mosques like Khadijah and Hj Mohd Salleh (Geylang) allow religious classes to be conducted in the Bangladeshi language for construction workers.  The Mujahidin and Sultan mosques conduct skills-based training programmes for Indonesian domestic workers.  These are some examples of how mosques in Singapore serve the needs of foreign Muslims in Singapore.
5 I am also glad that a few mosques are forging links with foreign Muslim communities in Singapore.  Assyakirin mosque is working together in cultural programmes with the Turkish community in Singapore (through the Turkish Cultural Centre) while Al-Falah mosque has links and will be working with the Pakistani community (through the Singapore Pakistani Association).  Other mosques will be linking up with other foreign Muslim communities in due course.
6 These are deliberate efforts by our mosques to reach out to foreign Muslim groups through serving them and networking with them.  In this way, we hope that the foreign Muslims will “feel at home” in our mosques and our local Muslims will be at ease with them and embrace the new “jemaah” (congregation).
7 Our mosques are for all Muslims to worship in, regardless of their race or country of origin.  Alhamdulillah, this has always been the mindset of the local Muslim community.  They are open to accept Muslims from other countries.  This is not the situation in many other countries.  That is why mosques in these countries are built and run according to nationalities. This has caused disunity within the larger Muslim community in these countries.  We must avoid this. We must preserve the unity of our local Muslim community, even as there are more non-Singaporean Muslims in our midst.
8 To achieve this, there is a need for our local Muslims to embrace diversity and make it work to our advantage.  This is part of the Islamic ethos.  Muslims see differences and diversity as “hikmah”.  We must therefore be prepared to gradually embrace this diversity and become stronger.
9 Our mosques have shown the way in this. I am glad that more mosques (which have many non-Malays as their jemaah) are now delivering the khutbah (sermon) in English, once a month.  The use of English makes us more inclusive as this is the language well understood by people from all races and nationalities.  Nevertheless, our mosques are mindful of the reality that there are still a large number of the local jemaah, especially the senior citizens, who may not understand English. Hence, Malay is still the main language used in our mosques. Even if English is used, the approach that we recommend to mosques is a balanced approach. This entails a translation of the khutbah in Malay to be flashed on the screen.  Alternatively, a summary of the khutbah in Malay can be delivered in the second part of the sermon.  Furthermore, if the khutbah is in Malay, a translation of it in English can be flashed on the screen or a summary of it in English can be delivered in the second part of the sermon.  Finally, I like to also encourage our mosques to start offering religious classes in English or even other languages if there is a demand for them.
10 In summary, while our mosques must continue to serve the needs of a predominantly Malay jemaah, they must start to find ways to accommodate the new foreign Muslims, whose number is growing steadily over time.  Our mosques must remain open and inclusive so that the unity of Muslims in Singapore, regardless of where they come from, can be preserved.
Thank you.

Source: Singapore Islamic Religious Council

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Some Mosques Using English More 
by Diana Othman

ALTHOUGH Malay is still the dominant language of instruction in Singapore's mosques, English is increasingly being used in Friday prayer sermons and religious classes at some mosques. According to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), about 30 per cent of the 69 mosques in Singapore are currently giving sermons in English.
Although the number of mosques using English dropped from 28 in 2007 to 22 last year, there has been a 10 per cent increase in the frequency of English sermons delivered at the 22 mosques.
A significant increase in the number of English-speaking Muslims is behind the change, said Muis.
When The Straits Times checked with four mosques, they said they had either increased the number of sermons, religious classes and programmes in English, or were planning to introduce them this year.
Al-Falah mosque in Orchard Road now holds sermons in English every other week compared to just once a month when it first started doing so in 2003.
Its head for Islamic learning and social development, Ustaz Mohd Yusri Yubhi Md Yusoff, said mosque-goers are the main reason behind this decision.
'First of all, we look at our congregation who are mainly office workers from town, Muslim expats, medical tourists and Muslim converts... They are more comfortable speaking in English, and so we have to tailor to their needs,' he explained.
Among those attending the Al-Falah mosque are those from Britain, the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Pakistan, as well as locals such as Indian Muslims and Chinese converts.
Ustaz Yusri added that 'spreading the word in English' meant that the mosque could reach out to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike to educate them about Islam. All of its religious classes, including Quran readings, are also conducted in English.
From next month, the An-Nahdhah mosque in Bishan will hold a number of religious classes on fiqh - Islamic jurisprudence - in English.
The mosque will also give seminars on Islam in conjunction with Muis' Harmony Centre in English. They will be open to visitors of all religions and ethnicity.
Conducted for the first time, the lessons will be delivered in Malay, as well as in English, in separate classes.
Ustaz Leyaket Ali, 32, imam executive of An-Nahdhah, said the mosque is introducing classes in English due to the growing significance of the language here.
'Looking at how it is in Singapore now, English has become an everyday language, for example, when we write documents at work or have telephone conversations and also in schools,' he said.
Ustaz Leyaket said that in this way, the mosque would be able to reach out to more people, especially young people who prefer communicating in English.
Last year, An-Nahdhah also began delivering sermons in English once a month, and there are plans to make this more frequent if the response is good.
The management of Al-Khair mosque in Choa Chu Kang is currently discussing plans to introduce Arabic language classes taught in English on top of its other weekly religious classes for children and adults, already delivered in English.
The chairman of Abdul Gafoor mosque, Mr Rabi Ahmad, said they hope to introduce classes in basic Islamic jurisprudence and theology for youth in English towards the end of the year.
Mr Jahongirbek Burhonov, 26, a customer support staff member at Bloomberg, has been taking classes in reading the Quran and Arabic at Al-Falah for over six months. Originally from Uzbekistan, Mr Burhonov said he can better understand the classes in English.
Madam Azizah Syed Sulaiman, 37, a sales manager, speaks English and Tamil, so she is glad there are religious classes in English.
'I am able to understand my lessons better this way as I don't speak Malay,' she said. 

Source: The Straits Times - January 29, 2009