RISNA and Ramadan
ISNA and RIS conventions and Ramadan's Decision Not to Attend them!

To attend or not to attend the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and RIS conventions has become a scintillating debate between Tariq Ramadan, his supporters and the leadership of the two groups and their followers. Ramadan has declined to attend the ISNA for being politically timid and RIS for its apolitical stances. ISNA and RIS supporters have tried to defend their organizations by claiming that they were not isolationists and they have always spoken about political issues of the day. Ramadan is an intelligent thinker and he is entitled to decide the use of his time and knowledge as he deems fit. ISNA and RIS have had conventions before his arrival on the Muslim scene and would continue to be active regardless of the participation of him or anyone else..

Ramadan’s presence or absence would not bring down the number of participants in the ISNA convention and his decision to attend the convention would be forgotten by the people soon. His decision to decline the invitation is not the issue, rather the real issue is the relevance of these conventions to Islam and Muslims in the context of socio-political conditions the community faces at this time

Are they really relevant?  There is no doubt that these forums provide participants to be reminded of their Muslim heritage with an opportunity to network with fellow Muslims. But beyond, that they have not served much.

Ask any participants of these conventions to name the themes of the previous five conventions and you should not be surprised to find out that not many were able to offer accurately respond. Ask them to identify issues discussed in these conventions with an eye to bringing about changes in the conditions of people and you would be lucky if you find a few to articulate the proceedings clearly.

Conventions, by their nature, are meant to give a sense of identity, a sense of belonging and a sense of networking with individuals who otherwise remain immersed in their own work and the world. It is a good forum in making one feel better about one’s religion, community or ideology.

Conventions could be sources of change and could impact the thinking of the people provided the leadership makes them relevant. After all, people spend millions of dollars to attend this function and there should be a measurable return to the investment people make besides counting the reward.

ISNA and RIS have often refrained from raising relevant issues and avoided discussions on substance. These subjects are neither educational, nor motivational, nor political nor future-oriented. At best they are emotionally and psychologically feel good events without any substantial changes in the community affairs.

There are several serious issues that the Muslim community in the US and the Wes faces along with the countries from where the majority of the Muslims have migrated from.

Unless those issues are dealt with in a significant manner in such big gatherings of Muslims, the conventions would not reach their true potential.

The Muslim community suffers from serious internal as well as external challenges. Internally, the Muslim community is plagued by authoritarianism, racism, classicism, ethnocentrism, gender discrimination, sectarianism, male chauvinism, domestic abuse, child abuse, disrespect to labor, violence, and terror as a means to resolve one’s differences, personality cult, and arrogance of piety, etc. To say that Islam is opposed to all these vices is one thing while sensitizing the community about the prevalence of these issues is another. These conventions, by and large, have ignored these issues.  Not many speakers including Ramadan or ISNA leadership has seriously discussed them in greater details.

Racism as practiced in the Muslim world as well in the Masajid and Islamic centers is not hidden from anyone. Discrimination against women in our places of worship and Islamic organizations is also not unknown to most especially women. In the name of God and traditions, women are forced to take a second class citizens' role within the Muslim institutions.  Their presence in Islamic institutions is considered a source of deviation and their involvement in Islam related work is often looked down upon. Spousal abuse and its implications for Islam are totally absent from debate in general. The way they are forced to take a back seat in masajid speaks volumes of the secondary role they are given in religious matters.

The dignity of labor is hardly an issue discussed in these conventions. In fact, none of the organizations created in the name of Islam can claim to follow the labor laws internationally agreed upon. In Muslim societies, the dignity of labor does not simply exist as those who are actually involved in producing are often the most neglected ones. There are practically no labor laws to protect the dignity of workers in the Gulf countries and rarely anyone talks about that.

Sectarianism is overwhelmingly dominated. The conventions are not the forums of open discussion, but stages to promote a particular clique or group. The Shia-Sunni divide is visible and hardly anyone makes efforts to bridge the gap and seek reconciliation. The token presence of the various sects is often secured to avoid criticism, but by and large, the leadership is not convinced about the authenticity of others as a genuine religious community.

Violence against minorities and non-dominant sects are hardly the issue of these conventions. As if the murder and killings of minorities and people of other sects are inconsequential. Often, these conventions invited speakers who in their writing and speeches have promoted sectarianism. The conventions have become a source of fanning sectarian differences.

Issues pertaining to apostasy, blasphemy, second class, freedom of religions to minorities in Muslim countries are rarely talked about.

One hardly finds an inspiration to change in these conventions. One hardly hears about issues such as environment, poverty, ecological imbalance, pollution, diseases or an agenda or program for the participants to follow.

Externally, issues such as how to deal with modernity, how to interact with non-Muslims through existing Muslim institutions, how to be an integral part of the community Muslims live in and how to create institutions helpful for people are not on the agenda.

These conventions have the potential to be effective and relevant. But they are not, because they lack a democratic structure in their organization. They are run to promote an agenda created by a closed-door group selected on the basis of ethnic, cultural or ideological lines. They are not open. They are close to even new ideas. In this context, it is irrelevant whether Ramadan attends it does not.

If these conventions do not take place for a couple of years, the Muslim community and country, as well as Islam, would not miss them. No one would feel their absence as the majority of Muslims in America still do not know about these organizations.