Of split personality and irresponsibility

Posted on April 25, 2008 in Social, Spiritual
16 comments 

Today was Friday and Friday or Jumu’ah, as it is called in Arabic, is a day of congregation for Muslims. The congregation is an obligation upon the men, and there can be no excuse for missing it unless due to sickness, in a situation of emergency, while traveling long distances, or in situations when it’s just impossible.
Women are also encouraged to join the congregation but they are free to pray in private if they choose to.

The Friday congregation replaces the daily afternoon prayer, which is held between 12:30 and and 14:00 depending on the season and if DST is observed, and lasts between half-hour and 45 minutes. There are two parts to the congregation, the sermon and the prayer itself which takes between 5 to 7 minutes maximum.

The sermon usually discusses values, morals, and the reminds us of the meaning of life. However, the sermon also takes a more practical approach trying to integrate Islamic teachings into everyday life and can even take a strong political role and influence decisions.

The style of delivery varies greatly from Imam to Imam, just like every colour God hath created. Extremes can range from the broken-English Imam whom nobody pays any attention to; the angry screaming Imam who accuses the attendees and maks them feel guilty of committing every sin he can list time permitting; the nostalgic Imam who always reminds us of the good old days and has nothing useful to say; to the most dangerous Imam who to makes it to front-page news faster than Britney Spears.
My good friend Hamzah Moin wrote an analysis of different Imams a few years ago entitled “Juma Woes“.

The Imam’s had enough

Today’s sermon departed from the usual themes. Our Imam got very personal and by personal meaning his anger was directed at his audience - me and the people around me. Although he damned us of having a split-personality, I take it that he was actually scolding us for not listening to him and his colleagues and for our irresponsible actions.

Do we have a split personality ?

It is easy to notice that there are many members of our community who lead a double life. During their stay in the Mosque you will find them excessively helpful and brotherly but once they exit the building, they become instantly unrecognizable with their offensive gestures and cuss words. But a different Imam discussed that issue last week.

Today, this Imam took a different approach to split-personality. Some people take the Mosque as an institution that just happens to be there. They have no respect for the people that work hard to make it better and forget to even realize the sanctity of the place itself.

Of not even trying to make an effort

The Mosque is run by a managing committee that consists of the Imam(s), the secretary, the finance guy, the legal guy, the guy who owns the property, volunteers, and elected members representing the people.
These people no doubt work hard to raise funds, get the bills paid, organize events, make sure things run smoothly in Ramadan and maintain the place by cleaning the washrooms, vacuuming & taking out the garbage.

Unfortunately, to some, these people don’t exist. To them, the carpet remains perpetually clean, the garbage magically disappears, books rearrange themselves on shelves, nobody uses the facilities and the list goes on.
What is worse, when they do make a mess, they actually expect the volunteers to pick-up after them ! This behaviour is most pronounced during dinners. If a hundred people attended an event that included dinner, after having their fill 96 would disappear into thin air leaving 4 to clean up. Some will not even make the effort to toss their plates and cups into the garbage bag. I can’t tell you how many times I have found a half empty plate of food on a window-sill or a chair or carefully placed on the floor. What were they thinking ? A half empty plate of rice and chicken bones does not go to charity !

Of not obeying the law – The parking issue

This one of the more serious problems that the Mosque is facing at present. The Mosque owns two lots on either side of the building, and uses them for parking. In the past, no official restrictions were enforced on those who parked there. But being located in the downtown area, where free parking is scarce, there was an annoying problem of cars being left at the Mosque without permission and their owners going to work or shop.

To discourage this practice, the Mosque joined forces with the city in February, to enforce the parking by-law. This is in accordance with The Private Property Parking Program, which facilitates property owners to allow the city to ticket or tow cars parked at their property without consent.

Now cars can only be parked at the Mosque during prayer times or risk being ticketed. If someone needs a parking space for everyday use, then they will need to buy a monthly permit.

Changes to parking were already being announced every Friday early in the year and the managing committee expected drastic changes to their parking problem. Things actually got from bad to worse !

You would expect if somebody was reminded at least two or three times of something, they would remember. But at the Mosque, even 12 weeks of announcements did not work, bringing the Imam down to actually spend half an hour scolding his followers and letting off steam.

The Imam pointed out how some people would follow the rules of the road imposed by the province and the city, but when the Mosque imposed the same rule, they turned a blind eye. They will park their car in the required space provided at the mall, but will take two spaces and double park when at the Mosque. This, according to the Imam, was also a form of split-personality.

People when ticketed, would instead complain to members of the managing committee. Some are ignorant of the fact that parking tickets can only be issued by the city. Others, who are cowards, however approach the committee members with hostility and full knowledge that unless the Mosque accepts that their ticket was wrongly issued, the city wins.

Getting a parking ticket is not only issue at the lots. A large number of people gather on Fridays, and many bring their cars. After the prayers are over, it seems that every car wants to get out at the same time, creating a congestion in the streets immediate to the mosque. This has led neighbours to complain.

There have been problems in the past but they have eventually been resolved one way or another. But I couldn’t help noticing today that the management was finally at their wits end in trying to get their message out to those few people. I will not be surprised if parking announcements we made again next Friday.

On the flip side, I think the city is happy to have yet another source to fill their coffers.

In conclusion…

It’s time for a real change people. It doesn’t matter if you spend the night in the company of God or observe voluntary fasts. They are of no use, if you ignore what others have to say and eventually hurt people one way or another.

It’s the little things we do, that give us a bad name.