East Zone Reflection and the National Fundamentalists

I went to East Zone thinking Imam Zaid Shakir was going to be the show and that would be it. I was dead wrong. Sheikh Mokhtar Maghraoui was AMAZING (I realized this even before he first quoted Imam ibn ‘Atai’lah). So was Sheikh Magid Ali (Who was so cool when he pushed the guy giving his intro out of the way). I think the message came across very strong as well: seek Allah by serving your community and be the mercy to mankind that our beloved Prophet was. I think many people were looking forward to this reflection but anything I say about it will only diminish it. Read other reflections. Better yet, come next year to EZ. One of the things that stood out for me was the secret Mawlid with Imam Zaid Shakir. And for you mawlid hater: what a waste of emotions. Agree to disagree and focus your emotions and energies somewhere else. We planned it out for 12 and all the stuff (except for Omar’s duff) with in my hotel room and I had fallen asleep around 11:30 and by some miracle, woke up at like 11:58. I ran down with all the poems and started running around like a chicken with its head cut off reminding people and getting everything in position (hence why I messed up on the salawat and he chorus of Tarek’s nasheed). But we continued with poetry and thikr until Imam Zaid took over and did some beautiful poetry and lessons. Someone else wrote a great reflection on it here.

Sorry for disappointing everyone with the lack of a good reflection. You had to be there so come next year insha’Allah!

I also found this story on the BBC. I think it’s a good reminder that religion is not the only motivation for terrorism and there is such a thing as radical secularism.