Do we need $5-10 million dollars+ spent on mosques around Australia each year?
I am perplexed at how much money is being spent in building mosques, yet calls are still made left right and center to find a khateeb, to get a fatwa, to have proper Islamic courses and so much more at many of our current mosques.
Building people should be done before building stone
بناء البشر قبل بناء الحجر!
I’m sad to see Youth involvement in many mosques is very low, and shura members are at the ages of 50 or 60+ with almost no Youth programs or Youth driven initiatives, no succession planning and no understanding of the issues we currently face in the community.
The youth should be WORKING in mosques rather than volunteering, they should be paid to attend external training rather than pay from their own pocket. Inspiring youth with concern for the community should not be working at McDonald, KFC, Woolworth, Coles as security guards, waiters or any other job. The expectations of our current youth are way too high.
You have to:
– Excel in your School/University studies
– Focus on your Islamic Studies & Qur’an
– Volunteer in your MSA or local Mosque
– Work to support yourself, your family or your goals
– Have no shortcomings in your family commitments etc.
Similarly, the Shaykh cannot be the psychologist, marriage counselor, youth advisor, life coach, mufti, imam, Qur’an teacher, Islamic studies teacher, father, husband and son all at once. They are over worked, and they are not free to even start looking at contemporary problems the Youth are facing in the community, and how to approach solving them – give them a break, support them!
I have not and will not spend another dollar towards building a mosque with no PROPER youth programs, no Admin support, with no support programs for troubled or disadvantaged individuals, with no plans on shura succession, and no commitment with a shaykh that is a permanent imam who understands and attends to the needs of our local communities.
I ask you again, do we need more mosques? Can we not spare that 1 million dollars out of the 10 to help these youth? to create 50-100 job opportunities for the future leaders of our Ummah?
By Allah, if we spent 10% of what we’re spending on mosques in building the Youth, we’ll be in a completely different position in the next 5-10 years
Sure, we want more mosques in Australia, so do I, but first we NEED the people to run it, the Youth to be involved in it, and the community to learn from it.
