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Compass – Tomorrow’s Islam (2003)

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Growing up Muslim in America education content clip 2

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Faiz Khan is a medical doctor born and raised in the USA. He’s never been trained as a preacher but since 9/11 he feels he should speak out as a Muslim whose own faith sits comfortably in our post-modern Western world of secular humanism.

Curator’s notes

by Janet Bell

Both he and his friend and mentor Iman Faisel, both from New York, feel they have to speak out about Islam in the 21st century. Both insist that totalitarianism or authoritarianism is not a manifestation of Islam and that Islam can exist comfortably within a democracy.

Compass host Geraldine Doogue is the interviewer and narrator of this program, pulling together a number of very different interviews with Muslims from many western countries, into a coherent whole that is most compelling. The sequence is simply but elegantly shot, footage of the Imam at prayers in his very traditional western home and the moment when Faiz Khan exchanges a 'hip’ handshake with a young friend are very nicely observed.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows two US Muslim leaders, Dr Faiz Khan and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, speaking about Islam and engaging in the practice of their faith. The clip begins with scenes of Dr Khan conducting a Friday service at the Islamic Centre of Long Island, USA, and explaining how his grasp of functional, academic and cultural English is helpful in this role. Scenes of Imam Feisal at a family meal include a voice-over in which he outlines why he believes that the US Muslim community will have a profound influence in shaping Islamic democratic nations throughout the world. The clip ends with scenes of Imam Feisal at devotions while in a voice-over he argues that repressive regimes are a creation of human attitudes and psychology, not religion. Geraldine Doogue, the presenter of Compass, is the narrator and conducted the interviews.

Educational value points

  • This clip provides a valuable counterbalance to popular Western media presentations of Muslims following the events of 11 September 2001, which tended to be negative, and shows deeply held Islamic beliefs going hand-in-hand with liberal progressive thought and commitment to democracy.
  • Dr Faiz Khan is a specialist in accident and internal medicine, an assistant professor in emergency medicine and a leader of the Muslim community in New York. Khan is the Assistant Imam at the Al-Farah Mosque in lower Manhattan and at the Islamic Centre on Long Island and is involved in the Cordoba Initiative where Progressive Muslims, Christians and Jews celebrate their common heritage.
  • Dr Khan is shown preaching a sermon, an important part of the weekly congregational service that takes place in the mosque on Fridays at the time of ritual prayer just after noon. The Friday service contains a sermon or 'khutbah’ that, unlike prayer, is always delivered in the language of the worshippers. Such sermons are usually based on a statement in the Koran and can have a major effect on public opinion, particularly when they contain a social or political message.
  • Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (1948–) is one of the most influential Muslim clerics in the USA, acknowledged for his commitment both to Islam and democracy. He is the Imam of Al-Farah Mosque and founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA Society) in 1997.
  • The issues of governance and religion that Imam Feisal discusses are central to much debate within and about Islam today. Imam Feisal has argued that not only is Islam compatible with pluralistic democracies, but also that pluralism is a requirement of Islam. This is a position held by many Muslim civil society activists and intellectuals who promote a liberal alternative to Islamic fundamentalism. Such moderates also strongly oppose the view held by some Muslims and non-Muslims that there is a clash of civilisations between Islam and the West.
  • Imam Feisal is shown engaging in 'dhikr’, a devotional act involving the remembrance of Allah (God) as commanded in the Koran for all Muslims. According to Islam Online 'dhikr’ 'can be made at any time, any place. It can be done by repeating certain formulas to extol and praise Allah, or it can be just thoughts of Allah in one’s heart’ (www.islamonline.net).