As Hurricane Joaquin pelted the Atlantic coast, Imam Siraj Wahhaj came down from New York on October 3, 2015 to ask the community to support the Masjid al Haqq housing project in Baltimore.
Despite the lack of a robust audience, the iconic inner-city masjid raised $14,000 of the goal of $30,000. We are grateful for what Allah has given us to start this project. We continue to solicit support to make this dream a reality, says Hakim Lucky, the Ameer of Masjid al Haqq. This project is about bringing the Muslims together as a community so we can practice Islam as a community, he said.
The vision is to build to bring the Muslims close together so that they can live together and create an educational system so that they don't have pay for Islam. Lucky stressed sincerity and brotherhood during his speech.
We charge for Islam in this country, said Lucky, as he implored the community to raise the funds needed to fulfil the vision. We see our children being adversely affected by the environment because we are not fortifying them, he reminded the rows of men and women who sat in the musallah of Masjid al Haqq.
Many people who live away from the gang violence and from the prostitution forget what it is like for the Muslims in the city. They live in safe suburbs and do not feel the pain of their brothers and sisters. If you support one masjid, that doesn't mean you cannot support another, Lucky said.
Do we love Islam more than they hate Islam? he asked.
Imam Siraj Wahhaj sat and addressed the very small group of dedicated people with a classic dars. It was different from his regular fundraising talks. This lecture was raw and personal. He noted that the houses in the area are abandoned and people are migrating from Baltimore. We are at the place of great opportunity, he pronounced, I love this community. He emphasised the essence of sacrifice is that you sacrifice something now for something in the future.
Imam Siraj gave examples from Hajj and how we do the Hajj rites according to the Sunnah without asking why. We do the Hajj according to the Sunnah and spirit of Ummah. [In the same way] you can't build a community until you start with the right thing! said Imam Siraj.
Imam Siraj shared how his masjid built a community in a city with a million Muslims. In New York, we bought a building in an area with 15 crack houses. Our area looked like how it looks here prostitutes, abandoned buildings. When the police made their raids, Wahhaj sent in men after them. They patrolled in front of the crack houses for forty days and nights twenty-four hours a day. When customers came by they told them, 'No more, it's closed.' If a drug dealer came by he was escorted out of the community. Between the brothers and the police, the crack houses stayed shut. "13 years later, look at Masjid Al Taqwa now, he stated. Over 2,000 men, women, children worship there every Friday.
He advised the Baltimore Muslims to think big, based on his experience. He also cautioned them about the effects of gentrification.
Bahjah Muntaqeel has attended Masjid Al Haqq since the 80s. She remembers the start of the masjid in a horse stable. She recalls the change from the Nation of Islam. The area Muslims always defended us and it felt safe. People used to rent around the masjid and there were businesses owned by Muslims and then I don't know what happened in the early 2000s, but they all trickled away and it reverted back to the neighborhood that it was before the Muslims came, she told the Muslim Link. The mood in the country changed and the older Muslims in the community started dying, she says, which may be the reason for the change. Their deaths left a void. We are trying to prepare the younger ones to take over but it is difficult as they mingle and they become confused, she says.
She was shocked to see the empty chairs at the event; she came early because she was sure it would be sold out.
Aamir Ali, a regular attendee and a PhD student at John Hopkins University asked the attendees to make dua for the initiative as that is what is needed the most. He wishes more Muslims from out of the neighborhood should honor the brothers with their presence and come and see what their community was about and then Allah will take care of the rest.
The weather forced the event to wind down quickly and many left without eating. The masjid is still raising funds for its housing project.
Visit https://masjidtime.com/masjid/ul-haqq/ to donate.
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