VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH
Volume 136, June 20, 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful
COULD PARTICIPATION IN A TABLIGH JAMAAT BE A NON-CLINICAL INTERVENTION TO GET RID OF CERTAIN NEGATIVE/ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS ? SCENARIO INVOLVING A MUSLIM BROTHER’S UNHOLY TRIP TO A HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
(For reason of anonymity, the brother’s name has been changed to Ahmed).
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT KNOWN LAS VEGAS :
For most tablighi brothers, Las Vegas constitutes the biggest symbol of materialism, pomp, show and glitter in the world. In a way, it is exactly opposite to their spiritual value system. While almost all other cities become inactive during late nights, Las Vegas remains active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year at least in terms of the people playing the slot machines and gambling in the various casinos. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Las Vegas is the most dynamic, spectacular city on earth.
No city in history has so explicitly valued the needs of visitors above those of its own population. All its growth has been fueled by tourism. It boasts having the vast majority of the world’s largest hotels and about thirty seven million tourists each year come to see the hotels themselves. Las Vegas demands nothing less than entire cities. Replicas of New York , Paris, Montel Carole and Venice now jostle for space on the Strip.
In the words of Steve Wynn, who built BELLAGIO and the MIRAGE, “The only way to make money in a casino is to own one”, according to the latest figures, 85 percent of visitors gamble, and they lose an average of $665 each. On top of that, most tourists swiftly come to see that virtually any other activity works out cheaper than gambling.
GOOD FINANCIAL SAVINGS FOR PRACTICING MUSLIM TOURISTS WHO FOLLOW THE WORD OF THE HOLY QURAN THAT WAS REVEALED 1400 PLUS YEARS AGO PROHIBITING GAMBLING. At their discretion the same money that they would have otherwise lost in gambling could be paid towards their yearly membership fee at their local Islamic center and monthly donation of a small amount towards the maintenance of their local Islamic Center and/or Weekend Islamic School. Weigh the benefits accrued for their local Islamic Center as well as an individual investment for the Akhiraah VS “let’s gamble for fun. It’s cool thing to do”.
The customer is KING in Las Vegas . The casinos want you to gamble, and they will do almost anything to lure you in.
But they failed to lure Ahmed, the subject of our case study in this issue.
What the visitor wants, the City of Las Vegas provides, including the strange request (one in a hundred million) of our Muslim brother who regularly checked in at A HOTEL.
AHMED’S CONCERN:
“THEY SAY I AM CRAZY ? AM I REALLY CRAZY? asked Ahmed.
On further questioning him, he stated that he regularly goes to Las Vegas and visits the Islamic Centers in the area for prayers. He claims to have obtained a particular phone number from his friend, which helps him hire a prostitute and be with her in his hotel room. He added that he had already purchased three sizes of Islamic dresses (small, medium and large) including hijab (headscarf), which he takes with him during each trip.
Ahmed states that when he is in the hotel room with her, he first addresses her as “Sister” and then shows her a big bunch of dollar bills and promises her that she will be paid as long as she complies with his requests. He then gives the Islamic dress including the hijab piece to his preferred blue-eyed blonde female and requests her to change her dress in the restroom.
Ahmed first asks about her opinion about Islam, then he corrects her misconceptions about Islam. He then teaches her how to do prayers. He tells her to follow his actions of prayers and at the end, he does the duaa. He tells her to say AMEEN each time he pauses during the duaa. At the end, he asks her to join him in ZIKR and repeat the words he repeats each of them for 30 times. At the end, he pays her the money he promised for her “SERVICES” and she departs from his hotel room.
Ahmed expressed the belief that each one of the females that he had selected should be happy since they still get paid well despite his maintaining a physical distance of at least a couple of feet from them and not even touching them (The question of being intrusive physically or sexually does not even arise). He added that he has patience and perseverance in this unique dawaa (invitation to Islam) work and that one day, he hopes his dream will come true, when one of them converts to Islam.
He added that since the prostitutes had been deviated the most, from the mainstream, they, (more than others) need the maximum DAWAA work. Ahmed stated that almost all the prostitutes that he had encountered told him that he was crazy except one of them who seriously wanted to know more about ISLAM and he gave her brochures on Islam.
AHMED STATED THAT HE WAS NOT SURE AS TO WHY THEY WOULD CALL HIM “CRAZY” FOR HIS NOBLE AND RELIGIOUS DAWAA WORK ESPECIALLY WHEN HE IS TRYING TO HELP THEM CHANGE THEIR LIFESTYLE VOLUNTARILY. HE REQUESTED HELP. DUE TO THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSES HE RECEIVED FROM HIS CLOSE FRIENDS AND THE PROSTITUTES THEMSELVES REINFORCING THAT HE IS CRAZY, HE BEGAN TO HAVE MIXED FEELINGS OF HIS OWN SANITY AND SOUGHT HELP.
PSYCHIATRIC HISTORY/TREATMENT:
Ahmed denied any prior psychiatric inpatient or outpatient treatment, except for one session, when he had attempted to see a psychotherapist with above problem. He stated that the therapist was secular in his approach and did not care to understand his Islamic religious background and identity and therefore he did not follow up beyond the initial session. Ahmed stated that he also had approached an Imam earlier and based on the Imam’s responses, he felt uncomfortable and inappropriate to go any further in terms of explaining about his issues. Ahmed first did not take the prostitutes’ responses seriously, but when he confided this secret to his close friends and when they also responded in the same way as the prostitutes (in terms of dismissing him as weird and crazy), then he became alarmed and was not sure whether their responses were true or not. Ahmed was desperate to get help on above issue and was not sure if it fell into the psychiatric area or not.
Like a doctor who does a thorough physical check up, let’s venture into what a psychological check up and spiritual check up is on this particular client.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CHECK UP:
CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE:
One of the important tools to assess the severity of mental illness is the extent to which one’s ability to independently continue his or her normal day-to-day living has been impaired. In the case of the Ahmed, based on his responses there is no evidence of impairment in his day to day living in terms of his home life, work and leisure.
Ahmed reported NO problems with (1) sleep (2)appetite (3) chronic fatigue (4) frequent feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness (5) being increasingly lonely and socially withdrawn (6) feelings of guilt and low self-esteem (7) constant worry and preoccupation with negative thoughts (8) Loss of interest in daily activities (9) mood swings (10) lack of motivation (11) problems with anger (12) aches and pains that don’t respond to treatment (13) frequently feeling sad (14) low energy level (15) sluggishness (16) recent and significant weight loss or gain (17) frequent feelings of nervousness (18) feeling restless, keyed up or on edge (19) easily annoyed or irritated (20) problems with anxiety.
Further Ahmed denied any relationship problems at home or work, occupational stress, medical problems and seemed slightly upset when asked the question of alcohol and drugs “You know, we Muslims should not be drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Then why do you think I would take it?”.
EDUCATION/CAREER/FAMILY/INTERESTS:
Ahmed had graduated with honors from an University, held a leadership position at his job, stayed with others, regularly went to a Fitness Center and was involved in other social activities and hobbies.
MENTAL STATUS:
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CLIENT:
Ahmed introduced self by saying "Assalamualikum". He seemed to have good hygiene, was well groomed, had good eye contact, remained calm throughout the session with normal speech and seemed co-operative.
SENSORIUM AND INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING:
Ahmed seemed oriented to time, place, person and purpose. Memory seemed unimpaired, responses seemed to reflect superior intellectual caliber.
MOOD AND AFFECT:
Ahmed’s mood seemed normal with appropriate affect.
PERCEPTUAL DISTURBANCES:
Ahmed's responses reflected absence of auditory & visual hallucinations and appropriate self-perception.
THOUGHT PROCESS DISTURBANCES:
Ahmed's thought process seemed to be logical, sequential and goal directed. He denied any problems with memory loss or poor concentration.
THOUGHT CONTENT DISTURBANCES:
Ahmed's responses reflected absence of delusions, paranoia and no phobic ideations. Ahmed was free of suicidal and homicidal ideations.
SEXUAL HEALTH:
Ahmed denied any sexual dysfunction or sexually transmitted diseases. When asked about his sexual health, he stated that he never had a single intimate relationship with any woman in his life but took good care of his sexual needs on his own (auto-erotic activity). Ahmed stated that after he was associated with the Tabligh group, he completely stopped above (auto-erotic) practice. He blushed and after a long silence indicated being free of above activity since past year.
SPIRITUAL CHECK UP:
Application of Islam in day-to-day life.
NOTE: (Spiritual Check Up is the only check up where the intentions are more important than what is visible/observed/reported. DISCLAIMER: Only ALLAH knows the true facts).
Ahmed stated that before his association with the Tabligh jamaat, he drifted away from Islam and WAS A MUSLIM ONLY IN NAME. He claims to have been purified after being associated with the Tabligh jamaat. However he is currently not actively associating with them.
Ahmed stated that based on hadith, each night he sleeps doing duaa and each morning he gets up from his bed from his right side. He says the appropriate Arabic words (duaa) before and after eating his food, drinking water and going to restroom. He tries to be honest and hard working at his work and attempts to treat everybody he encounters with respect and dignity.
Ahmed claims to read salaat (prayers) four times each day and admits being lazy to do his Fajr (morning) prayers. He claims to fast all 30 days during the month of Ramzan and has plans to go to Hajj before he gets married and assume more responsibilities. He claims to regularly attend Friday prayers and attempts to join the Jamaat prayers in Mosque as frequently as possible. This includes the Mosque that he visits during his frequent trips to Las Vegas . He claims never to have had any sexual relations with anybody thus far.
HISTORY OF PAST MORAL RELAPSE:
Ahmed admits to being a sinner in the past especially during the period when he drifted away from Islam. He stated that the more he got away from Islam the more deeper he entered into evil ways. For example, he stated that at one point he was so totally obsessed with women, that he stated on every single day, he would do his best to see a beautiful woman and later at night, replay his mental tape of his vision of her and fantasize with his main theme …"How would it be to be in bed with her”. He stated that the woman he fantasized were the woman he may have seen at the local post office, bank, grocery store or even at a red light stop sign when an attractive female pedestrian would pass front of his vehicle.
Ahmed recalled the “Shaitaan (satan) days” when he used to frequently go out at early night and sit in front of a 24-hour fitness center whose wall was made of dark transparent glass and from outside he could see every female inside who was exercising in various exercise machines. He stated that he enjoyed the women with limited clothing doing exercises and carefully monitored their moving body parts and added that he obtained “pure pleasure” just by watching them. He felt that his obsession with women got gradually worse and finally his sexual tension reached a point when he really felt like raping a woman.
HOW ISLAM PURIFIED AHMED
It was at this point that he got alarmed and fearing potential arrest and legal problems if he cannot control his sexual impulses, he moved back closer to Islam in terms of practicing Islam. He found that by practicing Islam to the core, all his sexual tension disappeared, he had more peace of mind and started to finally have peace in life. He attributed his proper understanding of Islam by joining the Tabligh jamaat.
He stated that by joining the Tablighi movement, he made the best decision of his life. He added that he now realizes the importance of the Quranic verse that indicates that one should not gaze at members of the opposite sex. He stated that he came back to Islam “the hard way”.
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE:
ISSUE AT HAND:
In this case study, Allah best knows the niyat (intention) of Ahmed. Some of you may have many more points to add to this whole dynamic, however due to constraints of time and space, focus is on ONE particular issue and that is:
"BEING ALONE WITH A NON-MAHRAM" (Ahmed inviting a prostitute to his hotel room in Hotel Luxor).
Although Ahmed claims that he has Islamic oriented intentions in above invitation, most Muslims are likely to say that his actions were wrong.
The Shaitaan is always keen to tempt people and make them commit haraam deeds. For this reason, Allah warned us:
“O you who believe. Follow not the footsteps of Shaitaan. And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaitaan, then, verily he commands al-fahshaa’ (indecency) and al-munker (evil deeds).”
Holy Quran: Surah an-Noor (240:21).
Shaitaan tries to induce people to commit indecent acts by leading a man to be alone with a non-mahram woman. Islam blocks this way by forbidding such conduct.
As reported by Al-Tirmidhi, Prophet Mohamed (SAW) said:
“No man is alone with a (non-mahram) woman, but that Shaytaan will be the third among them”.
As reported by Imam Ahmad, Prophet Mohamed (SAW) also stated:
“The eyes may commit zinaa (adultery), the hands may commit zinaa, the feet may commit zinaa and the private parts may commit zinaa”.
Allah says in the Holy Quran:
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and to protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts et.c). that is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do”. Holy Quran. Surah an-Noor (24):30
Al Bukhaari reported that Prophet Mohamed (SAW) said:
“The adultery of the eyes is by looking” (i.e. looking with a sexual intent to what Allah has forbidden).
CONCLUSION:
We are fully aware of the difference of opinion among the UMMAH when discussing about the Tablighi movement. Our focus is primarily on using Islamic tools to treat a clinical problem and it appears that part of the solution to such problems may be found by sincere participation in the Tablighi jamaat. We realize that some Muslims consider the tabligh jamaat members as heretics.
Our role here is not to be judgmental or to say whose version of "Islam" is the right Islam, but rather to see what practical applications of Islam could benefit the Muslims from the global ummah in their struggle to deal with their current stressors.
There are a number of informal reports from Muslims worldwide indicating that a person who has severely morally lapsed either through drinking, drugs, sexual addiction or other types of negative habits when introduced to and goes out on an Tablighi jamaat for a specified period of time, tends to show remarkable improvement in eliminating his pre-tablighi negative behaviors/addictions. Could there be a scientific truth to above claims ?
WORD OF CAUTION: Such an Islamic-Clinical intervention is not suitable for every individual with above negative habits and it also excludes women, since there are no tabligh jamaats for women. Several other factors need to be taken into consideration and reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However I am not aware of any specific clinical work done in this area to scientifically substantiate such claims. This could be an ideal opportunity where science and religion can work together for the common good especially to a religious minority that has suffered lot of discrimination and backlash since 9/11. .
Even in above case study, the client himself admitted that joining the tablighi jamaat had significantly reduced his negative behaviors pertaining to obsession of women and complete elimination of his subsequent excessive autoerotic responses. It also helped him avoid committing a crime (rape) and subsequently avoid possible jail time and a permanent black mark on his record of being a felon. His progress by opting for the Islamic path was remarkable, especially when other forms of formal treatment such as individual psychotherapy failed.
If you have known of instances where people with addictions and certain negative behaviors had successfully got rid of them by participating in the Tabligh jamaat/activities please let us know. Obviously more research is needed in this area. We are aware that there are lot of unanswered questions in this particular E-Zine but due to our limited goal to publish this issue, all we wanted to highlight in this issue was to explore whether a spiritual activity of the Tabligh Jamaat could have a dual role of a possible clinical intervention.
THE END
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