Article link: The Saturday Profile – A Black Imam Breaks Ground in Mecca – Biography – NYTimes.com.

Admittedly, my automatic pessimism of any “progressive” (I’m beginning to hate that word) move made by the Saudi government muted my enthusiasm when I read the headline. It made me think of a mosque’s directors accepting a woman on board, thinking the inequality that has branched from the actual problem, their ignorance, is inherently solved through their brilliant stroke.

I would love to be put in my place, you know. I would love to hear a “this is a small step, but it is a step.“ I would like some context please, mosque board of directors and King Abdullah. Mr. Zakir Naik, feel free to join us as well! Action and words are like the pedals on a bicycle. While action following words is enforced more often, it is the words following the action that is needed in such a desperate situation like Saudi Arabia’s. Indeed, it is the acceptance of what’s wrong and a map to make things right that separates establishing a useful legacy from a PR move. I don’t want to say this is a PR move for now, though the inspiration-via-Obama was too tempting for even the article to pass up on. Anyway.

“Some people in this country want everyone to be a carbon copy,” Sheik Adil said. “This is not my way of thinking. You can learn from the person who is willing to criticize, to give a different point of view.”

Having an imam with that frame of mind leading the prayer at my mosque would be exciting. To think this man has gotten to where he has with that philosophy and reading relatively Liberal newspapers, it reminds me of why I find Islam so fascinating, both as a follower and as an observer. Not good or bad fascinating, just.. yeah, exactly.

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