Preserving One’s Culture and Identity

Hazrat Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Daamat Barakaatuhu) mentioned:

One of the popular kings in Islamic history is Harooon Ar-Rasheed who was from the Abbasid khilaafat, powerful and mighty. The  unique thing in all of them was that they may have taken to luxury and comfort, but they maintained their independence. In the presence of the disbelievers living around, they did not show any weakness or an inferiority complex. Rather the countries that they had captured, they had seen to it that it was their influence that will run. Most of these North African countries, in fact all of them were not Arabic speaking, be it Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, etc. they were not Arabic speaking. The moment Islam set foot in these countries then it was the Arabic language that flowed, this was right up till Somalia and some parts of Ethiopia. They had seen that not only their language, but also their culture and values flowed. At no time did they feel inferior. This is a genuine challenge; when we live in an Islamic minority then we will have to do something to preserve our identity.