Dawah Mercenaries, OnlyImams, and the Structural Genocide of the American Muslim Community

A criterion for our organizations, communities, and clergy.

May 28, 2023

Disclaimer: This article is not targeted towards, or about, any community or persons. Rather, it reflects my conversations with Imams and religious leaders from around the country and their experiences. Nevertheless, as the proverb goes, “If the shoe fits, wear it.”

I fear in the next generation, in 10-20 years, we will not have enough Imams to serve in our masjids. That won’t happen by chance or people’s lack of interest in religious work, but rather a structural genocide—“the annihilation of an entire apparatus of knowledge understood as both a system and a particular way of living in the world.”1 With the emergence of Dawah Mercenaries (clergy for hire untethered to the communities they serve) and OnlyImams (content creators that provide direct-to-user engagement, and sometimes pay-per-view subscriptions) the future of our communities, and the tarbiya (spiritual nurturing) of our children, is at risk.

Context

Historically, in pre-Modern societies, the ideals of Islam were supported by independent institutions (primarily waqfs, or trusts) that financed scholarship and religious learning. Within this system, as delineated by Geroge Makdisi in his book The Rise of Colleges,2 the clergy was afforded the autonomy and honor to pursue numerous different occupations within many different institutions—the mu’alim (teacher) provided elementary education for students while the mu’adib privately tutored children of the well-to-do, Imams lead the prayers in the masjids and khatibs delivered sermons, different types of shaykhs taught at a higher level based on their specialty focus (e.g., hadith, grammar, Quranic sciences, tasowwuf, etc.), and muftis (jurisconsults) supported the qadis (judges). Each role buttressed the other and every occupation played a unique role, though some more than others. Then, at the turn of the century, the Ottoman Empire took control of major waqfs and placed them under the newly established Ministry of Endowments.3 This was the first step in how the Muslim world secularized the role of ʿulamāʾ (scholars), shifting from studying shari’a to legal code, from being religious scholars to a “new types of jurists and an unprecedented type of lawyering.”4 This structural genocide spawned a new free market religious economy, wherein anyone could speak in the name of Islam without an official apparatus of checks or accountability, which was sometimes controlled by governments and sometimes by communities.

In the United States, the vast majority of Muslims post-1965 came as immigrants; they built our intellectual and religious structures completely from scratch. Before establishing universities and educational centers the priority was on establishing masjids, serving as the religious and communal center of the community. Imams5 are the custodians of the community’s ideals and, therefore, generate a centripetal force maintaining the community.6 But, unlike pre-modern societies where there were waqfs funding clergy, our Imams are employees of masjids that are run by a board of directors who often lack a background in Islamic education or experience in community service—at best, they treat the masjid like a non-profit organization or, at worst, like a personal side-project in varying degrees of importance. Imams are expected to be “Super Imams”, a term coined by Dr. Nancy Khalil due to the endless duties and responsibilities,7 at a pay rate far lower than clergy of the other Abrahamic religious traditions.8 While, from my anecdotal experience, Imams enjoy their work, the high expectations set by boards and communities frequently lead to burnout.

Although professional frustrations persist amongst Imams until today, 9/11 created a demand for a new demographic of Imam—one possessing a strong grasp of the shari’a with a native understanding of English and the American cultural context, prioritizing the youths’ needs.9 This converged with an influx of American-born scholars returning from international seminaries and universities and allowed for the emergence of a previously nonexistent class—“itinerant Imams”, as referred to by Dr. Khalil, or Dawah Mercenaries (DMs).

Dawah Mercenaries and OnlyImams

“Dawah” (call or invite) is Islamic missionary work, inviting others (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) to the way of God with wisdom and kind advice.10 It is so important that scholars have differed on whether it is wajib al-’ayn or al-kifaya (i.e., obligatory upon every individual or the collective, where the obligation drops if it’s upheld by one person)11 and it epitomizes the work of clergy.

Since the Prophet ﷺ commissioned Mu’ath b. Jabal to Yemen,12 there is a long tradition of clergy traveling for dawah. Nevertheless, it was never done as a form of mercenary work, hired by a foreign service for wages.13 Sean McFate, former private military contractor and author of the book The Modern Mercenary, said, “The private military industry allows you to fight wars without having your own blood on the gambling table. And that creates a moral hazard, because it lowers the barriers of entry into conflict."14 DMs completely mitigate the challenges of prolonged community-based service, only flying in for the hired mission, leaving the aftermath—ranging from remaining questions to a crisis of faith—for the local Super Imams. This is only magnified by the ability for DMs to work online.

Social media presented an entirely new arena for DMs and burgeoned a new subgenre of online religious content creators, OnlyImams. Similar to the content creators on the adult website OnlyFans, where they sell pornographic content without needing to engage in any physical contact and without having to be directly in the pornographic industry,15 OnlyImams can give dawah and amass a following from the convenience of their home without physically engaging with anyone or needing to prove any credentials. This raises the moral hazard because it further lowers the barriers to entry—at least with DMs there’s a form of peer review and social approval required to function in the business whereas, with OnlyImams, anyone with a basic camera and editing skills can make content for online consumption. This is only further complicated with virtual organizations. They lack a brick-and-mortar presence and may, in all actuality, be nothing more than a means for social engineering, further pushing an agenda and establishing credibility.

It is only inevitable that, if the current conditions do not change—within our masjids and how we approach dawah without our communities, the number of DMs will only increase. The use of private military contractors by the US has long been on the rise (tripling between 2009 and 2017). Peter W Singer, author of Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, attributes that to three things: the end of the cold war (decreasing professional armies and increasing the need), the transformation of the nature of warfare (messier with Western Powers more reluctant to intervene and more advanced off-the-shelf technology), and the increase of governments outsourcing functions.16 The exact correlations have happened in the dawah market as well: 9/11 and the increased need for American-born clergy, the burgeoning of social media and online education easily accessible, and masjids bringing in DMs and external organizations for programming.

To be fair, I do not believe all DMs and OnlyImams are problematic. Not as a justification for my own moonlighting as a DM, but because, as we previously mentioned, traveling for dawah has precedent historically and presently. But, in our modern context, being completely untethered from the commissioning community, it strips the community of resources and lacks accountability.

Industry Problems

Allah tells us in the Quran that He “made you into peoples and tribes so that you may get to know one another.”17 This connection is a large part of our humanity and from these relationships we learn how to be in relationships with others. Ibn Khaldun (d. 808/1406) comments in The Muqaddimah that group feelings result from blood relationships or something close to it; therefore the bonds created in physical community because of close contact is something that should not be overlooked.18 In fact, Allah even commands in the Quran “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah (i.e., Allah’s covenant) and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favor upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you—by His grace—became brothers.” Preserving our physical religious communities, and the subsequent benefits derived from them, should be given the utmost priority.

The resources spent to bring in DMs—not just honorarium and travel fees, but the logistical costs of hosting (e.g., the venue, AV professionals, volunteer gifts, etc.)—could be allocated to better serve the local community, but this goes back to the board’s vision and mission. What would we like for our centers to be? Are we trying to foster a community whose fruits will serve our grandchildren, or are we shortsightedly focused on the number of people attending our programs? If the latter is the goal, then can we take the financial resources, perhaps ten+ thousand dollars spent on one event, to increase the Super Imam’s salary or hire support staff or give him a budget to give gifts to the community? Can the volunteers who spend their valuable time organizing these events be engaged to participate in other masjid programming? These decisions are very important; they impact the community’s perspective and, more importantly, how those serving feel about themselves in it.

It’s an inescapable fact, as in any profession, there will be cases where the clergy won’t be a good fit and they will part ways. More common than not though, clergy feel underappreciated and burnout. When expectations are perpetually rising, burnt-out clergy, and DMs are frequently brought in it creates a situation where being a DM starts becoming more and more enticing—it’s far less of a hassle, and potentially easier, to fly into communities, deliver your talk or worship, and then go back home without dealing with any of the politics. I cannot count the number of young brothers and sisters who become completely disillusioned with doing community work simply because their home community, where they grew up, completely ignores their talents and abilities to only bring in someone from outside the community. This squanders the opportunity to cultivate our local talent and invest in the future. Couple that with social media—OnlyImams, where frustrations and insecurities can be avoided and hidden, provides an immediate and direct connection with one’s audience. That is a perfect storm for abuse.

Equally important, we must protect the community’s physical and emotional resources. The sanctity and honor of the congregants. With DMs, and even more so with OnlyImams, there’s a lack of accountability. What criterion do we use to bring in a DM and what’s our vetting process? How do we ensure that what they are doing before and after the event does not endanger anyone? How do we make sure that what is said is sensitive to, and appropriate for, our community’s needs? Furthermore, if either of these has been transgressed, what will be the system of accountability from the DM and the community?

With the current status quo, we have two inevitable problems on the horizon: 1- our Super Imams will continue to grow disillusioned with IRL community work and look for ulterior options leaving a lack of clergy for our masjids. 2- there will be an increase in charlatans and increased harm and abuse that will lead to some completely losing trust in the community. I proposed that we have both short-term and long-term solutions to this problem. But, in doing so, we must be extremely cautious about the solution we use to ensure we are not creating more problems for future generations.

Potential Solutions

As Muslims, striving to be in community should reflect the spiritual reality of our Ummah (religious nation)—divinely made “an upright (and balanced) community so that you may be witnesses over humanity”19—and not merely for the sake of social interactions. But, to do so requires intentionality. Our communities (and how we think about them), especially our entrusted leaders, must be rooted in virtuousness and piety. Otherwise, if we don’t, the foundation of our already weak community structure (as Muslims, minorities of minorities, in a post 9/11 and post-Trump America) will undergo a genocide, the aftermath of which is completely unknown. We have faith in Allah and His divine providence, but we must do our organizationally, communally, and individually (i.e., clergy) considering both the short and long term.

Organizationally

One of the most influential forces in challenging the status quo is in our institutions. Those in positions of authority (i.e., board members) must take this responsibility as an amanah (trust) by Allah and not a hobby project or, worse, merely something to brag about. They determine the strategic mission and vision of our masjids and community centers. But, that isn’t sufficient, especially for our larger centers (who are typically the ones capable of bringing DMs); we must empower people to execute that strategic plan (with autonomy and/or authority).20 They need clear expectations, key performance indicators, and a reporting structure. While this may be standard practice for the non-religious structure, unfortunately from what I’ve been told anecdotally it isn’t the case for our masjids.

Our houses of worship should be run with an objective larger than merely cementing their own presence in mind. They are but one tributary of the larger river, one cog on a larger wheel, of dawah. There needs to be some part of our focus that is zoomed out, macro, that can be regional. No masjid must be an all-in-one shop and do everything. Through mutual cooperation with other masjids in our locality, we can have specialties and share resources, with initiatives and clergy. If there’s one clergyperson who has a passion and gift for youth work, another for education, and another for counseling, all three can be based out of three different organizations and focus on their specialties in the other centers. This will allow for the financial commitment to be lower with each host masjid while allowing the clergyperson to focus on what he/she prefers while having a more comfortable salary. Also, it aids in strengthening the bonds between the local communities and better satisfies our need to look outside of our locality for talent.

An Egyptian idiom goes, “Al-Shaykh Al-Ba’id siruhu batah—the distant scholar’s secrets are hidden” and this very much reflects how our organizations function. Talent from outside the community, because we are unaware of their idiosyncrasies, is on unequal footing. Our organizational focus should be on building and fortifying our communities for the future. This is done through investing in the talent you have. For some reason, our communities often have no problem investing in talent from the outside whereas those from within are looked over. Just because we do not see the faults or idiosyncracies of external clergy people.

Lastly, after specifying our organizational objectives and evaluating our local talent, we need to have processes in place to handle clout chasers. Our communities will always be places that welcome outside clergy, DMs and OnlyImams included, but we need to have ethics in place that dictate the nature of that relationship. One of the ways I propose protecting the organization’s interests is by watching how and what the clergyperson is posting on social media. Ideally, the posts should be under the organization’s channels, not their own personal accounts. While we cannot determine intention, the alternative (of clergy posting on their individual pages) will have the online attention spent building their notoriety and not the organization, the lifeblood of our community life.

Communally

Throughout American history we, particularly minorities and especially religious believers, have always established and built community around our places of worship: before the civil war, antebellum churches, and the schools and communities that spawned from them, were “all elements of the struggle for self-definition, for identity, ultimately for a certain degree of autonomy;”21 in Jim Crow era it was the “center of social life and intercourse; acts as newspaper and intelligence bureau, is the center of amusement” and its reach so far-reaching “that its organization is almost political;”22 and the same remained true post-segregation with proto-Islamic temples (e.g., the Nation of Islam) and Sunni mosques (e.g., the community of Imam Warith Deen Muhammad). In this current age of online community with loneliness at epidemic levels in America,23 we must ensure we commit ourselves to our brick-and-mortar organizations. Virtual organizations come and go, but it is through legacy organizations that we can fortify long-term institutional power. If we don’t, the nobility and prestige felt by the early Muslim communities that dedicated so much for our communities to reach the level that we have inherited today will start to dwindle in the next two to three generations.24 Moreover, we can ensure there are systems of accountability in place.

A real challenge is that change does not happen overnight and it won’t by simply critiquing from the sidelines. Undoubtedly, many of us have prior experiences that may dissuade us from re-engaging in community work but we must do whatever is within our capacity. Community work isn’t limited to front-facing dawah nor is that the most vital component either. We need everyone involved—e.g., volunteering in whatever capacity, program management, being board members, etc.—to ensure the stream of dawah is grounded in a prophetic ethic of love and service.

Individually (Clergy)

We, as clergy, must ensure we have multiple tiers of accountability for ourselves—a consortium of peers, mentors, and scholars that will provide nasiha (advice) when we seek it and monitor our interactions (online and offline). Yes, we all try to strive to have taqwa (mindfulness) of Allah, but we are still human. Furthermore, taqwa is only part of the divine mandate. He told us to “cooperate with one another in goodness and righteousness, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression. And be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment.”25 As clergy, the consequence of neglecting this can lead to transgression against ourselves, as we all will be accountable for our own actions,26 but also negatively impacting the emotional and religious lives of many others. This is especially dangerous in the age of social media.

Dawah is never easy; sufficient proof for this is found in the prophets’ biographies and scholars’ hagiographies. They surrendered their lives to it and many died for its sake. If they are the spiritual first responders and serve as the ground troops then, to use Saad Yacoob’s metaphor, social media is the airforce. Social media should only be used to support the on-the-ground in-person work and not replace it. It should be engaged with to strategically cast a larger net and awareness, but it shouldn’t be the primary allocation of our resources. Furthermore, ideally if intentionally managed for dawah purposes, it should be managed by multiple people. This limits the chances for improprieties. As, the companion of the Prophet ﷺ, IbnUmar said, “I love to put between the haram (impermissibilities) and myself a barrier of Halal so I don’t fall into the haram.”27

Most importantly, we must never forget that our service as clergy is a blessing from Allah, not a right, and, therefore, a weighty amanah (trust) from Allah. Nothing should be placed in higher importance than our personal connection with Allah and ensuring sincerity in our actions. Allah says in the Quran, “O believers! Why do you say what you do not do? How despicable it is in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do!”28 But this is of higher importance for people of knowledge and those serving because we are supposed to know better.29

Conclusion

As we are introduced to newer and newer technology and means of communication and as our community continues to grow we must not be shortsighted and rush to embrace things. Our change should be principled and ethical, and consider the greatest long-term impact. Dawah is no different. If we are not thoughtful and careful the American Muslim community of our children may not have clergy to guide it.

And, ultimately, with Allah is all success!

Khawatir

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