“As long as Islam is a topic in the news, Muslims will be newsworthy, for better or worse,” Shakir said after a d d r e s s i n g New Haven’s M a s j i d A l - Islam comm u n i t y a t Hill Regional CareerMagnet High School o n L e g i o n Avenue.

Shakir and other speakers told a thin crowd at a themed event, “Building Better Muslim Communities,” that there is no substitute for solidarity, hard work and reliance on Islam as a pillar of strength.

Shakir is among the most prominent and influential Islamic scholars in the West. He was born in Berkeley, Calif., and taught political science and Arabic at Southern Connecticut State University in the 1980s and 1990s before pursuing studies in Syria.

 

The event at Career Hill School drew families and featured food, a bazaar, health fair, and other activities in celebration of the mosque’s 20th anniversary.

Shakir advised the audience to remember the importance of “love, heart and light. We shall never forget that the first Islam community was a coming together of the hearts,” he said.

Islam also binds disparate members of the community together, Shakir said.

“If it were not for Islam some of us would be enemies. Bloods. Crips. Maybe even skinheads,” he said.

The community must appreciate the divine blessing of work. Even if the job is menial, it will be rewarded, he said.

“We must prepare ourselves to serve with some skill set, k n o w l e d g e base. Have an ethics of service.”

S h a k i r helped found the Masjid Al-Islamd comm u n i t y i n New Haven in 1988 to develop spiritual, i n t e l l e c t u a l and physical r e s o u r c e s , and to promote family stability and a d v a n c e - ment.

Other speakers said superficial Islamic worship does not help the community cause. All must work for the Islamic community, she said, and cannot be so busy living that they are “walking around dead.”

Another emphatic message was the futility of shirking Islamic duties. All members of the community must give, assist, sacrifice and rejoice, speakers said.

After Shakir’s 20-minute address, he was quickly surrounded by a crowd of wellwishers, shaking every hand and wishing all “peace.”

Sitting afterward, he lambasted the Bush administration’s frequent use of the phrase “Islamofascism,” which he said is used to characterize all Muslims as dangerous and separate.

“We need to show people the goodness in Muslims,” Shakir said.