Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught and advised us to attract people to Islam through our own humility, gentleness, and welcoming attitude.
In responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Muslim leaders, scholars and mosque administrators in Muslim communities have a joint responsibility to work together to attract youth to the mosque or Islamic centers.
I’m sorry to say our mosques and centers have lost their sense of mission. They become entangled in battles among themselves for power and position. Locked as they are in such battles and ego trips, they become distracted. They end up abusing their power and position and act rudely towards those who frequent mosques and centers.
It is no wonder then when we see the youth being turned away from mosques and thus most of them end up losing faith altogether.
So, I would advise those who are in positions of power, scholars, imams and board members of mosques and centers, to ask themselves: Do I want to end up a loser on the Day of Judgement as I, instead of becoming an instrument of guidance, have turned away people from Islam?
Prophet Muhammad taught and advised us to attract people to Islam through our own humility, gentleness, and welcoming attitude. So, let us correct ourselves and re-learn the Prophetic examples. If we do so, we can face our challenges well with the help of Allah.
Let us be ever unceasing in our prayers to our Lord. He alone can open our hearts and guide us to the truth.
Almighty Allah knows best.
