Khateebs – Please Talk about Newtown Today

A short message from your friendly neighborhood  Muslimah Next Door.

Khateebs (those who will be giving Friday khutabas, or sermons, today) — please don’t forget to mention that Muslims should make du’a for the children who perished last week in Newtown, Connecticut, and to make du’as for the community of Newtown. Whether you mention it in your khutbah, or afterwards when you make community announcements, please do it. I don’t profess to know how relevant or not khutbas are across the country as to what is happening here or around the world. But the khutbas I know where I live tend to focus topics I’ve heard about before and will hear about again. Good topics.

But we need to reach further out. Let’s touch upon what is happening in our communities here in the United States. Let’s verbalize what we already know about ourselves – that Muslims are compassionate, that we care about our neighbors, that we care about Muslims and non-Muslims.

Khateebs and Imams – show your congregation that the hurts and pains felt by those in this country matters to all of us. We all were hurt. We all felt and continue to feel the pain of those 26 loved ones who so senselessly lost their lives last week. We feel the hurt of children who are losing their lives around the world – to drones, to violence. Let’s talk about it in our khutbas.

Ask your congregation to pray for Newtown today. Just my humble suggestion as a mother trying to raise good Muslim-American children in this country.

Thanks.