Interview with Tim Winters (1995)

Transcript Details

Event Name: Interview with Tim Winters (1995)
Transcription Date:Transcription Modified Date: 7/15/2019 9:00:14 PM
Transcript Version: 2


Transcript Text

the father

dying but I also think they should be

committed to some study I mean I believe

you know it's not the idea of maybe

becoming an academic or becoming a

scholar but we should be maintained to

growth to intellectual growth because I

really don't see any excuse for that we

should all be committed to some people

should commit themselves to learning the

Quran to to reciting it to thinking

about it to listening to what the the

scholars say about it and committed to

going to the Masjid you know and

partaking in circles that are beneficial

right that are imparting knowledge and

other than that I think we need to look

at areas we need people

in media we need we need people

journalists we need artists quite

literally I mean you know art is is an

essential element of civilization and

the Muslims the prophets are licensed

all stood in the light Demeter we are

but Jenna Allah is beautiful and he

loves beauty and one of the beauties of

Islamic civilization is that even the

Bedouin have have these you know they

make beautiful rugs they have beautiful

pillows the you know in Mauritania I

always like to mention you know they

take these Bic pens these plastic pens

they take off the plastic and they they

make their own beautiful metal cases

because they think it's the pen well

none of them is photo and you know a lot

swears by the pen I've never been kind

of that it should be honored and they

just you know they don't think that the

plastic is really befitting and that is

some aesthetic understanding that that

really real automatic the Navy says that

you know one of the essential elements

of civilization is the aesthetic aspects

and he said one of the proofs of the the

extraordinary level of of loss of our of

our civilization is that we you know we

ornament our houses with plastic

calligraphed

plastic cups and things like that that

have been made in some factory in china

by non-muslims or something like that

and and we don't respect the so I think

we need calligraphers you know we need

people to go and learn calligraphy

that's not an academic task but it's a

beautiful and wonderful and as a means

of Dawa it's a path for sometimes I mean

Western I can't argue with the sonic art

you can argue with Ahmed Deedat pamphlet

mr. Brown does that knee other wrong

but if you present him with a carpet

from a little below zero it should

attachment a lot like he has to accept

it on something that accurate but to do

that what I produce that exactly I mean

what you know when I went to Grenada

seeing the alhambra i think this is

barbarians can't do this

you know the heavy barbarians cannot

produce what these people produced and

this is a proof against all their claims

about you know this know that but we we

have to stop living on the glories of

the past you know as an OMA we have to

stop pointing to the past like you know

the and reducing certificate I thought

oh that's a doodle I need a fun little

bandana that's a tea these are our

traces they indicate who we were so look

after we're gone at what we left behind

and this is what we have an only have to

ask ourselves can we say this to the

generations that are gonna follow us

here's what we've left behind look at

our traces and see who we are what what

what are what you know what is it

telling the future generations about who

we want look at our pamphlets we don't

even have academic we've become an Ummah

of pamphleteers you know everybody

writes these pamphlets what is Islam

you know why you shouldn't move your

finger in the prayer why you should hold

your hands here as opposed you know

where the great works where are the

great intellectual achievements where

are the artistic achievements you know

even clothes have become it's true I'm

sure that one of them is damning

indictment one could make of the modern

Islamic revival this ideologists and I'm

not talking about all the individuals

who qualify but the Gen

parameters which they set up for

themselves is the fact that really for

the first time in Islamic history we

have a mass movement with no cultural

riches to it rather look at what the

Sahaba produced within a hundred years

there was the Dome of the rock in

Jerusalem one of the great monuments of

human civilization there are the cellar

more so a part of the Senate the

must-haves that they wrote that

architecture the art extraordinary

poetry that athlete other or easy enough

creativity from the human spirit because

of the human spirit is truly enlightened

by religion it date has to flow up like

light from the Sun it has to make a

really beautiful but where is the calm

feel very nice honor that goes with the

modernist I know you're going to a

mosque now and and Muslims that we've

been transmogrified into just these hot

creatures I mean even our clothes don't

you know one of the things about western

clothes I mean they're they're they're

really kind of ugly clothes in my

perspective I mean I thought that before

I was Muslim Muslim clothes are

beautiful they really they're they're

they're heavy for clothes that's what I

like to call them they're highly for

clothes that they honor many Adam but

one of the things about I mean at least

a lot of Western people know how to wear

western clothes one of the things you

find Muslim people they you know they

don't even they look like caricatures

did you take a Sudanese villager out of

his group and tear them and put him into

what Western plates you can find and

it's all suddenly panic sort of yeah

guest workers yes rather than these

noble people with Subhan Allah there's a

hadith and very happy relates that has

some weakness in it but but I think in

historically it's fascinating he said

that I'm not a multi generator

either was i oh ha what Aloha is zoom

that the turbines are the Crown's of the

Arab people and when they take them off

Allah will take away their dignity and

and it's fascinating that you can see

that the 10z mass in the 1850s I ain't

you're much more knowledgeable about

this in iron but when one of the things

that they did was literally get the

turbines off the oume and this is a

really major turning point

in the in the beginning of the decline

and disintegration of the the Muslim

power and dignity in physical change

people's outward form it has an effect

on you well absolutely believe in the

intermingling of rebellion this very

often my father and I I'd do something

to your outward it affect your spirit if

you just details there it will manifest

on the hour

absolutely their survival it's very true

anyway and thank you very much for your

time I hope ten times more than you have

well it's you know I one of the reasons

that I was excited about coming here and

I'm not just you know this isn't just

some weed a minute but I really was

looking forward to seeing you I think

that the work that you're doing is

you're just one of the few scholars

right now that's that's just doing work

of such a high caliber that I think it's

that there's nothing I just hope that

Allah will exceptional times in it I

love it so and I really hope that that

more people begin to take this task upon

themselves of presenting Islam to to the

West I think that you know just to

finish this this off I think

the Europeans and the Americans are at

such a deep crisis right now they really

are they're aware of it they're

intellectuals are aware of it they're

there they're the writings are shouting

it out you know Thoreau said most people

live lives of quiet desperation the

desperation is no longer quiet

it's literally people are shouting it at

the top of their lungs and this long

took the most savage bloody people

people that could bury their daughters

alive people that could eat the livers

of their their enemies you know on the

battlefield a woman that can do that it

took those people and transformed them

into these you know these deeply human

compassionate people that had a thirst

for knowledge for EM and we reviewed

with the love of God that they literally

went and they transformed the world and

and we cannot you know the anglo-saxons

have a horrific history you know of what

they've done to the world the havoc that

they wreaked upon the world but they are

recipients of the mercy of Allah just

like anybody else the French we know

what they did to the Muslims but we also

know what the mushrikeen did to the

prophet sallallaahu so no and he took

this long to them he gave it to them and

they became the people that literally

went out and transformed the world and I

think Allah in his deep and infinite

wisdom has placed the Muslims in the

heart of the Western world and this has

happened historically before the

Christians were thrust into the heart of

the Roman Empire and they transformed it

they really did they transformed it and

that their enemies who had persecuted

them for three centuries adopted their

religion and

and I don't see why it can't happen

again

I mean I just I believe in the power of

Allah and I believe in the

transformative message of Islam and I

and I really believe that this is deenal

Haq that that people will recognize the

truth of it we have massive amount of

work ahead of us you know you're fully

aware of that and I'm aware of it and I

just we don't have time to bicker you

know we don't have time to get in petty

confrontations with each other this is a

time where we really have to unite and

and and and do some serious jihad and HT

HOD and do some thicker thicker and

sugar and take this Deen out to the

people you know I think they're thirsty

for the herbs the earth is thirsty for

it you know this earth wants to be

worshipped on it doesn't want that

and the earth is thirsty for and we need

to heal the earth as well not just the

people on it but the earth is suffering

from our gross injustice is so I hope

inshallah you know the people hearing

this you know we'll just think about

these things and then and I hope and

shallowed there's some benefit money one

of my favorite verses in the Quran and

all of the Quran is really my favorite

verses but and the Dean yes Tamera they

just Amira now called a theater owner a

son of those who listen to what's said

and they follow the best of it so in

Shaba ask allah subhana wa qarna that

this conversation is some benefit and

people can derive some benefit meaning

from it and take what's useful from it

and discard what's not something that is

like alchemy