Save Masjid Omar Al-Farooq

Assalamu Alaikum dear brothers and sisters, the congregation of Masjid Omar Al-Farooq in Vancouver.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّـهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا ۚ اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

Meaning: "O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is well acquainted with what you do."

The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said:

إن من الناس مفاتيح للخير مغاليق للشر، وإن من الناس مفاتيح للشر مغاليق للخير، فطوبى لمن جعل الله مفاتيح الخير على يديه، وويل لمن جعل الله مفاتيح الشر على يديه

"Meaning: Indeed some people are keys of goodness and through them evil is shut down. Yet among people are those who are keys to evil and through them goodness is 'shut down'. So the glad-tidings of Jannah be to those who spread goodness and woe to those who spread evil."

Many of you are undoubtedly aware of some of the major problems that are occurring at Masjid Omar Al-Farooq. You may have heard of the internal conflict taking place between the masjid members, directors and the legal entities that govern the masjid's activities, namely:

Masjid Omar Al-Farooq Islamic Society
Masjid Omar Al-Farooq Islamic Foundation
Othman Bin Affan Islamic Society
As responsible Muslims within our local community, including some who have played a role in the establishment of the masjid and/or have served on the board in various capacities, we would like to inform you that Masjid Omar Al-Farooq (including its three legal entities) is indeed undergoing a deep and troubling Fitnah and is potentially at risk of being closed down by the government authorities as a result.

As we know, the Houses of Allah, the Masajid, are meant to be sanctuaries of peace; safe-spaces for all so that they can perform their Ibadah and seek nearness to Allah. It is not a place of disenfranchising policies, personal favouritism or dirty politics. It should be borne in mind that the owner of this House is none other than Allah.

The honour of maintaining the Masjid belongs to the ones whom Allah speaks of in this verse:

إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّـهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّـهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلَّا اللَّـهَ ۖ فَعَسَىٰ أُولَـٰئِكَ أَن يَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ

Meaning: "The Masajid of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the (rightly) guided."

These are the custodians in trust— a true custodian of the masjid is not one who asserts personal ownership over the Masjid for himself and/or for his own family and acts as a tyrannical dictator who feels he holds full control over who can enter or utilize the masjid….this mentality has no place in the Masajid of Allah!

Yet, this is exactly what has been happening at Masjid Omar Al-Farooq over the past several years, which has led to the crisis situation the masjid is facing today. It is what has led to legal challenges and action, threats of lawsuits, and even the police entering the masjid during Salatul Jumu'ah trying to remove the masjid-appointed volunteer Khateeb from the Mimbar during the Khutba!

The majority of the local community sees the primary cause, source and culprit of all these issues to be the self-proclaimed President/Secretary/Treasurer of the Masjid, Mr. Abdussalam Ibrahim.

Although it was announced a couple months ago that the masjid was under new management with Br. Marwan Larbes as its "president," time and realities have told a completely different tale.

Three of the previous members/directors of the societies had filed a legal challenge against the masjid, citing their "illegal" and "improper" removal in a unilateral move by Abdussalaam Ibrahim. As a result, the societies' lawyers refused to recognize the new appointees and so the names of the new members/directors were not registered with the government under the Societies' Act.

The board members and other individuals had offered a compromise resolution in which all the previous members/directors would all voluntarily resign their positions, and several local Shuyookh would step in and appoint a completely new (and neutral) management board to run the Masjid. While this compromise resolution was accepted by the other board members without any pre-conditions, Abdussalam Ibrahim rejected it outright, stating arrogantly that he would never step down nor go anywhere and that he "will outlast all of you."

It is a known fact that, for a significant period of time, Abdussalam Ibrahim has been overstepping his authority and running Masjid Omar Al-Farooq as his own private Masjid. His mismanagement includes conducting all of the Masjid's business on his own and even deciding who may or may not utilize the Masjid. The donations being collected, while having significantly dwindled under his "leadership," are also under his direct control with seemingly no accountability or oversight to anyone.

Moreover, many volunteers have complained that have been treated harshly and unfairly by him, which caused them to leave the Masjid. Even Shuyookh and Qur'an teachers have been disrespected and removed from the Masjid.

The latest and most disgusting atrocity brought upon by Abdussalam Ibrahim, however, was his summoning of the Vancouver Police to the Masjid last Friday (photos attached) to disrupt the Jumuah and to try and forcibly remove the volunteer Khateeb, Br. Marwan Larbes, from the Mimbar during the Khutba. This, simply because Br. Marwan had asked him to compromise for the sake of the Masjid, and likely also because he was not able to have full control over what would be said in the Khutba.

Two days prior to his scheduled Khutba, Br. Marwan had been issued a letter by Abdussalam Ibrahim stating that he was banned from entering the masjid, which was signed as "The Board." However, none of the other board members had been consulted, nor were they even aware of the letter, let alone having approved of it.

When he stood up on the Mimbar to deliver his scheduled Khutba, Abdussalam Ibrahim turned off the microphone and called the police! He then left the masjid without even praying Jumuah.

Alhamdulilah, Allah caused these evil plans to fail miserably, as the Jamaah rose up in full support of the Khateeb when the police arrived to try and remove him. Allah revealed the Fitnah to the public and exposed him to the community. Community members later spoke to the police officers and let them know what had been taking place in the masjid, and that the person who had called them breached his authority. The police then apologized for their interference and left.

In light of these events, and to alleviate any further harm this Fitnah is causing the Masjid, we humbly request you, the Jamaah (congregation) of Masjid Omar Al-Farooq to step up to safeguard and protect YOUR masjid. Do not allow one person to exercise full and complete control over the House of Allah.

To this end, we urge the following:

Demand the immediate resignation/removal of Abdusalaam Ibrahim and that Shuyookh be appointed to select a new management board.
Sign the petition outside the Masjid after the Jumuah salaah, which will be sent to the lawyers who will be applying for a court injunction to remove Abdussalam Ibrahim, as well as pursue other legal actions against him.
Withhold all financial contributions to the masjid until this matter is resolved to the satisfaction of the community.
Make continuous Du'a asking Allah to protect the Masjid from Fitnah and from the tyrannical actions of a person who is trying hard to usurp control of the masjid for his own personal gain.
Jazaakum Allahu khairan.

ENDORSED BY:
- Br. Marwan Larbes
- Br. Omar Khan
- Br. Hisham El-Ekhnawi
- Br. Mohammad Barakat