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An imam (Arabic: إمام‎, plural: أئمة A'immah; Persian: امام‎) is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question. In smaller communities, an imam could also be the community leader however most Imams are there for religious guidance.

Sunni Imams[link]

An Imam leading prayers in Cairo, Egypt, in 1865.

The Sunni branch of Islam does not have imams in the same sense as the Shi'a. In every day terms, the imam for Sunni Muslims is the one who leads congregational Islamic worship and prayers, and the Friday sermon is most often given by an appointed imam.

The term is also used:

for a recognized religious scholar or authority in Islam, often for the founding scholars of the four Sunni madhhabs, or schools of jurisprudence (fiqh). It may also refer to the Muslim scholars who created the analytical sciences related to Hadith or it may refer to the heads of the Prophet Muhammad's family in their generational times.

Those who are considered imams in the context of scholarly authority by Sunni Muslims.

Shi'a imams[link]

In the Shi'a context, imam has a meaning more central to belief, referring to leaders of the community. Twelver and Ismaili Shi'a believe that these imams are chosen by God to be perfect examples for the faithful and to lead all humanity in all aspects of life. They also believe that all the imams chosen are free from committing any sin, infallibility which is called ismah. These leaders must be followed since they are appointed by God.

Twelver[link]

Here follows a list of the Twelvers imams:

Fatimah, also Fatimah al-Zahraa, daughter of Muhammed (615–632), is also considered infallible but not an imam. Many Shi'a believe that the last imam will one day return.

Ismaili[link]

See Imamah (Ismaili doctrine) and List of Ismaili imams for Ismaili imams.

Zaidi imams as rulers of Yemen[link]

In the Zaidi Shiite sect, imams were temporal as well as spiritual leaders who held power in Yemen for more than a thousand years. In 897, a Zaidi ruler, al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, founded a line of such imams, a theocratic form of government which survived until the second half of the 20th century. (See details under Zaidiyyah, History of Yemen, Imams of Yemen.)

Gallery[link]

• 

  An Imam reads verses from the Quran after Isha' (night prayers) in the Mughal Empire.

• 

  A manuscript from the Mughal Empire describing the story of an Imam.

• 

  Crimean Tatar Imam's teach the Quran.

• 

  Imam presiding over prayer, North Africa

• 

  Imam Shamil, Caucasus

• 

  Imam in Bosnia, c. 1906

• 

  An Imam in Omdurman, Sudan.

• Constantinople(1878)-begging dervis.png

  An Ottoman Imam in Istanbul.

• 

  A Bosniak Military Imam in the Austro-Hungarian Army.

• 

  Imam Thierno Ibrahima Thiello

See also[link]

• Women as imams
• Mullah

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.. 
• Encyclopædia Iranica. Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University. ISBN 1-56859-050-4. 
• Martin, Richard C.. Encyclopaedia of Islam and the Muslim world; vol.1. MacMillan. ISBN 0-02-865604-0. 
• Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Gale Group. 2004. ISBN 978-0-02-865769-1. 
• Corbin, Henry (1993 (original French 1964)). History of Islamic Philosophy, Translated by Liadain Sherrard, Philip Sherrard. London; Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 0-7103-0416-1. 
• Momen, Moojan (1985). TAn Introduction to Shi`i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelve. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-03531-4. 
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein (1988). The Just Ruler (al-sultān Al-ʻādil) in Shīʻite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-511915-0. 
• Tabatabae, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn; Seyyed Hossein Nasr (translator) (1979). Shi'ite Islam. SUNY press. ISBN 0-87395-272-3. 

External links[link]

Look up imam in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Imams

Look up imam in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• A brief introduction of Twelve Imams
• A Brief History Of The Lives Of The Twelve Imams a chapter of Shi'a Islam (book) by Allameh Tabatabaei
• The Twelve Imams Taken From "A Shi'ite Anthology" By Allameh Tabatabaei
• A Short History of the Lives of The Twelve Imams
• Detailed description of the Shiite belief
• List of Sunni Imams
• International Imam Organization

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Siraj Wahhaj
Born	Jeffrey Kearse (1950-03-11) March 11, 1950 (age 62) Brooklyn, New York City New York, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Islamic scholar
Religion	Sunni Islam
Spouse	Wadiyah Wahhaj
Website
www.mana-net.org

Siraj Wahhaj (born Jeffrey Kearse, March 11, 1950) is an African-American convert to Islam. He is imam of Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, New York and the leader of The Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA).

Early life[link]

Wahhaj was born as Jeffrey Kearse and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His mother Gloria Sage was a nurse and his father a hospital dietitian. His brother is writer and editor Gregory S. Kearse of Silver Spring, Maryland. He went to church religiously and went on to become a Sunday school teacher as a teenager in a Baptist church.^[1] Wahhaj then later went on to the New York University on a partial scholarship. He also played basketball where he met a teammate who interested him in the Nation of Islam, an African-American movement.

In 1969 he ended his schooling and joined the Nation of Islam, changing his name to Jeffrey12x.^[1] During this time he was vocal in his belief that “white people are devils." He said of this, “I preached it. I taught it.”^[2] Wahhaj says of his interest in the Nation: "It wasn't the theology that attracted me to the Nation of Islam at all... It was the kind of do-for-self black pride."

When Elijah Muhammed died in 1975, "His teachings began to unravel in my mind", and he became a Sunni Muslim with the encouragement of Muhammad's son Warith Deen Mohammed. Mohammed took over and reorganized the Nation of Islam, urging members to come to orthodox Islam. Kearse then changed his name again to Siraj Wahhaj, which means "bright light" in Arabic. He was chosen to study Islam at the Umm al-Qura university of Mecca for a period of four months in 1978.^[2] He also briefly taught a course in Islamic studies at Howard University, where Johari Abdul-Malik is the chaplain.

Public Life[link]

Wahhaj is a prolific speaker in America. He makes many appearances at major North American Muslim conventions, and numerous forums and lectures in New England. His audio and video lectures are also popular in America's Muslim community. He is known to encourage Muslims to be God-fearing, enjoining good and forbid evil, practice regular charity, stay away from drugs, abstain from pre-marital relations, and other issues as well. He has also appeared on several national television talk shows and has had interviews with several media outlets.

In 1991 Wahhaj offered an invocation (opening prayer) to the United States House of Representatives. He was the first Muslim to do so.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright hosted Wahhaj and notable scholars for a Ramadan feast of lamb, lentils and saffron rice.

Activities[link]

Masjid At-Taqwa Mosque[link]

Masjid At-Taqwa, in Brooklyn, New York

In 1981 Wahhaj started his own mosque, Masijd Al-Taqwa, in a friend's apartment in Brooklyn. Later they bought an abandoned clothing store which is where Masjid At-Taqwa still resides today. The Masjid has expanded since then and is usually overcrowded on days of Jummah (Friday prayer).

Anti drug movement[link]

In 1988 he led his community in an anti-drug patrol in which they staked out drug houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant in the cold of winter for 40 days and nights, forcing the closure of 15 drug houses. This effort received high praise from the New York City Police Department and the media.

Organizational Involvement[link]

Since that time, Wahhaj has been active in many Islamic organizations. He has been vice president of the Islamic Society of North America since 1997 and has served on the Majlis al Shura, a consultative council of Islamic scholars, since 1987. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for the American Muslim Council and has also served on the national board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

In 2005 Wahhaj was elected as the Amir (Chair) of MANA's Diwan (Executive committee). MANA was founded on the independent ideas of many scholars including Wahhaj, Zaid Shakir, Hamza Yusuf, Talib Abdur Rashid, Asim Abdur Rashid, Ihsan Bagby, R. Mukhtar Curtis, Sherman Jackson, Amir al-Islam and many others. The organization's initials stand for Muslim Alliance in North America. The organization has since held two conventions in 2007 and 2008, in which the topics of community activism, criminal justice and marriage were given great concern.

Recent speeches[link]

Wahhaj is still the resident imam of Masjid Al- Taqwa as well as a speaker across the country. One of his most recent speeches was given on September 5, 2009 during the "United Against Malaria" conference, were he helped to raise money for people of Africa suffering from Malaria. On March 27, 2010, he gave an emotional speech about the Youth at Darul Islah Mosque, in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Lawsuits[link]

A jury threw out Wahhaj's $5 million (libel) lawsuit against Curtis Sliwa for claiming the mosque had run guns to Canada, after the Guardian Angels had helped the mosque fight a crack epidemic in the 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

Battle with Prostate Cancer[link]

Wahhaj, having publicly spoken about his battle with hyper tension stated in a letter posted on his website that he'd been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.

As a result of being thoroughly checked by the competent doctors in Atlanta , I have been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Al Hamdulillah, inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. (All Praise is for Allah. Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.) My diagnosis is not as bad as it sounds on the surface. Many men have been cured from prostate cancer. My doctors are very optimistic about my cure, and so am I. InshaAllah the treatment should last about two months.^{[citation needed]}

Months later, Wahhaj wrote another letter on helpimamsiraj.com where he stated that he was now cured of the disease:

Al Hamdulillah, I'm happy to announce to MANA readers and supporters that my major treatment for prostate cancer has been successfully completed. This has been a major milestone in my life and I thank Allah, Most High, for His purification, love and mercy. Likewise, it is through Allah's love and mercy that my treatment has been paid for with help from so many of you. The generous donations, acts of kindness, duas, and overall love shown to me and my family has been a true blessing and is deeply appreciated. Jazakallah khairan! Your highest reward is with Allah, Most High. Many of you want to know how I'm feeling. This is an easy question to answer. Al Hamdulillah, I feel very good. I think I'm in very good condition and I actually feel more healthy now than I have in years. I'm exercising everyday, eating healthy and am more conscious of making the best choices for my health. I really feel I'm on the right track in terms of achieving and maintaining a lifestyle of wellness. In terms of the efficacy of my treatment, my doctor has informed me that we are "right on target". Insha'Allah, after one month I will return for an evaluation, and again three months later for a full examination. With the full examination we will have a good idea of where things are, insha'Allah.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Him Promoting A Cair Fundraiser
• Muslim Alliance in North America
• Siraj Wahhaj Lectures
• ImamSWahhaj.com Official Site for CDs/DVDs by Imam Siraj
• Siraj Wahhaj's interview on Australian radio
• Imam Siraj Wahhaj on IBN MEDIA
• Guide For Humanity

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"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also[link]

• Absentee landlord
• Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• Ruling class
• The Establishment
• Power elite
• Corrections officer
• YTMND

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). Random House Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House.

Hassen Chalghoumi (born Tunis, 1972) is the imam of the municipal Drancy mosque in Seine-Saint-Denis (near Paris).

Before coming to France, he was a member of the Tablighi Jamaat an Islamic reformist and spiritualist movement. During many years, he called for Jihad. He was remarked during the Islamic scarf controversy in France, supporting French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s draft law to ban the burqa. This support added with his good relations with zionist organizations in France, caused demonstrations and clashes in Drancy mosque. Protesters wanted to change imam because he was unrepresentative of muslim people. In 2009, he founded the "Conference of Imams", an organisation which aims to represent muslims in politics.^[1][2][3][4]

He was quoted as saying "with a bit of cloth over their faces, what can these women share with us? If they want to wear the veil, they can go to a country where it's the tradition, like Saudi Arabia".^[5]

Married with five children, he studied in Syria and Pakistan before coming to France in 1996. Until 2005, he was a member of the Tablighi Jamaat, with whom he remains close. He is naturalised as a French citizen in 2005.^[6]

Some of his critics call him "Imam of the Jews" for his activism with the French zionist organization CRIF. In 2006 his house was sacked and his children threatened after a speech he made in front of the deportation memorial in Drancy.^[7]

In an interview in the Parisien he voiced the opinion that no man should refuse to allow his wife to be examined by a male doctor. At the beginning of 2009 he was invited to the Elysée and the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (CRIF), a French zionist organisation.

Chalghoumi has questioned Western support for the 'Arab Spring', which has delivered a number of countries into the hands of Islamist groups.^[8]

References[link]

1. ^ Cuénod, Jean-Noël (2009-01-15). "Un imam prêche la paix et la concorde avec les juifs: il est menacé de mort". Tribune de Genève. http://archives.tdg.ch/TG/TG/-/article-2009-01-1321/francedirecteur-spirituel-de-la-mosquee-de-drancy-hassen-chalghoumi-doit-aujourd8217hui-se. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
2. ^ "Hassen Chalghoumi, un imam pas comme les autres". Le Point. 2010-01-26. http://www.lepoint.fr/actualites-societe/2010-01-26/portrait-hassen-chalghoumi-un-imam-pas-comme-les-autres/920/0/417413. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
3. ^ "FRANCE: ANTI-VEIL IMAM TARGETED; GROUP STORMS MOSQUE". Ansamed. 2010-01-26. http://www.ansamed.info/en/news/ME03.XAM14082.html. Retrieved 2010-01-30. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "French Mosque Raided by Islamic Radicals". Israel National News. 2010-01-28. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135751. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
5. ^ "Paris imam backs France's proposed burqa ban". Reuters. 2010-01-21. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60L25C20100122. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
6. ^ "L'Imam de Drancy, un médiateur menacé". Mejliss et kalam. 2010-01-27. http://www.mejliss.com/showthread.php?t=508017. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
7. ^ "L'imam de Drancy prône l'ouverture". Le Figaro. 2009-03-27. http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/03/24/01016-20090324ARTFIG00649-l-imam-de-drancy-prone-l-ouverture-.php. Retrieved 2010-01-31. 
8. ^ http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/societe/charlie-hebdo-arretez-soutenir-islamistes-scande-l-imam-drancy-152778.html

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David Pujadas
David Pujadas at Salon du Livre in Paris (2009)
Born	(1964-12-02) December 2, 1964 (age 47) Barcelona
Notable credit(s)	Le 20 Heures, France 2, Les Infiltrés on France 2
Spouse	Ingrid Pujadas

David Pujadas (French pronunciation: [da.vid py.ʒa.das], Spanish: [puˈxaðas]) was born in Barcelona (Catalonia), Spain, on December 2, 1964, to a Spanish father and a French mother.

A former news broadcaster for TF1's LCI, he now is an anchorman on France 2's weeknight newscast, Le Journal de 20 Heures, at 8:00 CET in Metropolitan France. He has anchored these newscasts since September 2001, when he replaced Claude Sérillon, on orders from Olivier Mazerolle, the new France 2 news director.

The newscasts Pujadas presents are repeated in Canada on TV5 Monde weeknights at 6:30 North American Eastern Time,[3] and in Australia on SBS at 9:20 weekday mornings.

In Metropolitan France, the audience for France 2's flagship evening newscast, at 20%, is less than the 26% audience share garnered by Laurence Ferrari's TF1 evening newscast^[1]

David Pujadas has gone to the middle East for interviews of the Iranian and Syrian Presidents.

Biography[link]

Graduate of the University of Aix-Marseille and the Institut d'études politiques (IEP), David Pujadas entered Paris's Centre for Journalist Training (CFJ) in 1988.

Winner of a reporters' contest conducted by Télévision Française 1 (TF1), he became a foreign correspondent there, covering most notably the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania in 1989, the Gulf War in 1991, and the siege of Sarajevo in 1992. He also presented the morning news and the 23:00 news during holidays of the regular presenters between 1992 and 1993.

At the same time, from 1990 to 1994, he carried out research for Charles Villeneuve's investigative magazine "Le droit de savoir".

At the end of June 1994, he joined LCI, TF1's new continuous news channel, where he presented newscasts regularly. Starting in September 1996 he handled the presentation of "Le Grand Journal" from 18:00 to 19:00. He also created the weekly magazine "100% politique".

In September 2001, he replaced Claude Sérillon as presenter of France 2's 20:00 news at the request of the new news director Olivier Mazerolle. Despite a scandalous beginning when he was filmed shouting "Wahou génial !" while watching the first images of the Twin towers on 09/11, this edition's audience has increased since its inception but remains below that of Patrick Poivre d'Arvor on TF1: 25% vs. 40% market share. [ref. necessary]

On February 3, 2004, Pujadas announced in the opening of his news programme Alain Juppé's official withdrawal from political life, while at the same moment Juppé stated at the end of a long interview on the TF1 show that he would give up his mandates over the course of the next year. Pujadas made his apologies for this error in the edition of the following day, but two days later, following a vote of no confidence by the channel's directors, he was sanctioned with two weeks of forced vacation during which he was replaced by his stand-in, Carole Gaessler. On February 11, 2004, Olivier Mazerolle tendered his resignation and was replaced by Arlette Chabot as head editor of France 2.

During the 2005–2006 season, Pujadas presented "Le Contrat", a monthly political interview on the Parliamentary Channel. He has hosted "Madame, Monsieur, bonsoir" weekly with Herve Chabalier on France 5 since February 2006.

David Pujadas is member of the think tank Le Siècle.^[2]

References[link]