- Did anything written on this site jeopardize your livelihood?
- Did anything written on this site jeopardize the health insurance coverage for you and your family?
- Did anything written on this site require you to face the prospect of uprooting your children from their schools days before the new school year?
These are questions that you failed to consider before “not renewing” Imam Aly’s contract. By the IAGD President’s own admission during the September 8, 2019 BOD meeting, the decision to terminate the Imam was being considered for several weeks. Yet, not one word about his imminent termination was uttered to him by any of you. No effort was made to inform him that he would be out of a job without notice, warning, or the opportunity to find another position before being dismissed. Had he been told at least as early as April of 2019 that he would be let go at the end of August, both he and the community he served for 12 years could have made a more smooth emotional transition. He could have saved face and sought another position without the negative perception that he was fired. His family could have relocated during the summer with less disruption to his children's education.
I sincerely hope that your response to this is NOT: “We didn’t do anything! He’s the one who signed the contract and he should have known that it expired at the end of August.” If you expect us to believe that, you insult us in a way that is far worse than anything we could ever say about you on this site. If you yourselves believe that, ask the man whose orders you follow these questions:
- Were the Imam’s previous contracts seamless where one expired the next would immediately begin?
- NO? Did gaps occur between contracts more than once?
- YES??? How long were the gaps between his contracts?
- Up to 18 months??? Did he continue receiving a salary and benefits during the periods where he had no contract?
- He did??? Was it ignorant of us to take issue with his characterization that he was ambushed when we told him on August 21, 2019 that as of THAT DATE--without prior notice and 10 days before the expiration of his contract--that he was no longer Imam at IAGD?
Do you see the problem yet? This is not how you treat people. You've convinced yourselves that it is we who are not behaving up to the standards of our faith while you conveniently ignore the irrevocable facts recited above. You do not have the luxury to regard us as a “cult” of Imam Aly. Many of us know that he is not perfect. We know that his return to IAGD is untenable. We know that people change jobs and that no position is permanent. The one thing that unites all of us who are supporting Imam Aly--each in his/her own respective way--is that we stand against injustice.
There is a way that this could have been done. A way that would have preserved Imam Aly’s dignity and respected the connection that he shared with the community. Your desired result could have been achieved without this mess, but that wasn’t enough for one of you. I’m talking about the one from whom the rest of you take your orders. This individual, who thinks he is so clever, needed to see Imam Aly suffer. This individual needed to see Imam Aly humiliated. This individual has a long memory. He needed to punish Imam Aly for taking a principled stance against this individual’s dictatorial actions from three years ago. This individual created the present situation and, without a sense of irony, dispatches you as his loyal foot soldiers to accuse others of causing fitna. This is where it is helpful for you to know your history because we are repeating it.
There was a meeting in the social hall six years ago that marked a low point for the community. The individual mentioned above was forced to deal with a BOD and a GB majority that he did not control. The BOD attempted to conduct the meeting with civility, but several in the audience, including some of the founders of IAGD, screamed at them. The individual sat in silence and let his unhinged allies scream for him. When chaos took over and people had to be restrained from physically attacking one other, I looked at this individual expecting him to step in and bring order and be the leader that his minions believe he is. The individual said nothing. He looked upon the chaos and smiled. I am not making this up. Only after it was too late and the social hall devolved into a fighting pit did he take the microphone in a meaningless gesture to speak empty words that were drowned out by the mayhem.
I do not doubt that this individual has the capacity for good, but being surrounded by "yes" men who agree with his every bad decision prevents him from being his best self. It was not uncommon for the Prophet's (SAW) companions to challenge his decisions. They would ask if his decision was based on his opinion or revelation. If it was the former, the companions would offer an alternative course and our beloved Prophet (SAW) had the humility and wisdom to hear and heed their counsel. What is it that prevents the companions of IAGD's leader from helping him make better decisions? When those who think of themselves as his friends stand silent and say NOTHING in the face of his behavior they are not truly his friends. A true friend would tell you when you err. A true friend would try to help you do what is just. Those who stand in silence saying nothing or assist in carrying out unjust orders are, at best, enablers and, at worst, accomplices.
Facts and history matter. The anger over Imam Aly’s dismissal did not occur in a vacuum. It has been brewing over the past few decades in an ongoing cycle of injustice after injustice. You would do well to educate yourselves to better understand which side of history you are on instead of wasting time feeling sorry for yourselves over being told the truth. Perhaps then you may understand why it is absurd for you to feign innocence and claim that you were not part of a history when the author of that history has made you his instrument.
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