The First International Islamic Retreat in the Caribbean (intro)

Maulana Imran Hosein

In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful.

This week I find myself at the First International Islamic Retreat at the Islamic Center of Barrackpore, Trinidad. I have only limited internet access, so I will not be able to devote my full attention to Emails and comments. I will endeavor to provide a brief summary of each session and report the event as thoroughly as possible, but I will not have time to provide my own thoughts and analysis until I return. This is the first event of this kind in the Caribbean. It will go from Shawwal 12-17 1430 (October 1-6, 2009).

A brief history of Trinidad:

Trinidad’s indigenous people, the Belicose Caribs, are virtually absent in modern Trinidad. Most of them migrated to other islands to help their cousins in Dominica and St. Vincent to defend their homes from the European powers. Today only small communities exist.

Trinidad is approximately 1900 sq. miles, about the size of Rhode Island. During the colonial period the island changed hands 22 times between the French, Dutch and British forces. The English were granted sovereignty in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris and Trinidad did not gain independence until 1962 when the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was founded.

The history of Islam in Trinidad is very similar to the history of Islam in America. The first Muslims on the Island were brought as slaves from West Africa. Although most of these were so thoroughly Christianized by their captors that their religion was lost within a generation. When slavery was abolished immigrants from India came as indentured servants bringing Hinduism and reintroducing Islam. Through the Dawah of these immigrants the African population began returning to Islam. Today Muslims represent about 5% of the population.

Trinidad is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious culture with very little tension between the diverse communities. In addition to other national holidays such as Carnival, akin to Mardi Gras, and Emancipation Day, commemorating the abolition of slavery, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago also recognizes Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and Hosey, celebrated by Shia to remember the martyrdom of Hussein as national holidays. Trinidad boasts over 200 masjids and 2 Islamic Universities.

Maulana Imran Hosein:

My primary interest in the retreat is the opportunity hear Islamic speaker and writer Maulana Imran Hosein. His book on the Gold Dinar, and his two books on Riba in Islam were the primary research for my article “The Dust of Riba and the Rush for Gold.” His lecture and article about women in the house of Allah were the primary inspiration for my article “Empathy Day.” Although the Shaikh’s primary field of scholarship, around which this retreat perambulates, is the signs of the end times in the modern world.

Imran was born in Trinidad and received degrees in international relations from the University of the West Indies and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. He studied philosophy at Karachi University in Pakistan, and studied Islam at the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in Karachi University where he studied under Maulana Dr. Muhammad Fazlur Rahman Ansari. Imran’s entire corpus of work on the subject of the end times, named The Muhammad Ansari Memorial Series, are dedicated the memory of this beloved friend and teacher.

Imran Hosein was the Khateeb, delivering Friday sermons, at the UN Headquarters in Manhattan for 10 years. After September 11, 2009 he returned to his home in Trindad to continue his important work. Though there has long been great international interest in his unique thesis, Imran has always refused to take students, insisting that at his age recording the his teachings and the teachings of Muhammad Ansari in book form took precedence over teaching students. It was after a small group from San Francisco, California refused to take no for answer, and packed up their lives and moved the Trinidad to be near to him that Imran agreed to showcase this event with guests from every corner of the world.