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A Must Read article by Imam Zaid (May Allah protect and reward him). Here are some excerpts:

The story of Hajj (Pilgrimage)and the ‘Eid which accompanies it focuses our attention on the story of Abraham, May the Peace of God be upon him. … In choosing Abraham to make that awesome call, God honored him greatly. He further honored him with one of the most profound descriptions ever given to a human being. He says in Sura al-Nahl, “Truly Abraham was a nation, devoutly obedient to God. Naturally inclining towards the true faith, he was not amongst the idolaters. He was abundantly thankful for the blessings [God] bestowed upon him. He chose him, and guided him to the Straight Way.”… God describes Abraham as a nation. The exegetes mention many possible interpretations for this expression. One interpretation is that he was a repository of all good human traits and virtues. … Another interpretation of the expression, “Abraham was a nation…” is that he was an upright leader whose example is to be followed…

…The challenge of exemplifying the prophetic virtues, coupled with the challenge of calling humanity to those virtues requires that we rise to the challenge of leadership. Meeting that challenge will require a vastly enhanced base of both religious and worldly knowledge in our communities. Collectively, our entire community, men, women, and youth, has to aspire to heightened levels of educational attainment. … This challenge is especially pressing for our religious leaders. Contributing to the solution to problems related to global development and population growth, medical crises such as AIDS and SARS, bioethical issues such as human stem cell research, cloning, and vivisection, and other contentious religious, philosophical, social, political, cultural, and economic issues will require scholars who are steeped in our intellectual tradition, conversant with contemporary intellectual currents, and capable of judiciously assessing controversial social issues and debates… Rising to this challenge will require a broad vision and tremendous courage on our part. Part of the broad vision needed by our scholars will involve having the ability to transcend current academic modalities and methodologies…. Our young scholars will also have to have an a priori commitment to serve the public. …As Muslims, we should have the vision and courage, Abrahamic courage, to work for a world that while acknowledging and benefiting from the many positive advancements bequeathed to humanity by western materialist civilization, work to minimize the damage caused by its negative,and darker innovations….

…The modern and postmodern conditions have bequeathed unto humanity an array of “idols” which are worshipped besides God. Perhaps the greatest idol arising from our condition is the individual’s worship of himself. In what sociologist Christopher Lasch describes as a “culture of narcissism,” it is easy to appreciate the penetrating question asked by God in the Qur’an, “Have you not seen one who has taken his vain inclinations as his god?”…

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