OPINION
PROFILES IN ACHIEVEMENT Irving and listening to lectures about the Quran, all while working his corporate job that he eventually ended up despising. After the market collapsed [on Sept. 29, 2008, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points], Syed found his way back to Philadelphia in 2010 to coach tennis. Accepting his friend’s invitation to join him on a prophetic tour of Turkey, he found traveling proved to be an eye-opener. He was in deep reflection, visiting prophetic relics around Istanbul. As he connected to his religion, Syed realized he had to pursue that which had caused him to feel passion, fulfillment and joy — coaching tennis and benefiting others. An ambitious Syed finally listened to his peers and “got in line with what God gave him.” He founded Level 7 Tennis Academy in Malvern, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Starting out with only two or three kids, membership has now skyrocketed to 600-700 kids. Syed says he never cared if he had two students or 20; he simply put in the work and witnessed God’s bounty. “[The growth] was overwhelming,” he says. “I don’t have much to do with it — it’s truly from Allah.” At Level 7 Tennis, Syed tries to instill seven virtues in his players: wisdom, knowledge, courage, industry, courtesy, compassion and contribution. As Syed explains, “[The name of Level 7] is based on the Islamic principle of the seventh heaven being for the people of the highest character and manners.” He feels that these traits are quite lacking in Muslims today and advises them to look at sports not merely as entertainment, but as a method of personal growth and character building. “I think Muslims can learn a lot from sports. It gave me an incredible work ethic — you cannot be good at anything in life until you have a commitment and a certain amount of consistency. [In that way,] sports can be a spiritual experience as well.” Syed hopes to produce a number of players better than him, both on the court and off. He wants them to be able to serve the tennis ball and the community. “I came [to the U.S.] and became a professional tennis player, and it’s my duty to return the favor,” he says. That’s my driving force — that I return what I took from this country.” The doors of professional tennis opened for Fazal Syed in this land, and he wants to pay it forward for the next kid who shares the same dream he once had. “It’s [the] connecting of dots, and Allah puts you in this situation when He takes you where He wants to take you,” Syed says. “I wouldn’t do it any other way.” ih Habeeba Husain is a freelance journalist based in New York. She blogs for Why-Islam and helps manage small Muslim-run businesses WuduGear and Kamani. Her work has also appeared in SLAM Magazine, Narrative.ly and MuslimGirl.com, among other online and print publications.
44 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
Are We Educating Muslims or Cowards? Following time-honored traditions is not always a good idea BY ALIJA IZETBEGOVIĆ*
Alija Izetbegović
I
magine this article as a small conversation with our parents and religious teachers. Not too long ago, I found a close friend of mine, who is a good and excitable Muslim, writing an article about the education of Muslim youth. I read the article. Although it was unfinished, its main ideas were already expressed. Having insisted on education in the spirit of our faith, my friend called upon parents to inculcate in their children the characteristics of goodness, good behavior, humbleness, humility, benevolence, forgiveness,
acceptance of fate, patience and so on. He especially warned them to protect their kids from the street, from Western and thriller movies, useless print press and, among other things, sports that stimulate aggressiveness and competition. The most often used word in my friend’s article, however, was obedience. At home, a child should be obedient to his or her parents, in religious school (maktab) to the imam, in school to the teacher, in the street to the police officer and in the future to his boss, director or superior.
