13 April 2009

With a deep baritone voice while reciting the Qur'an, Sheikh Adil Kalbani, the black imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Islam's holiest shrine, gives an example of equality in the Islamic faith.

"Any qualified individual, no matter what his color, no matter where from, will have a chance to be a leader, for his good and his country's good," Kalbani told The New York Times on Saturday, April 11.

Credited for his angelic recitation of the Noble Quran, Kalbani, 49, was chosen by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz to lead millions of Muslim worshippers in the Grand Mosque.

"The king is trying to tell everybody that he wants to rule this land as one nation, with no racism and no segregation."

Born in Riyadh in 1940, Kabani is the son of a poor immigrant from the United Arab Emirates.

After finishing his high school, he took a job with Saudi Arabian Airlines while attending night classes at King Saud University on religion and memorization of the Qur'an.

In 1984, he passed the government exam to become an imam, and worked briefly at the mosque in the Riyadh airport.

Four years later, he won a more prominent position as the imam of the famous King Khalid mosque in Riyadh.

It was only last September when he woke up to a phone call from the Grand Mosque administrator to apprise off the King's selection to him.

Since then, the black Muslim imam has been half-jokingly dubbed the "Saudi Obama."

Equality

Kalbani said that Islam treats all people on equal footing, regardless of their color or race.

"Our Islamic history has so many famous black people," he said.

The Muslim imam said that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) had many black companions.

"It is not like the West."

Islam preaches equality among all people and teaches followers that every member of human race has been accorded honor and dignity by Allah Almighty.

In practice, Prophet Muhammad had among his closest Companions Salman the Persian, Suhaib the Roman, and Bilal the Ethiopian.

Two of the three Companions, Salman and Bilal, were ex-slaves who were liberated after embracing Islam.

Bilal was chosen by the Prophet as the first muezzin to prayer, a position coveted by many.

Kalbani is also credited for his open-minded views, reflecting the general evolution of Saudi thinking over the last two decades.

"Some people in this country want everyone to be a carbon copy," he said.

"This is not my way of thinking. You can learn from the person who is willing to criticize, to give a different point of view."

Recalling the moment he was introduced to lead millions of Muslim worshipers at the Grand Mosque last Ramadan, Kalbani remembers the great burden put on his shoulder.

"To recite before thousands of people, this is no problem for me," he said.

"But the place, its holiness, is so different from praying anywhere else.

"In that shrine, there are kings, presidents and ordinary people, all being led in prayer by you as imam.

"It gives you a feeling of honor, and a fear of almighty God."