Journeys & Reflections

At The Mecca Center, we believe that every journey is an opportunity to learn, grow, and connect. We’re excited to launch “Journeys & Reflections,” a special newsletter where our staff and community members share their personal experiences. Whether it’s a trip to a new destination, a memorable event, an eye-opening experience, or a meaningful encounter, these stories reflect the diverse and enriching lives of our community.

Our second edition is written by Br. Nader Hamdan, the Civic Engagement Coordinator at The Mecca Center. Br. Nader was chosen as a delegate to represent The Mecca Center at the 2024 Prophetic Strategy Summit and took the time to share his experience and insights.

From Seerah to Strategy

Reflections from the 2024 Prophetic Strategy Summit

By Nader Hamdan

Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu,

It is with great honor and excitement that I was chosen as a delegate to represent The Mecca Center at the 2024 Prophetic Strategy Summit, a conference and intensive for community servants, leaders, and activists from around the world to connect, network, and grow. The objective is to collaborate with leading scholars and activists on solutions to problems that ail not only our smaller communities, but the Muslim Ummah at large.

The Summit was one week long, with global leaders from the Muslim community, including Dr. Tareq Alsuwaidan, Dr. Omar Suleiman, Shaykh Haytham Al-Haddad, Dr. Yasir Qadhi, and more. With an intense look into the Seerah of our Prophet ﷺ, we learned about what it takes to be a leader, and the different leadership approaches he took as he spread the message of Islam. The program was split between intensives and lectures from our main speakers, and networking sessions between the 150 delegates from across the world. Many times throughout the program we benefited from the scholars and speakers directly, sitting with them and speaking to them about the unique problems we faced communally, professionally and personally.

We learned about the experiences and ideas of the speakers, and they in return learned about us and our communities. Many times the speakers themselves were vulnerable about their experiences and situations, and connected with us through their very own struggles. The crux of what I learned at the summit is the following:

Leadership is a consequence of work, it is not a goal to be had. Even the Prophet ﷺ was told to follow Ibrahim(as), so who are we to believe that we do not need to follow anyone?
The Seerah of our Prophet ﷺ is a manual for political success.
Winning over your enemy is poor strategy. Learn to speak to power with power and know what concerns with working with Nonmuslims are legitimate and what are imagined.
Remain Allah-centric in both your dunya-work and akhirah-work. Do we worship and serve with the main objective of feeling good, or with the objective of glorifying Allah as he should be glorified?

These key takeaways were threaded within the different lectures, workshops, and discussions by the speakers over the course of the week, and brought a unique dimension to da’wah-work, Islamic leadership, and community advocacy.

Ustadh Wadah Khanfar was able to refer to key lessons we as an Ummah need to take from observing the way the Prophet ﷺ changed the geopolitical landscape around him when he immigrated to Medina. Dr. Omar Suleiman was able to articulate how to influence Muslims, Nonmuslims, and elected officials in conversation, and how to carry yourself when speaking to political power. Each program was carefully crafted based on the audience and the needs of the global Muslim Ummah.

What was astounding was the level of work that each of the delegates have accomplished, and the hope that this Ummah has in creating a network between communities across the world. Among the attendees were those who were established imams who had studied in Madinah University, professionals who worked for decades on Wall Street before starting Islamic finance initiatives, and one brother who had taken the Australian Prime Minister of Defense to the International Criminal Court, the ICC. Every single person in that room was chosen because of his or her accomplishments, and what they brought to the table personally and professionally.

The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said “I have left you with two matters which will never lead you astray, as long as you hold to them: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Prophet”(Muwatta Malik, 46:3). It is within the Sunnah that we learn to seek advice from one another and consult each other in communal manners. This summit was meant for communities who are interested in unifying the Ummah on a local, national, and global level. From it grew networks of delegates who are interested in unifying a mission politically, creatively, and educationally.

It is his expertise in statebuilding, community engagement, and civic leadership that allowed him to excel not just as a leader within Muslim spaces, but as a political powerhouse and official. His excellence in navigating politics, advocacy, community-building, and other important areas offers a plethora of ideas to learn from and share with others. Learning about his life brings about stories and lessons that you would have never thought of had you remained in the dark. Rather, we must stay in the light of his life and always listen, read, and learn about who he was and what he did.

May Allah grant us sincerity in our work and efforts, and closeness to Him and His Messenger ﷺ. May Allah grant all of us a community like our Prophet’s ﷺ community in The Mecca Center community, and may He bless The Mecca Center to be a place of righteousness and love. May he grant us to build a modern-day Medina and shower us with His Mercy. May He allow us to continue to serve Him by serving the community, the people of Gaza, and our entire Ummah, the Ummah of our Prophet ﷺ.