Praxis in Action
The 3-Framework Architecture, Leadership Salons, and the Call to Build
Bismillah Al-Raḥmān Al-Raḥīm; Ṣallā Allahu ʿalā Sayyadinā Muḥammad wa ʿalā Ālihi wa Ṣaḥbihi wa Sallam — In the Name of God, Most Merciful and Compassionate; God’s Blessings and Peace be upon our Master, Muḥammad, and on his Family and Companions.
First off, I need to apologize for being so erratic in my posting and engagement over the last few months. I left America to return to my family in Ghana at the end of May, as shared in my last long-form post. Since that time, I have been seriously ill while also dealing with returning to my family, and I have not been able to post and engage as I originally intended.
By Allah’s Faḍl, I am regaining my health & vitality, and it is time to get back on track, InShā’Allah.
Modern leadership demands navigating a constant stream of complex challenges where the right path isn’t always clear. When faced with a critical decision, an institutional dilemma, or an ethical gray area, a knowledgeable, trusted, external perspective is invaluable.
Many of you are leaders and thinkers grappling with a multitude of complex and overwhelming challenges. You are working to build ethical, just, and excellent people, communities, institutions, organizations, and frameworks. I do not believe anyone would disagree that we need to move from siloed public & private discourse to a collaborative, focused strategy, and create a space to expand our socioreligious & intellectual ethical frameworks for societal, communal, and human growth and flourishing.
For Praxis Islamicus, this is the next step in putting our vision and principles into practice.
I will be taking the opportunity over the next few weeks to clarify and elucidate what I am calling my 3-Framework Architecture, which consists of what I termed:
Captive Opposition; this is my diagnostic framework that names the condition of intellectuals and institutions among African Americans, Muslims, and other colonized and oppressed peoples who have adopted a position of opposition/resistance to Western hegemony. At the same time, they are epistemologically held captive by and to Western frameworks and ideologies.
Khidmiyya (Servant Stewardship); this is the core of my doctoral thesis and research. This is the constructive framework of my work and research, which, academically, I am developing as a service-rooted Islamic model of Practical Theology which incorporates the various elements of the sciences of the blessed sharīʿa as the positive architecture for institutional and community development. Practically, this is the framework I am using as the governing methodology for everything I am working to achieve, InShā’Allah.
Finally, there is Reasoned Perspectives; this is my pedagogical framework that integrates Islamic theology, law, spirituality and ethics, and is designed to provide a structured character formation coupled with leadership development that is free of ideologies & worldviews that are antithetical to the worldview of Islam and the wellbeing and interests of Muslims, oppressed & marginalized people and humanity at large.
By introducing you to the thinking and vision behind the burgeoning research, frameworks, and models for human, community, and institutional development through this platform, the advisory arm of our work at EP3 & Associates, and the nascent research and thought leadership development transatlantic think tank we are building through the lens of the Islamic tradition, the Umma International Institute for Transatlantic Ethics (UIITE), we want you to understand & experience the value of our vision and leverage our uniquely cultivated knowledge base to enhance your work and studies.
One of the ways we intend to broaden and intensify the conversations and work is through close, personable engagement that removes the barrier of passive content consumption found when reading or other types of social media interaction. We aim to create an environment where serious, intellectually challenging & stimulating, raw, unfiltered conversation can take place in a cordial atmosphere, with a clear intention to engage intellectually and build.
We plan to provide this space through monthly Leadership Salons, where we will offer an open platform for discussion and idea generation for anyone interested in action-oriented engagement beyond your typical social spaces. We aim to build relationships and platforms for people doing the work to collectively address your institutional challenges with wisdom and strategic foresight, connect with like-minded people to expand our networks, and, InShā’Allah, build with.
These monthly sessions are intended to activate your thinking, challenge you to engage, and, for some, refine your thinking and deepen your engagement with the Islamic tradition in confronting or addressing personal or societal challenges.
There will be monthly topics that I will post for those who register for the sessions (they are free of charge), based on themes emerging from my current doctoral research and personal institution-building, community Da`wa, and Khidma (religious community engagement and ministerial service).
If you want to be added to the registration list for this opportunity, click the link below, and I will notify you when the first date is set. I will be posting the official registration information and link the week of August 18th, InShā’Allah.
Who Is This For?
These sessions are open to whoever is reading this post, but they are designed for individuals seeking to integrate their principles with their practice, including:
Executive-level leaders across business, government, policy, faith-based institutions, nonprofit organizations, and community development who bear responsibility for shaping cultures, decisions, and structures that reflect both their values and their mission
Faith-Rooted Leaders & Community Architects
Seekers of Sacred Knowledge and Students in Secular Institutions of Higher Education
Professionals in the Policy, Strategy, Ethics, Consulting, and Academic Spaces
Serious Individuals traversing a professional or personal crossroads seeking ethical and spiritual guidance.
We are all experiencing a tremendous test individually, communally, and globally. People are searching for more than answers to their questions; they are in need of solutions that address the root causes of the multitude of problems we are facing and remove their burdens.
As Allah Subhānahu wa Ta’ālā says in His Blessed Qur’ān,
فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ٥
إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًۭا ٦
So truly, where there is hardship, there is also ease; truly, where there is hardship, there is also ease. 94:5-6.
There is also a tremendous opportunity for us to do great things with the Permission of Allah when we combine our efforts, move past siloed thinking and actions, and start building together, InShā’Allah.