As Salaam Alaikum

Three months ago, I made an important, difficult, life-changing decision. I quit my job and decided to try making it on my own through securing enough students on this website to cover my bills.

This was not an easy decision. I spent a year making istikharah and shura, and building up some savings, before pulling the trigger. I have always relied on a salary for over sixteen years but I had a crisis of conscious at my last job and realized that if I want to do real Islamic work, the best way to do it is to be independent. In this email, I want to be honest with you about why I quit my job, why I am trying to go solo, and how you can assist.

Why I quit my job:

Working for an Islamic organization puts you under the control of the board of directors, CEO, and HR, all of whom have a say in what you are allowed to preach and what you need to stay silent on. I cannot let people silence my voice and control my Dawah.
Working in an Islamic organization, you do not have control over who else joins the organization and what they say. If another writer or speaker at the organization says something controversial and incorrect, and the board approves of it, you cannot do anything about it, and end up guilty by association so staying silent on the issue.
Working with Islamic organizations exposes you to a lot of mismanagement of funds. You see the organization channel funds into specific projects and people while ignoring all others. You feel guilty by association when you see mismanagement of funds.

Note that this is not about any specific organization. I have worked for over a dozen Islamic organizations in the past two decades, and experienced some of the above at most of them. It reached a point where I realized the only way I can do guilt-free work without being controlled by others is to go solo. So I made the big decision to quit my high-paying management position at an Islamic organization and try making it on my own.

What I hope to accomplish on my own:

1) To teach and write authentic Islamic knowledge without a board of directors controlling me. Note that I still check my work with scholars to ensure it is authentic.

2) To teach more, write more, and produce more Islamic work, now that I have freed my time from mundane management work which was taking up the bulk of my time

3) To research deeper and spend more time in preparing my lectures and classes

How you can help:

I came up with a simple system to maintain independence while offering beneficial work to my students: the membership system. Sadly, very few people have taken up a membership yet, and if this continues, I may have to consider finding an alternative source of income. I actually do not need many students. If 100 students sign up this week for anannual supporter plan and pay $160 a year each, that will fund my work, bills, research, and running costs for the next 3 months. This will give me the time and money to focus on launching Tafsir Intensive without stressing about looking for a new job.

I am determined to go solo and make this work, but I cannot do it without the help of my students. If you have not yet taken up a membership, please try to do so this week. If you have already subscribed, please reach out to people who will appreciate and benefit from my classes, and ask them to join too. I am not asking for thousands of students or obscene amounts of money, just enough to keep things running, so I can focus on serving the Deen without stressing about income.

Islamic Self Help has been a platform for serving and benefiting the community for over a decade now. Help us become a truly independent voice today. Become a support today.

May Allah aid us in achieving our goals and put barakah in our projects

Was Salaam

Ismail Kamdar

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