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James Umar McConnell
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Introduction Imam, Fellow, Doctor, Scholar all earthly titles achieved from worldly pursuits. The ways of the Prophets and their true followers and students are the same today as they have always been. We should all consider carefully who were the very worst enemies to Christ? They were the religious people with lofty titles and positions within the established, or state sanctioned religions of the day. Akin to the contemporary non-profits approved for charitable donations by the US government. Disciples of Christ, as well as close companions of all Prophets, were from among the common people, not scholars, doctors or achieving advanced degrees from universities. Many elite members of society during the times of Prophets rejected both the teachings and followers of the Prophets because of their arrogance, thinking that surely if God were to select people from amongst the society, He would have selected educated men, not these obvious losers. The Holy Quran. Therefore, this article is not here necessarily to promote, James Umar McConnell (even though by default it does), but only to point the way to an alternative understanding of what it means to be a weak servant without titles or degrees. What it means to follow heavenly appointed persons. The difference between heavenly Sufi teachings and book learning. James Umar McConnell refers to himself as a weak servant, as this is what he was trained to attempt and achieve and lays no claim to having arrived at such a station. Ordered to reject lofty titles and positions, and humble himself for complete service to mankind, "A Weak Servant" is more a stated goal than a title. Formal Religious Education With signed contracts in hand with Broadway Video, producers of Saturday Night Live, to coproduce the first Reality TV program entitled Hack, created by McConnell and later turned into Taxi Cab Confessions airing for ten plus years on HBO, Umar left certain success and began serving at the side of a Sufi Imam at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Dr. Bashar Arafat a follower of Shaykh Ahmad Kuftaro, former Grand Mufti of Syria. McConnell worked alongside this Imam for several years, teaching young men, participating in such notable interfaith activities as Seminarians Interacting, handling correspondence, coordinating interfaith public relations for the Mosque, and attending the Baltimore, MD based Abu Nour University program where Umar began learning the basics of Sharia, Fiqh, Hadith, Seera and Quran. Growingly disillusioned by some of the more worldly practices of his teacher and mentor, although thankful for the educational efforts and opportunityhe received, McConnell, having been invited to attend the Imam and Khatib program at the main Abu Nour University in Damascus Syria, accepted the offer and traveled to Syria with his wife and son to begin an "intense" Imam summer program. McConnell gravitated towards one subject, Maqasid Sharia, but quickly grew disappointed with the many other classes presented in the program. Statements from faculty stipulating that eighty percent or more of the teachers agreed with suicide bombing caused Umar to focus more of his energies on making a living rather than attending school. Despite having not attended most classes, other than the Maqasid Sharia classes, McConnell received his certificate, and graduated the program in good standing. The certificate was approximately two feet by three feet in size, proving to the world McConnell was now a qualified Imam. The hypocrisy and uselessness of this schooling and direction was becoming more clear each passing day. What disturbed McConnell the most was the manner in which graduates from these programs really believed they were now qualified to teach about Islam. Other famous students from Western Countries currently claiming advanced scholarly titles, reportedly only came to the university to take the yearly exams. Wondering if he had made a serious mistake in having adopted the Islamic faith, McConnell focused his efforts on working at the American Language Center, supporting his family and enjoying the easy ultra safe life in Damascus, Syria. Sufi Education James Umar McConnell, having heard favorable things about a Sufi teacher located in Lefke Cyprus, and still searching for the truth, took a long weekend off work from ALC and went to Cyprus to see for himself. Walking down the narrow street to this Sheikhs house, Umar began to get a strong feeling of déjà vu. As he turned the corner of the street there before him was the dark blue provincial doorway that appeared to him in a reoccurring dream he had, especially during very trying times, struggling to make sense of the Islamic community and the practices of the Muslims. In the dream, McConnell, would see this very distinctive doorway, and on occasion would enter through the door to find bright glowing faces, full of heavenly light. Taking this as an encouraging sign to continue to struggle for the truth, McConnell continued being Muslim. Now, there was that door and it was real! A living education, like no other education - education that impacts the heart and educates the soul. There McConnell met his Guide to Truth and Spiritual Teacher, Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani. He took initiation and returned to Syria. The verbal teachings of this Sheikh magically came to life and became the living teachings McConnell had been searching for most of his life. In short, Islam = Submission unto your Lord Almighty. Returning to Damascus, McConnell was privileged to sit with top student, Sheikh Adnan, who took the time to teach him and answer Umar’s many questions. One point was made crystal clear, formal education was only useful if at the end of or during the program the student realized they know nothing at all, and that formal education was not the correct method, nor the methodology of real learning. A process of becoming, believing and then finally knowing. Education from the heart, not the mind and not from books. A hard thing for people with an ego, who need the title or certificate, to prove their value, and their identity, to accept. Film Director McConnell began developing his skills as a documentarian at Financial News Network in 1984 at the Wall Street studios where he worked as a studio floor manager, live camera operator and ENG production assistant. FNN provided a strong training ground for developing his craft. Soon after McConnell entered the music video industry and joined Picture Music International in their New York office. PMI was responsible for pioneering many of the first successful music videos of the day including The Cars, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, Robert Palmer and more. McConnell expanded his client base and began working with some of New York's top film production companies including, Maysles Films, Ross Gafney, Androzzi Tobach, Michael Grasso Productions, Peter Heath & Associates, Foote Cone & Belding, Michael Eha & Associates, Overview Productions, Ponytail Productions and others. Work includes: Chevrolet Camero, Welches Grape Drink, Ms. Pac Man Cereal, Mercury Merkur, Sony, WPIX Channel 11, ABC News, Regis Philman Show, Signet Bank, Wendy’s, MacDonald’s, Diet 7up, Columbia Coffee, Weichert Realtor & More. Documentarian James McConnell had the very good fortune of working with two of America's foremost non-fiction filmmakers, Albert Maysles and his brother David Maysles (1932-1987), the Maysles Brothers, who are recognized as pioneers of direct cinema, the distinctly American version of French "cinema verité." They earned their distinguished reputations by being the first to make non-fiction feature films- films in which the drama of human life unfolds as is, without scripts, sets, or narration. McConnell is credited with being the first to conceptualize a newly developed program format that lead to the all-new genre of reality television. The program McConnell originally proposed was a reality program focused on human interest, not the freakish reality television we see today. With signed contracts to develop the program with Broadway Video, producers of Saturday Night Live, McConnell embarked on a spiritual quest to find truth - a journey that resulted in him giving up the life of fame and fortune he sought earlier. The program concept was later turned into Taxi Cab Confessions, still airing on HBO. After embracing the Islamic "Sufi" faith, McConnell was contracted by Sound Vision to develop several live to tape remote productions for national conferences and meetings. Works included: M.V.P. national basketball star Hakeem Olijawon video “Proud to be a Muslim” and early productions featuring Sh. Hamza Yusef. Over the years McConnell has continued to work in the capacity as a new media consultant for major corporations. He lived with his wife and son for eight years in Damascus, Syria and now resides in Northern New Mexico. McConnell began Sufi Films and has directed and produced several productions that are still in distribution. He now looks forward to developing more films under the Sufi Films name and hopes to pass along much of his skills and knowledge to a new generation of filmmakers. Films in Production * Traditional Cupping * Spiritual Circles * * Muslims in the West * The History of Attar (Perfume) Friendly Combatant An Internet based TV program where Umar and his wife Fatima share their experience and journey with others. Established in May of 2010, Friendly Combatant, a take-off on the phrase enemy combatant, covers issues rarely discussed in most polite or politically correct Islamic circles. Topics range from the Wahabbi control of Islam in America to asking hard questions such as, “Why do Muslims wish to live in non-Muslim lands”? McConnell is very much opposed to the Islamization of America promoted by such celebrated “moderate” Islamic scholars as Imam Zaid Shakir. “Islam happens organically from within a society and a people, it is not something to be forced upon anyone”, says McConnell. McConnell considers the aggressive promotion of Islam within America to be a prime reason for most Americans rejecting it. McConnell’s views are understandably not well accepted by most Muslims living in the West. Books Authored * * [http://www.brokenearth.org/Hijama/index.htm Traditional Cupping (Hijama), 2006] Select Interviews * Trailblazing Sheikh Spreads Islam to Europe, America Daily Star * Road to Reform ABC, Foreign Correspondent * ABC, Foreign Correspondent Articles * Age Old Practices Heal Depression and Suicidal Tendencies * Living as a "Muslim" in America (the West) * * * Protecting Against an Economic Meltdown * Adult Potty Training * Understanding and Managing the Pain of Arthritis * * Bless This Happy Home * * Everything in Creation has a Purpose See Also *Sufism 
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