The Hippie Who Became an Imam
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is an article, John Mohammed Butt: The Hippie Who Became an Imam is by Nadene Ghouri on the 22 nd January 2011. “Forty years after following the hippie trail to South Asia, John Butt is still living in the region, and still spreading a message of peace and love - though now as a Muslim scholar. As our car turned around the bumpy Indian road, a gleaming white marble minaret came into view. My fellow passenger, John Mohammed Butt, could barely contain his excitement. ‘Can you see it?’ he asks. ‘It’s like the Oxford University of Islamic learning. For me these minarets and domes are just like the spires and towers of Oxford. It’s been almost 30 years since I was last here and I am still getting the same thrill. This is my alma mater.’ The alma mater in question is Darul-Uloom Deoband, South Asia’s largest madrasah , or Islamic school. Driving through the madra...