An Outsiders View of the Medinah Project in Sulawesi Indonesia

15/2/2014

Assallam alaikum. People who go to the Medinah Project in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, started by one Habib Neven often go their hoping to do hijrah, with tight funds and little to return to. I posted a video recently which showed the project in good light, but my subsequent experience has been more negative, to put it mildly, and, after digging a bit, realized others have also had negative experiences but have remained silent. I think it is in the best interest of our muhajireen brothers and sisters to know all facets of the project. 

I also know that my own opinion may be biased against Brother Habib Neven and his project. Given that I have felt sufficiently alarmed (bordering on the criminal), I find it on the other hand that I should duly warn others. So I have chosen to, instead of giving my own thoughts and opinions, simply copy-paste my entire communication with Brother Habib. You can read through it and make out who is right about what, and whether it is my fault or his. At the very least, you will get some idea of what you are going to be dealing with when you get there. I wish you all the best in your search for a place to migrate to, I too am searching, in'sha'Allah. 

My correspondence with Habib Neven of the Medinah Project 

There are some pertinent points I wish to summarize here:

1. A German couple lost over 10,000 Euros trying to make it work with Br. Habib.

2. No one but himself and his family lives there, last I checked

3. The brother had another wife and child that he abandoned in another part of Indonesia. The police were apparently looking for him there. 

4. This may be his sole source of income.

5. The Brother has no sense of the social and communal role needed to start a village.

6. He originally started this project on the idea of a hippy-style village, and later branded it on the MV philosophy

7. You will essentially be at the mercy of the brother, whose behaviour and mental stability are open to question. 

8. I would highly NOT recommend the project to anyone PARTICULARLY single women. We have one very sad case of a revert sister. 

I would highly recommend that you talk to people who have stayed at the Medinah Project for more than 1-2 months. There was a German couple who stayed there for 2 years as well as some others. Talk to these people, get to know what has been happening there over time and get their assessment. Do not go there without your full due diligence. It was only after my experience that I learned about the experiences of others. Had I done my due diligence beforehand, I could have saved a couple of hundred dollars and a good deal of time and effort. I can help you contact some of them in'sha'Allah, so feel free to email me.