My Recent Experience with Islamophobia & Hate Speech

Below is my response to some hateful and Islamophobic interactions involving my family and my earlier post Response: Can a good Muslim be a good American? was in fact part of the same conversation. These things are not new to me and few months back for example, I was told that, “All from Issac are on truth and All from Ismail/Ishmael are from Satan!”. So, yep this is not something new but recent exponential increase in Islamophobia & Hate Speech against Islam and Muslims makes it important to share these experiences and instead of fighting fire with fire, take more pragmatic approach to calm things down. 

*I have modified my response for privacy reasons.

Dear XXXXX,

Respecting other religions (and not even disrespecting the idols of other faiths) is part of my creed and believing in Jesus, his miraculous birth, his message, and his return at the end of times are prerequisite of my faith. So it is impossible for me to be disrespectful towards any belief or creed including Christianity.

I am compelled to write this post after noticing a trend of Islamophobic ideas and intolerance towards Islam and Muslims. I am not only responding to you as a Muslim but also as a concerned husband and father. I am concerned because this hateful narrative is dangerous and can lead to bigger problems. Discussing problems and issues is great but it is extremely dangerous when you use false propaganda to dehumanize certain people, race, or religion because at the end of the day, you may not pull the trigger but your words can most certainly urge someone else to do something stupid. This is exactly what happened in Germany when the Jews were vilified for such a long time that murdering 6 million of them became nothing extra ordinary and this Islamophobic propaganda is doing exactly what Nazi’s did in Germany.

Just like you were offended when Jim Johns was mentioned with respect to Christianity, Muslims feel the same when you vilify them with false propaganda. Terrorist organization like ISIS are not representatives of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. But if you want to go that route then according to your logic and all those with the same mind set:

1: Christianity is responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Central African Republic because all this is being done in the name of your religion. Simple Google search should give you all the details.

2: The Christian faith is responsible for the evil acts of Anders Breivik who killed 77 and injured more than 400 in Norway 3 years ago. You can read his 2000 pages manifest for details.

3: All Christians are responsible for murdering 6 million Jews and the Holocaust. Below is a quote from Adolph Hitler’s book Mein Kampf to prove my point:

Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: ‘by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.’

4: All Christians are responsible for 1991 Massacre of Bosnians when Slobodan Milosevic used religion and race to dehumanize the Bosnians which eventually resulted in the genocide.

5: Tens of thousands of women were burnt alive in the suspicion of witchcraft and all that was done in the name of Christ.

6: Spanish inquisition is another example where Jews and Muslims were murdered, forcefully converted, their kids taken away from them, forced to leave their homeland, etc.

7: 12.5 million Africans were enslaved in America between 1525 and 1866 and no religion other than Christianity was used to justify all that happened to them.

So just like me and my fellow Muslims don’t blame you for everything that happened in the name Christianity, we ask the same tolerance and respect. Vilifying every American Muslims by spreading hate speech is disrespectful, replying to it with facts and figures is not.

Regards,

Ali

An open letter to the Barakat Abu-Salah Families and All Who Care!

You can never find Greatness but if Greatness is looking for you, it most certainly will!

I have said this a million times before and I will say it again that greatness is something most of us seek but few achieve it and majority of those who achieve it, never even expected or desired it. If you closely research, read history, and follow current events, you will see that true grandeur doesn’t require you to be the best in what you do or demands a doctorate as a prerequisite. You must have seen people who put all their efforts in their job by ignoring their families, friends, health, and beliefs but after giving everything, the only thing they are left with are regrets and what ifs. On the other hand, there are few mysterious souls who are picked by forces beyond our comprehension and greatness just follows them like a shadow, dying for their glimpse. These forces are in control of God Almighty, the one who turns their tiny deed into mountains of gold, their simple words into a slogan, their blood into a clot that stops bloodshed, and their scars that give birth to a revolution.

Nelson Mandela, for example was a black man in a racist society, imprisoned for 27 years, opposed by almost everyone and even the super power like United States proclaimed him to be a terrorist (just like 1.5 billion Muslims are today) became a symbol of freedom, equality, justice, and human rights. Spending prime of his life in prison should have killed his odds of grandeur but that is where the unseen forces come into picture. Fifteen years old Aitzaz Hasan is another example who saved lives of 900 students by single-handedly tackling and stopping a suicide bomber from attacking a school in Pakistan. Aitzaz Hasan never planned for this, he didn’t go to school that day to be a hero or a martyr and same is true for Deah, Yusor, Razan, and the Barakat/Abu-Salah Families.
Deah was fundraising for $20,000 to support a team of doctors and dentists helping Syrian refugees. I don’t think he was sure he will be able to reach 20k mark but he trusted in Allah just like prophet Moses (as) who put his staff in the sea and trusted in Allah for the rest. The last time I checked, the total contribution to his cause on youcaring.com was at $353,884 and counting. I don’t think he ever expected it to reach 300k but Allah is the one who decides the outcomes of everything and He had something better for Deah and his efforts i.e. Deah walked towards Allah and Allah ran towards Deah.
Yusor who married Deah 6 weeks earlier with the plans to have kids and spend long and happy life with her husband and family and Razan was just visiting her sister that day. Dr. Suzanne Barakat never wanted to be interviewed by the world media and be representative of not only her family but also the whole Muslim World, Deah never intended his (request for donations) YouTube video to become proof of his personality and character, his parents never panned to show the whole world the true meaning of patience and submission to the will of Allah. No, none of them ever planned any of that but Allah has his own mysterious ways which are beyond our understanding.
Legacy of Deah, Yusor, Razan, Dr. Suzanne, and the Barakat/Abu-Salah family is right in front of us and we should learn from it but we should also ask ourselves a question: What Will Be My Legacy?!
Yet again… You can never find Greatness but if Greatness is looking for you, it most certainly will!

Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un – Surely we all belong to Allah and to Him shall we return. This is extremely difficult test and may Almighty make it easy for them. Aamin!

Response: Can a good Muslim be a good American?

This list is online for a long time but bigots in the society are bringing it back to support their hateful propaganda. Below is my point by point response:

Theologically – No. Because his allegiance is to Allah, The moon-god of Arabia.

Response: Theology has nothing to do with being good American because America doesn’t have any official religion. Secondly, the first amendment of the constitution (which you most certainly love) clearly prohibits the government from establishing an official religion which also applies to the states.

Only significance moon has in Islam is for calendar and if that makes them followers of moon-god, then Jews are in the same boat right next to them. BTW Christians in Middle East call their God Allah. You can research…

Religiously – No. Because no other religion is accepted by His Allah except Islam. (Quran, 2:256)

Response: Quran 2:256 which you have quoted above starts by stating that, “There is no compulsion in religion!” which is perfectly aligned with your beloved constitution of America. Secondly, just like you believe that Christianity is the true path, Muslims believe the same. So if it is fine for you then it should be ok for them as well.

Scripturally – No. Because his allegiance is to the five Pillars of Islam and the Quran.

Response: Yet again, scripture has nothing to do with being good American and using scripture to judge how American you are is unconstitutional. Just like observing Sabbath and following Halakha doesn’t make a Jew “bad American”, same is true for Muslims.

Geographically – No. Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

Response: Hmmm… According to this logic everyone except Atheists are bad Americans because the Wailing Wall is sacred to Jews, the Vatican for Christians, Lumbini for Buddhists, Varanasi for Hindus, etc.

Socially – No. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.

Response: The verse of Quran that is always quoted to prove this absurd point was revealed in response to a certain “Event” and was specifically for the “leaders” and had nothing to do with ordinary Christians and Jews.

Politically – No. Because he must submit to the mullahs (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan.

Response: You need to do serious research if you believe that Muslims MUST SUBMIT TO MULLAHS. Mullah is like a church Pastor and just like some Christians blindly follow the pastors, Muslims are no exception. Remember Pastor Jim Jones!?!?

Domestically – No. Because he is instructed to marry four Women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him. (Quran 4:34)

Response: You quoted wrong verse but Islam never “instructed” to marry 4 women. The verse 4:3 states that you can marry up to 4 but if you cannot be just to all of them then it is better to marry only one. And btw polygamy isn’t something new if you read old and new testament.

Intellectually – No. Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

Response: hmmm… I can talk a lot about this but to keep things simple, let us just talk about the 10 commandments: First and third commandment contradicts with the First Amendment, second and third commandment contradicts with freedom of speech and expression, Sabbath (4^th commandment) has nothing to do with American culture and society, adultery (7^th commandment) is celebrated and encouraged, etc.

Philosophically – No. Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.

Response: Muslim governments are dictatorial because it suits American foreign policy. May be you don’t know but Islam gave women right to vote 1400 years ago while it happened in 1920s for the American women. Freedom of expression and making nude/pornographic pictures and movies about religious figures are totally different things.

Spiritually – No. Because when we declare ‘one nation under God,’ The Christian’s God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as Heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in the Quran’s 99 excellent names.

Response: Jews don’t refer to God as “Heavenly Father” so are they in Santa’s “bad” list as well?

This hostility against Muslims isn’t something new and certain sections of society just need a punching bag to feel alive… so in the beginning, the “Red Man”, then the “Black Man”; Jews were evil until the Holocaust (which btw was a very Christian act), Japanese Americans were pushed in concentration camps, then the Red Giant USSR, then gays/lesbians, and now Muslims. Hence… same game, different players!