Islamophobia and Combating Muslim Stereotypes in the West
Hey loves! This is a talk I gave the other day to a Muslim Student Association and this is what I prepared and used, hopefully you can use these or benefit from them In Sha Allah!
Asalam alaykum everyone, thanks for inviting me here to speak today, I was asked to cover the importance of combating Islamophobia and stereotypes around American Muslims as the topic.
Starting with Yourself
So before I really talk about combating stereotypes, it is important for us to look at ourselves and who we are, what we need to work on and looking at our intentions for our actions. Joining MSA or any other Islamic organization is great, but if we aren't doing what is mandatory, our five daily prayers, giving charity, being good to our parents and family the extra is not as important. I used to attend protests for Syria and Palestine a lot back in the day, because I am passionate about activism but I was also realizing it was affecting my worship, what I was doing was for a good reason but I also needed to focus time and energy into making myself a better Muslim. Just like in joining MSA, you are here for various reasons. Some of you might be here to make other Muslim friends, to gain more knowledge and gain reward for the Sake of Allah or some of you are here because you want others to know about the beautiful religion of Islam. As cliche as it sounds, be the change you want to see in the world. This is not saying you must be perfect at prayer or doing Sunnah acts before you can start helping and volunteering in the community, more like be working on both, when preaching Islam you want to also be embodying what you are talking about. We don't want to become hypocrites.
There is also that deen/dunya life balance, in joining MSA, also give yourself time to take care of you own mental and emotional health, improve your Iman, work on your relationships with friends and family and also making school a priority. When I was MSA president in the past, I remember having MSA on my mind all the time, it became this obsession that I prioritized before eating and my own school work. Which is unhealthy, so remember you are here on campus to pursue a quality education.
The Prophet (ï·º) never used bad language neither a "Fahish nor a Mutafahish. He used to say "The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character." (See Hadith No. 56 (B) Vol. 8)
Establishing Friendships and A Strong Muslim Community on Campus
Islam is the foundation, and the five pillars are the support beams. Likewise, having a strong bond of brotherhood and sisterhood is what is ultimately going to make it easier for you all to show others what Islam is about. Especially Alhumdilah when you have such amazing leaders, your MSA president and vice president to guide you all. When you have a group like MSA, this is showing the others on campus, hey we are here, we exist, we aren't going to hide our identity or who we are, we not afraid to be Muslim. So spending a good amount of time doing team building activities, volunteering together and building that connection between you all, will protect you from falling onto the wrong path In Sha Allah as well as the strength in numbers of your presence on campus.
When I first started college, I purposefully went to a college two hours away from my hometown because I know I needed to be around other Muslims in order for me myself to be a good Muslim. In the hometown I lived in there were hardly any Muslims, my parents are not Muslim so I was looking to establish that Islamic support and friendships necessary for me to become closer to Allah and be comfortable with my Islamic identity. So for some people joining MSA or even wanting to come to Islam, these meetings or events that you guys are holding, will become their safety net, their home away from home, their lifeline to the Muslim community they may not find anywhere else.
We are all searching for that place that we belong to, yeah we might have friends and family off campus, but having other Muslims on campus who are going through a similar struggle, it is so comforting. Maybe you know someone who have had a difficult professor you may have dealt with or need help with studying for their chemistry exam, you can be that resource and source of support.
Dawah with Your Actions
“Serve Allah and join not any partners with Him: Show kindness unto parents, and unto near kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbour who is of kin (unto you) and the neighbour who is not of kin and the fellow traveller and what your right hands possess: for Allah loves not the arrogant the vainglorious.” [Surah An-Nisa,04:36]
A lot of the times we underestimate how influential we can be with just our actions. Smiling is charity, but it is also showing someone not to be afraid of you, you are a normal person, living your life, a student trying to pass your classes and survive your exams. A lot of the times people are afraid of what they don't know and the media does a great job of showing the world those who do very evil and violent things and claim to be Muslim. So then it becomes even more necessary to show people that we are a religion of peace, we are not responsible for apologizing for actions that we did not commit but it is like doing damage control, trying to clean up the mess of hatred and confusion.
We know that these groups that call themselves ISIS or ISIL or Al Shabab, are not following Islam, because that is not what our religion represents or teaches. Trying to make others understand especially those who feed into what the media says and only see one side of the story, can be difficult but also remember Allah sees the effort that you are putting it and at least you can say you tried.
The Story of Adi ibn Hatim
I want to tell you guys a story of an example of someone coming to Islam just by watching someone's actions. When the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) was still alive, there was a man named Adi ibn Hatim, who was a Christian King, he would take 1/4 of the wealth or spoils of war when they fought battles, which there was a Quran verse that come along in response to this saying that this is wrong. Even his own religion prohibited this but he still did it. So he flees to Syria, and forgets some of his family behind specifically his sister. Before he can come and get here, she comes captive to the Muslims, but she is treated very well, the captives are kept at the Masjid and they are fed even better than the soldiers or companions were. So the sister becomes Muslim secretly, and the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) lets her go, giving her a camel and a sack of food and even tells her to find someone she trusts to be her guide to take her to Syria.
She finds someone to take her, she returns to her brother who is asking her what the Prophet (peace be upon him) is like because he has never met him and is not sure he is a Prophet. She tells him :
"You would be a fool not to go meet him, if this man is a Prophet the one who rushes to meet him would be of a higher virtue. And even if he is not a Prophet, maybe just a political leader, you will not be disgraced."
So Adi rushes to meet him, and he goes to the Masjid or area where the Prophet is, and he can't tell which among the companions is the Prophet. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was very humble in his speech, in the way he dressed and the way he was sitting with the companions, he did not behave like a King, he sat on the ground and listened to others problems. Adi went up to the men and asked which was the Prophet (peace be upon him) and once he found out, he took Shahadah right then and there.
This story is beautiful for so many reasons, the simple fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was so humble and so relaxed among his companions and the people he blended in so well that you couldn't tell he was a Prophet. This shows us how humble and caring he was for others, he was not flashy or showing off or arrogant, he was like everyone else and this softened Adi's heart.
Responding to Hate
The last section I wanted to cover is how we respond to those who no matter what you say or do are going to believe the stereotypes about Muslims and about Islam and the Prophet (peace be upon him).
One verse that has stuck out to me personally in my mind regarding responding to those who have nasty and untrue things to say about Islam and Muslims is in Surah Furqan, verse 63:
"And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,"
There is even the story of the Prophet Muhammad responding to a woman who used to throw garbage on his doorstep, one day he noticed the garbage missing and hadn't seen her, so he asked around and found out she was sick. He then visited her and asked her if there was anything she needed and this prompted the woman to feel bad for what she did and realize Islam is the true religion.
I consider myself someone who cares very much about social justice and I want to stand up for those who are not given a voice or are trying to be silenced, but when it comes to depending myself I have learned to block, delete, ignore, do whatever is necessary to protect myself and my mental health.
There were times I used to get so defensive, so angry, when people would say such hateful things and I learned that arguing back and being just as rude and mean as they are being to you, does not work, it only adds fuel to the fire and leaves you feeling worse than when the conversation started.
During Ramadan actually, I had gotten someone that replied to a Snapchat saying something along the lines of I hope all of you Muslims get shot like what happened to those in New Zealand. That is such as toxic and threatening message to receive, and the old me would have probably sweared at the individual, called him names, bashed him, but having learned from my past mistakes, I only responded with heart emojis. He replied again saying something else hurtful but again I replied with heart emojis. It must have caught him off guard because he stopped replying after that.
Don't get me wrong there will be times where it is necessary to stand up for yourself and religion, but remember that there are those who will not listen to you so do not exert energy trying to change people's mind who are being hateful. Defend yourself and Islam but protect yourself and Islam.
Asalam alaykum everyone, thanks for inviting me here to speak today, I was asked to cover the importance of combating Islamophobia and stereotypes around American Muslims as the topic.
Starting with Yourself
So before I really talk about combating stereotypes, it is important for us to look at ourselves and who we are, what we need to work on and looking at our intentions for our actions. Joining MSA or any other Islamic organization is great, but if we aren't doing what is mandatory, our five daily prayers, giving charity, being good to our parents and family the extra is not as important. I used to attend protests for Syria and Palestine a lot back in the day, because I am passionate about activism but I was also realizing it was affecting my worship, what I was doing was for a good reason but I also needed to focus time and energy into making myself a better Muslim. Just like in joining MSA, you are here for various reasons. Some of you might be here to make other Muslim friends, to gain more knowledge and gain reward for the Sake of Allah or some of you are here because you want others to know about the beautiful religion of Islam. As cliche as it sounds, be the change you want to see in the world. This is not saying you must be perfect at prayer or doing Sunnah acts before you can start helping and volunteering in the community, more like be working on both, when preaching Islam you want to also be embodying what you are talking about. We don't want to become hypocrites.
There is also that deen/dunya life balance, in joining MSA, also give yourself time to take care of you own mental and emotional health, improve your Iman, work on your relationships with friends and family and also making school a priority. When I was MSA president in the past, I remember having MSA on my mind all the time, it became this obsession that I prioritized before eating and my own school work. Which is unhealthy, so remember you are here on campus to pursue a quality education.
The Prophet (ï·º) never used bad language neither a "Fahish nor a Mutafahish. He used to say "The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character." (See Hadith No. 56 (B) Vol. 8)
Establishing Friendships and A Strong Muslim Community on Campus
Islam is the foundation, and the five pillars are the support beams. Likewise, having a strong bond of brotherhood and sisterhood is what is ultimately going to make it easier for you all to show others what Islam is about. Especially Alhumdilah when you have such amazing leaders, your MSA president and vice president to guide you all. When you have a group like MSA, this is showing the others on campus, hey we are here, we exist, we aren't going to hide our identity or who we are, we not afraid to be Muslim. So spending a good amount of time doing team building activities, volunteering together and building that connection between you all, will protect you from falling onto the wrong path In Sha Allah as well as the strength in numbers of your presence on campus.
When I first started college, I purposefully went to a college two hours away from my hometown because I know I needed to be around other Muslims in order for me myself to be a good Muslim. In the hometown I lived in there were hardly any Muslims, my parents are not Muslim so I was looking to establish that Islamic support and friendships necessary for me to become closer to Allah and be comfortable with my Islamic identity. So for some people joining MSA or even wanting to come to Islam, these meetings or events that you guys are holding, will become their safety net, their home away from home, their lifeline to the Muslim community they may not find anywhere else.
We are all searching for that place that we belong to, yeah we might have friends and family off campus, but having other Muslims on campus who are going through a similar struggle, it is so comforting. Maybe you know someone who have had a difficult professor you may have dealt with or need help with studying for their chemistry exam, you can be that resource and source of support.
Dawah with Your Actions
“Serve Allah and join not any partners with Him: Show kindness unto parents, and unto near kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbour who is of kin (unto you) and the neighbour who is not of kin and the fellow traveller and what your right hands possess: for Allah loves not the arrogant the vainglorious.” [Surah An-Nisa,04:36]
A lot of the times we underestimate how influential we can be with just our actions. Smiling is charity, but it is also showing someone not to be afraid of you, you are a normal person, living your life, a student trying to pass your classes and survive your exams. A lot of the times people are afraid of what they don't know and the media does a great job of showing the world those who do very evil and violent things and claim to be Muslim. So then it becomes even more necessary to show people that we are a religion of peace, we are not responsible for apologizing for actions that we did not commit but it is like doing damage control, trying to clean up the mess of hatred and confusion.
We know that these groups that call themselves ISIS or ISIL or Al Shabab, are not following Islam, because that is not what our religion represents or teaches. Trying to make others understand especially those who feed into what the media says and only see one side of the story, can be difficult but also remember Allah sees the effort that you are putting it and at least you can say you tried.
•The Messenger of Allah said,
“Indeed the gates to
goodness are many: glorifying God, praising Him, magnifying Him, saying ‘There
is no god but Allah,’ enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong, removing
(any source of) harm from the road, making the deaf hear (and understand), guiding
the blind, showing the seeker his need, striving as far as your two legs could
carry you and with deep concern to give succor to him who asks, carrying with
the strength of your arms (the burdens of) the weak. All these are (acts of)
charity.” And he
added, “And your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, your removing
of stones, thorns, and bones from people’s paths is charity, and your guiding a
man gone astray in the world is charity for you.”
The Story of Adi ibn Hatim
I want to tell you guys a story of an example of someone coming to Islam just by watching someone's actions. When the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) was still alive, there was a man named Adi ibn Hatim, who was a Christian King, he would take 1/4 of the wealth or spoils of war when they fought battles, which there was a Quran verse that come along in response to this saying that this is wrong. Even his own religion prohibited this but he still did it. So he flees to Syria, and forgets some of his family behind specifically his sister. Before he can come and get here, she comes captive to the Muslims, but she is treated very well, the captives are kept at the Masjid and they are fed even better than the soldiers or companions were. So the sister becomes Muslim secretly, and the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) lets her go, giving her a camel and a sack of food and even tells her to find someone she trusts to be her guide to take her to Syria.
She finds someone to take her, she returns to her brother who is asking her what the Prophet (peace be upon him) is like because he has never met him and is not sure he is a Prophet. She tells him :
"You would be a fool not to go meet him, if this man is a Prophet the one who rushes to meet him would be of a higher virtue. And even if he is not a Prophet, maybe just a political leader, you will not be disgraced."
So Adi rushes to meet him, and he goes to the Masjid or area where the Prophet is, and he can't tell which among the companions is the Prophet. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was very humble in his speech, in the way he dressed and the way he was sitting with the companions, he did not behave like a King, he sat on the ground and listened to others problems. Adi went up to the men and asked which was the Prophet (peace be upon him) and once he found out, he took Shahadah right then and there.
This story is beautiful for so many reasons, the simple fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was so humble and so relaxed among his companions and the people he blended in so well that you couldn't tell he was a Prophet. This shows us how humble and caring he was for others, he was not flashy or showing off or arrogant, he was like everyone else and this softened Adi's heart.
Responding to Hate
The last section I wanted to cover is how we respond to those who no matter what you say or do are going to believe the stereotypes about Muslims and about Islam and the Prophet (peace be upon him).
One verse that has stuck out to me personally in my mind regarding responding to those who have nasty and untrue things to say about Islam and Muslims is in Surah Furqan, verse 63:
"And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,"
There is even the story of the Prophet Muhammad responding to a woman who used to throw garbage on his doorstep, one day he noticed the garbage missing and hadn't seen her, so he asked around and found out she was sick. He then visited her and asked her if there was anything she needed and this prompted the woman to feel bad for what she did and realize Islam is the true religion.
I consider myself someone who cares very much about social justice and I want to stand up for those who are not given a voice or are trying to be silenced, but when it comes to depending myself I have learned to block, delete, ignore, do whatever is necessary to protect myself and my mental health.
There were times I used to get so defensive, so angry, when people would say such hateful things and I learned that arguing back and being just as rude and mean as they are being to you, does not work, it only adds fuel to the fire and leaves you feeling worse than when the conversation started.
During Ramadan actually, I had gotten someone that replied to a Snapchat saying something along the lines of I hope all of you Muslims get shot like what happened to those in New Zealand. That is such as toxic and threatening message to receive, and the old me would have probably sweared at the individual, called him names, bashed him, but having learned from my past mistakes, I only responded with heart emojis. He replied again saying something else hurtful but again I replied with heart emojis. It must have caught him off guard because he stopped replying after that.
Don't get me wrong there will be times where it is necessary to stand up for yourself and religion, but remember that there are those who will not listen to you so do not exert energy trying to change people's mind who are being hateful. Defend yourself and Islam but protect yourself and Islam.
Comments
Post a Comment