The Wrong Kind of Muslim book signing- Chicago

 Have you picked up the book, The Wrong Kind of Muslim by Qasim Rashid yet?  If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?  Launched in July, this is an important book that sheds light on persecution taking place in Pakistan against religious minorities.  All under the guise of outrageous “blasphemy” laws.

I am proud, humbled, amazed and thrilled to be part of an interfaith group of people.  (Let’s just call them … “The Penguins.”) 😉  We are about 50 members deep so far (and always have room for more, like-minded, open-minded, peace loving human beings.)  We talk and share about everything that is on our minds and in our hearts.  And forging a friendship and dialogue with Qasim has been a great part of that.

When he came to Chicago this week, many of us got the opportunity to meet him in person for the first time.  It felt like seeing your brother after a long absence.  Many of us in our interfaith group also met in person for the first time- and some of us were simply happy to see old faces again.  Though we come from different backgrounds, cities, nationalities, religions- we all stand side by side in friendship- and also in support of our activist friend, Qasim Rashid, in promoting his message.

totally excited to get my copy signed!

You can buy a copy of the book here:  The Wrong Kind of Muslim at Amazon.

Late night snacks and interfaith dialogue after Qasim Rashid’s Chicago book signing

Qasim said some profound and inspiring things at the Chicago book launch- but one thing he said sticks with me the most.  He said that the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy.  Hate is a result of ignorance and can be corrected by education.  Apathy is our ability to know something is wrong, to know people are being oppressed around the world or to know people are starving- and to do nothing about it.

Apathy is dangerous and deadly- and doesn’t involve hate per se.

Is your life mission to get up in the morning- do your morning routine, go to work, come home, eat dinner watch TV and sleep?

And then do it all again?

This is a reality for many of us, but you can also decide to take time out of your day and out of your life to learn about the plights of those around the world.  Sometimes it’s a matter of sharing information with people in your circle- to make a difference.

If all of us did just that- we could change the world.

At Masjid Baitul-Jaamay in Glen Ellyn, IL

About the Author

About the Author: I'm a Writer, Speaker and Muslim Activist. I'm a former Board Member of the #MyJihad Public Education Campaign. Follow my blog at yasminareality.com or follow me on Twitter: @yasmina_reality. I'm also now on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YasminaReality Peace! More from this author.