Guest Blogger, Faisal R. Khan, Talks About Being a Muslim American.
-I always enjoy the perspectives of my friend, Faisal. He has such a rational and profound way of expressing himself. He inspires me. I’m super psyched and honored for him to be a Guest Blogger this month on yasminareality.com. Follow him on Twitter at: @frkhan87. Thank you, Faisal! ~Yasmina
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My name is Faisal Khan and I am a Muslim American.
I am proud to say again that I am a Muslim. I will not apologize for being a Muslim but rather be proud of my faith. I am not going to feel less of a Muslim because of bigotry and hate towards Islam and Muslims. I will not live in fear because the intolerance against Muslims is pervasive and ignorance is on the rise. I will do my best to follow the message of Quran and the advice of messengers and that is to focus on kindness, justice, peace, and speaking the truth. Islam which means to submit to oneself to One God. This is the Islam of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (Peace be upon all of them). With that being an American I uphold the Constitution of United States and do what I can in my power to protect its principals and the Union which I am blessed to live in. One of the founding fathers of this nation Thomas Jefferson quoted John Locke in 1776 that “neither Pagan nor Mahamedan [Muslim] nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the Commonwealth because of his religion.” Even during the infancy of this nation Islam was highly respected by the architects of this Republic.
1,400 years ago, the messenger of God, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) affirmed and confirmed the previous messages of Tauheed (The concept of monotheism). Prophet Muhammad annulled primitive belief system of polytheism and was a devout believer in liberating women from tribal brutality at that time. He was committed in establishing ethical values, good character, peace, justice and equality for mankind. God spoke to him and made it clear to him to only convey His message to men and women. Allah (God) made very clear that one should not be forced into religion as mentioned in Quran 2:256, “There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut (Cross the limits or rebel) and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing”. Only “God conscious” can and will understand the message of God. The founding principles of the Constitution support many commands of the Quran such as equality, liberty and justice.
Being a Muslim, I am also an American. That is to say I am an American Muslim or Muslim American depends if you view me only as an American or only Muslim or both. What is more important and relevant is how I view myself and I am proud to state again that my faith is Islam which is to say I am a Muslim and my nationality is American. In the past illiterate and insensitive statements about Muslims by Rupert Murdoch, and Oklahoma state Senator John Bennett is nothing new. They aim to create fear among people about Islam and its followers. Few days ago Ben Carson who is running for the GOP nomination made remarks that “he would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.” His remarks were a disgrace to our democracy. Unfortunately racism and bigotry runs deep in our culture and has been part of an American narrative for centuries. Their bigotry and hate will not stop me from being proud of being an American and they or anyone else will not stop me from my civic rights duty and if that means even running for an office.
Muslims in America are as equal to any other American. We have the right to live our lives as we please according to the laws and the constitution of United States. Our children will live their lives without fear. We believe in one God who is most gracious and most merciful. We don’t fear the bigots who are spreading lies about Islam & echoing anti-Muslim sentiments. We are not afraid of them. Apart from religion, Islam brings rich heritage of science, culture, customs, and history. Great thinkers, pioneers and inventors come from Islamic background such Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Al-Haitham, Abbas Ibn Farnas, Ibn Hazm, Rumi, Ghalib, iqbal, and Al Idrisi. Great leaders such as Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali who stood for what was right and made significant contributions to civil rights movement in the US.
American Muslims play an integral role in the American social fabric. We contribute significantly to American democracy, economy and society. We are engineers, doctors, lawyers, mechanics, teachers, writers, bus drivers, entrepreneurs, congressmen and more. We intend to run for public offices and God wiling our children will run for offices too. We are proud to be Muslims and proud to be Americans.
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
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