Bismillahi Arhman Al Rahim

Asalamu Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

We (IOC) were invited today to speak on behalf of the Muslim community in Gainesville on the topic of “Building a Culture of Peace”

- Brief introduction of Islam

The word Islam means: ‘Peace’ it also means ‘Submission to God’. It implies ‘the Peace that a person can attain in this life and in the hereafter, by submitting his whole self to God’. Salam meaning peace is also part of the greeting among Muslims.

From the beginning of mankind, the first prophet was the first man, Adam, peace be upon him, and he was a Muslim, (i.e, one who accepted Islam; or one who submitted his whole self to God), as were all other prophets of God like Ibrahim, Solomon, Moses and Jesus.

The followers of Islam are called Muslims. We should not confuse Muslims with Arabs. As Arabs can be Christian, Jewish, Atheist, etc… The majority of Arabs are Muslim; however Arabs only constitute 20% of all Muslims. Islam is not limited to any nationality or race. Muslims come from all over the world.

Islam is a monotheist religion in which Muslims believe in one God referred to in Arabic language as Allah (swt). Muhammad (pbuh) was the Messenger of God like Ibrahim, Ishmael, Jesus and Moses before him. It is a big myth that Muslims are worshippers Muhammad; Muslims are worshippers of Allah (swt) alone.

- Dispelling the myths of Islam

Is Islam’s God an Angry or Vengeful God?

This is a complete misunderstanding. Every chapter in the Holy Quran begins with the sentence, “In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful”. The Quran gives so many descriptions to God, like Forgiving, Kind, Loving, Compassionate, Merciful and so on. From the Islamic point of view, God is the All Merciful Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe.

Does Islam Promote Violence and Terrorism?

The word “Islam” means Peace and it stands for the Religion of Peace and Submission to God. Islam condemns violence in any form. Fighting is only permitted for self-defense. Even in war there are rules: do not harm women, children or the elders; do not harm those who are not in combat and do not harm any trees.

What Is Jihad?

The word "Jihad” means “struggle or striving” in the Way of God. Every effort made by a Muslim to do good acts comes under Jihad. Muhammad (peace be on him), once said that the greatest Jihad is to speak the truth in the face of an oppressive ruler. This is because this requires real sincerity for truth and courage. Jihad can never be a tool of oppression for compelling a person to convert to Islam, because God has prohibited the use of force in religion.

Was Islam spread by the Sword?

In fact, Islam clearly prohibits the use of force or compulsion for its propagation. The Quran says: "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256). So ask yourself, can a faith be thrust down a person’s throat at the point of the sword? In many places where there are Muslims now, in the Far East like Indonesia, in China, and many parts of Africa, there are no records of any Muslim armies having gone there. Islam was spread by traders.

Is Islam against democracy?

The prophet (saw) for the first time in history established the idea of public representation and consultation, abolishing divine right of rule, monarchies, empires and dictatorships; that the ruler is only the representative of the people not their controller.

Islam’s position on Women:

There must be a distinction made between the existence of such rights in theory and in practice within the Muslim world. The distinction should be made between the Laws of God and the Laws of the Land. Often we hear that the veil is a sign of oppression. A Muslim woman would be at a better position to comment on that issue. Therefore if you see a Muslim woman with a veil, please stop and ask her the reason behind it.

One thousand four hundred years ago, Islam gave women so many rights including:
• Her right to education
• The right to inherit
• Her right to divorce
• Her rights to contract, to enterprise, to earn and to possess independently
• She has the right to engage in the political life or a public office job
• The right to vote

Women in the US were only granted full voting rights around the 1920s, and it was around World War II when women significantly began to appear in the labor workforce. The first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court was in 1981. In Islamic history it has been documented that women occupied public positions such as judges.

-Racism and Stereotyping

These myths and stereotyping have contributed towards the diffusion of intolerance. Since 9-11 Muslims have been faced with discrimination and racism. There have been many incidents of vandalizing and burning Mosques, killing innocent Muslims and people who appear to be Muslim. Everyone is familiar with Robert Goldstein who plotted to bomb some 50 Islamic institutions in Florida, his intention according to his statements was to retaliate against Arabs and Muslims for the 9/11 terror attacks. Recently, 2 Islamic leaders from Toronto were denied entry into the United States on Friday after being detained for 16 hours at an airport by federal agents who told they picked the wrong day - Sept. 11 - to fly.

Another incident involved a Muslim school in Montreal where the words “Go home you F***ing Arabs” was scribbled on the walls. The principal Samer Majzoub stated “In the aftermath of 9/11, Muslims, Arab citizens and other minorities have been exposed to numerous violations of their human rights and have been subjected to constant campaigns of hatred, stereotyping, discrimination, mistreatment and abuse from within the mainstream media, various levels of authorities, streets, work-place, schools, etc." He also said, "Every Muslim citizen is being looked at as a suspicious "terrorist" until he/she proves the contrary.”

During the Cold War communism was that “evil” and the “threat” to Western civilization. Now Islam has become the new bogeyman. Images of “militant Islamists” are front page news. Prints have become filled from front to back with articles about the “threat of Islamism” to the Western world. The blunt condemnation of Islam as a “violent religion” and stereotyping of Muslims as “terrorists” has become the norm by the likes of Pat Robertson, Daniel Pipes and others.

Christianity was not labeled as a violent religion after the bombing of the Oklahoma Building by Timothy McVeigh a Christian militant. Christianity was labeled as a terrorism religion after the evil doing of Hitler. Protestants and Catholics have been killing each other in Northern Ireland, yet Christianity was never portrayed in the media as a violent religion.

Being that the perpetrators of 9-11 were Muslims claiming to act in the name of Islam, it becomes very easy to convince the people that Islam is a violent religion. Yusuf Islam formally the British pop star Cat Stevens gave the analogy of someone driving a car in which he/she gets into an accident; you can’t blame the car, but it is the driver who should be blamed. Similarly you can’t blame Islam, Christianity or Judaism however it is the deviant followers to blame.

After Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed an executive order to round up more than 70,000 U.S. citizens of Japanese descent and place them in concentration camps. Similarly in the wake of September 11, estimates of 1,200 people mostly of Arab descent were rounded up into federal detention with limited or no access to lawyers and families. In addition, a recent Justice Department report found "significant problems" in the way that many immigrants arrested after 11 September were treated. Many were chained and verbally abused, held without bail and denied access to lawyers.

The ABC News Poll found that one-third of Americans now think the religion encourages violence against non-Muslims. This is double the number of people who felt that way 20 months ago. Four months after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, 14% believed mainstream Islam encourages violence. That figure is now at 34%. Two-thirds of Americans say they do not have a good basic understanding of the religion, about the same number who felt that way in the fall of 2001. The poll of 1,004 adults was taken Sept. 4-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

- Solution / Conclusion

Racism is a hideous crime that creates stereotyping on innocent people. The Holy Quran states: "We have created you from a male and a female, and we have made you into nations and tribes to get to know one another" (49: 13).

By this the Quran asserts that differences in race, color, and language exist and must be a vehicle for friendship and harmony, so that all may cooperate to establish God's message on earth, and build civilization, and utilize the world's resources for the betterment of the whole human family.

The Prophet (saw) eliminated all superiorities of territorial, tribal, linguistic or racial. The only superiority is that of piety, human conduct and moral behavior. The Prophet, peace be upon him, teaches that religions have the same origin; the whole earth belongs to us all. And we must work together to establish peace and justice for all.

All humans are created equal. With the world becoming a global village we must learn to be tolerant of others’ religions and cultures. We should stir away from stereotyping and most importantly educated ourselves; we must not allow bigots to shape and control our thoughts.

We must increase awareness in schools, the community and the media outlets regarding the evil of racism, which is a disease that destroys unity, disrupts civilization, and leads to conflicts and war.

We invite everyone here to join us during our events for the sake of learning more about each other and working together towards building a culture of peace. Please visit our Da’awa table to get more info regarding events held by IOC.