Thank You, White House, For Hosting an Anti-Islamophobia Meeting to Address the Grievances of the American Muslims
By
Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
8
May 2023
Muslim
Scholars, Particularly Ulama, Must Challenge Islamophobic
Arguments On Theological Grounds
Main
Points
·
America is a superpower that cares
about its citizens and their security.
·
Minorities have been given a voice in
America to demonstrate morality and fairness.
·
Leaders disregard constitutions and
rights when in power.
·
Islamophobes and Jihadist terrorists seek to persuade moderate Muslims
to take to the path of violent extremism.
·
Muslims must speak out against the Islamophobic
agenda to protect their religious rights.
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A student clutches
her textbook at the Community Girls School in Kotchandana refugee village,
Pakistan. Muslim women and girls may face triple discrimination as female,
ethnic minority and Muslim.
PHOTO: ©
UNHCR/Sara Farid
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Many people can be
heard criticising the superpower United States of America. But what makes
America a superpower? When a country evolves, it does so based on its citizens
and their prosperity. A country advances when the common civilians do.
Civilians require a tranquil environment free from prejudice, hatred, and
religious persecution in order to advance. An entire country grows when its
citizens do. The more a country develops, the stronger it becomes. The US is
one of the countries that care the most about its citizens and their security,
even when it might not be good for other countries or their civilian
populations.
In some countries,
the elected leaders are not even willing to listen to the grievances of their
minorities. Once in power due to sectarian vote banks, they become so careless
that they lose all morality and a sense of fairness. However, the US stands out
in this sense. Minorities have always been allowed a voice in this
country.
I'm not referring to
the written constitutions and rights of the countries; rather, I'm referring to
the leaders because once an irresponsible leader assumes power, the
constitutions and rights are completely ignored.
I want to express my
gratitude for the White House's recent listening session on Islamophobia,
during which representatives of the Biden administration met with leaders of
the American Muslim community. This came after Biden hosted an event at the
White House to celebrate the conclusion of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr.
The White House said
that Muslim leaders outlined the challenges facing their communities and shared
recommendations for confronting Islamophobia and all forms of hate and
bigotry. Biden-Harris administration officials expressed their gratitude to the
participants and underscored the President's commitment to countering Islamophobia.
The session was part of the President's interagency task force to counter anti-Semitism,
Islamophobia and related forms of bias and discrimination.
Biden hosted a
reception for Eid al-Fitr at the White House on Monday evening. He greeted
those attending by saying "Welcome home" and praised the diverse
contributions Muslims have made to the nation as teachers, engineers, doctors,
lawyers, business owners, congresswomen and congressmen. He also noted that
Muslims have served bravely in the US Armed Forces and law enforcement.
The White House
Courtesy: The
White House
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The objective of Islamophobes
is crystal apparent. They seek to eradicate Islam because they believe it harms
non-Muslims. They have misinterpreted a number of Islamic principles in a
similar way to extremist terrorist organisations like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko
Haram, etc. Both Islamophobes and Jihadist terrorists aim to
persuade moderate Muslims to take to the path of violent extremism. Muslims
must beware of both, as they look for justifications for violence in Islamic
theology, which in reality do not exist. If there are verses and Ahadith
on war, they were revealed during a war to fend off religious persecution and
solely applied to those circumstances. When there is peace, they are
irrelevant.
However, Islamophobes
are furiously striving to imply that the war-related verses and Ahadith
are also relevant today, subtly suggesting that the world community must
eradicate Islam. This is the rationale for why Muslims must speak out against
the Islamophobic agenda. Moreover, Muslim scholars, particularly Ulama,
must challenge Islamophobic arguments on theological grounds.
Let me reiterate that
if the Biden administration is successful in settling their grievances, the
Muslim population in America will feel more confident. The country will
transform from a superpower into a true superpower in the spiritual sense and a
modern role model for other countries from the East to the West and North to
the South if Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and other related sorts
of bias and discrimination are completely eliminated from the country.
…
A
regular columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a
classical Islamic scholar with a Sufi background and an English-Arabic-Urdu
Translator.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/anti-islamophobia-grievances-american-muslims/d/129724
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