Islam Is Not In Crisis, France Is - Because It Has Created The Fear Of The ‘Other’
By Letters to Islam21c
30 October
2020
In the Name
of Allāh, the most Gracious and most Merciful. All praise belongs to Allāh. May
the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon His Final Messenger, Muhammad (Sall Allāhu
‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), his family and his companions.
Khutbah (Part I)
It is
important for us as Muslims to be aware of what is happening to Muslims not
only locally but also around the world – both near and far. Muslims are one
body, and our strength comes from our unity.
عَنْ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنْهُ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَر ِوَالْحُمَّى
Al-Nu’man
ibn Bashir reported: The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings be upon him,
said, “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion
for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts
with sleeplessness and fever.”[1]
It is
important for us as Muslims to understand why things are happening around the
world. We should learn to look past the sensationalist speeches so that we can
properly understand what is happening and how we need to respond.
Allāh says
in the Qur’ān:
وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ
“They plotted,
and Allāh planned, but Allāh is the Best of planners.”[2]
What has
been happening during the last few days and weeks in France has saddened and
shocked Muslims around the world.
Yesterday,
three people were killed in Nice in France. Nine days ago two sisters in hijab
were knifed beneath the Eiffel Tower. Two days before that a teacher Samuel
Paty, was killed in France for showing cartoons of our beloved prophet (Sall
Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) to his pupils. None of these killings and attacks can
be condoned.
Furthermore,
it is unbelievable for the French president Macron to take the unfortunate
murder of the teacher and use it to re-publish the demeaning and derogatory
cartoons of our beloved Prophet (Sall Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) and to further
display the cartoons on the largest buildings in France – and then to
criminalise anyone who criticises this action – all in the name of freedom of
expression!
Let us call
this what it is. It is double standards and has nothing to do with freedom of
speech! What happened to freedom of speech when the 80-year-old Maurice Sinet,
a cartoonist with Charlie Hebdo for 20 years, was fired in 2009 for his
anti-Semitic cartoons mocking the relationship of former French President
Sarkozy’s son with a wealthy Jewish woman?
This single
act of criminality of the murder of the teacher is now being used to stigmatise
10 million Muslims in France and collectively punish them. It is being used as
an excuse to stoke racism and claim that Islam is in crisis! This murder was
wrong, but its cause does not come from Islam and the books of Fiqh. It comes
from the anger of how France is treating millions of its citizens! This is not
a justification – it is contextualisation!
These acts
are hypocritical of France, a country that committed barbaric crimes against
the nations it was occupying! In over 130 years of French occupation of
Algeria, millions of people were killed – not 1 teacher, but millions – for
daring to exercise their freedom! Algerian men, women, and children were
slaughtered at the hands of the French colonialists.
This is
part of a bigger plan to control Islam and Muslims, and it is part of Macron’s
plan for re-election by appeasing the ever-growing far-right in France.
Sadly, you
will be shocked to learn that the truth is: it wasn’t the murder of the teacher
that began this crisis. On October 2nd 2020, two weeks before the murder of
Paty, Macron announced a new set of laws “against separatisms”, which solely
focused on policing and controlling Muslim communities.
The plan,
announced by Macron, included:
– Labelling of imams (which would have to be
approved by the Government)
– Powers granted to local authorities to
dissolve Islamic organisations without any legal proceedings
– Taxing the Hajj to finance
“anti-radicalisation” programs
– Prohibition of any non-religious activities
for religious organisations
– Coercive controls on all Islamic
organisations through the use of security, tax, and legal inspections to close
organisations that do not support the government, and
– Criminalisation of organisations that combat
Islamophobia.
Right now
in France:
– 51
charities are currently being investigated, with a view to dissolving them.
– 72
schools, madrasas, and Muslim-owned businesses have been shut down already this
year.
– The
government wants to raid 123 Muslim homes and organisations – 56 raids have
already been conducted. These have nothing to do with the killing – they are
only there to “send a message”, according to the French Minister of the
Interior.
The French
government instrumentalised the murder of the teacher Samuel Paty for racist
purposes. The government labelled two civil society organisations as “the enemy
of the Republic”. The organisations were the Collective Against Islamophobia in
France (CCIF) and BarakaCity.
CCIF has a
special status with the UN and is a key NGO within the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe. CCIF is widely respected by all of its
partners across Europe and helps thousands of victims a year.
BarakaCity
is a humanitarian charity that helps 2 million people all over the world with
poverty alleviation and clean water provision. Sadly last Tuesday, BarakaCity
was forcibly closed down by the French government even though they are totally
unrelated to any attacks in France!
Let us be
clear: this is not about freedom of expression – this is about racism and
Islamophobia!
Allāh says
in Sūrah al-Burūj:
وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ
”They took vengeance on them only because they
believed in Allāh the Almighty, the Praised.”[3]
But what is
the solution?
President
Macron claims that ‘Islam is in crisis!’
It is in
fact France that is in crisis because of French nationalism coupled with
secular fundamentalism and extreme arrogance. France is a divided nation that
has continued to disenfranchise its poor and minorities. France has let racism
dictate how it treats its own citizens. Non-Whites live in ghettos outside of
the main cities and are denied equal access to proper work and education, all
in the name of secularism. France has created this fear of the ‘other!’
Did you
know that since 2017: 212 Muslim owned cafes, 15 mosques, 4 schools and 13
cultural associations have all been closed! Frances Muslims have been enduring
these hardships for a long time.
Secularism
is in crisis. People moving away from religion, and people living far away from
God – a Godless society based on following desires and not guidance. Islam is
the solution to every problem for every society!
Allāh says:
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ
“Verily the only acceptable way of life with
Allāh is Submission.”[4]
وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
“Whoever seeks a religion other than
Submission, it will not be accepted from him; and in the Hereafter, he will be
among the losers.”[5]
We say to
haters like Macron: ‘People come and go, and you too shall leave this earth.
Nations rise and fall, and a time will come when France itself shall not exist.
But rest assured, the legacy of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and
the love that all Muslims have for him shall continue to live long after you
and your nation are all relegated to the ink of history books.’
أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم
Khutbah (Part II)
It is clear
from the response (and silence) from world leaders where their loyalties lie.
But where do our loyalties lie? Our loyalties must lie with the Prophet (sall
Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)! We should feel angered and hurt by the disgusting
photographs, more than if the photos were of our own parents!
But this
should not lead us to do anything the Sharia does not allow! We cannot become
vigilantes and take the law into our own hands. We should defend the honour of
our beloved Prophet (Sall Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) with our words and actions.
We can defend our Prophet by following his Sunnah and his way. Other actions we
can do include to:
Recognise
that this is a test from Allāh – how will we respond and behave?
Make Du’ā
to Allāh – to make us worthy followers of the Prophet (Sall Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa
Sallam) – who can pursue do his justice and defend him
Promote the
positive image of the Prophet (Sall Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) through his
teachings
Solidarity
and unity – we are one Ummah. Right now our community in France is hurting and
in fear. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Send messages of support
to CCIF, BarakaCity and other Muslims. Let them know their brothers and sisters
everywhere are with them!
Take heed
and build unity here and now – this type of dehumanisation of Muslims can also
happen in the UK. We must come together leaving aside all differences and
uniting to build our strength as a community!
Boycott all
French products. This is the very least we can do. Some people argue that it
will not do any good. Macron has already asked Gulf states not to boycott
French goods – because he knows it will hurt French businesses. When it begins
to hurt. As a prominent Muslim scholar has already said: – after insults
against the Holy Prophet (Sall Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) by France and its
president, will we still continue buying and selling and importing French
products? If a shop owner insulted our mother, we wouldn’t buy from them ever
again. This is the very least we can all do to protect the honour of our
beloved Prophet (Sall Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam).
Call people
to Islam. People are in need of this religion, the religion of Allāh. Mankind
is in search for the true religion. Depression and suicide are on the rise, but
Islam will establish happiness for all. The family system is broken, but Islam
holds family values to be essential to a good life.
Raise your
voice in support of Rasulullah (Sall Allāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) and against
those that insult him – tonight at 7pm GMT, join a twitter storm using the
hashtag #StopMacron
Notes:
[1] Bukhārī and
Muslim
[2] Al-Qur’ān, 3: 54
[3] Al-Qur’ān, 85:8
[4] Al-Qur’ān, 3:8
[5] Al-Qur’ān, 3:85
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Original Headline: Khutbah: Islam is not in
crisis, France is!
Source: islam21c. com
URL:
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