Response to a question
I wanted to respond to the following email here in case anyone else was having similar thoughts:
Have you learned now that you have seen the racial bigotry and hatred of the Americans first hand that these people are not your friends and only want to see you dead? No matter how much you condemn the “nutters” and cater to them, they will still hate you no matter what you do
The white supremacist goons do not represent the majority of the American people and just FYI, I have received dozens - perhaps well over one hundred - supportive and kind emails from non-Muslim (and mostly white ones by the way) friends and neighbors that are embarrassed by this entire affair and offered their help. This makes me confident that the people who want to paint all of us as irrational subhumans are not in the majority by any means. So we have to avoid painting with a broad brush.
Secondly, having grown up in Mississippi, I saw this kind of racial bigotry long before I became Muslim so it is nothing new and does not come as a shock to me. I know that I will never be accepted from white supremacists, but that does not mean that I will be unfair and in turn say that all whites as racists. Similarly, it is not fair to say that each and every non-Muslim agrees with these types of people. We have to treat people fairly if we want the same kind of treatment.
Thirdly, I don’t condemn the extremists/jihadists just to try to get love from or to try to “cater” to anyone. I do it because it is the right thing to do and will continue to do so no matter what. Afterall, I have received hate mail from both the supporters of the lunatic jihadists and these white supremacist goons. The actions of the racist nutters should not and have not allowed me to feel any differently about the jihadi nutters.
Filed under: Posts of no Benefit, The Culture of Denial and Pretense
Having become a muslim many years ago, and knowing that my family is Christian, European “white” and non-muslim makes me want to invite them to Islam, not hate them and think of them as targets.
Islam is a faith and a religion, not a culture, race, ideology or “identity”… so I don’t really care if by arguing with either neo-cons or extremists “jihadis,” either side accuses me of “treason” - I’m only concerned with Allah’s pleasure, not theirs. I want the best for the believers - and incidentally, that means I want them to practice and benefit from Islam and the Shar’iah, as the Jam’aah of the ulema of this Ummah have understood it for 1400 years, not as a handful of “reformers” have made fiqh and takfir tools for Satanic division over the last 200 years.
Also, I consider race and “negative nationalism” (the idea that one nation is exceptionally favoured, and “my country, right or wrong” has a “manifest destiny” to rule the world) foul and corrupt ideologies … ugly and “asabiyyah smells,” as the hadith states.
“Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change that which is with themselves”
Excellent points Dawud.
“Have you learned now that you have seen the racial bigotry and hatred of the Americans first hand that these people are not your friends and only want to see you dead?”
I simply cannot understand people who think this way, if for no other reason than that it completely fails, logically. If you judge an entire nation based on a few vicious bigots, how is that any different than judging an entire faith based on a few homicidal zealots?
You seem to be quite obsessed with racial issues.
@ ExEx…
You GAVE IT.
Good post. Did you read Umar’s latest post? As soon as his customer learned he was Muslim he went off on America, calling all whites racist, you name it.
But Abu Sinan, you did the same as the brother, you lumped all blacks in the same category - lazy, always blaming the da man… there are just as many successful and educated black americans as there are African Americans.
Umar suggested he was over friendly because he wanted to ensure the driver (umar) he wouldn’t rob him
Bint Will “Wounded Soul”,
I didnt not lump all blacks together. I suggest you re-read what I wrote. Please come back with anything, verbatim, of mine that suggest all of ANY group are responsible as a group for anything.
I dont believe in sterotypes, so I would never say “all of” any group does anything, because that is always wrong.
There are many people who blame their condition on others, ie in the Middle East everything is often the fault of the Jews. Not everyone feels this way, but it seems to be the vocal minority.
Here in the USA there are people who blame all of their issues on “the man”. Not a majority, not “all” of course not. They, like their counterparts in the Middle East, tend to be the loudest.
Those blaming their issues on “the man” seem to ignore the own neighbors that have worked hard and risen out of the crap life they are in. Why is it that “the man” only wants to keep down those who dont want to work hard?
Why doesnt “the man” keep down those willing to work two jobs, put themselves through school and raise a family? Maybe “the man” is just prejudice against those who dont want to get exactly out of something what they put into it?
I worked for everything I had. I was forced to leave home at age 16 and support myself. I ended up putting myself through school, work two jobs some 70-80 hours a week for several years, whilst attending school full time or part time.
I have never been on any state assistance of any kind and I have never been given any sort of scholarship. Yeah, I lived for months at a time on Raman noodles, I got 3-4 hours of sleep sometimes trying to study after working 16 hours.
But you get directly what you are willing to work for.
Anyway, maybe it is the way I say it, but I certainly do not think the way you imply.
I am a fan of yours and wish you’d write your own blog!
PS, I wish more employers would look at your work history dates and compare them with your transcripts dates.
Yes, I got a C in Differential Equations, but I was working two jobs. The C isnt that bad when you consider this is one of the harder math classes there is and I did it whilst working 70-80 weeks.
I did hiring for a year and trust me, I looked at that. If a guy or girl can hold a 2.95 whilst working full time I thought them a much better candidate that the 3.25 student who had a free ride from mommy and daddy and still could only pull out a 3.25, even if was in Electrical Engineering, a hard field anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_equation