Stopping Islamophobia

[grandpakhalif]

Allah warned us about this:

They desire to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His Light, though the unbelievers hate it. He sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth to exalt it over every other religion, though the idolaters hate it. (Surat as-Saff: 8-9)

[snoop12]

Islamophobia exist and thrives because muslims arent being proper practicing Muslims, so if you want to stop islamophobia just follow the Sunnah of the prophet, only the senister minority will continue to hate you. if on the other hand you change your name, take of the scarf, cut your beard and become apologetic, they will continue to believe Islam is something really scary.

[Advo]

Farrakhan spoke well on this issue

[Aliyyi Oromada]

I believe you're looking at the issue the wrong way. You're success doesn't depend on their satisfaction with you because generally speaking your answer is in the Quran. They will never be satisfied with you until you follow their way.

وَلَنْ تَرْضَىٰ عَنْكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَىٰ ۗ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ۙ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: "The Guidance of Allah that is the (only) Guidance." Wert thou to follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither protector nor Helper against Allah. - Baqara 120

What you need to do is go back to the seerah and look at how the sahaba dealt with Islamophobia. Firstly, stop apologizing for your beliefs. Muslims need to get passed this slave mentality of "its our fault they hate us, what are we doing wrong". Its like an abused wife making excuses for her abusive husband. The sahaba never apologized, they called people with wisdom and straightforward talk. And when the Islamophobia got out of hand, they never changed themselves, rather they looked for a place they can live and be themselves. Hatred for Islam & Muslims will exist until the day of judgment.

[waryaa]

This trend has been increasing in America since that fateful day in September. I remember one Muslims guy launching a TV channel dedicated for promoting Islam in a positive way. He did more damage to Islam buy beheading his wife (was it in his office in Chicago?).

The question is how can this trend be [at least] slowed. This is also a double sided coin, Ameriphopia in Muslim world also needs to be addressed. If you hate someone he is gonna hate you back - it is as simple as that. I am sure the most hated country in Somalia is America. Ironically, Somali Americans send money back home more than any other Somali community. Bush junior once said all the haters want to come and live in America This is not a laughing matter and I am sorry to have closed it with

It is very unfortunate that we as a community usually wait until we are slapped in the face to address an issue. I was looking through past comments on the my school newspaper's website recently, and this sentiment of Islamophobia is all over campus. Obviously most of these people don't have the balls to take part in the dialogue in public that has been going on lately, but what can we do to address this issue on the grass roots level? (Yes, I'm talking to you skinnies)

The Muslim communities from what I have observed the last few years are really apathetic to most things that are happening in this country. We just expect civil rights groups and other activists to stand with us when something goes wrong when we haven't done anything to support their causes or stand with them in the first place (That Arizona immigration law comes to mind). There is also a lot of this "staying within the bubble" type thing and we can see it in our own Somali community.

The only community that is really immune to this is the African American community and thats because just about every AA family has at least one Muslim SOMEWHERE there. Especially the working class black community, because Muslims smile and laugh, grind, and work alongside them everyday. We can, should and better take notes from indigenous Muslim culture because there is no better inside information than those who have dealt with American history...the rules don't change. its the same tactics every time. In order to do this we must get over our own internal bigotry though, towards Muslims and non-Muslims alike..

[BlackVelvet]

On a grass root level I think it helps to speak about the uncomfortable issues that the media churn out. Especially to the people who have no direct contact with Muslims as their perceptions are the ones most vulnerable to manipulation. When I was at Uni surrounded by white people, we'd talk about the veil and suicide bombings and anything else the Daily Mail dished out. Confronting an issue and talking about it with the people around you is a way forward. Most level headed non-Muslisms start with 'I have a Muslim friend and he/she is a good person...'

Actions speak louder than words, if you are a decent human being and let the people around you know otherwise when lies are told against Islam then we've taken one step forward.

[snoop12]

BV, its not only about being a decent human being, but our religion actually encourages to be open about our Diin not to buttle it all up inside or in our houses and when we come out it is almost nonexistent. in addition to that its our duty to let people know about Islam, give them a sneak preview and if they are interested give them sources, we shouldn't care about whether they take it or not. im not amazed by one person who told me Islam is great but not for me, its the same as cigarettes are bad but i still smoke, all we have to be is the little writing on the packages that says smoking is bad.

sometimes i think those who hate Islam do a better job spreading the message about Islam than Muslims themselves, yes it comes with the unpleasent intermediary stage of hatred, but eventually the person sees for themselves the negative things they were told are not at all true and they then search for the truth.

[BlackVelvet]

The thing about giving dawa is after a while a Muslim can start to sound like a Jehova Witness which is why I don't like to push the point too hard.

sometimes i think those who hate Islam do a better job spreading the message about Islam than Muslims themselves, yes it comes with the unpleasent intermediary stage of hatred, but eventually the person sees for themselves the negative things they were told are not at all true and they then search for the truth.

[Advo]

I believe you're looking at the issue the wrong way. You're success doesn't depend on their satisfaction with you because generally speaking your answer is in the Quran. They will never be satisfied with you until you follow their way.

وَلَنْ تَرْضَىٰ عَنْكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَىٰ ۗ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ۙ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: "The Guidance of Allah that is the (only) Guidance." Wert thou to follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither protector nor Helper against Allah. - Baqara 120

What you need to do is go back to the seerah and look at how the sahaba dealt with Islamophobia. Firstly, stop apologizing for your beliefs. Muslims need to get passed this slave mentality of "its our fault they hate us, what are we doing wrong". Its like an abused wife making excuses for her abusive husband. The sahaba never apologized, they called people with wisdom and straightforward talk. And when the Islamophobia got out of hand, they never changed themselves, rather they looked for a place they can live and be themselves. Hatred for Islam & Muslims will exist until the day of judgment.

[Leila25]

Why is it when someone tries to correct the distorted image of Islam he/she is sometimes described as "apologising for their beliefs". There are countless people/media out there who want the world to see Islam as religion of bloodshed. If a muslim wants to counter that argument by saying Islam calls for peace, justice and moderation etc, then great. If that message resonates with the people it is aimed at, fantastic. This is not a point about whether Islam calls for retaliation or turning the other cheeck during times of war, that topic is irrelevant, it is a matter of whether the essence of Islam is peaceful or violent.

I believe majority of people are afraid and misunderstand Muslims due to the media. Before 9/11 the people of swiss would not bother voting whether to build minarets or not. With headlines of Muslims taking over Europe and changing their way of life, people are in fear, so it is ridiculous when Muslims respond by talking of boycotting Switzerland products and adopting a position of "well the Quran says they hate me, they can hate me all they like". It is a defensive mechanism but offers no solution.

[marcassmith]

There is a clash of civilisations. Anything that seeks a compromise, or that tries to reconfigure the very ideals of Islam will only result in a watered-down and a contrived form of Islam.

Islam, as a political reality, particularly in the west is no longer tenable; it’s become something that has been tampered with. Let’s keep its ''real'' and not change a single thing trying to appease those who want 'us' to conform and be part of their society, by force, if not then by subtle moves. You cannot be British/American/European Muslim. Islam came before these illusive political/societal constructs. Islam will remain after all their man-made innovations are rendered obsolete. Islam is the truth.

Be Muslim without being an apologist for your chosen way of life. Ultimately, you are judged on your deeds and nothing else will suffice. Consequently, let’s concentrate on improving the way we practice our faith. Return to the foundations of Islam, improve our conducts towards one another, give charity, and love a fellow Muslim for the sake of Islam. Shun all form of western falsehood and corruption - some brothers who are incidentally practising seem to take this a notch up by claiming benefits and wasting their productivity on local gossip - making up labels for those who are not following their school of thought. It is better to be a black coal seller than to be dependent on welfare - there is a hadith. Change the way we raise our children, protect them from the ills and inherent contradiction of these societies. Here, in the UK, the muslims community seems to have voluntarly segragated themselves. I was a staunch critic of this policy but I am now finally begining to understand why there are so-called Muslim ghettos.

Also lets deal with the internal division that have been ostensibly created by those who want to dictate to us, including some of our very own who are bankrolled by the unbelievers. It doesn't serve the interests of Muslims to have two camps - a moderate or fundermentalist. These terms are counter-productive and are really in fact an attempt to cause division among Muslims. It’s actually quite pathetic to buy into these categories. When people accept this categorisation it’s an indication that they do not have the ability to define their own parameters and a standard by which to measure their own Muslim spirituality. Recognition comes from the self and if the person in question has identity issues then certainty they will inevitably be stuck in this 'is - or type of mindset.

We need a Islamic revival and only Muslims can be the agents of change.