Aarij Anwer – September 11, 20 years Later
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of a very devastating event. Devastating and on all levels really. It's the 20th anniversary of 911.
And I don't intend to speak about this every year last year, we, I ended up getting a hold on the same topic. But you know, the reason it has to be spoken about is we are still not just dealing with the repercussions, we're in the thick of it. And we haven't actually managed to progress at all beyond the repercussions of what happened 20 years ago, I see some people in the audience, I don't even think we're alive at that time.
But along with Stan, all of us, as Muslims have to deal with the repercussions of what happened. the repercussions of it are the twin towers and those people but innocent civilians who lost their lives, and the innocent civilians who lost their lives afterwards in New York City. And then the millions that were killed
senselessly in Afghanistan, then another criminal war in Iraq, and more killed senselessly and then further escalating of violence and instability in the Middle East, until the whole area has been completely turned upside down. There are more than 20 million refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq around the world. More than 20 million, that's half of Canada's population.
That's the devastating effects on the like the the immediate effects of the war, and the terror and the instability. But then there's the
effects that we have to deal with.
our liberties were stripped away. as Muslims, we were the people who were under surveillance. This is a fact. This is not conjecture. The amount of Muslim kids I'll give you one example, the amount of Muslim kids who were at embassies around universities, we'll get calls from CSUs. asking them about why they're doing what they're doing.
Or we get stopped in the parking lot of the message of our Masood right here. Asked about their Why are you at the mustard so often?
The number is too many.
One is too many, that actually that figure is a staggering figure.
This is the repercussions that we've had to deal with. Until SubhanAllah. We became the victims ourselves, Quebec City, Christchurch, London, Ontario, and togo.
Until we became the victims ourselves until we were being killed in the streets mercilessly. That's where a little bit of that subsided. But until then, we were public enemy number 123.
vilified on TV.
And
in the native side, that was the reality that many of us lived through, and many of us grew up in.
That was what happened after 911. That was a direct consequence of it. Even though we were in we are in Canada. And there is some separation between us and America. But yet there is no separation on these matters.
The humiliation that our sisters have to go through at an airport, do you remember that? It's been a while since we traveled probably
the amount of Islamophobia that was just completely acceptable. Sharia was the word like as if you had said a swear word.
Or Allah what well, when he would say Allahu Akbar, we had explained to people what that means and why we're saying it. Look, look, it's a good word. That is the level of Islamophobia we had to live with. And unfortunately, we're still living with quite a bit of it. Even if the narrative has changed, even if now the politicians speak a different tone. That reality on the ground is still quite the same.
It's still quite the same.
You look at just a week ago, in Nova Scotia.
A
A man was brutally murdered.
He was a sick person, he wore a turban, he wasn't a Muslim.
But the person or the people who killed him,
probably couldn't tell the difference between one brown person and other brown person, or a turban and a hijab, they couldn't differentiate the bigotry blinded them.
And that was something that happened just a week ago, a hate crime in Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia. And so many of those instances
between 2011 and today, there are too much to recall, too, too much to list out.
This is the reality that we live with. You watch the debate yesterday,
there was no mention of Islamophobia, or hate based crime or hate motivated crimes. There was posturing there was this and that, where was the discussion around Islamophobia in the rooms are so fresh, the blood of our martyrs hasn't even dried yet. And it's forgotten already. It's forgotten already.
That's a sample phobia. That's the repercussions of it that we deal with and you live with.
So it's a significant event, unfortunately, because it literally changed our lives and the lives of our kids. And we had nothing to do with it. And we had no control over it. Yeah, we have to deal with it, and grapple with its reality. That is why we talk about this unfortunate incident.
because it affects us so deeply, so personally, and for so many years.
And one knows how many more years is going to continue
the situation like this, that when it takes place, it is easy, very easy for a person to react in two ways.
That reaction to this kind of
these kind of challenges is a reaction of pessimism,
losing hope, despair,
things aren't going to get any better.
Almost like you give up.
And the other reaction is
related
to this one, which is a person going into a shell,
hiding in the shadows, choosing to distance themselves from their identity.
Because it's very inconvenient to be who you are. And it's more convenient to distance yourself from it. Let's hide in the shadows. Those are two responses that people often have in the situation when responding to a crisis it trauma, a communal trauma,
a sustained communal trauma that we have experienced as Muslims. These are two very very observable reactions of people.
confusion and lack of hope,
and hiding and almost, you know, running away from who you are these two main reactions, the poor and we look at the forum for guidance in all matters.
In the Quran for guidance, in all matters when we don't know what to do, and we don't understand what's going on. The place that we should look for is in the time, or the place, excuse me we should look in is the Quran. Allah causes have been so many times causative Huda hula is actually a Muslim in Arabic. It is not
linguistically. Who does the muster the idea of the action means that it represents all of guidance that Brian has not had the last word I use that word for it, that will be the guider or the one who guides he uses the muster houden to show all of guidance, all that guidance represents is in this book, everything you would need to get clarity is right here.
That is what the Quran calls itself in numerous places. And that's what we asked for in the Nosferatu muster theme. Every time you pray, Guide us to the straight path. Part of that guidance is all a make us see things clearly alone, my ID they'll have to have done was Obama tomorrow, like the person would ask, oh gosh, show me the truth as the truth may
Get clear for me and give me the ability to follow it
or Arenal belting about it and what is up next in ABA and give me give me the ability to see wrong for what it is is wrong and the ability to stay away from it.
We looked at the Quran in these matters to give us clarity
and this one is from the Quran that I like to share with you. This is from a surah and fell
in a confusing time of the life in the time of the Prophet Allah and the life of the Prophet and there were times where things were confusing the Quran keen to eradicate the confusion. Yeah, you will live in Amadou in the de la ha yeah, I love him for corn and we just did an article we have a local Mullah who loves him. I'm gonna read you what I will Jennifer Hamada for a party says about this he says yo lo Darla.
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The score is mentioned what this is what is this? I mean, I'll transit the transit as oh you believe if you are mindful of Allah.
This is the if condition, this is the requirement, then the consequences yet you are looking for corner, then he will give you clarity and courage
and also he will forgive your sins because he is the most forgiving The one who possesses all goodness, Linford loving. That's what the ISS the IEA is actually in the context of the Battle of button, the repercussions or the after effects of the Battle of others, it's a longer story, but there was some confusion that the Muslims found themselves in after the battle abandoned, the Quran comes and says in times of confusion, this is what you have to do. Number one, that the intent of oma Be mindful of Allah, tala, if that can be done, if that can be achieved, then Allah will open doors for you door number one that he opened for you, He will give you clarity you are looking for
quantum. And for God here for quantum is the Quran is used with many meanings, and fad, it will have the one belt and the thing that differentiates between the truth and falsehood, for example, but in this context, for God means a way out a source of clarity, a source of courage,
because you might be scared to act. So in this context, it has a deeper meaning than just its basic meaning here and that's what a tabari explains in his Zoo and others voters also comment on that. This is not the see words when they give you a word and multiple meanings. That's what they're trying to tell you. The context adds more meaning to the word on top of his linguistic meaning. So this is what having tough word does, being mindful of a lot does. You get clarity and you get courage in times
You're confused, and perhaps you're scared.
And then the that's not the the end of it. The other door that's open is the door of forgiveness, the door of salvation got fit on course, it can completely eradicate your sins and completely forgive you. Because Allah is the most bountiful, the Most Gracious.
In confusing times, this is should be our guide for tomatoes marijuana was taught through law honey, welcome
smilla Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala rasulillah he was early he was having he was about
this ayah tells us we need to focus on our relationship with the last part Allah first, before trying to solve the problems of the world. Focus on our relationship with Allah. Firstly, in the oma, if you can fix that relationship, then Allah, Allah will open all these doors for you. He will give you the courage, he will give you the clarity. That's our way
to lift through all the difficulties that we live through the Islamophobia that we face, we are always going to be in some way, shape or form, under attack, as believers.
But whether it is our countries are being invaded and bombed, or our existence is being attacked here at a, at whatever level it might be.
And that's not being someone that's not being
the sort of conspiracy. It's not a conspiracy. This is this is what we've observed the last one years.
But the thing that Allah Papa wants us to understand is begin with your relationship with your Lord. fix that and set that straight.
Duck walk in the law means make what's haraam? exclude that from your life? What's halaal add that to your life? What's in obligation? Make that binding?
What's not an obligation? You can skip it from time to time no problem. But what's an obligation the mandatory parts of our Deen, let's focus on making sure those boxes are checked. Let's make sure the harav is removed from our lives.
And then a loss populace will start to give us the clarity that we need to act in the face of Islamophobia as the repercussions of 911 live on far after 911 as we deal with it, year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day. We need the courage brothers and sisters, to be who we are.
We need the courage to be proud of who we are.
And we need the courage to not hide in the face of this onslaught. Because if we hide in the shadows is all over.
And that courage, the source of that courage is of lost power.
And the way to get that courage is fixing our relationship with him.
This is what our focus should be in the immediate short term in the law homiletical
Yeah, are you under the law and suddenly he was suddenly with the steamer Aloma suddenly ala Muhammad infinite Adina philosophy masala Allah Muhammad and film Allah Allah Allah Allah. Allah, Allah subhanahu wa Midna Illuminati. Illuminati, he was still on hold. He told me no Martina musataha was at the high ruins aka underbelly. You have a molar or Bennati. navodaya Hassan.
Hassan
welcome