Mirza Yawar Baig – Understanding Our World

Mirza Yawar Baig
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AI: Summary ©

The speakers discuss the importance of education and technology in improving behavior, as well as the impact of technology on society, including the use of knowledge and technology to create new ways of doing things. They stress the importance of consistent contribution, learning to express gratitude to Allah, and adapting to changing times to contribute to society. The speakers also emphasize the need to confront "uranceist and exclusivist" narrative and adapt to changing times to align with modern needs.

AI: Summary ©

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			My brothers and sisters,
		
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			we are living the parable of the boiled
		
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			frog.
		
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			The parable of the boiled frog is that
		
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			if you take a frog
		
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			and put it into a pot of water,
		
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			which is hot,
		
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			the frog will jump out.
		
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			But if you take the same frog
		
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			and put it into a pot of water,
		
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			which is at room temperature,
		
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			and then light a fire under the pot,
		
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			put the fire pot on the stove,
		
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			and gently heat the water,
		
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			the frog gets used to the water which
		
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			is hotter and hotter
		
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			and being a cold blooded animal
		
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			it starts relaxing,
		
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			becomes flaccid
		
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			until the water is now dangerously hot, too
		
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			hot,
		
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			but the frog can no longer jump out.
		
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			It's lost its capability of escaping.
		
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			So then you take the frog out and
		
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			put it on a plate and salt and
		
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			pepper, a twist of lime.
		
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			That is what has happened to us
		
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			today as Muslims.
		
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			And that is why it is very critical
		
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			and important for us to get ourselves educated,
		
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			not merely trained to make a living.
		
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			Just ask yourself which books you have read
		
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			in the past 1 year
		
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			and you have the answer.
		
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			I don't mean text books. I don't mean
		
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			technical books.
		
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			Other than that,
		
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			without reading
		
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			and without the skills of reflective observation,
		
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			introspection and abstract conceptualisation,
		
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			you are totally open to being manipulated
		
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			to believe and act the way those in
		
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			power want you to act.
		
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			Only real education
		
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			can save
		
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			us from being mentally enslaved and manipulated
		
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			by the puppet masters
		
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			for their benefit.
		
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			There are two things that distinguish the enslaved
		
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			from the free.
		
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			The willingness to take responsibility
		
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			for oneself
		
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			and to focus
		
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			on contribution,
		
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			not consumption.
		
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			In one word,
		
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			participation.
		
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			Rasool
		
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			mentioned this in the Hadith
		
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			where he defined the Ummah.
		
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			The Hadith of Norman
		
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			ibn Bashir,
		
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			Rabiullah Anma, he reported
		
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			that Rasul
		
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			said, the example of the
		
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			believers in their affection,
		
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			mercy and compassion for each other
		
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			is that of a body.
		
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			When any limb aches,
		
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			the whole body reacts
		
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			with sleeplessness
		
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			and favour.
		
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			And this is a Hadith, Mutafakun Ali,
		
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			Bukhari and Muslim agreed upon.
		
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			We Muslims as an Ummah
		
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			counting backwards
		
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			from post world war 2
		
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			nation states
		
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			to the khilafarashida,
		
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			which was our first experience of statehood
		
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			for Muslims,
		
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			have lived in empire
		
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			in one form or another.
		
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			One ruler with absolute power.
		
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			People must obey.
		
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			No participation
		
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			in decision making.
		
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			Change of leadership
		
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			almost always
		
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			violent.
		
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			Fraticide
		
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			was the norm and even declared legal
		
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			by none other than Suleyman
		
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			al Khanhoni,
		
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			also called Suleyman the Magnificent, the Ottoman ruler.
		
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			Yet another reason to study history.
		
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			Our history is the history of conquest
		
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			and its economics.
		
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			Though actual conquest
		
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			stopped
		
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			over 300 years ago, but the hangover remains.
		
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			Our Muslim country economics
		
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			has gone the same way. We have replaced
		
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			state income
		
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			from spoils of war to oil revenues.
		
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			Local people never had to produce,
		
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			pay taxes, or show enterprise.
		
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			They were on the dole and they remain
		
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			this way.
		
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			Our wealthy countries are bank accounts, not economies.
		
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			We compete in building structures and buildings,
		
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			not mines.
		
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			Ask how many of our speakers
		
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			talk about conquests,
		
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			wars, bravery,
		
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			and how many about social work, industry,
		
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			volunteering,
		
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			creating products or services.
		
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			I believe
		
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			that we need to wake up and get
		
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			out of our empire mindset
		
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			and realize that it was the glorious phase
		
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			in our history, but it is over.
		
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			Today, we must draw inspiration
		
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			from the use of knowledge and technology and
		
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			systems and markets.
		
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			We must learn a whole new set of
		
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			skills
		
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			and contribute in new ways to be viewed
		
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			as productive and contributing members of society.
		
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			Power and influence are derivatives of contributions,
		
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			not consumption.
		
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			We must actively learn from our great history
		
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			by interpreting it in the modern context.
		
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			It is not about regression,
		
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			but about progress
		
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			standing on the shoulders of giants.
		
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			I submit to you that most of what
		
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			is happening to us today is because of
		
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			our isolationist,
		
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			myopic, and insular attitudes.
		
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			We live as if there is nobody else.
		
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			We live as if there is nobody else
		
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			in the world. Let me give you some
		
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			metrics.
		
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			Ask, how many of us greet people first?
		
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			And how many of us ask for a
		
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			fatwa
		
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			about whether it is permissible
		
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			to say walaikumas salaam to a non Muslim
		
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			who greeted you with salaam?
		
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			How many of us speak the language of
		
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			the countries we live in fluently enough to
		
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			be able to represent ourselves
		
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			in public forum?
		
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			How many of us sit on school and
		
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			other boards
		
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			and are in local government?
		
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			How many of us volunteer in protests
		
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			against different social evils like drugs and racism
		
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			and gun violence and global warming, wars and
		
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			nuclear weapons?
		
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			How many of us participated
		
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			in Black Lives Matter Marches?
		
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			How many of us participated
		
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			even in the pro Palestine protest,
		
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			which were
		
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			led
		
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			and populated
		
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			by non Muslims
		
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			very prominently
		
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			by Jews?
		
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			How many of us,
		
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			instead of marching
		
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			in the pro Palestine,
		
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			protest, how many of us debated whether it
		
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			is Halal or Haram to protest?
		
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			How many of us vote
		
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			and how many of us debate about voting?
		
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			How many of us have local people
		
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			local people as friends?
		
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			In this country, the United States, I don't
		
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			mean the ABCDs and ABCAs, the
		
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			American born confused this is American born confused
		
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			Arabs, but Caucasian,
		
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			African American, or Native American people. How many
		
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			of us have these as friends?
		
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			People we who come come home to us,
		
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			we we go home to them. We we
		
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			we spend time together, we have activities together
		
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			and so on. How many of us?
		
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			How many of us attend jury duty and
		
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			local town hall meetings?
		
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			I can add to this list, but will
		
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			leave you to do that.
		
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			Please do that. Shall I also ask how
		
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			many of us drive too fast
		
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			in residential areas because we are late for
		
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			Jumal and park on neighbors' lawns and block
		
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			their driveways?
		
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			Power and influence are the result of consistent
		
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			contribution,
		
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			not consumption.
		
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			Nobody cares what we own. They care about
		
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			what we give to those in need.
		
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			Power comes with territory.
		
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			Contribution
		
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			defines
		
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			territory.
		
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			You want power?
		
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			Contribute.
		
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			Today,
		
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			almost everything that is happening to us is
		
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			because we are seen as net consumers,
		
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			not contributors.
		
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			To give you an example, in the 2011
		
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			motor show in Qatar,
		
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			the star attraction was the Volkswagen
		
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			Touareg
		
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			with custom 22 inch wheels,
		
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			roof rails,
		
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			rub strips, and other details,
		
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			all plated
		
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			in 24 karat gold.
		
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			Though the folks
		
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			Volkswagen Tuareg
		
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			is a high performance car, which won the
		
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			Dakar
		
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			rally,
		
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			the focus at the motor show is not
		
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			on engineering,
		
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			but bling.
		
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			Ask why?
		
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			This is not only about rulers and other
		
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			countries. Just look around you
		
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			at what we do
		
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			in our local society here in West Springfield.
		
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			And ask,
		
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			what is the Muslim contribution
		
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			to general society?
		
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			What is the answer?
		
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			Isolation breeds ignorance.
		
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			Ignorance inspires fear. Fear results in violence.
		
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			That is what we are seeing in different
		
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			parts of the world today.
		
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			Our isolationist,
		
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			exclusivist,
		
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			non contributory attitude
		
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			combined with the fact that we are visibly,
		
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			racially, culturally,
		
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			ethnically different and can't or don't communicate with
		
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			local people is the ideal combination
		
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			for the Islamophobic
		
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			grismill
		
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			to generate hatred
		
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			using the material we provide freely.
		
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			This is not a physical fight. It's an
		
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			ideological
		
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			battle where the dominant narrative must be countered
		
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			with an experiential
		
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			narrative
		
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			that people can compare to, which cancels and
		
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			contradicts
		
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			the narrative of hate.
		
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			When people see anti Muslim things on TV
		
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			or social media, they experience their personal physical
		
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			experience of Muslims.
		
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			Our manners, our communication,
		
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			contribution and helpfulness
		
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			must contradict that message.
		
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			Only we can create that because it affects
		
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			only us.
		
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			A picture, as they say, is worth a
		
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			1,000 words,
		
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			an action is worth a million.
		
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			Only actions can drown out the cacophony
		
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			of anti Muslim propaganda, not words.
		
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			Allah
		
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			who ordered us to get involved in the
		
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			general community, not only Muslims
		
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			not only with Muslims and work for the
		
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			promotion of good and the prohibition
		
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			of harm.
		
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			This applies
		
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			to all good
		
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			and evil
		
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			that happens in society.
		
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			Allah said,
		
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			Allah said, you are the best community ever
		
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			raised for humanity,
		
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			for all human beings.
		
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			You encourage good and you forbid evil and
		
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			you believe in Allah.
		
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			My brothers and sisters, there are 2 things
		
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			that we must learn to do urgently.
		
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			Number 1, we must learn to appreciate and
		
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			show gratitude to Allah
		
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			and to people for what we enjoy in
		
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			these lands.
		
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			In this country, for example, the United States,
		
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			we can dress in full Islamic costume,
		
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			pray anywhere in peace,
		
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			say anything we want in our sermons.
		
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			We are not given a,
		
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			an ideal sermon to read out.
		
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			We can eat our halal meats.
		
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			We can insist that pizza hard cuts our
		
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			pizza with a clean knife that has not
		
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			been used to cut any other meat.
		
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			We receive world class medical treatment.
		
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			World we we our children study in world
		
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			class universities
		
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			open to everyone
		
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			regardless of race or religion,
		
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			and we have a host of other freedoms.
		
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			In these countries, universities have Muslim chaplains.
		
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			I am the Muslim chaplain in 2 of
		
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			them. Their dining halls have halal food.
		
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			They pay for prayer the university
		
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			pays for prayer spaces and mats and they
		
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			host iftar parties in Ramadan
		
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			and many things more. Compare this to what
		
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			happens in Muslim countries.
		
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			I don't need to elaborate as I'm sure
		
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			we are all aware.
		
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			Truly, may Allah
		
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			bless America.
		
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			2nd,
		
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			we must learn how to present our culture
		
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			to Westerners.
		
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			For this we must learn to communicate, learn
		
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			the language and how to use it.
		
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			It is not about converting people, it's about
		
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			helping people understand
		
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			how Islam continues to remain relevant and valid
		
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			today as it was
		
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			14
		
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			centuries
		
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			ago.
		
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			It is to help them to see Islam
		
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			as a solution to modern problems
		
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			and a bulwark against social evils.
		
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			It is to help them to see how
		
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			the Islamic way will make them successful in
		
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			this life, creating a society
		
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			that is based on compassion,
		
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			sharing, justice
		
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			and equality.
		
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			It is to introduce Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
		
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			to them in ways that touch their hearts
		
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			and bring tears to their eyes.
		
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			It's about winning hearts,
		
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			not arguments.
		
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			It's about dialogue,
		
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			not debate.
		
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			It's about collaboration,
		
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			not contribution.
		
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			It's about presenting to them the beauty of
		
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			the Islamic way
		
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			in all that we say and do in
		
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			our spaces both public and private which will
		
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			attract them
		
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			and change their opinions.
		
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			It's about educating the ignorant
		
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			and opening the eyes of the blindfolded.
		
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			Imam Azuri Rahatul Ali was one of the
		
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			great scholars of this deen and and one
		
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			of the teachers of Imam Malik bin Aras,
		
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			Rahatul Ali. He said that Islam spread the
		
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			fastest
		
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			after Fatah Makkah
		
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			for the first
		
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			because for the first time, the non Muslim
		
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			was able to see the life of an
		
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			ordinary Muslim up close.
		
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			People came into Islam in those days,
		
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			in those early days not for wealth and
		
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			and power or because of complicated
		
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			and complex theological debates
		
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			or because they were forced, but because they
		
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			were so impressed with the grace and harmony
		
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			and tranquillity
		
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			in the life of ordinary Muslims.
		
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			I asked myself, what has changed?
		
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			How is it that we live among non
		
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			Muslims, we enjoy all the benefits of their
		
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			societies and systems,
		
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			yet
		
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			what do we do to win hearts?
		
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			This must be a conscious effort on our
		
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			part.
		
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			It must become a part of our normal
		
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			behaviour, a part of our conscious training of
		
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			our children
		
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			and all those in our circle of influence.
		
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			We must build bridges,
		
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			not walls.
		
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			For that, it is essential to monitor our
		
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			conversations,
		
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			especially our internal conversations
		
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			when we speak to ourselves.
		
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			Do you hear the voice of
		
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			dividing, division,
		
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			or joining?
		
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			If you think and speak about people disparagingly,
		
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			it becomes impossible to respect them and their
		
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			ways.
		
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			Remember that there is much good in everyone.
		
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			There will be places and points of disagreement,
		
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			but those must not become triggers
		
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			to trash everything.
		
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			When we do that,
		
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			we choose
		
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			to become ignorant bigots.
		
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			I want to point out that exclusivity
		
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			comes at a price
		
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			which is always paid by the minority.
		
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			The result
		
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			is isolation,
		
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			suspicion,
		
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			othering and demonization,
		
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			which in times of stress can result in
		
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			violence against us.
		
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			Participation
		
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			is critical to survival,
		
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			and in a country where you can do
		
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			that with total freedom
		
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			while retaining your own cultural and religious norms,
		
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			it is essential to participate
		
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			or risk
		
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			others deciding
		
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			your fate.
		
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			It is essential to participate in society and
		
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			become valuable
		
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			and irreplaceable.
		
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			We have a religion
		
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			which is relevant for all times, which promotes
		
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			all that is wholesome and good, and prohibits
		
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			all that is destructive and toxic.
		
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			Islam came to change our focus and to
		
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			guide us to the truth that in the
		
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			end we will pay for what we did
		
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			or chose not to do.
		
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			The mindset we need to create is to
		
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			move from
		
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			what can I get out of society
		
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			to
		
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			what can I contribute
		
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			to society?
		
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			Because return
		
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			is proportionate
		
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			to contribution,
		
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			not consumption.
		
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			I remind myself anew that when we meet
		
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			Allah
		
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			we will not be asked what happened,
		
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			we will be asked
		
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			what did you do?
		
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			It is for that day that we must
		
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			prepare ourselves,
		
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			and that day must
		
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			be our focus.