Mufti Menk – Book Launch Sri Lanka

			Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. May the peace and blessings of the Almighty be upon one
and all.
		

			Indeed, it is a great honor to be standing here in front of so many of the dignitaries, government
officials, Muslims, non Muslims. And at the same time, my brothers and sisters in humanity to begin
with, and in faith as well.
		

			listening to someone speak about you is not so easy. If you know me, you would know that I don't
like people to speak about me, especially in my presence. Because I think it's what you leave behind
as you depart, that makes you or breaks you. So it's very important that we realize and understand
the beginning and the origin of every one of us. And that is what will take us to the greatest
strength because the best positions can only be achieved in terms of humanity, by understanding that
we are just human beings, every one of us.
		

			And I want to discuss with you two matters to begin with. The first is that the one who made me made
you made everyone made those who follow your faith made those who don't follow your faith made those
who don't follow any faith made those whom you like, make those whom you don't, like, made everyone.
So in the same way, I feel so important as a human being, I need to know that they would all feel
exactly the same, because they are human beings as well. And the quicker I understand this, the
easier it will be for me to be able to reach out to the rest of humankind. But it does not stop
there. Because the maker who made me and made everyone else did not just make human beings, but
		

			rather made creatures in greater numbers than human beings who are not human beings. If you were to
count the number of animals on earth, they they exceed the number of human beings. You know, we
heard just now that we're about 7 billion on earth, and it's increasing. But the number of animals,
birds, insects, the number of trees, etc, etc, all this that was created by the Almighty, the same
maker, they are greater in number, why are they there? And why is my life so limited? Surely, I
believe that I need to serve my maker and serve the rest of the creatures of the same maker, as I
spend my years on earth. And this is why as a Muslim,
		

			as I grew up, and this is the second thing I want to talk about to begin with myself, as I started
off, we were young, we were very innocent. And we grew up in a world that was not filled with such
hatred and intolerance. As we see today, we would have thought that the more educated we became, the
more tolerant we would become of one another or the more we would learn to respect each other.
Unfortunately, as we grew older, we found the reverse, reverse meaning we became educated, we went
to school, more people can read and write on earth than ever before in history. But still,
unfortunately, the number of lives being taken away on a daily basis is increasing. Why?
		

			So when I grew up, I went to a government school Mashallah, in Zimbabwe, we I was born prior to the
independence. So we were not,
		

			you know, we were under a apartheid, sort of, if you understand that term, we were under an
apartheid regime, until we got independence in 1980. and thereafter, I'd started my school just at
that point. And we progressed
		

			initially, just because we were ushered into this new era, I found Mashallah tabarrok Allah, we got
along with people of different colors, different religions, you know, people who came from different
backgrounds, people who spoke different languages, everyone came together at school, we loved each
other. We got along, we played with each other. We had teachers who were not Muslims. In fact, in
Zimbabwe, very few Muslims were actually teachers at the time, very few. And so as I progressed,
religion was taught to me by my father, and by the schools that we would attend in the afternoons,
the madrasa manners, matters of belief, etc. And we were always taught to respect people of other
		

			faiths.
		

			As much as they don't adopt what you adopt,
		

			you don't just tolerate them. But you go beyond tolerance to the point of respect them. I respect
you, we were taught from a young age, that when you see a Hindu, please don't offer him or her beef,
because it is insulting, who taught me this, my parents when I was a little child, it means not just
that I will not offer them, but I will try not to eat it in front of them too.
		

			Although my belief does not prohibit me from doing that, but I live in a multicultural, multi
religious community whereby I need to be sensitive regarding the beliefs and that which is very dear
to others. And therefore, we were taught not to do this, and we did not do that. So Han Allah, I
remember, initially, we, as we grew up, we started asking questions, you know, why is it and we
started learning more about other faiths. And then we had a subject that was introduced, where we
had to learn about all religions, the Religious Studies at schools was not just about one faith,
because the majority were Christians. It was not just about Christians, we had to study about the
		

			minorities as well, in order for us to be able to know how to respect each other. But we will also
taught one thing that stood out for me as a Zimbabwean.
		

			And that was,
		

			you do not have to give up what you believe. You do not have to give up what you believe. And you do
not have to ask others to give up what they believe, to be able to get along with each other, to be
united with each other in order to build your nation.
		

			And without being together or united in that way, you will not be able to build your nation. So from
a very early age, I know that if we would like a nation to succeed or to develop, we need to hold
together, celebrate the difference, the diversity, understand that the same way you believe you have
a right to do something to believe something. So does everyone else have exactly the same rights.
		

			And then as I grew older, I went into a Christian college and I studied there, I studied
Christianity as well. And at the same time, I had completed my memorization of the Quran, and I
started studying the books of Islam in depth. I then went to Medina munawwara, it's a long journey,
I don't wish to get into the details. And towards the end of my studies in Madina munawwara problems
started across the globe, we notice things happening, that were done in the name of faith, not just
the Muslims, done in the name of faith, but it's not taught by the faith.
		

			And so I developed a passion, what was this passion? I told myself, you know what, you need to do
something about this, you need to make sure that when you get up and deliver the goods, you do it in
a way that is non judgmental, number one, non judgmental, meaning, I don't need to judge you based
on your outward appearance based on your choices based on you know what I just see, I need to reach
out to you as a human being without judging. And I've learned from a very early age, never to judge
a book by its cover. You see someone you never know, moments ago, I was when you were speaking about
technology. And I do admit that I try my best to keep up with the new generation because I believe
		

			that they are our future leaders, and we need to instill in them. A lot of this respect of various
people, various faiths, all that actually exists. And that's not easy. And I was on a live, it's
called an Insta live. It's live, it's saved for 24 hours, if you want to see it, you can see it
predominantly my following is Muslim, but I do have a large non Muslim following as well. And so I
was saying that piety is not just prayer. You know, being pious will show in your character. So no
matter how much you have prayed, and you continue to pray, if it does not show in your character and
conduct, you are not pious, you can actually find this on Instagram. I said it before I came here.
		

			You are not pious. Because if you have if you are close to the Almighty, you're softened. You become
a person who understands others. You know that the Almighty is put people around me and situations
and creatures around me to test me What am I going to do? Do I reach out to them? Do I smile with
them? Do I make them feel like we are part of one family
		

			You know, you and I, we are definitely connected through blood relation, every one of us How?
		

			Well, if you take a look at the family tree, we all go back, according to those who believe,
obviously, in what I'm about to say, it's easier to understand, we go back to the Prophet Noah May
peace be upon him, because at that time you and I know that there was a flood and after the flood,
his family was given the, the, the progeny, so to speak, so we're all from his progeny. And if you
don't believe in that, no problem, we go beyond to Adam alayhi salatu salam. And if you don't
believe in that, no problem, we go back to wherever we were made from it starts from a single
person. So Panama. So whichever way you look at it, you will understand we are part of one family
		

			where humankind SubhanAllah. So I'm related to you. But I probably have a different faith, sometimes
within a faith. And I've noticed this from a very early age, you find people squabbling, fighting,
swearing, calling each other names in a way that it becomes
		

			violent. The hatred develops into enmity that develops into fighting, and that fighting goes to
killing you see, across the globe, sectarian killing. And it's unfortunate that even if we try as
hard as we can, to solve this matter, there will be people who will just look at you. drop you in a
box label, you call you an outcast and want to fight you and it will happen. That's part of your
challenge. I find it with myself, too. I hear this person called me that name. I just pray for them.
I say Almighty, they don't understand the same way the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him when he
was harmed in part a, what did he do, he prayed he said Almighty, don't destroy them. If they don't
		

			understand perhaps from their generations, you will guide them. So this is prophetic. We take from
it. It's truly a godly quality, meaning it comes from the Almighty, it is inspired, divinely. And
therefore we pray for them. We excuse them, we try to combat but remember one thing, when you have
people who are not prepared to listen to you,
		

			there's not much you're going to be able to do for them besides praying, and keep trying, just keep
trying one day, who knows, maybe that tapping might crack the rock, you know, they say if water taps
at the rock in drops, the erosion at a certain point will definitely make a hole. So that's what
we're trying to do. However, my beloved brothers and sisters,
		

			it was not easy to reach out to everyone to try to follow what you believe is correct. And at the
same time reaching out to people of diverse faiths beginning with those in your own faith. Because
you and I know it's not just one sect, there are many sects. The immature from amongst us are those
who promote hatred, hatred, to the degree that to solve the matter, they would prefer fighting and
killing, then discussing, speaking, convincing, addressing, if I have a problem with you.
		

			If I was an intellectual and I was truly a person of God, I would engage you to convince you
regarding what I have, rather than fight you and make you go further away and create a whole group
around me a group around you, the two groups will fight for generations. And this has been
happening. I'm actually just putting history in a nutshell for you. This is what's been happening.
So while we reach out to people, we need to understand
		

			that it's not just something that some of us should be doing. But every one of us should be doing.
Open the pages of the Quran, and you will learn according to the true understanding and
interpretation of the Quran, that we definitely need to respect each other. And I love the verses
where the almighty speaks about saving people, not just saving people who belong to your faith, but
saving anyone on earth is as good as saving humanity at large.
		

			Woman
		

			Jeremy, whoever saves a single life is equivalent to He who has saved humanity at large. And the
same is said in that very verse about a person who kills a single person unjustly. They are as good
as someone or should I say as bad as someone who has destroyed humanity at large.
		

			For
		

			me, it is as though they have destroyed or killed off
		

			all of humanity. And this verse goes to show how important it is for us to be able to protect life.
When you see someone drown when you see floods happening across the globe, and I'm sure and I do
know they have happened in this country, maybe Almighty protect us all.
		

			That is a time when we actually show our true colors. Who do you reach out to? Do you reach out to
humanity? Do you reach out to those who disagree with you? Do you reach out to those who don't like
you? If you do, you are fulfilling what the almighty wants from you.
		

			Look at the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. So many incidents where he reached out to those who
threw dirt at him, there was an old lady who used to throw dirt at him on a daily basis. One day
when it didn't come, he decided to enquire. You know, every day something happens, you throw some
debt on me today didn't come to you, okay, Is everything fine? Perhaps you're not well, and she was
not? Well, she was so motivated by that she actually accepted him as a messenger. No, you are a true
prophet of the Almighty, I really regret my action, nobody would treat the enemy this way. So
panela. And I want to give you another example that I love. Those of you who follow closely would
		

			have heard this before. You see, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him tells us that there was a
man who earned forgiveness, and in turn paradise, because he showed compassion towards a dog. And
his story is as follows. One day, he was in the desert. And it was a very hot day, the water was
scarce, he found a well, he decided to go into the well he quench his thirst. And he came up when he
came up, he noticed the dog.
		

			This is a powerful example, he noticed is a dog. The dog was licking the sand because it was looking
for some water to quench its own thirst. And he thought to himself,
		

			then myself being a human being I drank, this dog is not going to be able to go into the well. And
the dog is as thirsty as I was before I went down. So let me go down, fill some water in some form
of a utensil, bring it up for the dog. He went down and he realized there is no utensil besides his
own shoe. So he took off his shoe that time it was like a leather sock. He took it off, he filled it
with water, he came back up, he brought the dog close, he made the dog drink and he felt so good
about having quench the thirst of a dog that the Almighty says we loved his action and compassion so
much towards the dog. We forgave him in turn, granted paradise. When I read this, it brings tears to
		

			my eyes. Imagine a dog, you and I know that as Muslims, for example, those who are Muslims from
amongst us, we do know that when it comes to a dog, there are more rules and regulations governing
your relationship with a dog as a Muslim.
		

			Why was it a dog It was a dog. So in order for his sincerity to be intact, and not questioned?
		

			If you reach out to a dog, your sincerity is not question if it was a pretty woman, one might argue
what your intention was. Maybe your intention was to impress her. If it was a man, you might also
have another intention, if it was anything, but if it's a dog, your intention cannot be questioned
is for Allah is for the almighty for the maker who made you made the dog, etc, etc. What I was
saying. So if we can achieve Paradise by serving, or by quenching the thirst of a dog, what do you
think we would get by serving a fellow human being my brothers and sisters, this is a line that I
love because it motivates me. And therefore what I decided to do several years ago was to start
		

			saying things on Facebook, on Twitter on line two, to really let the world understand that it's not
just about Islam, it what I would say would be applicable to people of all faiths. If you scroll
down the tweets that are tweeted on a daily basis, or you scroll down this Facebook statuses unless
it was connected to something that was happening, like a program that is especially for Muslims,
etc. Every other post would actually be impacting upon you as a human being not necessarily a
Muslim, or someone who belongs to my faith. It would be reaching out to people of all faiths for as
long as you believe you would actually be motivated. Now,
		

			we all develop, we all grow, we all mature, we do make mistakes, we need to understand when you make
a mistake and you're corrected, it should Polish you up. It shouldn't make you arrogant and become
angry. And there are a few times that we've all made
		

			glaring mistakes and corrected ourselves. You know, the arrogant are those who don't correct
themselves, those who don't correct themselves will not be able to grow. So as I was
		

			growing,
		

			my attention was drawn to people who have no faith at all. What about them? Well, I can tell you
something interesting. Guess what? They are human beings as well. Wow. Didn't I say moments ago
people of all faiths? What about someone who doesn't have a faith?
		

			I may disagree with that. But that's a human being. Their hisab meaning their account is with Allah
is with the Almighty, they will go to him.
		

			And who knows, they may believe that they don't go to him according to me, they will.
		

			I remember people arguing about Hellfire, that you believe that if people do bad they will burn. I
said, Look, you know what, let's not worded that way, we can word it in a much more respectful way,
we can say we believe that those who do bad the Almighty has warned them what he does with them,
it's between him and then
		

			that's a better way of wording it we don't deny there is a warning, there is a warning. But guess
what, it's not just the Muslims, almost all faiths have that belief Subhana Allah, that you know
what you do good, the good will come back to you, you do bad, the bad will come back to you. That is
an Islamic belief. But it's not just an Islamic belief. All those who have faith, they have that. So
I always say don't use it against the people have a faith, when they say that if you do bad and bad
is interpreted by every faith in accordance with that faith, then bad will come back to you don't
hold it against them. Because there are those who don't believe in that you are free to believe or
		

			not to believe. No one has told you if I say I'm a Muslim, there is a set of beliefs I have, the
main thing I need to worry about is that the people who don't follow what I have said, they also
have the right to follow their own set of beliefs. And guess what the dialogue will continue. The
discussion may continue all in a respectful way. People may disagree, but they may be your good
friends. They may be your good friends. So as time passed, I found that a lot of the quotes and one
might ask how do you think them up? Well, look, I'm speaking right now. So many things I've said
would actually apply to humanity. And I will go back, jot down three or four sentences, that's
		

			enough for the day. That's what I do three sentences a day, or three little quotes a day, on
average, sometimes two, sometimes four. Because I've been a counselor for many years, we reach out
to people, sometimes we are attacked unfairly unjustly by people, sometimes people on a very high
level, who've never interacted with you, they've never given a chance for you to explain yourself,
and they will pass a judgement, they will say things that may affect you, it's okay. It's okay. A
day will come when they will realize they were wrong. And sometimes a day will come when you will
realize that you are wrong. So Pamela,
		

			see, it's amazing. So what happens is, we have to grow as life passes and progresses, you jot down a
few important pointers, which you think are universal. And you will find the common factors between
us are, should I say far outweigh the differences?
		

			We are seated here today.
		

			We have so much in common. And you know what developing the city and the nation, the country, etc,
will only happen when we respect each other. So this was a quick introduction regarding the cause.
Someone told me please compile this in the book. And I said it's okay. It's okay. They said you
don't understand the power of these quotes. They help us it's as though you know what we are going
through? And I say, Well, I don't, but I know what I'm going through.
		

			And we're all the same. If I were to tell you, brother, whoever or sisters, whoever has five
fingers, put up your hands, we would all put up our hands. Why? Because I have five fingers, you
have five fingers. It doesn't make me like a genius to know that you have five fingers, you're a
human. And you would probably have five fingers in 99.9% of the cases. If not, maybe Almighty bless
you even further. Some people may not for whatever purpose.
		

			The same applies to our lives. We all have financial matters, social matters, you know, perhaps
sometimes psychological matters, things that affect our minds, mental stress. We all go through
this. If I were to talk about it, I would then realize how many people actually benefit from what
I've said, and how many are affected by the same. I remember years ago, there was someone who wrote
to me and told me that you know, I am divorced and I'm going through this and this and I don't think
anyone has been through what I've gone through. And I wrote back saying would you create a small
club or
		

			People who've been through the problem, you can advertise it that time, the advertisements were
slightly different, not as easy as now. And she created a huge club of people. And she was shocked
that there were so many people who had been through exactly what she had gone through. And the point
I was raising is together, we can help each other, we can actually reach out to each other, you can
smile, imagine you suddenly read a tweet in the morning, something you were really going through,
and you read it and you say, Wow, wow, I'm going through the same thing. It's just a reassurance to
say we are one family, we go through the same thing. So I ended up a few years later putting this
		

			together, and we decided we are going to take those that were liked the most.
		

			So together in one book, we've got 30 Million Likes in total, within 500 quotes, these likes are
from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google Plus.
		

			And this book, I've launched it in a few places. It's the first time we're launching it here in Sri
Lanka. Like I said, the uniqueness of it is it cuts through barriers of religion. And every other
barrier you can think of, in terms of humankind, it's advice, it's a moment you read one, think
about it, it's a motivation. It's a moment. Like I said, perhaps sometimes people who don't have any
faith whatsoever, may not relate to some way we connect it to the Almighty, but they are still my
brothers and sisters in humanity. And I recall, as I started off, there were some Muslims who came
to me and told me,
		

			how can you call these people, your brothers and sisters, when they don't share your faith? And I
told them, guess what? You need to know, it is such an immature statement. Because we were brothers
and sisters in humanity before any of that we will.
		

			And it requires a constant reminder,
		

			a constant reminder for people to then understand No, you know what he is right. And for that
reason, those who know me, they would know that I continue. We face criticism from people from all
sides, actually, those who don't understand those who have a warped interpretation of faith and
religion, those who think that religion means you must be at war with everyone else, you have an
attack from them, keep on working, keep on trying, sometimes I don't even respond to negatives,
because I want to think as positively as I can.
		

			And then you have people on the the other extreme, where they are liberal, very liberal, so much so
that when they see you, they might sometimes automatically judge you, you know what, excuse them,
but reach out to them as well, one day, they will respect you, they will understand this person was
actually very balanced. They taught goodness SubhanAllah. So we faced so many challenges across the
globe, you have to continue, you have to persevere. You have to keep doing what you're doing. Don't
allow your goodness to be lost. Just because others were bad. Don't allow your goodness to diminish
because others were bad. That is a time when you shall shine even more, it is the true test in the
		

			face of negativity to still be able to be as positive as possible. That is true success. You need to
uplift those who might be feeling low, you need to keep reaching out to people, I remember meeting
people of all faiths, different parts of the world, speaking to them,
		

			like a real brother, and sister, we are brothers and sisters in faith, then you have people who
misinterpret religion, they misinterpret verses of the Quran, for example. And they begin to say the
Koran says this, the Quran says that we need to understand
		

			interpretation needs to be correct interpretation, the context needs to be understood always. And we
will continue explaining that even in the face of those who call us names. We will continue
explaining we will continue living together. And we will continue building our nations because
indeed the building of a nation and this is the third time I'm saying it will not happen unless we
are together. And unless we are living in peace. So we reach out to one another. And in this way we
would be able to actually build ourselves and we have positive hope for a future generation. So I've
traveled a lot of countries across the globe, presenting a message. A lot of the times when I go you
		

			have people who look at the advert and they think what is this guy coming to do here? He's going to
come and spoil he's going to come and mess. You have people who sometimes take one sound bite from
what you said and said, look what he says when I tell you I'm open to correct
		

			At all times, and this is what makes us unique. If someone no matter who they are, would send me an
email and tell me correction. You said this, you said that this is wrong. And this is why it's
wrong. And this is how it is wrong. You know what, if they have a point, I would correct myself,
those who know me know that I have done that. And this is how we've developed, we see crises across
the globe, I promise you, the only way forward is to be able to understand our roots. And that is
the Almighty Who has actually created us all one huge family, we will respect one another. So with
this, I actually would like to say thank you very much for giving me this beautiful opportunity to
		

			speak about myself and the book. And I really would like to reach out to every single one of you in
the best possible way, I would have loved to continue speaking, I've already spoken for exactly half
an hour. I think I've overshot my time, but inshallah we'll progress will continue with the events
of the rest of the evening. Perhaps I might get an opportunity to answer a few questions maybe a
little bit later, desert Mala. Hey, thank you so much for what an all to have come here this
evening. And I hope and I pray that together, we can actually do something people ask, what are
Muslims doing about the problems, and this is an important point, perhaps the last one, what are
		

			Muslims doing about what's happening across the globe, all this extremism etc. While I want to tell
you we are doing so much we have traveled at our own expense, a lot of the times to many places, we
have done a lot to try and educate the Muslims about how they should not only coexist, but respect
each other, they should learn to respect people of diverse faiths, etc, etc. And we have done so
much we continue doing it. But we need the support of one and all. And that support will come even
if it means by a good word. If it even if it means by an acknowledgment, even if it means by a
correction, it still support you tell us you know what we acknowledge you guys are doing something
		

			about this. And this is why a country of this nature, it's not the only country that might have a
bit of tension between people of different faiths know, there are so many countries that have
similar issues. The question is, do we acknowledge those who are trying to do something to make a
positive difference to make a positive change? Do we acknowledge them? Or are we from amongst the
little group who keeps on talking about how nobody's doing anything about it, these people are like
this, those people are like that, I think the more we educate ourselves, the more we would be able
to actually live in a much better world. When we educate ourselves about one another, we will be
		

			able to respect one another learn to love one another, learn to reach out to one another and the
world is still a very good place. The world is definitely still a very good place. There are still
lots of people, I think the majority who actually care for one another. It's unfortunate that
sometimes the way we project things actually becomes negative. You know, when I
		

			read the papers and the newspapers, the media, the internet, you look at the news outlets, a lot of
the times they write about bad things, they don't write about good things. They write about how many
people did not cross the road. So one guy was bumped today on this meridian drive, for example. They
write about one guy pumped, but they never write about 20,000 people who crossed it successfully,
you see. So for that reason, we always say watch our dangerous roll. Don't cross the road here.
Because one man died. What about 2 million who cross the road last month? Subhan Allah. So I think
from that angle, you would understand there is more goodness than bad. But unfortunately, the bad is
		

			propelled such that we start thinking we're living in a bad world in Sharla. It's a good world. And
I hope that people like us can make a big difference. And again, I repeat, if there is any
correction that has to come, please, at least let's discuss it. Let's talk about it. Let's say it so
that we can all fulfill our role and our duty. Thank you very much as a communicator salaam aleikum
wa rahmatullah wa barakato.