Mustafa Umar – Why We Need to Tell People About Islam

One topic

that we really need to address today

in this fundraiser

is the events that are taking place today

in the world, particularly right here in America

and more particularly

right here in our very own backup.

How many of you have seen, either in

person or on the Internet,

the event that took place at the Obalonians

and Sundays with the family? Please raise your

hand.

Not for the event or for the fact

that people are watching. You know, there was

a time

not too long ago,

maybe about a year ago, maybe 5 years

ago, few years ago, is that the vast

majority of people, especially in the elder generation

or even the medium gen middle generation,

They won't even know what YouTube is.

You ask them what a video is, they

wouldn't know. And then how did it that

now we have an opportunity,

now we have an awareness, now we're beginning

to have this understanding

that through the use of this media, we

would capture this event

in such a way that people could not

simply shout down slogans.

They could not simply go and yell a

bunch of phrases and just say go home

and say this and say that. But now

we got them on camera. Now

our responsibility

becomes

to change this information

and make other people aware of it. This

video got

750,000 hits in YouTube within 2 to 3

days.

2 to 3 days. Can you imagine

can you imagine the opportunity? Do you know

what people were commenting? People were disgusting.

You go and you ask your Muslim friends.

You go you go and ask your non

Muslim neighbors and friends, and they were disgusted.

They couldn't believe that something like this was

taking place.

But now

there's a statistic.

There's a statistic

that shows

that a certain percentage of Muslims are are

people in America

believe

that Islamic

extremism

is a very, very dangerous threat to this

country.

Now can somebody guess?

Can somebody tell me what percentage of people

do you think

fall in that category?

What percentage? Can somebody can somebody guess for

me?

Yes.

Less than 1% of Americans actually think

that no. No. How many people in America

really think that Islam is a threat? This

is according to a Pew Research poll that

was done in 2010.

Guess how many people have this thing. They're

they're very concerned

with the spread of Islam, and they feel

that it could be a danger. Can somebody

give me a statistic? Please. 70%.

How much?

More people. How much? 70. More people. 70%.

Very, very close. Very close. 62%.

62%

of people

are concerned. 62% of people that feel that

is a very major concern. It's a major

issue.

And then you look at the percentage of

people that do not know that do not

know. Did I get this right? Is it

52?

Alright. 52. I'm a say

52%.

And how much how much percent

of people say that they've never met an

American Muslim ever in their life? They don't

know much.

I gave you a little hint before.

62%.

62%

of people say they've never met a Muslim.

They don't know Muslim.

Do you see the similarity? Do you see

the similarity in the statistics that if you're

looking at that percentage of people who are

concerned with Islam,

those are the same people who don't know

a single Muslim?

So let me ask you this question, to

be be very obvious. All of it's very

difficult for us to go and share Islam.

It's difficult sometimes to go and talk to

your neighbor about it because religion is kind

of like a taboo topic sometimes.

So let me ask you this question.

How many of you at least

know at least know on a fairly decent

level both of your neighbors on both sides?

Raise your hand.

Great.

How many of you

have spoken

or given in sentences,

in terms of a or whatever it may

be, more than 3 sentences, 3 or more

sentences

about Islam? Please raise your hand.

Yes. I humbled it.

I humbled it. That is what we need

to get.

That is what we need to do. Because

in this current

field, in this current time where Islamophobia

is rising,

we find that it's our responsibility

as average Muslims

that we need to go out and tell

people what Islam really stands for. It is

our responsibility and it's our duty to do

so. And this is one of the responsibility

and it's our duty to do so. And

this is one of the beautiful things about

why Islam. Why Islam is here to help

you. It's here to help me. It's

here to help every single Muslim, masjid,

every single Islamic center because they provide the

literature. They provide the copies of the Quran.

And they go and they have their the

literature. They provide the copies of the Quran.

And they go and they have their teams,

and they go out, and they perform this

effort on behalf of everybody,

and they help you facilitate to fulfill that

effort as well. And that is particularly what

we need to do and what we need

to understand.

So keep this in mind how important it

is to share Islam in the current context

of Islamophobia.

In order to enhance that, in order to

give you a more depth understanding

of how important it really is, I would

like to ask