Omar Suleiman – Reclaiming The Narrative About Our Prophet SAW – Part 2

As I always do any time when we hear about our messages,

and we get a chance to actually sort of live through those, since I have the benefit of assisting certain comments on the compiler ation of 17 moments of awkwardness. And by the way, if you haven't looked it up, please look it up. It's been translated into many languages, including Arabic and sha Allah, it's actually never been done in Arabic. To that extent, so 17 moments of the province of Obama, forgiving his enemies, and responding to enmity and insults with grace and compassion.

It's actually called 70 moments of moral greatness on European Institute word. And it was an absolute pleasure to partake in that in that discussion. And there are a few things that I want to share. And I'll be very honest with you that I, I try not sometimes I try to insulate myself from the other lecture so that I don't forget what I want to say. But I was not able to do that this time.

Because we talked about the profit side, some of them, it's so hard not to fall in love with him when you actually talk about who he was. And when you actually tried to see things from his vantage point.

I remember Dr. Cornel West, saying something that really stuck with me about Jesus Christ, Jesus peace be upon.

Don't think that culture is only appropriate at the image of Jesus when a small fits to change this color and change the texture of his hair. But know that they also appropriated Jesus's theology Jesus is politics. And Jesus is culture in accordance with their own culture to solidify and sanctify their own practices.

We have a tendency of people to sanitize our fingers, our beloved fingers, when they pass away in a way that we see fits, and in a way that fits our own perceptions and our own vantage points. For example, I had the immense pleasure, you know, I'm a total dork when I go to places and visit places and tours, because I go to museums. And I know that's really, really unexciting and boring. And, but I really enjoy those. By the way, Dallas, the first place I went to in Dallas after the must have, of course, a great place to live and, you know, a lot for 20 hours.

The first place I went to dig a cave Museum, and I just loved it, because it gives you a chance to actually sort of go through history in a holistic way and visualize things beyond YouTube. Of course, when I went to South Africa, I

had the chance to do a Mandela pilgrimage. So I went to Mandela's prison cell Mandela's homes and up and went through the apartheid Museum, which is the most amazing museum I've ever seen in my life. Anyone here from South Africa? No, no, where are you?

Why?

There's always people from South Africa. Okay.

As Camelot, one of the things that you realize over and over again, is that we sanitize our fingers when they pass away, and sometimes over sanitized to where we don't do justice to their legacy, in fact, more often than not, so somehow, Nelson Mandela, Santa Claus. Now, I don't understand how they managed to root out his legacy of striving for justice and his boldness and his courage. But somehow, he stands up. We do that here with Martin Luther King, Jr. All the time. We sanitize Malcolm X sometimes, but right now it's more beneficial to public interest to portray Malcolm X as a violent militants. Because that's the way we Muslims are being portrayed as a whole. So we do that.

But the point is, we appropriate the images of people after they passed away. And that will be done to civil rights figures that'll be done to educators, that'll be done to activists and celebrities. And it will certainly be done even to the prophets of God. Right, we will ship them and mold them in the way that we want to mold them. And so one of the things that's very important to understand is that 18th 19th century, scholars and historians saw this onslaught on the character of the profits by some coming, they wrote about it. We actually mentioned that in the paper, that this was part of a colonial project. to portray the profits My son has been a barbarian

makes it easier to massacre the followers of the Prophet

without guilt, and without consciousness makes imperialism easier to comprehend. At least see it being done now. Right to portray these people as a people worthy of being carpet bombs, not just because it's in their DNA because they're Brown, but also because they have inherited a barbaric theology. And this is the only way we can rid the world of this cancer is by removing it and eradicating the followers of Obama he was set up to portray the profits by Sun in that light himself.

is exactly what they needed.

And they successfully, too many people were able to portray them in that light. And sadly, we cannot insulate ourselves sometimes from the propaganda all around us. And so Pamela, haven't mentioned they have the money, boy, do they have money? And boy, do they have networks. And they have I mean, think about Breitbart. Breitbart earned the presidency in eight years. That's significance. So are we going to be able to protect the image of the Prophet size of the image of Muslims all the time? No, because they are deeply embedded within the cells of the internet. It sounds a lot like what they portray civilization, jihad, and civilization Islamophobia. But even using the cultures of the

Internet, and the networks of the Internet, and the cables and the internet, to implement to implement this poison in so many places that you can't escape it. And everything is about the first impression. Right isn't always about the first impression. So what did they do with both leaders and activists, they will bombard the internet, they will flood the internet, we've studied the networks by the way. So we know who's behind these network and what their strategy is. But if I can put out 100 baseless articles about this person, it's enough to create suspicion. And it's enough to put a barrier between you and that person. So that when you are finally introduced to that person, you

already will undoubtedly humanly have this, these ill feelings towards them and be suspicious of them, you won't be able to trust them. And that's not necessarily because it's your fault. It's just there's so much that's out there. That's fine for Muslims, make your friends before you need them. You need to network with people, you need to get out there and know people before they allow someone else to create a narrative about you, where you're not able to represent yourself or your faith properly. It's been a blind spot with our dental and our massages for the last 40 years that we thought that we could isolate ourselves and have these fortress, these fortress looking massages,

hidden often dumped off without proper signs, we can talk about whatever we wanted, we could do whatever we wanted. And when things got nasty, we could just bury ourselves deeper into isolation, and come up with our condemnations every once in a while, but not create a narrative about ourselves or about our religion, before it's created for us. And that has left the character of the Prophet's life in the public, in public discourse vulnerable to where it has been assaulted in so many ways. And we feel utterly helpless. Because it's all it's all about a first impression. And somehow when you talk about a first impression with the messenger, so a lot of it was the Prophet sallallahu

wasallam, having have an enormous impact on every one that he mounts for the first time.

And that's why the islamophobes have the date, and the time of the Prophet by some trying to stop people from going and meeting them. And trying to, you know, their Islamophobic attack was that he's a sorcerer and a magician. Because if you come into contact with him, there is no way you won't be impressed by his character and his dignity and his morals and his personality. No one attack the personality of the Prophet slice on. That's the irony of the situation. His fiercest enemies could not, but say positive things about his character in all of the things they attacked. And when they said we got nothing on his character is more noble than any of us. But he's the magician. He's the

sorcerer. So because that was his theme is so amazing. We have to resort to attacking the unseen. And we have to try to stop you from meeting the prophets. Why some and hearing him represent himself. Because we know that if you do that you're gone. You're gone. You're going to join the Muslims. They understood that, that the Prophet was able to make a great first impression on people, if anyone was honest with themselves when they got him. Even if they did not accept his faith. They came away in off of him and loving him. And absolutely unaspirated by his presence on his block was set up, you know, we talked about the Chief Rabbi of Medina, was around who would become Muslim and

be named Abdullah. This is a very educated and knowledgeable man. He knows the Scripture. He knows it very well. He knows the Old Testament, but he's a sincere human being. And he's convinced from an intellectual perspective that yes, there's another profit that's coming. We're waiting for this profit, we know it and he wants to analyze the profits. But what does he say this into this man who is the scholar of Judaism in Medina, when he sees the Prophet? He has the watch.

that faith is not the face of a liar. It is.

Yeah.

There is no way not that he wasn't smart. It's not that he hadn't done his homework or his research. The problem sites that have made an incredible first impression on that one lady and in all the way in the history of America or

A total scholar and

he had the ability to make that amazing first impression. So they tried to create enough of suspicion to where you would not allow him to represent himself.

And the goal of the job of representing the Prophet sallallahu wasallam today does not rests on the messenger slice of a restaurant.

And you cannot, you cannot get beyond the fact that whether you like it or not, you are his ambassador, I need the software set up by virtue of being almost you have to be everything you do, will be scrutinized in light of what they've heard about your religion and what they've heard about the one that you claim to follow everything that you do. And so yes, we can't get over the personal interaction, and to show people how the sin of the prophets lie, some impacts us and shape us. And to the point that the Masters license

which Medina

represented the profits, so well, that they felt that they were going to put their lives on the line for the profits myself not even knowing how he looks. Because he was such an amazing ambassador to the point that when the promise was made the hits to

the people that have been waiting for him all day, every day, when they spotted the problem, they didn't know if it was him, or

they have no idea because they have seen the product of the devil of the Prophet slicin them in Mossad and that was enough to create a good first impression. And to show them that if this is what he is manufacturing, then he must be amazing. If this is what he's putting out there, he must be amazing. So we can't get around that we can write all the papers in the world, which inshallah we will

actually share.

We can write all the papers in the world about the profits, and all the books and make all the videos. But at the end of the day, number one, you cannot escape your own responsibility. In representing him Well, I thought was set up in your personal interactions with people. Number two, how do we create the narrative if you can't make a first impression. and in this situation, unfortunately, the profits by some has been defined in such a negative way by people and the narrative has been created about him for so many people, that he needs to show people why their first impression was wrong,

and why they need to step out of that frame and reintroduce themselves to the Prophet. So

I hope you guys are understanding this why it's so important from an art from from a debate perspective, from for argument's sake. And just for the purpose of data, you cannot start with defending the profit slice on them on a particular point. You have to show people how flawed their introduction to the profit slice was, and reintroduce them to the messengers on the love it was done. I'll tell you all a story. And I hope it's not being recorded and put online just like I said that last time, the last lecture, because we plan to make an actual story about this gentleman's house. So you guys want to watch the beginning of the video. Don't get mad when you already know the

end of it's like a true spoiler that I'm about to give you. All right. I went to University of Florida, anyone here from us? Know, all right, bernafon guy, Terry Jones, the first guy to burn the 400 that made that whole public thing, the guy with the ugly mustache, right? I'm talking about

I have to give a lecture there, Gainesville. And literally, he and his people were waiting out in the parking lot for me to get out of my car and to shout me down with all these nasty things about the profits, like all the way from my car to the lecture.

It was disgusting.

And there were some people that were in that lecture that wanted to know, I mean, they're obviously,

like, every time I see a lecture, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, okay. But there was more than that. There were some non Muslims over here. They wanted to hear our perspective. And how there was one sister that came after and she knows what we're doing a story on how she came afterwards, she was non Muslim. And she said, Look,

everything you said makes sense. She says In fact, the theology of Islam makes sense. I think theology actually agreed it's common sense. Yes, one god that's what the that's what was prescribed out of all the way to to Jesus. And all in all these prophets were essentially calling to the same thing renewing the covenant with God. Jesus was the Messiah in accordance with the Abrahamic understanding of what was supposed to do that all makes sense. You put the theology all lines up, and he said, the message of the prophets by some is congruent with the rest of the messages. I get them. She says about the marriage time.

So I can't I can't get around them.

I said to her, okay. Have you ever read anything about it? So the

She said no, except for all the debates about how young she was, which, by the way, was not an issue that was brought up until now.

Until it shows you how insignificant her age was, whatever that age would have been, how insignificant it was to the discussion that the only possible there recently

from her, so no one else had any issue of it, because whatever her age was, it was normal at the time, but now huge deal. So she says, Have you read anything about

her personality, or marriage to the profit slice of her psychology? this one because the impression that's created right away is that this was the young exploited girl, just like the thing we see on the news with all those crazy Muslims overseas and child marriages that was put into a house by this old man and, and subjected to abuse and had this destroyed psychopathy. And it was it's a horrible image, right? Have you read about the scholar, the will have the woman that was so proud and her leadership and has such self esteem that she was more eloquent than any of the male companions of the Prophet slice of them, the woman who was more knowledgeable in jurisprudence and inheritance

than anything that that any of the others that any others who have a work this woman that love the prophets lie, some unspoken and so blowingly, far from an abusive monster that is being portrayed as thoughtless, but instead of loving husband that treated her and respected her with with with so much respect that he listened to her when she was angry, and they had arguments have you read about her as a person?

She said, No. I said, Okay, so here's what we're going to do. Before I have any discussion with you about her age, I'm going to send you a bunch of material to read on how to shop.

And I want you to just forget about anything that the islamophobes are putting your head about this and this enough.

So she did so how much he was so amazed by it.

And so blown away by that suddenly, that discussion was not important anymore. And she took Shahada and she had a daughter and she named her daughter.

All right, because it has a good ending a happy ending.

The framing was wrong in the first place. When someone attacks you and says the prophets lie, some killed the Jews. Right? And so this is the the nature of the evolution of Islamophobia that people used to be, you know, after 911 the Islamophobic arguments against Islam are actually quite Elementary. Now, they've moved on to being pre K. They're even sillier. But they're armed with unfortunately, you know, some things that they run a line and some supposes narration and they throw them out there. Rudy Giuliani sitting on sean hannity, and St. Paul Mohamad killed 700 Jews. Really?

What did you read? And how did you just frame that?

So one of the things that we're actually that we're working on now inshallah to be released, I believe, may 1, and hopefully the last week is to study all of the positive interactions, the Prophet's life, somehow the Jews in Medina and whatever they, like 30 3035, good release, you know, narrations of the prophets, like some dealing with the Jews in a beautiful way in a beautiful fashion. Because at the end of the day, you're going to take a moment of treason

by a try and formulate through that a narrative that this is a normative relationship between the prophets by someone and entire people. You're being dishonest, no matter what angle you're arguing in from, you're being dishonest to his to his character, you're being dishonest with biography. So let's step out.

Let's reframe this, and then study why the exceptions were the exceptions. That's our approach intellectually, to set the frame, and to show people how they have tarnished and without, and then we cannot say that this was within Islam. But yeah, this was part of a colonial project. It is, without a doubt, beneficial to people to portray the prophets myself in this barbaric fashion. Let's create the narrative account. Who is he? Because you know what, think about yourself right now. If someone wants to take a few incidents from your life, that deep that are that are that seem unfavorable, and to write a biography on you based on that and ignore all of your good qualities.

Wouldn't you hate yourself?

Someone so 10 incidents from your life

that seemingly are unfavorable and portrayed the and wrote a biography about you. And here it is the Armada you're not reading about

and that's that's someone's introduction to you.

Wouldn't they hate your guts? I know they hate me. They wouldn't even have to slander me. Just take me, okay? Because we're fallible, we make mistakes. And we do we do things that are out of character sometimes and sometimes unfortunately in character and still unfavorable. But the point is, is that we have to demonstrate the hypocrisy and how the prophets has been framed. And we will not resort to or we will not be suffocated by their imposed narrative of the prophets of Allah. And he was telling us to constantly play defense. No, he didn't do this. No, he didn't do this. No, he didn't do this. No, no, no, wait a minute. How do you get to define the Prophet? He's not a prophet. How about we

let 2 billion people define his narrative first, and you see how they see him. And then you understand why they love because I wanted to define I'm telling you guys if I wanted to define the Bible, by evil Bible calm or define if I wanted to portray Jesus as a political radical, which, by the way, is probably more true to his politics than the Santa Claus seasons that we have today. All right, that's being portrayed today. I could do that with any holy book and with any finger in history, anybody. You know, how on our modern date times, you can study one of the rounds of our arrow,

Edgar Hoover, Dr. Hoover, and you can you can study how he dealt with these famous figures in in our own American history, how Hoover actually tried to portray Dr. King and how he tries to de legitimize civil rights figures how he tried to kick up all the dirt on them, and then let that infiltrate so that you could create enough of a barrier between you and their fingers. With the proper fine setup. We have details of his life, we have a rich signal, we have a rich sieloff May Allah Subhana Allah allow us to be worthy enough to be his ambassadors, and they find us worthy enough to be joined with him and

allow him to be proud of us.