Waleed Basyouni – Islamophobia

			Not hamdulillah who want to stay in who wanna study he was still Pharaoh. When I saw him in Cerulean
fujinami sejahtera Medina Maja de la hora mo de la mejor para hodja Hua Chateau La ilaha illallah wa
houda Sheree cara, wash Havana Mohammed Abu rasuna Allahumma salli ala Muhammad Anwar Ali Mohammed
camisa. Later Allah Ibrahima innaka hamidah Majeed, I'm abiding by the law. All praise due to align
His praise and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his
family, his companions and his followers until the day of judgment. I bear witness at the laws The
only one worthy of worship and Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam is lost on Final messenger. My brothers
		

			and sisters, there is a word became very commonly heard and used, especially among the Muslim
community lately. And this word, we hear more about it, especially in the time of election cycles,
which is the word of islamophobes, or Islamophobia. phobia is an unreasonable fear in any phobia. It
comes from an unreasonable fear someone have a social phobia, someone have no phobia from height
phobia from whatever geographic places certain places. So phobia is unreasonable on basically
founded fear. And what do we have here? An unfounded reason, unfounded fear of Islam, unreasonable
fear of Islam, that required from the person to take major mental unreasonable as well. And that's
		

			why we call so many times we hear it many times this word used to describe those who are hostile
against Islam and Muslims, especially the Muslim community in America, those who unreasonably start
attacking and assuming things about our community, which is not true. Like for example, when someone
tells you that we should civilians automate their massages, or their mosques and mortar, monitoring
their Imams, and their hotbars unreasonable fear because massages and speech and leaders and
religious leaders do not produce did not produce in the past, while not inshallah producing the
future terrorist would produce terrorists is the anger and the hate and the unjustice that we see
		

			happening in the world besides the teaching of certain individual but they're not part they are they
do not consider the main reason for what we see today in the world.
		

			Also, even that some of folks tried to say or to make no assumption that yes, not all Muslim
terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims. And that's absolutely false. As a matter of fact, it is
number one concerns in America among across the police and security agencies at threat doesn't come
from the Muslim community, it come from the white supremacist, right wing. That's not my that's not
my talk. That's not my opinion. That's not a Muslim experts opinion. That's the people in the field,
like the sheriff's the FBI, the decision of shows in the United States, the FBI, all these kind of
all these different security agencies are here. When we look at islamophobes try to make Muslims
		

			they will rule Sherry out over America, how come less than 1% or almost 1% of the country will
enforce a rule to be adopted by Congress and voted for, for the Sharia law to be implemented. It's
nonsense, but it's unreasonable fear. But unfortunately, feed works very well with people. Feed
works very well. People people respond to fear more than anything else. That's why even they say if
you ever want your apology to be accepted, always justified by fear. Because when somebody says, Oh,
I was afraid to do this, that's why I like, you know, maybe we'll go over there because fear always
make people feel respond very well to it.
		

			So what I would like to talk about today, I would like to talk about the concept of Islamophobia and
how we as a community, should we respond to that, even though this is a very big topic, but I want
to just pick a few points here and there.
		

			Before I even start the the main message of Mike in my talk today, I want to make some point as an
introduction.
		

			First of all, slumber folks are not the only challenge that we have as a Muslim community in
America. Those extreme whites,
		

			extreme right wingers in America, they're not the only threat to our community today. It's not the
only challenge that we have. It is a challenge, but it's not the only challenge. You still have also
the extreme left liberal leftist social liberals liberal also consider a very big challenge for the
Muslim community to deal with them and basically forced
		

			their views over us. And if you don't adopt their views and their social views, you will be called
out and you will be. Even in certain country today, you can go to jail if you don't agree with their
social views as we see in some European countries. Today, I was in a conference call with one of the
leaders of the Muslims in Denmark and he was telling me how in Denmark, they just pass a law in the
parliament and their Parliament saying that imants cannot say certain things in the mustard, even
though it's allowed to be said exactly the same thing to be said in a church to be said and TV and
it will not be considered a crime. But if you say, as a religious leader in the member and hopital
		

			drama, it will be a crime you can go to jail for it.
		

			That how social leftist, extreme social lightest
		

			reached.
		

			So those and this trend is growing in our country, in our society. And that's considered, in my
opinion, a big challenge that facing us. This, you know, this challenges facing us besides not only
islamophobes as a Muslim community, also, we have a challenge with those who reject religion and try
to eliminate the religion value from people's mind and head into society and reducing the role of
religion and Pittman public's life. This is another challenge we facing as a community. One of the
thing I want to say also,
		

			that
		

			basically, it with islamophobes, I want to say that is not only related to the right wing,
		

			not only Republican, not only Tea Party is not only all this not true, you know there is
islamophobes and democratics islamophobes, in Green Party in any party could be non partisan
parties, there will be islamophobes. In the far right, in the far left, there will be exist people
who have unreasonable fear from Islam from all kinds of people. So don't make it very specific to
one group in America. At Yes, it is more appearing in the right wing, extreme Christians groups, but
it's exists also in other groups as well in the United States.
		

			It comes from ignorance, it's come because of racism, it comes before because of the lack of
interacting with Muslims. Also, I would like to say that even though it is an islamophobes among
Muslims, that is Muslims who say things way worse than what you heard in some news outlets in
America. You will hear from some Muslim things about Islam and what is the Sharia? As you know,
Sharia creeps are the column here. You know, there is a Sharia freak some creeps also who have the
name of Imam Muhammad, unfortunately, who would say so evil things and so scared about Islam and the
teaching of Islam and the prophets or salams traditions. So we have to understand that even among
		

			sometimes our Muslims, so called Muslims, community members who will stand up and testify in
Congress and in senate and go to the media, and it speaks so evil about Islam and about the Prophet
Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam tradition and sadness, and the speak our tongue, we carry our names, they
say that their present are legit. So islamophobes islamophobes phobia. It's a I think it's a problem
that does exist in many different type of people today. Also, I want to say that not everybody who
have unreasonable fear, or extreme fear from Islam, it means that that person is a racist. Not
necessarily, that person is an ignorant, yes, but it doesn't mean that that person is racist. Many
		

			of those people who hate Islam and who have very negative view of Islam came from the lack of
knowledge. It came because of the propaganda that is basically spread by the media. If you just
imagine for a second how shakeela that you became in his or her shoes, that you know what you never
met, we have a lot of phobia about a lot of other people. A lot of other things because we never
interacted with it.
		

			You know, a lot of people have these ideas and this ideologies about other groups and other sects
and other religions in the same maybe some of us can reach to that to became a phobia, unreasonable
fear, an unreasonable, you know, reaction and hostile toward them. That the reason is because of the
lack of knowledge. There is a very interesting video I saw on YouTube of a guy who was demonstrating
in front of a mustard and he has even a bad words like f words about a slop and he didn't
		

			I'd have to walk into the mustard. And he walked into the mustard with this very insulting
statement, his t shirt, but the people in the mustard were wise. They said, Well, how can we help
you? What do you want? He said, I want to know about this religion that I'm demonstrating against
it. And I'm saying this about it, and you never heard anything about it, except what people telling
me. So I'm giving you a chance to say, what does your religion is about? After compensation has this
video on YouTube? He ended up taking the shirt putting up the upside down and he said I should allow
Allah, he accepted Islam. So not everyone in that camp, it means that this is somebody I'm giving a
		

			hope.
		

			On? No, we have to keep in mind that many of them is basically ignorant. I always tell a lot of
politicians and non Muslim friends, you know, what's the biggest problem with islamophobe. And maybe
this is a good point to keep in mind islamophobes they don't have anything reasonable to offer to
the government, or to the society. But why? Because they basically against everything, it's called
Islam.
		

			If you notice, the people are taught by islamophobes are the Muslim who consider conservative,
traditional Muslims, and even liberal Muslims attacked by them. There is nobody left from the most
conservative organization you have in America, to the most, you know, liberal progressive Muslims in
America are attacked.
		

			And that shows that those people cannot. So that means that out of the billion Muslim in the earth,
you're basically saying 95% of them are extremely, this kind of language never resonate with anyone
was a common sense, does not resonate with politician does not resonate with people of common sense.
It will not go anywhere and hamdulillah they are stupid that far. Or they are foolish to that
extent, that this is the way they are addressing it. Because that's what's really the air the issue
here.
		

			What is so important, why, why this is a concern. If they don't make sense to majority of people,
and they are minor, why even I'm making about it, you know, I'm so worried about really mainly about
the young generation that we have in the coming generation. If we live and grow and our community
grow in such hostile environment, it became very concerned for me. Number one, it's make our
community almost in a defensive position. And that's their goal, this attack left and right. And
every day, there is a story. So what you've been doing every day, what machine has to go to jihad,
watch calm and refute what they say about him, or they go to this
		

			Wikipedia or whatever website that they have about me and all my work will be just to defend, to
defend. No, I didn't say that no, this taken out of context. So I will not have time to build
anything. Our community basically turned to be lawyers. But no engineers, no doctors, no teachers,
we've been just the whole community to turn to be a watchdog group, not a group that builds
relations, not the group that build bridges. All what we do is just knocking down walls, instead of
building bridges and building, you know, a community and society. And that's very dangerous for the
community to drive to that direction. Also, it is so hard to live in an environment which is filled
		

			with hate toxic environment. When you go and walk in the street, especially for young people, just
young young lady walk in the street and someone pulled out a huge job, like happened in here in MSA
and University of Houston. Yeah. And laying lady just someone will curse. She doesn't know anything
about overseas, and she will be told Oh, go to this country or that country. That's not a very
healthy environment for our kids. So the growth islamophobe basically make the kid the society
filled with hate, and division. And this is not a healthy environment. And that's make a lot of
people just get sick of it and even leave. That's why a lot of people after 911, the left that skin
		

			standard, and this is one of the Golden islamophobe put that so much pressure, so they might you
know what leave, they might just you know, get out and you put out pressure another place and
another place and so forth. also one of the most dangerous thing that I believe, especially for the
young generation, that it really can shake their beliefs
		

			even further as people start questioning. Oh, is that true? Maybe Islam is wrong for its position
from homosexuality. Maybe Islam is wrong from its position when it comes to the way the inherited,
inherited is divided. Maybe Islam is wrong. When it comes to the way deal with woman. Maybe Islam is
wrong when it comes to the concept.
		

			of war and peace. People start like you know what raising doubts about their religion and not
because they know that a legend Muslim Muslim community they are ignorant about the religion. So you
give them false information that Islam promotes hate toward people just because they are different
than you based on religious or whatever preferences that they have. And that basically you Oh, Islam
is the source of it, start questioning the religion, questioning the authenticity of the Prophet
Mohammed Salah, and even questioning that the that the message of God is a true message of God or
not at so dangerous, you know, and what's amazingly to be so amazing to me, is how a lot described
		

			this in the Quran. When tarva and Kenya who do an Asana, tata tabea, me letter home, a lot telling
about a group of Christians, Jews, and that apply to other believes and other people as well. And
some of them will never be pleased to you with you until you follow their way. And if you notice, a
lot didn't say until you follow the religion. It is until you follow the away hat that attend tablet
me Let's move the tibia Dena home miletti and either way, which is basically what do you want, you
want it to be free from anything has to do with your religion. And you just became a person who is
Muslim, who is basically a person who is not a Christian nada, not a Muslim, it just something in
		

			between some so
		

			no faith or a faith that does not have no base. They wanted to be basically questioning and
canceling the same way people now say, Oh, we said together in a circle. And we can't understand the
holy book that we we think it's right. We don't do that as Muslim, we don't gather here and mustard
and say, hey, let's have our interpretation of the Quran. We don't do that. But there is a pressure
and asked to go to that direction, that everybody can understand the Quran the way they want.
Everybody can understand that a legend the way you want, you know, we have to change that a legend,
we have to change the principles that govern this religion for all these centuries. Now it is became
		

			backwards and if you give into that, you became dear You became well respected. But if you hold into
traditions and you hold on to the principles, you became a fundamentalist, you became a person who
is not welcome at this group.
		

			So what what the masses? How can we counter that? You know what I will just restrict my talk to you
about one verse in the Quran. There's many points, but because last was I exceeded my time and I'm
not planning to do this today. So
		

			I just want one verse, if we can reflect upon this verse, it will help us a lot in countering the
message of Islamophobia, and how can we protect ourselves and our children, the generation two comes
to face this no hate message that we receive from islamophobes and again hamdulillah Al Hamdulillah
in America will lie there are very small percentage compared to many other places they visited in
the world. And this is this is shows you that we are living in a country where the people of this
country are good people, the vast majority of them good people. And we should build and take
advantage of that in the sense that people reasoning, people willing to listen, there is an
		

			opportunity for us, for the Muslim community to come out and to you know, there is nothing we are
afraid to show there is nothing to hide. We don't have to face it's like some yesterday asked me
about the topia and do you see one face and you guys may be in your own sermon have another message
we don't have that. We call that hypocrisy. hypocrisy is not exist in Islam. What you hear is what
what you see is what you get. So this verse we're a Lost Planet. Allah Subhan Allah to Allah and
Ron, in terms of scum has entered into soon we're into subcom Surya Yahuwah we're in tusks, Bill
Taku Leia, welcome Katie duhem Sha, Allah set in the Koran or in US Bureau water taco located to him
		

			in the lobby, Maria Medina.
		

			And Surah Al Emraan, sort of three verse 120. If good reach you distress them, but if harm strikes
you, they rejoice at it. And if you are patient, and have Taqwa of Allah, their plot will not harm
you at all. Their plot will not harm you at all. Allah is encompassing of what they do. He knows
he's aware of all the plotting that they have. So like give us two things to do. to basically be
patient and to
		

			To Be patient to have patience. And the second one is to have Taqwa,
		

			taqwa. And Allah interpreted this in two different ways. What's that? What duck was the common one,
which is to fear God to be God conscious to be connected to Allah subhanaw taala. And that's the
majority of them of a city. But even I showed him a lot, which is a very famous Tunisian professor
said something, I found it very interesting. He said, What? What that taco Yeah, and he mithila
Colin Tata comin home to be met in the room, you be aware of their plots. So if you are patient, and
you are aware of their plots, you will be protected from it. That's a very unique, and I don't see
contradiction between all three. So here, when we say, interest Bureau to have patience, to
		

			patience, with the orders of Allah, with the command of Allah, patience, and doing what the law
ordered you to do patients with the thing that Allah forbade us from doing. For instance, you see so
much injustice in the world. But you need patience, because injustice cannot be removed by another
form of injustice. We learn more kids, one mistake plus one mistake equal. One correct now is equal
to mistakes. We have to our patients with basically abstained from the thing that we know it's not
allowed to do. And we have to be patient with the thing that a lot older has to hold into it, even
if it's hard to hold into it. In a time that the process lm said, holding into my son Nan to the
		

			religion of Islam will be like holding basically an iron rod that is basically
		

			hot and red, because of the heat, or charcoal.
		

			So that's required from us a level of patience. Also.
		

			Patience has many manifestation that tells us specifically in this case, number one, many of the
things that we hear from the islamophobes attacking the prophets or sunlamp, attacking the honor of
the prophets or sunlamps. And his wife and his family, attacking the companions attacking the
Muslims community, attacking our sisters attacking our Koran, all these things that you hear in a
regular basis, and comments and things of that nature. You know, what it's all about, it's all about
making you feel bad, making you feel angry, is to possess it is basically to annoy you to be very
annoyed, but what they say, Lady Yabu come in law, Allah says in the Quran, the only can harm you by
		

			making you annoyed,
		

			so and so irritated. And to basically counter this type of behavior, and not to be annoyed not to be
irritated by them, not to lose control over yourself. It required from you a great deal of self
discipline, and that what you call patience.
		

			When you hear someone like this
		

			unknown
		

			priest, or not even priest, unknown pastor,
		

			who said that he will burn the Koran in a church, a trailer that doesn't have more than, you know,
five people or 20 members in the church. And he became a national us just because he wanted to burn
the Koran. We made him famous. By the way we react and the way we became so angry and threat, the
threat and so forth. a loser who make a movie in California, you know, he became an international US
News on cause a lot of that we made these guys famous. We need a lot of bit of more self discipline
on sub and ignore these kinds of nonsense things. Hey, don't misunderstand me. If something goes to
national, if something said by a person of value like a president or a congressman or a senator or
		

			ahead of religious groups, we should not remain silent. We should not turn our face the other side.
No, we will stand up firm and we call them out. But unknown person make the Muslim community react
from the far east to the far west. from California to New York. For no one for someone who's just
want attention now. That's why with the province of Solomon someone come to him and said a Samadhi
which is a Sam it means death upon you or Assam it mean peace upon you. That prophet didn't pick a
fight is not worth your effort. It doesn't worth your time. He said Same to you.
		

			If you said that to me, same to you. And if you said peace to me Same to you.
		

			He said he likes that from us and doesn't accept from them.
		

			That's that's smart. You don't go down to the mud to basically Russell with it with someone who is
ignorant patience. It means long term solutions. Unfortunately Muslims, they don't have a long term
solutions. Muslims give up very quickly, as a community, we never we not committed, we not committed
to a long term dedication, somebody came to me, hey, I want to be active in politics and, you know,
have an influence on the some of the politicians, okay, I said to that person, are you willing, for
the next five years, you do nothing but a regular visit, and basically writing and following up with
that, basically, caucus or that group in the Congress and Senate or for the last year or for the
		

			next year or next two years? Now? I just want to make one quick visit and that's up.
		

			Are we willing to have a dedication in the disciplines that we're going to write every time that is
a case of For God's sake when we get attack care beg us to make a report
		

			of the thing that harm you the thing that affects you Muslim community not willing to get five
minutes to write a report a complaint? We don't have support for that? Do we have suffered to go in
a long term cases in court and fight for it? Studying the history I told you two hours ago about
voting how long it takes to secure the rights of votes
		

			it didn't come overnight. So are we have the sub that it will give us that long term you know
commitment. That's why I lost said we're in the US Bureau don't take it just lightly like that just
not a passive things. It's it's actually something in clinic wire for them to be active. So that
means sincerity is not personal. Allah subhanaw taala on your internet. Yeah. According to the Lady
		

			hamdu Lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Milena, ba ba ba.
		

			I want to keep my promise. So I'll just wrap it up.
		

			Patience also means adjusting.
		

			There is always new challenges. There is new faces, there is new ways of attacks, there is no new
ways of responding to that tax. There is new generations coming our us as a community willing to
adjust, willing to be able to quickly to adjust our response. Are we just taking the thing that
would work 10 years ago and we still insisted to use it the same method today? Are we willing to see
what's the new trends in the society today and look at these new trends and try to be ahead of the
game instead of always catching up.
		

			That's why a cyber require from us ability to adjust. So we can counter these messages. We can
counter these attacks on us. These those people who shaking our religion
		

			and the other there's many other points I have about some of the other part is the decoy is to have
to be with Allah. Because believe me if you are with a Lost Planet, Allah Allah grant grant you have
support in the life that you need to live in harmony.
		

			In the llama and with Ducky my alma
		

			mater siberie Allah with you. But whenever you leave a Lost Planet Allah, what Baraka you seeking
when the Muslims conquered one of the land once a Buddha cried, he said it's a day of victory. Why
are you crying? He said, because I looked at their weapons, their soldiers, their bodies built very
advanced equipment. And I look my soldiers, skinny guys coming from the desert from different
places, you know, from Arabia and other places. I look at our equipment woods and simple and I said,
Allah subhana wa Tada. I've only given us victory over those people. Because of the amount and taqwa
and the little bit effort that means that we took and I'm afraid the day will come, we will leave
		

			that taqwa we will leave that relationship with Allah and Allah will leave us to our tools will
leave us to our weapons will leave us to our strength. And when this happened, we will lose the
battle. No way No doubt.
		

			taqwa means to be aware of their plots, to have an awareness of it, to study it to have the people
who will show it expose it. And may Allah subhanaw taala to protect all of us. Ally minister look at
who our our FF our Lena identifer Sen. Pow is a cantata Romans aka Selena, Hamas and Amanda and
ebina Mohammed and inshallah hopefully in future we can talk more about the subject which is not
star shalom Salaam Alaikum