Orlando Shooting – Condemnation, Double Standard & Staying Safe

Bismillah R Rahman Rahim Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen wa salatu salam ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi marine Marburg. In light of the incidents today we're going to have to pause our regular series and just talk a little bit about the reality of what we have witnessed today. It is called the largest mass shooting in the history of modern America. And there's no doubt that we're gonna just we're just seeing the beginnings of the consequences. Realize My dear brothers and sisters from a purely theological and physical and spiritual perspective, Allah subhanho wa Taala has told us that this life is a life of tests, and our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has

mentioned that you're going to be tested in many different ways. And in fact, he said that over the signs of the Day of Judgment is that fit and are going to increase Phaeton in the Arabic translates as trials. But as I have said many times before, the actual meaning of Phaeton and fitna is to sift through is to sift through and that is why in classical Arabic, the goldsmith was the one who was called for Dan, who is causing fitna how is the goldsmith causing fitna because the goldsmith he takes raw gold and he puts it into the furnace and he separates pure gold from the filth. So he's causing fitna to raw gold. And now what happens when a person undergoes fitna you either go up or

you go down, you become real gold or you become filth. So fitna actually uncovers the true you who you really are, you will discover only in times of fitna and so a person who's a closet racist, a person who hates Muslims, but he's polite to you at work. A fitna happens, all of a sudden the real him comes out. All of a sudden he'll say things that, well, I never believed this guy could say it. That's the fitna sifting Lee Amis Allahu hubbie thermadata You. Similarly, the believer who perhaps you didn't think he'd had that much Iman, but somebody makes fun of Islam in His presence and at the work and all of a sudden you see that Eman come out and he defends Allah azza wa jal and the

messenger and he corrects the mistake that he's seen verbally. So you never know the fitna has the potential to make pure gold. But it also has the potential to sift through the filth. And what has happened today is one more fitna that every one of us is now going through Muslim and non Muslim, every single person in this country and around the world. Now we're going to have to decide which way are we going to go? Are we going to become more better pure gold? Or are we going to go down with the filth and this reality, dear brothers and sisters is a reality that unfortunately, is not the first time we had to talk about this and San Bernardino, we got to talk about it. So the Boston

bombing and before this all the way since 911. And even before and the fact of the matter we have said over and over again repetitively, that the religion of Islam does not allow the killing of innocence that one injustice does not allow another injustice. Allah azza wa jal explicitly says in the Quran, that whoever kills an innocent soul, it is as if he has killed all of mankind. And our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said Hadith inside Bahati that anybody who kills a non Muslim with whom there is a treaty, and where I hid a non Muslim with whom there is a treaty, that that person will not smell the scent of Jannah even though the fragrance of Jannah can be smelled from so

many miles away, and dear brothers and sisters, no religion allows such evil to simply indiscriminately kill 50 100 People in this manner, you don't have to be a religious person even to understand the sad fact is that with the very fact that we have to condemn is itself a sad reality. And this leads me to my second point, once we have condemned, and once we have unequivocally said, This is not a part of our religion, we now have to ask ourselves and ask the broader society. Why should I even have to condemn when any other massacre and any other mass shooting is never condemned by the faith churches and the groups that are associated with those mass shooters when Dylann Roof

perpetrated his massacre, and he killed eight or nine or 10 people in a church, and he did so in the name of his race, and he invoked a cause that he himself believed in the very people that belong to that race did not have to issue statements, the people that belong to that civilization did not have to dissociate because it was understood that a crazy man is a crazy man, even if he acts in the name of a race or a civilization or a religion, the church that Dylann Roof used to go to did not have to come on CNN and talk about oh, what are they doing to counter radicalism? And the sad reality is that we are not being judged according to the same standards. We can

Not even grieve with our fellow Americans, except that we have to as well condemned, and we have to become on the defensive that this is not a part of our civilization. And we have to ask the broader public, we have to be courageous enough to call a spade a spade. Why is it that anyone who goes crazy of another faith community is the lone wolf? Why is it that they have a mental issue? And yet for some reason, everybody in our community never has any mental problems? This guy is a mental lunatic. There's no question about it, something snapped in his head, he did what he did. A sane person does not do this. And if you read what we know, of course, it's still premature, but there

seems to be personal issues. He has gone through a divorce, his wife has left him, et cetera, et cetera. Clearly, there are issues going on. There are mental issues every single time a mass shooting takes place from the broader public. And of course, the stereotypical mass shooter, as we know, is a Caucasian male Christian. Every time this happens with Allah, He within a few hours, we began to hear about what happened in his childhood went through a severe divorce, the parents had this he got involved in this, you find some type of excuse to blame, other than broader culture, other than the society itself. Yet, for some reason, when a Muslim goes mental, it has to be the

religion of Islam Wallahi we are tired. We are tired of these double standards, and somebody's got to stand up and call a spade a spade. We also have crazy people like you do we also have lunatics like you do. Why is it that every time one of us does something, he becomes the representative and an ambassador of the entire 1.6 billion Muslims. We have to point this out and say, with every single ounce of courage and strength that we have enough is enough. I represent myself. He doesn't represent me. Mainstream Muslims are represented in the misogyny we represent Islam over here. Every Masjid in North America is packed with people praying, what was this guy doing at a bar? What was

this guy doing at a location in the nights of Ramadan that none of us are going to? He doesn't even he did not even go to the masjid. His wife said he was ex wife, he will lift his wife left him his ex wife said he wasn't even religious. He used to drink what not has nothing to do with the dean yet just because his name is a pseudo Islamic name. All of a sudden, he represents all of us, brothers and sisters. We don't have to apologize for something we didn't commit. It's not my responsibility to apologize. I condemn like I condemn every massacre. But we don't have to apologize for something that we do not cause a third point brothers and sisters is that a lot of people ask that they're

asking us Oh, what is Islam stance on the lifestyle of that particular group and the and the the alternative lifestyles of that bar, and this is a mistake to go down. It's irrelevant what that lifestyle was. Islam does not allow the killing of a person because you disagree with them. Whatever the Shetty says in an Islamic land. That's one thing that is theoretical. It has nothing to do with us living here. Our Prophet sallallahu alayhi salam lived in Makkah for 13 years as a prophet and greater sins are taking place. shidduch is being done in front of the Kaaba, there are animals being slaughtered to idols in front of the camera. Can you imagine there are 360 statues of false gods and

our prophets are some does not lift a finger to harm any one of them. Our religion of Islam? Yes, indeed, it has a full system for lands that have that system where it's a theoretical discussion for us living in this land. There is no question that those laws are not something that we are importing here. We understand. And I've said this many times, like the Muslims of Abyssinia understood that we want our political freedoms to worship Allah. So the whole question and we are being asked and bombarded and the media is talking. What is Islam stance on that alternative lifestyle? What does the Shetty I say, my advice to all of you don't even go down that tangent. It's irrelevant. It's

irrelevant. This man did not act wanting to enforce the Sharia nobodies. He never said that nobody around him said that. And if in some later statement, we find out that this is what he thought that is his understanding and interpretation. It is a mistake to go down this tangent. And I gave a long lecture on this very member when the Supreme Court did its ruling on same sex relations and I said look, this is a part of the society that we live in. Like we disagree with alcohol we disagree with premarital extramarital, we live and let live, okay, we speak what we want. We have the right to hold our moral opinions, and they have the political and legal right to do as they're please, we're

not enforcing our laws on them, they as well should not enforce their way of life on us simple live and let live. And I've said this multiple times and Al Hamdulillah the bulk of the ummah. 99.999% of us living here, we understand this if one person goes crazy and does something that should not represent the rest of us. So do your brothers and sisters. If you're asked at work if your colleagues asks you what is Islams punishment for such and such don't even go down to say it's irrelevant. This man is a criminal

No, he's a lunatic. He's a deranged lone person. Let's call a spade a spade has nothing to do with the faith. You can believe something is wrong without wanting to harm or kill somebody. Right? And if they continue to persist, you can say what do mainstream Christians say about abortion? Though? They say what they say, does that mean they're going to kill the abortion doctors? What do they say about abortion, that might be a theoretical issue doesn't mean you have to become physically violent. So we decry this association of our *ty with this violence and what's happening in other foreign lands has nothing to do with us Muslims here in America. The final point and of course, it's

very important that it must be said is that brothers and sisters, whether we like it or not, our religion is being smeared and attacked, and the acts of these crazy people are being extrapolated for the entire faith. And what that means is, and we see this every single time this happens, there is going to be a backlash or multiple backlash is, that is the reality. It is a bitter prediction, but it is a reality and ask Allah protect me and you and all of our families and the whole Muslim Ummah. But the reality is that people are going to get physically hurt, people are going to be jeered at people are going to be and unfortunately, the sad reality is these cowards typically take

out their vengeance and anger on our sisters rather than on us. So this is a time to be extra vigilant, it is a time to take extra precautions, especially in this month of Ramadan, when we are leaving our houses late at night, and we're driving a typical tarawih time, brothers especially be very, very careful, take on as much responsibility as you can to go outside and do the groceries, whatever you take on that responsibility, rather than your wife going out and hijab as much as possible until things calm down as well. There are apps out there and I don't want to recommend any particular app you do the research. But there are apps out there that are danger alerts on your on

your smartphones, that you just press one button, and instantaneously, it will send a call to either a loved one or 911 It'll send your position is you will start recording on your phone. And that's another point that if at any point you feel threatened, your safety is paramount. Another thing though, you can keep in mind if you're not worried about your physical safety is to videotape what is going on. These days almost all of us have a smartphone. If somebody began saying malicious comments, harsh things, pull out your smartphone, it actually intimidates them because now they know this is going to be recorded but only do so if you feel safe about yourself and your surroundings.

You never know what the reality of bigot or a racist person might become physical. But if you feel that that is a legitimate tactic, then be aware that it hamdulillah videotaping is an interesting and a smart weapon you can use so have that app download that app search for there multiple apps is not just one app, that are basically safety mechanisms that you just one button, you press it and instantaneously, it will verify you want to send a call instantaneously, it will call either a loved one or 911. And some apps even began videotaping right then and there. And one brother told me one app actually actually broadcast your video feed to some loved one so you can see what's going on. So

these are interesting, necessary mechanisms for us to think about. And no doubt our safety is of paramount importance. If however, you don't feel intimidated physically, but you find some harshness may or encourage the brothers especially and sometimes even sisters, if a woman says something but there's no physical safety, that you stand your ground with dignity and you learn to respond with a passion that is legitimate and not intimidating to the other person. When they smear you. Don't smear them back when they make fun of you don't make fun of them back. Use this as an opportunity to educate us this have the better hand Allah says in the Quran, it in fact miletti Here I sent to say

you respond to evil with good for either lady Boehner Kobina Harada was never will you enhance him, you will find the one who was the worst enemy will become your best friend. So when when somebody comes and makes fun of you makes us a smearing common. Go back where you came from. You guys call all the problems and you assess the situation, you don't think there was a physical harm? As I said, if there's a physical harm, that's your priority to get out of there. If you don't think it's a physical harm, smile, say were you speaking with me? Did I do anything to intimidate you? And when you smile, and you're genuinely polite, 90% of people will be caught off guard because they want you

to respond with vengeance and anger. And that's not what our religion teaches, and use this as a learning opportunity. Do you really think that all of us are responsible for the actions of a few? Shouldn't I be judged on who I am? Do I judge you based upon what so and so and so and so has done do I judge you based on what we're all other Christians or Jews have done so you can use intelligent arguments that's what Allah says what God did humility. He has an argue with them with the best of manners, the best of a club, and brothers and sisters. I say this because you can't have a chef next to you to have the intellectual debates all the time. You can't call it soccer.

I call myself or somebody No, it's you, you, you're with your colleagues, not me, it's you with the people that are at Walmart at Kroger's, or wherever you go, that's you. If you're not going to stand up for your faith for your children, then who's going to stand up, every one of us is going to have to learn to try to embody the sooner, we're gonna have to learn to be a little bit extra brave about our identity, if you're going to just want to hide your Islamic identity, what are your children going to do? brothers and sister as it is, we're a minority, as it is where one or 2% of this land, if even us are now embarrassed, and we stop preaching and talking about our religion, who is going

to be left for our sake and the sake of our children, we're going to have to become brave. And by brave here, I mean, be proud of our identity. Be proud of who we are, be proud of the fact that Allah has blessed us with the best of all faiths and the best of prophets and the best of books, and also the best of manners. So brothers and sisters, the long and the short of it. To conclude, no doubt a tragedy has happened today, we condemned this tragedy, even as we condemned the fact that we have to condemn it, because no other group has to condemn its own internal issues. We condemn this tragedy unequivocally. But we point out with sadness that we appear to be the only group that always

has to condemn, and condemn and condemn. Today on CNN, a group of my colleagues and friends were being interviewed by CNN. And the question was, why isn't your Why aren't your mosques doing more to preach against radicalization, automatically, the burden is on us. The presumption of guilt is already there. What if we were to ask them? Why aren't your broader culture doing something about gun violence? Why don't you stop glorifying, killing, killing, killing your movies or video games? Everything we can change the situation around and ask the exact opposite questions, but we are a minority, they are the majority And subhanAllah not everything is fair in life. The reality is,

whether we like it or not all of our religion is being associated with the acts of And subhanAllah. Look at it. One man right now. Last year, one man certain video three years ago, one man in Boston, look at the number of mass shootings taking place by average Caucasian white men, on and on and on, and nothing happens. And the minute one man and statistically speaking, statistically speaking, Alhamdulillah, the number of Muslim mass shooters is even less than the 1%. Technically it should be or even less than that. But unfortunately, even when that takes place, the entire religion is smeared. We can't dictate politics or media, but we have to learn to fight it within our realms. And

that's why my final point was, if I and you both shy away, if we are embarrassed to be Muslim, if we're not going to take on the bigots, then who's going to do that your circle of influence is yours, not mine, your colleagues, your friends, the people that you see, that's your responsibility. You're going to have to learn to be brave to put your trust in Allah and to try your best with dignity with a HELOC with the courage that we learn from the Quran from the Syrah of the prophets from our own prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to respond to evil with goodness and kindness and the rest will leave to Allah Subhana Allah to Allah, may Allah azza wa jal protect us all and

protect the Ummah and bring about a peaceful and and coexisting society, which is akmola Who Clayton was set on