The Need To Fight Both Islamophobia And Racism

The Need to Fight Both Islamophobia and Racism

Introduction and Opening Supplications

Next, I would like to introduce our beloved Shaykh Hamza Yusuf to come. I was going to say a scholar who needs no introduction, but I think that the audience took that away from me. Jazakum Allah khair, Shaykh Hamza.

I didn't get any introduction. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik ala Sayyidina wa Habibina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahabihi wa man tabi'ahum bi ihsanin ila yawm al-din.

Allahumma la 'ilma lana illa ma 'allamtana innaka anta al-'Alim al-Hakim.

Allahumma 'allimna ma yanfa'una wa infa'na bima 'allamtana wa zidna 'ilma.

Allahumma iftah 'alayna hikmatak wa inshur 'alayna rahmatak ya Dhal-Jalali wa al-Ikram.

Wa salli Allahumma ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi al-kiram wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi al-'Aliyyi al-'Azim.

Gratitude for Sign Language Interpreters

Alhamdulillah. I noticed the translator was completely silent on that so I'm going to assume she doesn't know Arabic. But really, these people are so amazing. I want everybody to give really some gratitude for these extraordinary interpreters. Allahu Akbar.

And I mentioned last night that there was the evidence, clear evidence that the Prophet, peace be upon him, knew sign language. There's actually an opinion that he knew all the languages which is mentioned in some of the books. But there is definitely clear evidence that he knew sign language. And I gave a dalil last night, I'm going to give another one tonight.

The Prophet's Use of Gestures

I noticed that whenever Sheikh Mukhtar said heart, she went like this. And the Prophet in the hadith when he said, where is piety? He went like this, pointing to the heart. So more proof because the Prophet when he said, where is piety? He went like this in the heart. That's heart, right? Ameen.

Is that how you say Ameen? Amen? Oh, yeah. Alhamdulillah. We would go like, we'll change that. You know, Christian prayer they do this but we open up. Not because it's wrong, it's nice the prayer but this way you get when it comes down, you actually catch it. So if you go like that, you might miss it. Yeah. Allahu Akbar. Anyway.

Joy in the Future Generation

Allahu Akbar. Look at all these extraordinary young people in here. I'm literally shaking from joy of the future that this community holds in America. And if we look at some of these young up and coming lions and tigers and leopards and... No, those are harsh animals. I'll say mountains and oak trees. Shaykh Yasir, mashallah, may Allah increase him and his knowledge.

And all these young men and women that we're going to see, inshallah, taking our place. I mean, he was trying to push us out already. We're not ready to go just yet. But inshallah, like he said, it's inevitable. When my children came into the world, I realized I'm happy but at the same time I should recognize they're here to replace me.

The Nature of Generational Succession

So it's a reminder that He is the one, that He replaces you in the earth. He puts you for those who went before you and then he gives you the ability to bring children into the world to replace you. And so these young people will be replacing us. Inshallah, this organization will continue to grow and many years from now, when some people like we have people in ISNA now, we remember that have passed.

And when we pass, inshallah, people will have positive and good memories of us. But this is the nature of life on earth. Islam is moving and it's moving rapidly and some people are frightened.

Understanding Islamophobia Fairly

And to be fair to them, because we need to be fair, Islamophobia is a word, phobia is a Greek word. And it's used in medicine for an irrational fear. And some people, we have to be fair and admit that some of their fears are not unfounded. That there are certain aspects of our community that are very dysfunctional and we need to look at that and focus on those things so that we can rectify these things. But we need to alleviate fears in this community. There are many good Americans that are very frightened.

Conversation with a Top Lawyer

When I was on an airplane and I was going from San Francisco to New York and I sat next to the legal counsel for Time Warner. He had 500 lawyers under him. He was on an airplane not too long ago. And he had a pinstripe suit and he was reading a book about the Supreme Court. So being the Sherlock Holmes that I am, I said, you must be a lawyer. And he looked at me and he said, yes, I am.

And what do you do? I said, I teach Islam. He said, we're going to have a conversation. That's what he said. We spoke for four hours straight. He happened to be Italian. I'm part Greek. People from the Mediterranean do that. And somebody behind us after four hours said, this has been a really interesting conversation but we've heard every word. So after that we quieted down.

Should We Be Afraid of Islam?

But one of the things he asked me, he said, should we be afraid of Islam? He wanted an honest answer. This was an intelligent man. Somebody who I believe was seeking the truth. He wants to know the truth. But he asked me, should I be afraid of this religion? This is a top legal mind. He was a Supreme Court clerk. He's got 500 lawyers under him. And he's asking me, should we be afraid?

We need to let them know not only should you not be afraid, you should be looking forward to what's coming. But we need to alleviate fears. And so the MSA on your campuses, you are ambassadors to the messenger of Allah. Every Muslim is an ambassador. There's good ambassadors and there's bad ones. But ambassadors are ambassadors. They represent the country that they come from.

The Role of Ambassadors

The word in Arabic for ambassador is safeer. And the safeer is the one who explains what his country intends. This is his role. The ambassador like April Glaspie, this wonderful Arabist who was an ambassador in Iraq. And when Saddam said, does America have any interest in whether or not we go into Kuwait or not? And she gave the opinion of the country at the time. Things changed in this country rapidly.

But she said, no, we have no interest in inter-Arab disputes. So Saddam moved into Kuwait. And the next thing, well, everybody knows that history.

Dick Cheney's Changing Position on Iraq

And then when they asked Dick Cheney in 1994 in an interview, Dick Cheney, does everybody know who he is? Dick Cheney. One day he might be in a Cheney gang. We used to have tricky Dick Nixon. Do you remember him? And I never thought I'd miss Richard Nixon. I never did. Seriously.

But I miss him. He wrote a book about seize the day. It was called Seize the Day. And he had a section on Islam that was actually quite forward thinking for the time. But anyway, Dick Cheney in 1994 was asked, why didn't

you go into Iraq and finish the job? And Dick Cheney, in an interview that you can find on YouTube, he said, we didn't go into Iraq because we would create a political vacuum and that would lead to massive chaos and disruption and a lot of people would die and we're not willing to risk the lives of American soldiers. That was 1994.

I don't know what happened between 94 and 2006. I don't know what happened. But Dick either, it might be late onset dementia or something like, because people forget. But that's what happened.

Being Ambassadors on Campus

So this situation that we find ourselves in, you, all of you on the campuses, you're ambassadors, you need to tell people in this country, especially the students, because the students are going to move into positions of power. You need to tell them who we are and what we're about.

There is right now a campaign going on to tell people about Islamofascism. This is the neoconservative last bash. This is the last attempt because they're a spent force in this country. They've taken America down the wrong road and I think a lot of people in this country are realizing just how far down they've gone. But this is an attempt on the campuses to create more fear about our community and I want the students in this audience to remember, do not fall into traps, especially you South Asians.

Strategic Thinking Like Chess

Your ancestor invented chess. If you're from India, that's the country that invented chess and you should know that chess is a game of strategy. You have to think strategically. Don't fall into these traps. Don't fall into these traps. Don't let these people draw you in to any types of reactions that we're going to be ashamed of as a community. On these campuses, stay cool, calm and collected.

The Prophet's Calmness in Crisis

No one was more calm in the midst of calamities than the messenger of Allah. So if you want to know the sunnah of the Prophet, the sunnah of the Prophet is to be cool, calm and collected, to not be disquieted by situations. He was never disquieted. In the midst of battles, they would look at the Prophet and he was in a state of stillness.

Abu Bakr in the cave, when he was worried, when Suraqah ibn Malik was behind him. And he looked at the Prophet and the Prophet was reciting the Qur'an in a state of tranquility. This is the state that we have to imitate to the best of our ability.

Counter Conferences and Teaching Islam

But my suggestion is to have counter conferences, counter sessions where you teach people about Islam. The best way to counter the attacks on Islam is to provide sound information on Islam. Don't fall into the trap of

attacking the attackers. Because that's exactly what they want us to do. Let's not attack the attackers.

Let's do what our messenger did when he said:

Khalliqū bi-akhlāqi Allāhi wa 'allimu al-nās - Embody the character of Allah and teach the people.

Teach the people our religion and our faith. This is da'wah. Da'wah is just, it's a welcoming invitation to know what our religion is about. There's no coercion in our faith.

Teaching Islam on University Campuses

So all of you young people, go to your universities and teach people about Islam. Use this as an opportunity. And also, and I'm talking to the MSA, I know there's some of the older generation in here, but I'm talking to the Muslim Students Association.

And we have some of the founding members, Dr. Jamal Badawi, jazakallahu khayran. Mahbub Khan, our dear, beloved and deceased brother. May Allah give him the highest place in Jannah. He was the first person to invite me to ISNA. That's the reason that I first came to ISNA was because of Ustadh Mahbub Khan, a visionary, a true visionary. These were the people that started this organization because they wanted to see Islam preserved on the American landscape.

Honoring the Elders

And we're inheriting their legacy. So it's important for you to recognize the elders that did so much before you to honor them, to make dua for them. Dr. Siddiqui also, Dr. Muzammil, all these, and many others, there's many of these people, I don't wanna, you're not ready to go yet, and we want you around.

So I'm not in Sheikh Yasir's camp. You know, get off the stage. We're taking over. This stage isn't big enough for the both of us. There's plenty of room for, we need the older guidance and leadership of the people with gray hairs. There are people that have experiences that we don't have.

Strengthening the MSA as Non-Sectarian

But the MSA is an organization that we have to strengthen. It needs to be a non-sectarian organization. Don't fall into the traps of sectarianism. We welcome the different groups of Islam. We're not here, and I don't think we should be proselytizing to each other. That's my personal opinion. I don't think the Shia should proselytize to the Sunnis, and the Sunnis proselytize to the Shia. Let's just respect each other.

These are very, very old debates. They're old debates in our Islam. They've been going on for centuries. They were insoluble by the greatest minds of Islam. On both sides, geniuses on both sides, we have to respect each other and recognize there's plenty of room for all of these different opinions.

The Vastness of Paradise

When Imam al-Ghazali mentioned in Faysal al-Tafriqah that he felt the majority of humanity would eventually be saved, this is his opinion, and he had his proofs for that. But we have to really think about the fact that paradise is bigger than the heavens and the earth.

Wa jannatin 'arduha al-samawātu wa al-ard - And a paradise as wide as the heavens and earth.

It's a huge place. There's plenty of room for everybody. We should want everybody to get into paradise. It's not a hotel that some small group has booked, and we're all gonna show up, and they're gonna say, sorry, all the rooms are filled up. No, there's plenty of room for everybody, and we want to see people in paradise. The Prophet ﷺ wanted everybody to go to paradise. That was his desire, his love.

Respecting All Muslim Groups

So let us respect our brothers and sisters from all of these different groups, really. Let's have a mutual respect and a recognition that each of us have a story, and that story is sometimes inherited, and there's reasons for it. Other times, it was adopted by conviction, but each has his story, and the story is sometimes different, the details, but at the essence, it's the same story.

It's the story of:

La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasul Allah - There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

That's the story. So it's very important.

American Islam as a Beautiful Manifestation

So tell these stories. Don't let sectarianism come into our community. American Islam can be a beautiful manifestation. Like the poet said:

Wa in 'abiqat anfasu dhikrihi fi al-gharbi shufia ma'lulun fi al-sharqi yata'afa min al-durr - If the fragrance of his remembrance diffuses in the West, a sick man in the East will recover from harm.

That if Islam is successful in this country, it can have a very transformative, it can have a beautiful palliative effect on the sick Muslims of the East. So we need to recognize that we have an obligation to be a successful

community, to be a community that guides, to be a community that's like a minaret, it's like a minaret that others can look at and aspire to.

Freedom from Inherited Dysfunctionality

You young people that are here, you did not inherit the dysfunctionality of the places where many of your parents came from. There are many reasons why they're dysfunctional, but you did not inherit those dysfunctionalities. You're in a society that is able to do great things. You're in a society that teaches people that all things are possible. We say all things are possible with God, and that's the state motto of Ohio. Ohio.

With God, all things are possible. So that's a Muslim belief, but it's also an Ohioan belief. And next year in Dayton, Columbus, Columbus, Ohio. So, in Columbus, all things are possible with God. All things are possible with God.

Eliminating Racism Within Our Ranks

I want another thing that's very important. You are a community that has to rise up to the challenge of eliminating racism within our ranks. I would contend that Islam is not a racist religion. It has never had the manifestations of racism that you find inherent in Western civilization. That's a fact.

There's tribalism in the Muslim world, but I've never heard a Muslim ever say that a white man is superior to a black man, or an Arab is superior to a non-Arab. We've never heard that. There might be attitudes that indicate that there's misconceptions, but nobody would articulate that because they know it's against a fundamental principle of Islam, and that's from the blessing of our Prophet ﷺ.

Racism Exists in America

Racism exists in America. It's very real. It hasn't gone away. You can look at in just many of the aspects. I grew up playing chess. In chess, the white pieces always go first. Seriously, why is that? I never understood that. Why does the white... Why don't we flip a coin? The white pieces always go first.

I grew up in a house with a piano. My brother is a pianist. My father is a pianist. On the piano, the white keys are made out of ivory, and the black keys are made out of wood. That's not fair. And the white keys are major keys. The black keys are minor keys. That's not fair.

Humorous Observations on Racism

Seriously, if you look at the cigarette, they cover the brown tobacco with a white piece of paper, they smoke the white part, and then they flick away the brown butt. They call it a butt. Seriously, that's just wrong. Really, one of the favorite games of Western people is pool. It's a white ball picking on a bunch of colored balls.

It's just... And then they save the black ball for last. That's just wrong. And not only that, when they knock the white ball in the corner pockets, the white ball gets to come out again. The black balls get stuck in there. That's

just wrong. That's wrong.

We need to change pool around. Put the white ball in the middle and let the black ball take over for a little while. Seriously. But I grew up playing baseball. That's an American game where you take a brown bat and knock a white ball right out of the park. And the little white ball has a redneck thread around it. Oh, man.

Teaching Americans to Live Together

So let's... Really, let's get rid of this racism and teach Americans how to live together. Black, white, red, brown, yellow, purple people are welcome in our religion. If that's your color, you're welcome. If that's the way God made you, you're welcome. Really.

I mean, that might be science fiction, but purple people is a possibility. The ulema say, جائز عقلاً - it's rationally possible. But really, we have to welcome people.

The Blackistani: Islam Brings People Together

I have a friend of mine. He's a black man. He married a Pakistani woman. He calls himself a blackistani. This is Islam. Seriously, this is Islam. Let's bring it together. Bring these people together. America is a place where we come together.

There's an entertainment session starting. I thought I was the entertainment session. Anyway, God bless all of you.

Conclusion: Empower the People

Baraka Allahu fikum - May Allah bless you all.

The leadership, may Allah increase all of you. All you people, go back to the places where you came from. Recharge them with the power that this religion has. It's got power. And people recognize the power. Empower people. Our Prophet empowered people. He was not a tyrant. Hasha. He was somebody that his sahaba were free to ask questions. They were free to challenge his opinions.

They would say:

Ya Rasul Allah, a-wahyun am harbun wa makidah - O Messenger of Allah, is this revelation or is this strategy and tactics?

He would say, No, this is strategy. He said, Well, then I think you should do this. That's a man who empowered his people. Let's empower our young people. And you're gonna make mistakes. You're gonna make mistakes.

We all make mistakes. That's part of life on earth. May they never make big mistakes.