Speaking Truth to Power and Standing Up Against Oppression

Speaking Truth to Power and Standing Up Against Oppression

Dr. Yasir Qadhi

Introduction and Opening

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Alhamdulillah wa as-salatu wa as-salamu ala Rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala.

We've been listening to stories of great visionaries, of great leaders throughout this entire conference and convention. But the question that arises is, what are some of the characteristics that causes some human beings to be so popular, so admired?

There are obviously many, but I would argue that one, if not the most important characteristic and trait, is that leaders speak truth to power. And when you speak truth to power, typically those in power don't appreciate the truth.

The Paradox of Leadership

So, one of the ironies of being a leader is that most leaders at some point in their times were actually not leaders at all. They were officially silenced, they were imprisoned, they were smeared, some of them maybe even executed. In other words, typically the most popular and influential leaders of humanity for most of their lives were extremely unpopular and extremely controversial.

Examples from Religious History

And all we need to do is to look at the lives of the prophets, the lives of all of the prophets. The prophet Muhammad (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), how long did he have to suffer in Mecca? The prophet Musa alayhi salam with Pharaoh, the prophet Isa with the Romans, and on and on.

Modern Examples of Truth-Speakers

But it's not just religious leaders. Look at some of the most famous and popular leaders of this century of humanity. People like Nelson Mandela, people like Mahatma Gandhi, people like Martin Luther King. Universally revered, respected, and admired across all religions, across all geographic lands. All of them without exception were actively engaged in fighting for justice against tyranny and oppression.

And that meant that they had to speak truth to power regardless of the consequences. It is so easy now for us to claim these figures as heroes. Now that they're gone, now that their legacy has been established, it's so easy for us to claim them as legends.

But the fact of the matter is that if Martin Luther King were alive, when he were alive, when the FBI had a massive file on him, and you told him that a time will come, a time will come when you're going to have a national holiday commemorating what you've done. You're going to have multiple stamps issued by the government honoring you. You're going to have hundreds of thousands of schools around the world hold fairs and competitions writing about you.

If you would have told him that, he would never have believed you.

The Case of Malcolm X

And look at another example whom we just heard about a few minutes ago. An example that we all admire, Ilhaj Malik Shabazz Malcolm X. And I say this while I'm honored to share a stage with one of his daughters.

It is so easy, it is so politically correct, it is so morally advantageous of us to claim his legacy now, and to sing his praise now. And of course he's worthy of it. But the question that I want you to think about, if Malcolm X had been alive right now, and we know his rhetoric, and we know how he used to speak, and we know what he would say.

If Malcolm X were to be alive right now, would he have been welcomed on this very platform that is now commemorating him? Think about that question. Because that is not an easy question to answer.

Our Current Challenges

And we as Muslims, as an American Ummah, we so desperately need such leaders. But until we get them, each and every one of us has a role to play. And each and every one of us has to do what we can in our communities and in our circles of influence.

Media Attacks on Islam

We're living at a time and a place where our religion is being smeared, our faith is being maligned, our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is being mocked, our holy book is being misrepresented. Journalists, media, politicians, they love to jump on Islam, to blame Islam, to consider Islam to be a terroristic and a violent religion, and to associate all that's happening in the world with this religion of Islam.

Recently, there was a very depressing article in the New York Times, talking about ISIS and its selling off of Yazidi girls. And it was entitled, "The Theology of Rape." Linking the crime of rape to the religion of Islam. Even in the title, The Theology of Rape. Rape doesn't need a theology. It's a war crime, plain and simple.

Before that article, there was another famous article, I should say infamous article, in the Atlantic, entitled, "What ISIS Really Wants." It went viral. No article in the history of the Atlantic was read as highly praised and as highly read as this article. And that article clearly said, the journalist in that article wrote, ISIS is very Islamic. ISIS is Islamic and represents Islam. It is very Islamic.

Challenging False Narratives

And I had a debate with that journalist on NPR, and you can listen to it. And I pointed out to him, that the problem that I have with his article, which is the problem that I have with the article on The Theology of Rape, and all other such clips on TV, or shoddy attempts at journalism.

The problem that I have, yes you are correct, I said to him, that ISIS claims to be acting in the name of Islam. That ISIS is quoting the Islamic tradition. But the question that I have for you is very simple.

ISIS, is it coming out of a vacuum? Or are there political circumstances from within which ISIS is coming? If we had not gotten involved in that region, if we haven't invaded Iraq, if we haven't supported and opposed a dictator, if we hadn't put sanctions on that country for more than a decade, which resulted in the deaths of half a million people, if we hadn't gone to war twice, in 1991 and 2004, if we hadn't bombed it with more than a thousand tons of bombs, then would ISIS have ever arisen?

The fact of the matter, dear brothers and sisters, is that ISIS is not coming from a reading of the Quran. ISIS is a legacy of our own foreign policy, and an extreme example of a failure of what happens when you invade, when you bomb, when you occupy, when you destroy an infrastructure. Stop blaming the religion, and be brave enough and courageous enough to ask yourselves why ISIS is happening.

The Need for Courageous Leadership

So, instead of talking about the theology of rape, what I want to see is brave leaders, journalists or us or whoever, talk about the theology of imperialism. Instead of talking about, is ISIS Islamic? What I want to see is leaders asking, is Guantanamo American? Instead of arguing about how faithful or not radical jihadists are to Islam, it's about time we start asking our elected officials how faithful its foreign policies are to the interests of us here in America versus the interests of Halliburton and Shell Oil. That's the type of courageous journalism and the type of leadership that I'd like to see.

Personal Responsibility

I am tired of having to defend Islam, of having to apologize for offenses that have been committed across the globe that I have nothing to do with and that emanate from political causes, not religious ones. We belong to a civilization that claims in its national anthem that there's liberty and justice for all. If that is the case, then why are we so obsessed as a nation to talk about the crimes being committed halfway across the globe, about smearing the faith of 1.5 billion people while ignoring or sidelining the crimes and injustices being committed under our very noses by people that are accountable to us.

Domestic Injustices

When Eric Garner can be choked to death because he's selling cigarettes without a license. When a black man stopped for a broken tailgate can be shot in the back. When a 10-year-old child just having fun and playing in his playground is shot to death by police simply because his skin color is black.

While a white kid who massacres nine people in a church in cold blood is not even handcuffed and instead treated out to a free meal at Burger King. I mean, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

You can't have your cake and eat it as well. In light of all that's happening in our own land, by what moral right can you continue to criticize others and smear others for human rights violations when we have enough in our own backyard?

Call to Action

Muslims, Muslims, enough is enough. We need to cut through the hype and we need to be brave enough to speak truth to power, to challenge this media campaign that is against our faith.

Wasn't it Jesus himself, my prophet and yours, who said something about pointing out the speck in your brother's eyes while ignoring the log in your own?

Responding to Criticism

Now, when someone like myself criticizes any aspect of America, immediately the response that I hear is well, if you don't like it, then go back. Go back to where you came from. If you're so critical, then just leave.

And that attitude, frankly, is downright racist. Because the person who questions my right to criticize is himself or herself the greatest critic of American policy. Granted, his criticisms are very different.

So while I criticize drones that kill innocent people, he criticizes free healthcare to the poor. While I'm worried about supporting foreign dictators, he's worried about where Obama's mother gave birth to him. But still, for some reason, their criticism always seems to have the mark of legitimacy and patriotism, while my criticism, because I'm brown-skinned with a weird-sounding name, is interpreted as unpatriotic and un-American.

Asserting American Identity

So let's get one thing straight. I was born here. And I don't need to prove my American-ness and my identity to anyone.

I have just as much claim as you do to this land. If your grandfather came from a foreign place and landed on Ellis Island, well then, my father came from a foreign place and landed in Houston, Texas. Sure, maybe your grandfather came in a boat and my father landed on a plane.

But still, the point is that both of them came from somewhere else. And all of us, other than Native Americans, all of us are immigrants because America is a land of immigrants. So if you don't understand that, if you don't like my opinions, maybe you should go back to where your ancestors came from, because I'm not going anywhere.

Balancing Criticism with Gratitude

The point is, the point is that criticism of one policy does not mean condemnation of the entire country. Our country has a lot of good and even as I criticize one aspect, I point out positives in other. I am grateful to Allah.

I am thankful to Allah to have been born and raised here. The political and religious freedoms we enjoy are rare to find in any other land. Isn't it amazing? Isn't it something that all of us should be proud of? That I can stand here today in the largest convention of Muslims in North America and publicly and brazenly say that American foreign policy in the Middle East is a disaster of the highest magnitude.

That I can say that our war on terror and our drones and our killings of thousands of innocent civilians is itself a war of terror. That I can say that the Patriot Act is the most unpatriotic act of this entire century. That I can say all of these things and I don't have to worry about the FBI or the Department of Justice or the CIA issuing a warrant for my arrest.

Thank God for American freedom and American liberty. Alhamdulillah thumma alhamdulillah. We acknowledge and we celebrate that good and we as Americans do cherish those freedoms.

But it's because we care. It's because we cherish. It's because we have a natural love for our place of birth and our upbringing. It's because our country allows encourages dissent and freedom that we have to speak out when we see evil.

Addressing Global Issues

Whether it's about hashtag Black Lives Matter or campaigning against drones or calling for a better foreign policy in the Middle East. For how long brothers and sisters will Palestine be under the yoke of tyranny and apartheid and occupation? If you want to stop terrorism from one side stop supporting and financing state terrorism from the other side.

Free Palestine is something we all need to be talking about.

A Personal Anecdote

And you know this reminds me recently a good friend of mine a good mentor he came up to me one day after one of these fiery talks pulled me aside and he said "Akhi Yasef you know you have great potential in the community and you can really benefit the ummah but I really think you should stop talking about these sensitive issues. Just continue preaching the seerah doing some tafsir doing some halaqat and you'll be fine."

And wallahi his point was coming from sincerity. Wallahi he was a good brother he basically wanted to protect me you know from the far right from the government from what not. And I seriously thought about his advice for like two minutes I thought about his advice and I thought to myself how can I preach the seerah? How can I talk about the life and times the methodology the message of the greatest leader that humanity has ever seen our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and realize that the entire seerah from the beginning to the end is about benefiting others and bringing about change in society.

How can I teach the seerah and then ignore the very message of the seerah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)?

The Refugee Crisis

Wallahi my dear brothers and sisters wallahi how can we see pictures of innocent babies drowning to death fleeing from civil war fleeing from brutal dictators fleeing from religious fanatics and then do nothing to help. How can we accept that non-Muslim countries like Germany and Sweden are welcoming hundreds and thousands of asylum seekers while our own Muslim countries let me say it frankly our own oil rich gulf states have refused to accept a single asylum speaker. How can I remain quiet? You tell me.

How is it possible for us not to speak out and say shame on you shame on you shame on you of what use are your fancy buildings of what use is the fact that you're building higher and higher buildings predicting exactly what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said. Barefoot ignorant shepherds amongst them are going to be competing building taller and taller buildings. Subhanallah dear brothers and sisters the message I want to leave you with is very simple.

The Core Message

Realize that if we wish to follow in the footsteps of the Prophets we have a responsibility to preach the truth. We have a responsibility to speak truth to power. We have a responsibility to convey the ethics and the values and the teachings of our faith to spread compassion and mercy.

Brothers and sisters the Prophets did not win popularity contests. They were very unpopular throughout their message. Only towards the end of their message were some of them not even all some of them blessed with acceptance on this earth.

But in the end my dear brothers and sisters falsehood always loses and truth and justice shall prevail. It doesn't matter how mighty the army of the Pharaoh is. It doesn't matter how powerful the PR of his state is.

It doesn't matter how lavishly his palaces and the palaces of his cronies appear. A day will come when all of that will fade away and the followers of the Prophets shall prevail even if God has to part the sea in order to save them and bless the believers. Your Lord has decreed that I and my Prophets shall be the victors.

They want to extinguish the light of Allah. But your Lord has refused except that His light shall prevail. Muslims always be on the side of the truth.

Always be on the side of justice. Always be on the side of the oppressed. And if you do so then you shall be on the side of God and you shall be the victors.

Closing

May Allah reward you well. Peace be upon you. Takbir! Takbir! Takbir! Takbir! Thank you Sheikh Yasir Qadhi for standing with the oppressed.

May Allah bless you.