Source/Credit: Author
By Imam Shamshad A. Nasir |
I have been living in this beautiful and great country since 1987. I have always enjoyed a complete freedom of faith and conscious in this land. I am free to practice all tenets of my faith, Islam. And, I am a witness to the fact that my fellow Americans are great people.
I lived in different cities across the USA, such as, Washington, DC; Silver Spring, Maryland; Dayton Ohio; Houston Texas; Los Angeles California; and now I am a resident of Chicago, Illinois. My experience living in all these cities and towns is the same -- in that, the people of this great nation are respectful and helpful by nature.
The problem, I as an Ahmdi Muslim and other Muslims, routinely face is that the press and media have painted all Muslims with a broad-brush -- that we all are terrorists. Majority of the people of this great country are getting this negative picture through the media which is making the good and innocent people of this country fear Muslims and hate Islam.
Islamophobia is a negative attitude towards Muslims and it can be defined as fear of Islam created in the minds of Non-Muslims. Islamophobia is mostly propelled by the political powers and press and media across the globe and they are happily joined by the opponents of Islam.
Yes, as far as some Muslims are concerned -- a very small and tiny section of Muslims actually -- is helping acceleration of Islamophobia with their detestable actions. However, the history is a witness to the fact that such bad deeds are not just restricted to Islam only. Extremism can be found in most all other religions as well -- like Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism an so on.
As far as the true Islamic teachings are concerned, the reality is that Islam is the religion of peace, tolerance and forbearance. The very meaning of Islam is “peace” and Muslims greet everyone with 'Peace'.
The Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that, the true Muslim should never hurt any peace loving people with his hand or tongue. So I can convey this message on behalf of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community that there is no need to fear Islam and Muslims.
The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrath Mirza Gulam Ahmad of Qadian (peace be upon him) was raised by God Almighty to remove any misconceptions, misunderstandings and fear from the hearts of the people about Islam and to establish the same teachings practiced by the Prophet Mohammad (peace be on him).
On June 27, 2012, a historic event took place at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrath Mirza Masroor Ahmad (May Allah be his helper) addressed leading Congressmen, Senators, Ambassadors, White House and State Department Staff, NGO Leaders, Religious Leaders, Professors, Policy Advisors, Bureaucrats, representatives of think-tanks and the Pentagon and Journalists from the media and conveyed the true message of Islam's peaceful teachings.
He even wrote letters to the former President of the USA, Mr. Barack Obama, His Holiness Pope Benedict the XVI, His Excellency the Prime Minister of Israel, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Prime Minister of Canada, King of the Saudi Arabia, the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, the Prime Minister of the UK, the Chancellor of Germany, President of the French Republic, Her Majesty, the Queen of UK, to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the President of the Russian Federation His Excellency Mr. Vladimir Putin, explaining to all of them about the true and peaceful teachings of Islam and requested them to strive their best to prevent the major and minor powers from erupting into a Third World War.
He also mentioned that “if the leaders and prominent religious leaders of these countries don’t discharge their responsibilities wisely then the effects and aftermath of such a war will not be limited to only the poor countries of Asia, Europe and the Americas; rather, our future generations will have to bear the horrific consequences of our actions as well”.
Social Media and press also have a great responsibility of spreading peace in the nation. Instead of just broadcasting the bloodshed and the evil deeds of a small and tiny group of terrorists, they should interview the peace loving Muslims and broadcast the news covering the true teachings of Islam. They should broadcast the humanitarian works done by the true Muslims across the globe day in and day out.
If we are not mindful of these issues then Islamophobia will grow and affect all things and all aspects of our lives; young and old, men and women, economy and religion, every thing will be touched by its bad fruit.
If all Americans, Europeans and others, sincerely desire to uproot terrorism across the globe then all those political powers must stop immediately funding them and do not provide any kind of arms and ammunition to them.These are the only ways to stop Islamophobia in its tracks.
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Imam Shamshad A.Nasir, based in Chicago, is a missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA
-- Islamophobia and its Effects in the USA | Imam Shamshad A. Nasir
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