Foundation, NJ U. S. A
How Should Muslim Americans Relate with the Rest of the
Muslim World?
by Joshua Reina
Living in America, there is much confusion to Muslim Americans
as to how their relationship should be to Muslim communities
around the world. Many don’t want to seem disloyal to their
country by supporting Muslims elsewhere more than their own
communities. And perhaps many just don’t know how they should
relate to the Muslim World, or what they should do exactly
But it cannot be denied that it is very important to keep a good
relationship with other Muslim communities in the Muslim World.
It is important to be close to other Muslims, as we are brothers
in faith, and our religious identity is to be respected and
recognized amongst each other first before nationality or
anything else. We should be able to look at another Muslim from
another part of the world and see him as equal, not better or
worse. There is much that we can learn from each other, and
offer each other. No doubt that it can be hard developing close
ties with other Muslim communities around the world, but it is
not impossible. That being said, we can better relate with other
Muslims around the world in various ways, depending on what our
communities in America can do, from small to big.
A very basic thing that can be done is gaining more knowledge
about various living aspects in different parts of the Muslim
World, and facts in general. Many Muslims are ignorant and
uninformed about different situations in various parts of the
Muslim World, whether it be old or recent. In this age of
technology, there is no reason for Muslim Americans not to have
some basic idea of what is happening in other places. So we
should take it upon ourselves to keep up with news, whether by
using the internet to obtain it or reading the paper. We should
especially take this idea in consideration with places that are
doing very poorly. Places like Chechnya and Bosnia and
Herzegovina are going through a lot of trouble from the wars
they had experienced. And there are places like Somalia and
Yemen which are being torn apart from civil wars happening right
now. And there are communities also that have been affected by
Natural hazards. This includes many Muslim Asian communities.
Bangladesh is a country going through many challenges with poor
economy and extensive poverty, and Kashmir is a poor country
still recovering from the 2005 Earthquake that it experienced.
As well as small Muslim Communities in places like Burma, which
go through unspoken and rarely discussed harsh ways of living
every day. These things, and many more, should be known and
recognized, but many people do not keep that under
consideration. That being said, we should know of these facts,
and inform others about them.
As Muslim Americans, we live a life free from many worries and
fears. We are free to practice our religion, whereas some people
have to deal with religious persecution. We also enjoy many
economic opportunities available to us, while many other places
have fewer to barely any opportunities. We have the opportunity
to go to good schools and hospitals. Unfortunately, many Muslims
around the world don’t get these opportunities, and must deal
with extreme poverty, life-threatening violence, and disease. In
fact, what we may consider poor is considered well-to-do to rich
by Muslims in other poorer countries. There is also a stereotype
that many Muslims in other countries have about Americans, that
is, in general they are selfish, greedy, and uncaring, as well
as many other negative stereotypes. So we should also understand
that despite the economic depression we are facing, and though
many of us may feel like we are living poorly and in a crisis,
it is much worse someplace else, especially in a Muslim
community in somewhere like Africa or Asia. So we should make it
a duty to try to help others less fortunate than us in the
Muslim World. We should form charity programs to help them in
various ways, such as giving them donations of money, food,
clothes, and other things they may need. We could even give away
things that we don’t want or use anymore, and that could help
them. And even if you are “poor” in America, whatever little you
may do will help in many ways. Doing this would help in several
ways: We would be helping those who are needy, and doing various
forms of charity. We would also be lessening any negative
stereotypes formed about Americans. Also we would strengthen a
bond of religious brotherhood and support amongst each other.
There is no conflict between doing this and being a loyal
American. You can help and care for the Muslims all around the
world, and still be loyal to your country and fellow people.
America does not prohibit us from making organizations, groups,
and whatever else in order to help people from other nations. On
the Contrary, we have the opportunity to do just that! So we
should take great advantage of what we can do, and utilize it
fully.
We should also not go to the extreme that while living in this
country, we should not be disloyal to America for the things we
may dislike, such as it being a secular nation, it invading
various Muslim countries, such as Iraq and Afghanistan,
resulting in the instability and the deaths of thousands of
Muslim civilians; Additionally, America has forcefully
restrained and repressed various Muslim American organizations
and individuals since the 9/11 incident. These are, of course,
things that we should be strongly against. But being loyal to
America does not mean we have to blindly support every single
policy or law, nor does it mean that we support every bad thing
that it does. Being loyal to America can mean working for more
domestic and foreign policies that Muslim Americans believe are
in America’s best interests, and going against policies that we
believe cause harm to America. We should recognize that by the
virtue of living in America, and benefiting from the freedoms
and opportunities in America, We as Muslim Americans have given
an implicit oath to be loyal to America. Therefore, we should
not break that oath, as it is against good Islamic character to
break an oath. So we should take that into consideration. We
should also take history as a lesson for more understanding into
this. In the time of the Prophet, Muslims were minority group in
Arabia. They suffered many atrocities and hardships from the
society, facing much abuse, mistreatment, and cruelty from the
Arabian tribes. However, they never broke the treaties or
contracts they made, and were patient with their situation. So
we should follow this example, as they were some of the best
people who had ever lived.
Building our relations with other Muslim communities is
something that would benefit all of us. We would build
understanding, learning, and support amongst each other. As
Muslim Americans, we can learn more about Islam going to several
other Muslims countries in Africa, The Middle East, and Asia
rather than just staying in America. We also get books on Islam
from many other countries written by the scholars there. In
fact, without Muslims from places like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
and other countries, we wouldn’t have so many books on Islam,
especially Korans. So a healthy relationship between Muslim
Americans and Muslims from other parts of the world is something
that should be maintained. We benefit from each other, and we
should recognize this. So we should try to help each other in
any way that we can with what we have to offer.
As Muslims, we should want for our brother for want we would
want for our self. So when we hear of problems going on with
other Muslims in other parts of the world, going through various
struggles, such as suffering economic problems worse than our
own, dealing with violence daily, not having enough food nearly
as much food as us, dealing with diseases that are grotesque to
witness, and many other unfortunate situations, then we should
feel that it is our obligation to want to do something about it
and make their way of living better in any way possible.
Building a relationship between them by helping in any way
possible would be something absolutely good for everyone. And
without a doubt, we should make supplication to God, because we
will only be successful in obtaining a good relationship amongst
ourselves that way. That being said, we should strive to our
fullest to strengthen ties amongst Muslims of various nations
and communities around the world. There is no doubt that it
would be something good for all of us. We should want to be
close to other Muslims, and try to be close to them as much as
we can. Again, it is something that would be beneficial to all
sides. So all of us should take advantage of trying to do
whatever we can to do our part.
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