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Newsletter for August 2011

 

Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12

 

 

 

 

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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