Thank You, White House, For Hosting an Anti-Islamophobia Meeting to Address the Grievances of the American Muslims

By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam 8 May 2023 Muslim Scholars, Particularly Ulama, Must Challenge Islamophobic Arguments On Theological Grounds Main Points · America is a superpower that cares about its citizens and their security. · Minorities have been given a voice in America to demonstrate morality and fairness. · Leaders disregard constitutions and rights when in power. · Islamophobes and Jihadist terrorists seek to persuade moderate Muslims to take to the path of violent extremism. · Muslims must speak out against the Islamophobic agenda to protect their religious rights. ----- A student clutches her textbook at the Community Girls School in Kotchandana refugee village, Pakistan. Muslim women and girls may face triple discrimination as female, ethnic minority and Muslim. PHOTO: © UNHCR/Sara Farid ------ Many people can be heard criticising the superpower United States of America. But what makes America a superpower? When a country evolves, it does so based on its citizens and their prosperity. A country advances when the common civilians do. Civilians require a tranquil environment free from prejudice, hatred, and religious persecution in order to advance. An entire country grows when its citizens do. The more a country develops, the stronger it becomes. The US is one of the countries that care the most about its citizens and their security, even when it might not be good for other countries or their civilian populations. In some countries, the elected leaders are not even willing to listen to the grievances of their minorities. Once in power due to sectarian vote banks, they become so careless that they lose all morality and a sense of fairness. However, the US stands out in this sense. Minorities have always been allowed a voice in this country. I'm not referring to the written constitutions and rights of the countries; rather, I'm referring to the leaders because once an irresponsible leader assumes power, the constitutions and rights are completely ignored. I want to express my gratitude for the White House's recent listening session on Islamophobia, during which representatives of the Biden administration met with leaders of the American Muslim community. This came after Biden hosted an event at the White House to celebrate the conclusion of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr. The White House said that Muslim leaders outlined the challenges facing their communities and shared recommendations for confronting Islamophobia and all forms of hate and bigotry. Biden-Harris administration officials expressed their gratitude to the participants and underscored the President's commitment to countering Islamophobia. The session was part of the President's interagency task force to counter anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and related forms of bias and discrimination. Biden hosted a reception for Eid al-Fitr at the White House on Monday evening. He greeted those attending by saying "Welcome home" and praised the diverse contributions Muslims have made to the nation as teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, business owners, congresswomen and congressmen. He also noted that Muslims have served bravely in the US Armed Forces and law enforcement. The White House Courtesy: The White House ---- The objective of Islamophobes is crystal apparent. They seek to eradicate Islam because they believe it harms non-Muslims. They have misinterpreted a number of Islamic principles in a similar way to extremist terrorist organisations like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, etc. Both Islamophobes and Jihadist terrorists aim to persuade moderate Muslims to take to the path of violent extremism. Muslims must beware of both, as they look for justifications for violence in Islamic theology, which in reality do not exist. If there are verses and Ahadith on war, they were revealed during a war to fend off religious persecution and solely applied to those circumstances. When there is peace, they are irrelevant. However, Islamophobes are furiously striving to imply that the war-related verses and Ahadith are also relevant today, subtly suggesting that the world community must eradicate Islam. This is the rationale for why Muslims must speak out against the Islamophobic agenda. Moreover, Muslim scholars, particularly Ulama, must challenge Islamophobic arguments on theological grounds. Let me reiterate that if the Biden administration is successful in settling their grievances, the Muslim population in America will feel more confident. The country will transform from a superpower into a true superpower in the spiritual sense and a modern role model for other countries from the East to the West and North to the South if Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and other related sorts of bias and discrimination are completely eliminated from the country. … A regular columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a classical Islamic scholar with a Sufi background and an English-Arabic-Urdu Translator. URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/anti-islamophobia-grievances-american-muslims/d/129724 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism