By Mohammed Zaher Sahloul

Muslims love Muhammad, as they love other prophets, and cannot help but feel hurt when he is insulted or slandered.

A quiet debate is underway among American Muslims about how to reclaim our faith and affirm our love of the Prophet (peace be upon him). “Je suis Charlie” may have spread across social media following the massacre at the offices of the French satirical journal Charlie Hebdo. But to many Muslims, “Je suis Muhammad” was the truer response.

Answers can be found in the teachings of our Prophet. Muslims strive to model their lives after the man they consider “mercy to mankind.” Muslims love Muhammad (peace be upon him), as they love other prophets, and cannot help but feel hurt when he is insulted or slandered.

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there has been a steady increase in the negative perception of Muslims. A Pew poll last year concluded that Muslims were perceived more “coldly” by the general public than any other religious group. Notably, however, the poll also showed that people who know Muslims tended to have a “warmer” attitude toward them.

That is why it’s such a problem whenever American Muslims are portrayed by the media and pop culture as “others,” not unlike how Catholic, Jewish or Japanese Americans have been viewed at points of our history.

Challenging Mission

Today, this attitude is particularly dangerous because it coincides with an increase in threats and attacks against Muslims and Islamic places of worship in both the United States and Europe. We don’t yet have a full understanding of why three young Muslims were murdered in Chapel Hill, N.C., this week, but it is understandable why so many fear this terrible crime was at least partly motivated by anti-Muslim feeling.

Fortunately, to address such views we only have to talk more openly about what our faith teaches us.

In her book “Muhammad, A Prophet for Our Time,” the British scholar Karen Armstrong explained the shallow Western understanding of the Muslim Prophet, and his followers, and presented a counter-narrative based on his biography:

“Muhammad was not a man of violence,” she wrote.

“Muhammad had been distinguished in his selfless treatment of the people around him.”

Muhammad is the most beloved name among Muslims. I carry his name and so do my two sons. In Arabic culture, people are expected to reflect the attributes of the names they carry. The boxer Cassius Clay chose the name Muhammad when he became Muslim, and so did Elijah Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam. The civil rights leader Malcolm X went on a spiritual journey, tracing the steps of the prophet Muhammad in the holy city of Mecca, that he said transformed his life and removed hatred and racism from his heart.

The image of Muhammad in the minds of Muslims is of a pious, simple man who understood people’s limitations. He was gentle, humble, loving, witty and accommodating. He asked his followers to respect every life– even the lives of animals and plants.

He said that the life of one person is more sacred than the holiest place on earth. He forgave his enemies, even those who killed and desecrated the dead body of his uncle. He savored the company of slaves and the disenfranchised. He denounced racism and championed social justice. He told men to honor women and not to hurt them.

Needless to say, the barbaric, criminal acts of the Islamic State and the Paris murderers do not represent the teachings of Muhammad .

President Obama said recently, “Our biggest advantage . . . is that our Muslim populations . . . feel themselves to be Americans. And there is this incredible process of immigration and assimilation that is part of our tradition that is probably our greatest strength.” From all accounts, the three students killed in Chapel Hill — Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha — were ideal citizens who sought to help the less fortunate and believed in serving their community. They also followed the model of the prophet.

Civil Life of Muslims

More Americans need to get to know their Muslim neighbors and to see their contributions to our civic life. In Chicago, where I live, there are Muslims in all walks of life, making a particularly large contribution to my own profession, medicine. The Willis and the John Hancock towers were designed by a Muslim architect.

Organizations such as the Inner-City Muslim Action Network are at the forefront of social “entrepreneurship”, working to combat violence and provide opportunities for inner-city youth. Thousands of Muslim-owned businesses and restaurants are the opposite of supposed “no-go zones” — they are welcoming zones to all that add global favor to the city of big shoulders. This is the reality in cities and towns across America.

During his life, and not unlike Jesus and Moses, the prophet Muhammad had to deal with relentless campaigns to tear down his character and discredit his message. The best response, the Qur’an tells us, is to “return an insult with a good deed.”

That is the faith I know, and that is the man Muslims love.

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Source: Washingtonpost.com

Mohammed Zaher Sahloul is the past president of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.

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In the years after the September 11^th attacks in America, Muslims have been the subjects of frequent discussions but seldom among the participants. The lack of American Muslim voices in the national discourse makes much of the discussion of the community speculative or worse.

Muslims have a strong American identity. They are also as likely as other Americans to identify strongly with their faith.

These combined factors work to create a climate in which the majority of Muslims report some level of discrimination—the highest of any major faith group. This survey examines the attitudes of American faith groups on various topics from politics and religion, to violence and identity.

What emerges is the profile of an American Muslim community that is both pious and patriotic, optimistic and weary of discrimination, similar to Jews in its politics, and much like Protestants in its religious practice.

In early 2016, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding conducted a survey of American Muslims, Jews, Protestants, and Catholics to examine their attitudes on various issues from politics and religion, to violence and identity.

What emerged from the results is a profile of a American Muslim community that is both pious and patriotic, optimistic and weary of discrimination, similar to Jews in its politics, and much like Protestants in its religious practice.

Muslims are ethnically diverse; the majority favor Democrats

Muslims are the youngest and most racially diverse major religious community in America—the only community without a majority race. Within the Muslim population is a nearly equal percentage of four different racial/ethnic subgroups: white, black, Asian, and Arab.

Muslims are also by far the youngest faith community, with 36 percent of the population younger than 35 compared with roughly one-quarter of Protestants, for example.

Muslims: Economy, Islamophobia are top priorities for next President

Muslims, like other American faith groups, see the economy as a top priority for the next president. The most striking difference in priorities is, however, that Muslims are the only faith group to identify bigotry and civil rights as a priority (9 percent).

American Muslim reports more religious discrimination than any other group

More than half of Muslims reported facing some level of discrimination in the past year because of their religion, with 18 percent reporting regular discrimination, the highest of any group.

Those who report regular discrimination were less likely to be optimistic about the country, but more likely to engage in community activities. This suggests that the American Muslim responds to discrimination by becoming more proactive and involved rather than more isolated.

Muslims are equally engaged in community, less politically

Muslims are least likely to be politically engaged. Whereas 85 percent of Muslims who can legally vote say they plan on casting their ballot for the next president, only 60 percent are actually registered compared with at least 86 percent of Jews, Catholics, and Protestants.

This means that a full one-fourth of Muslims who can legally vote and say they plan to vote still have not registered, resulting in the largest gap between the intention to participate and the readiness to do so. Roughly 15 percent of Muslims who are able to vote for the next president say they do not plan to—the largest of any faith group.

American Muslim Poll: Muslim Community Is Both Pious & Patriotic

Muslims who regularly attend mosques are more likely to work with their neighbors to solve community problems, be registered to vote, plan to vote.

Muslims are as likely (statistically) as other religious groups, however, to cooperate with people in their neighborhoods to solve problems. This suggests that those who aim to increase Muslim political engagement would do well to start at the local level.

Mosque attendance is linked to civic engagement, not radicalization

American mosques made headlines when front-runner Republican candidate Donald Trump suggested that they be closed because they allegedly cause radicalization.

We found that frequent mosque attendance has no correlation with attitudes toward violence against civilians, but it is linked with higher levels of civic engagement.

Muslims who regularly attend mosques are more likely to work with their neighbors to solve community problems, be registered to vote, and are more likely to plan to vote.

Stronger Muslim religious identity is linked to stronger American identity

Despite lower political engagement, Muslims have a strong American identity. They are also as likely as other Americans to identify strongly with their faith.

Although a recent poll shows that a slight majority of Americans say they do not believe Islam is compatible with American values, the data paint a different picture.

Muslims who say their faith is important to their identity are more likely to say being American is important to how they think of themselves.

Muslims reject attacks on civilians

Muslims oppose military targeting and killing of civilians more than any other faith group, and are as likely as other faith groups to also oppose the same act of violence carried out by individuals or a small group.

Muslims who attend religious services more frequently or have a stronger religious identity do not differ in their views of civilian casualties by either a military or an individual from those who do not hold strong religious views.

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Source: www.ispu.org

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