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Feb 14, 2006By Abdul Malik
Mujahid
On February 13, the synagogue Agudas Achim North Shore
Congregation was vandalized with swastikas and anti-Semitic writings.
Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are fruits of the same tree of hate.
As a person who receives hate mail almost weekly, and whose office
windows have been shattered by bullets more than once, I feel the pain of this
congregation. Chicago’s Muslims can feel only sadness when a House of God is
desecrated. We stand in support and sympathy with the members of Agudas Achim
North Shore Congregation.
Whenever a hate crime is committed it is time
for us to reflect on our collective and individual humanity. We need to ask
ourselves whether we have risen to the high ideals of our faith, which inspires
us to open our hearts to all of humanity, not just our own ethnic or religious
group. Do we truly represent the message of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace
and blessings be upon him, who did not differentiate between Muslim and a
non-Muslim when it came to the rights of neighbors. Can we feel for the “other?”
Are we willing to do for a synagogue what we would do for a mosque?
As
God says in the Quran: “… had there not been God's repelling some people by
others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and
synagogues and mosques in which God's name is much remembered; and surely God
will help him who helps His cause; most surely God is Strong, Mighty” (Quran
22:40). People of faith have a responsibility to repel this evil with
wisdom.
Human beings were one until we divided ourselves. We are all the
children of Adam and Eve, made of clay and created by God. Incidents of hate
like the publication of offensive cartoons and attacks on synagogues offer us
the opportunity to think, reflect and act like One Humanity.
Shaytan,
the one who has promised God that he will make us stray from the Straight Path,
knows how to spur people to commit crimes like this attack on a place of
worship. He knows how to spread the evil of racism. He knows how to make humans
justify Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, concentration camps, genocide, the
internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII and the publication of deeply
offensive cartoons about our Prophet.
We, Muslims in Chicago, know how
difficult it is to build a place of worship in our city. We know what it is like
to fight for every single permit, to struggle to appease some neighbors whose
concerns over parking space mask Islamophobia. We know how we feel when the
words “raghead,” “terrorist” and “camel jockey” are spray painted on our mosques
and homes and shamelessly uttered by our political leaders and columnists.
It is thanks to the support of our interfaith partners that we are able
to face these challenges. They have time and again stood in solidarity with us.
Today, we stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors.
Let us reflect
on the mission of our beloved Prophet, and share the mercy he showed to humanity
by helping to remove the odious graffiti off of a House of God; let us also
commemorate the unjust internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII.
Two
events will help us in that regard:
1. A rally
against hate and synagogue clean up today (Sunday Feb. 19th 06) at 2 pm at
Agudas Achim North Shore Congregation, 5029 N. Kenmore, Chicago.
2. A Day
of Remembrance to commemorate the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII.
It will also be held today (Sunday Feb. 19th 06) at 2 pm at the DeVry Institute
on 3300 North Campbell Avenue in Chicago.
While both
events are being held on the same day and at the same time, I strongly encourage
you to make an effort to attend at least one of them. We must stand up against
all forms of injustice. This is our duty as Muslims. It is our mandate as
believers. Let us no longer shun this responsibility.
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