Abdul Malik Mujahid

The Prophet’s success was the result of deep faith, optimism, hope, and grassroots activism. As followers of his path, do we not owe him and our faith at least this much to stand up against ISIS, Sisi, and the nexus of war-terrorism-hate, which are all abusing the vision of our faith and our Prophet? 

Islamophobia is real. You may have personally experienced it or know a family member, friend or acquaintance who has. This new racism must be made known and fought against. Here are a couple of ways to combat this phenomenon.

Islamophobia is here and it is real. There is a deep-seated current of anti-Muslim prejudice in American society today. Survey after survey has quantified this. Meanwhile, many Muslims remain conflicted about challenging this intolerance.

Islamophobia is hard at work. It has led to governments passing legislation targeting Muslims and their faith practices in the name of “fighting terrorism”. It has led to killing of innocent people. So let us take charge of ourselves and our future. 

All surveys have shown that students are especially skeptical of hate mongering. The highest favorable rating of Muslims (49%) is in the age group of 18-29. Let us make a serious effort to fight hate on campus.

The Masjid is where the action is. Muslims and their resources are connected with Masjids. Rethinking how to use those resources will help the Ummah greatly.

If you are involved in interfaith work, raise the topic of Islamophobia at your meetings. Stress the urgency for people of all faiths to address and condemn it, along with other forms of intolerance publicly.