We are all Americans! The streets of New York city cannot be a place of danger for anyone!
We are here, as Muslims, because we love America, and we want it to be the safest, securest place for everyone
There is an urgent need for safety on the streets of our city. The Muslim community is feeling this acutely now in the wake of the murders of Maulama Akonjee and mosque assistant Thara Uddin of Queens, August 13 2016, plus other hate crimes in which Muslims have been assaulted and beaten.On September 9, two women wearing hijab, and pushing their small children in baby carriages, were assaulted – a woman tried to rip off their hijab, and even attacked their little children, while yelling that they should get out of America.
But we are Americans!
On September 11 we mourn the tragic day when, fifteen years ago, terrorists who do not represent Islam or the Muslim people, hijaked airplanes and destroyed the World Trade towers, killing over 2000 innocent people. We as Muslims and as Americans denounce this terrible attack. Such an attack means we need to foster more understanding, more compassion, more knowledge about each other so hatred will not prosper.
And yet, on the anniversary of this terrible day, Muslim Americans live in fear. A woman wearing hijab saw that her sleeve was set on fire in broad daylight on the streets of New York City! Just like Muslims denounce violence, so do we call upon our fellow Americans to deplore the attacks on women, on children, on beloved Imams and Muslim leaders who only helped people and who truly believe in peace.
A Mosque was torched in Florida – is that the way we mark 9-11? Through more hate crimes? Through murder? Lighting a woman ablaze? How can this be happening in the greatest country on earth, the leader of the free world?
We are all Americans! Join us in denouncing all forms of violence, join us in forming bridges – not walls, in building trust – not fear.
We are all responsible for one another. I invite you to learn about the true teachings of peace in our Holy book, the Qur’an, its tolerance, its love for all people. ‘There is no compulsion in religion.’ And, ‘Another of His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth, and the diversity of your languages and colors.’
And, ‘If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but His plan is to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye differ.’
Remember the Golden Age of Spain, in which Muslims, Jews, and Christians created a vibrant, tolerant sociey, all under Muslim rule. Remember the contributions of Muslim scholars like Avicenna to the world of medicine, of the geographer Al-Idrisi, who correctly mapped out the world, and of him it is said that Christopher Columbus probably wouldn’t have found America if he hadn’t used Al-Idrisi’s maps.
We are all Americans! Muslim Americans belong here as much as anyone does. My dear aunt, Nazma Khanam, only sixty years old, wife, mother, and community volunteer, was brutally stabbed and killed in front of her husband while they were walking home, only two weeks after the murder of Akonjee and Uddin – murders that shocked our community.
My organization, SAFEST, works in the five boroughs to address the challenges facing the South Asian American Community. SAFEST is the voice of advocacy and wisdom for the community.
Join us in condemning all forms of violence, in making American safe for everyone, because we are all Americans! SUNDAY 9/18/2016 (Two Events );;;; Jackson Height Diversity Plaza (3PM- 5PM Jamaica 162 nd Street Infront of Ride Aid (5:30 PM- 6;30 PM) – SAFEST press release
