As American Muslims, we are yet to develop any concrete plans to extricate ourselves out of chaotic situations, hostility, and incessant Islamophobic rhetoric we face. Each time a terrorist acts out, we start praying and wishing that the terrorist was not a Muslim. Then condemnations follow that the terrorist is on the fringe, he is not one of us, or he is an extremist. Then we will start fighting the fires and start defending the faith and get frustrated.
We are American Muslims, and we can do better than that.
This book American Muslim Agenda is a primer, a blueprint, a roadmap for American Muslims to consider. A Muslim is someone who should be a conflict mitigator and a goodwill nurturer, following formula for peaceful societies practiced by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and guided by the Quran.
We need to learn to engage with those who are opposed to us, and I have some good success stories to share on that front. The focus of the book is Muslim integration and being one with all.
There are things we can do to create a sense of being one nation with liberty and justice for all. I am pleased to dedicate this book to the following individuals who are a source of motivation and inspiration for putting this work together:
Sean Hannity
I have learned the mistakes Muslims have made from his point of view and he represents a substantial percentage of fellow Americans. How do we solve the problems if we don’t know how others perceive us? I want my fellow Muslims to know that he is not against Islam or Muslims but against radicals among us. The radicals not only frighten fellow Americans, but they scare the majority of Muslims as well, and they misrepresent Islam. I have appeared in 110 of his TV shows on Fox News and 150 nationally syndicated radio shows. Thanks to Sean for receiving a copy of Muhammad Asad’s translation (I should have included a note about Quran 4:34, which Muhammad Asad also got wrong) and listening to me that the Quran is not the problem. Since then, he has not bashed the Quran. Check out a few videos at https://mikeghousevideo.blogspot.com/
Brigitte Gabriel
First a humorous event in Mt. Vernon, Texas. I was on radio with Sean and Brigitte from a library room in Mt. Vernon. You know, Brigitte delivers five hundred words in high pitch sound and in one breath, and on that day, I attempted to match her pitch talking about terrorism, scaring the daylights out of the librarians. I would not get off the phone, so they called the sheriff, who came with handcuffs to arrest me. Of course, we laughed it off when he discovered that “I was that dude on the Hannity Radio.” Brigitte is committed to sowing discord and division among Americans through her ACT for America, she may have had a bad experience where she grew up in Lebanon, she should have directed her ire at those miscreants and not their religion. She was precisely my inspiration. I said, “Brigitte, you pit one American against another, and I will bring them together under the banner of Americans Together, a part of the Center for Pluralism.” By the way, Brigitte advocated a Muslim to donate five million dollars to lead the moderate Muslims of America, a kind gesture that I appreciate. Brigitte and I have fought off on Hannity show over 30 times. There is a video about it on the website www.AmericanMusilmAgenda.com
Pastor Robert Jeffress
He said, “The Quran is a false book written by a false prophet,” to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from his congregation at the First Baptist Church of Dallas. It was pathetic. No Muslim wanted to respond to it. Jon Halsey took me and Marzuq Jami to the church, and that led me to interact with Pastor Jeffress. I challenged him to find three faults with the Quran in his church in public, and if he did, I would join his church, or he should join me in becoming a blessed peacemaker as Jesus called all of us to be. He backed off, but we held a workshop on the Quran with ten non-Muslim clergies from different traditions, thanking him for the opportunity to put an end to such falsities. He owes an apology for not verifying but passing on the false information to his congregation. He inspired me and gave full confidence in the Quran. It is a full story that ran for a week on local television networks and Dallas Morning News. There is a full story to tell.
Pastor Terry Jones
When Pastor Jones decided to burn 2998 copies of the Quran in Mulberry, Florida – my immediate concerns were the safety of Americans serving in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Journalists reporting from conflict zones and the safety of fellow Americans traveling around the world. I wrote a press release that hit all the major newspapers of the ‘world.’ New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Religion News, Saudi Gazette, Times of India and many papers responded positively with write-ups. The event closed peacefully, the Department of State and Department of Defense also got involved in it.
We don’t have a Martin Luther King Jr. to liberate us from the anguish of prejudice. As Americans, it is up to us, here and now, to come together and find solutions. It is in the interest of Muslims to take the lead and set the agenda.
The reason we have conflicts with different communities and groups is that we don’t know much about one another and that whatever we think or know about the other is based on myths and not facts. Instead of examining and removing the myths, we have piled up more myths and have aggravated the situation further. Indeed, there is a solution, and the is guidance is offered in this book.
The American Muslim Agenda addresses the issues that have kept Muslims in silos, in ghettos, in clusters, and in tiny isolated pods and offers guidance for us to come out of our shells and connect with fellow Americans. In Irving, Murphy, and Plano, Texas, we are building homes around the mosques, creating ghettos. Thank God, Ted Cruz did not have his way. Muslims should resist the temptation to live in clusters and should integrate well with all others. Ultimately, we the people are one nation, embracing the given uniqueness of each community.
If early Muslims had lived aloof and apart, Islam would not have seen the light of the day, and no one beyond Arabia would have known of it. This trend to live in silos began in 1969 and needed to be reversed. Caring for his creation is the highest form of worship.
Let us be with other people; this is an opportunity to connect and to build relationships and the chance to let fellow Americans know that Muslims are good and regular human beings. The more we integrate, the more we become one with our fellow Americans.
Working on creating just and cohesive societies and rituals are a vehicle to make a good human who cares for fellow humans and the environment. The reason Muslims have conflicts with fellow Americans is that we don’t mingle, and most of our cross-cultural relationships are shallow and superficial.
How would anyone know us? How can people get free from the myths about Muslims if they don’t get to know us intimately in different aspects of life? Of course, every faith or political group has something or other that holds its people back from being one with others, and we all need to work on knowing one another. We have to be a part of the American story and become one with all to build a secure future for every American.
This opinion piece is based on excerpts from Mike Ghouse’s book American Muslim Agenda.
Opinions expressed by contributors in blogs and opinion pieces are entirely those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect Views and News magazine’s editorial policy. We publish reports and writings without any bias and in the spirit of discourse.
