Photo of a rally against the "Ground Zero Mosque". (Flickr/asterix611)

The Question: Is Islamophobia a good thing for Muslims?

The Answer: “yes-no”

Every coin has two faces, every spectrum two ends, and every argument two sides. This lingering question is no different.

Islamophobia quite literally (and linguistically) is a fear of Islam and Muslims; albeit, an intense, irrational fear of Islam and Muslims. Some Muslims hold that Islamophobia is a good thing. Why? How could fear of Islam benefit Islam?

People tend to naturally fear what they do not know, so to overcome that fear they have to face it, explore it, learn more about it––in this case, people that fear Islam have to explore Islam, but why should they?

Because as natural as it is to have fear, it’s just as natural, if not more, to want to overcome it. No one wants to be scared of anything, and that desire can inspire a person to learn about his/her fear so that he/she can address it. This could explain why at the height of Islamophobia post 9/11, people continued to convert to Islam after learning more about this faith.

Going back to fear, some Muslims also believe that Islamophobia provides a ‘psychological venue’ or, more simply, an opportunity to speak to and inform people about our faith. Why?

Because when you’re scared of spiders, you’re just that: scared of spiders. You’re not afraid of talking about spiders or taking a zoology class that covers arachnids. In fact, you may be (for some odd reason) more inclined to jump in on conversations about spiders, when they come up.

Similarly, Islamophobes are willing to talk, argue, or learn about Islam when given the opportunity. And that willingness gives Muslims an opportunity to explain, clarify and teach our faith.

Other Muslims don’t really see it as a good thing because they believe Islamophobia as we know it today is no longer “Islamophobia”. It is no longer just a fear of Islam, it has become a loathing of it. And the masses, for the most part, have been manipulated, their fear turned to hate by a small, powerful group with an evil agenda (but let’s not delve into that).

Human nature does allow for fear, but it’s human weakness that allows fear to morph into hate. Islamophobia as a fear of Islam may very well be a good thing, but Islamophobia as a hatred of Islam, not so much.

As for those people that are still true Islamphobes (only fearful but not hateful), they may still be inclined to learn about Islam. Under normal circumstances that’s not a bad thing at all, but once you throw Google into the mix, it certainly can be. Virtually everyone that may want to learn about Islam at some point consults Sheikh Google, and this “Sheikh,” for someone that doesn’t know any better, really does suck.

There are numerous anti-Muslim sites on the web and that’s a definite no-no for someone who doesn’t know much about our deen. And of the few legitimate sites on the web, only a few are completely reliable and accurate.

Islamophobia is a good thing. It has the potential to encourage people to explore Islam for themselves and it has the potential to encourage Muslims to do a better job in demonstrating the true essence of their faith.

Islamophobia is a bad thing. It has the potential to cultivate aggressive hate, and it has the potential to lead people to despicable, fallacious, crooked websites that misrepresent the religion to a degree unheard of.

As a Muslim, I like to think of the glass as half-full, not half-empty. So, Islamophobia to me is favorable but that doesn’t mean I refuse to acknowledge it’s capacity to be unfavorable.

If anything, it should be a wake-up call for us, to address the concerns people have about Islam before they become haters and before they start hitting up the wrong sources that may continue to mislead them.

This symbol, "Om", represents a state of consciousness and awareness of one's spiritual identity. (Flicker/ nabeel_yoosuf)

Inspired from my previous experience at the “Lunar-Dharmacakra Mixer“, I was fired up and blazed to attend the Muslim Union’s next event where Muslims met with the Hindu Students Association at the Hindu-Muslim mixer.

I took the liberty of dubbing this mixer “Forum of the Falasifa Pandits.” This, like the last Mixer’s name , has a deeper meaning attached to it.

The “forum” refers to the group of buildings that were part of the government in ancient Rome, or it can otherwise refer to a place of open discussion. “Falasifa” refers to the Greek word, adopted by Arab Muslims during the Islamic Golden Age, to refer to philosophers.

The word “Pandit” is the origin of the word “pundit” which is used in English to refer to an expert in any given field. However, the word “pandit” refers to a person who has mastered the Sanskrit language, and more specifically, it refers to one who has memorized and can recite a significant part of the Vedas, the holy book of Hinduism, during ritual ceremonies.

In this way, our Mixer was a place of open discussion between educated and learned thinkers and followers of two different, but similar faiths.

Unlike my fatal error last meeting, I was not too late for the meeting of the pundits. However I was unable to remain for the entire exchange. It must have been a coincidence because I had an intense debate scheduled that same evening after the Mixer, and I was thus clad in my dark, authoritative, business suit.

I entered the Mixer just in time before the main event began. Unlike the previous “Lunar-Dharmacakra Mixer,” this event began with a light, casual phase as the participants conversed and ate snacks.

At the end of my time there, it escalated into a more heavy, serious discussion as all the pundits stood together in a circle while directing questions and answers to each other. Unfortunately, my time was up and I had to leave the epic symposium of intellectual exchange.

Despite my early time there, I learned one important fact and pondered on some thoughts. What defines “polytheism?” Is Hinduism a “polytheistic” religion? By Islam’s definition of “polytheism,” the answer might be “Yes.”

However, by the theological and scholastic definition of “polytheism,” Hinduism might not be considered such a religion. Although it may seem that Hindus worship several gods and goddesses, from what I learned, all these gods and goddesses are merely essences, avatars, or personifications of one Supreme God.

In that regards, both Islam and Hinduism share similar concepts of a single Supreme God or deity. To a person who possess general knowledge of a religion such as Hinduism, it would seem that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. However, this is an extreme oversimplification of a faith that encompasses a large population of people. In learning about Hinduism from actual Hindus, many do not consider their faith to be polytheistic with many gods.

As a Muslim using the concept of polytheism or ‘shirk’ defined in Islam, we are confronted with a believers of a faith who disagree with our position. However, this is not a matter of who is right or who is wrong, or whether you ought to agree or disagree, but the point is to learn about different perspectives and opinions that may oppose or contradict those of your own.

Giving dawah involves learning new perspectives and viewpoints while critically thinking, pondering, and analyzing them. Hence, the purpose of dawah is to convey and communicate, and not convince or convert.

(Flickr/ digitaura)

“The Lunar-Dharmacakra Mixer.” This phrase emerged into my mind when I first heard about the upcoming Muslim-Buddhist Mixer from the Dawah (formally known as “Muslim Union”) subgroup of UCLA’s Muslim Students Association.

“Lunar” referred to the moon or the pseudo-symbol of Islam adopted since the reign of the Ottoman Empire. From my prior knowledge of Buddhism, I knew that the “Dharmacakra” was the wheel with eight spokes, and also one of the central symbols of Buddhism.

I had initially visualized the Mixer as some type of Dharmacakra emitting moonlight, and was looking forward to attending in order to speak about my own faith while learning more about another. However…

…I had made a near-fatal error. While the timing for the Lunar-Dharmacakra to spin would be precisely at 5 PM, I had miscalculated and instead arrived near an hour late at 6 PM. My delay had caused a slightly unfortunate downside.

The “Lunar-Dharmacakra” Mixer was planned to spin both ways clockwise and counter-clockwise. However, they had already spun clockwise, and it was now time to spin counter-clockwise. Instead of learning more about Buddhism, my plans changed, and I ended up speaking as much as I could about my own faith in order to make up for the delay.

However, mixing and spinning in only one direction was satisfying nonetheless. While I had some “experience” in dawah on the electronic ocean of the Internet, this time I was speaking live to people without any veil of anonymity.

Whether it was the concept of Tawheed  (Unity of God), the five pillars of Islam, lowering thy gaze, or reciting the Ayah Al Kursi,  not only was I conveying shards of knowledge to someone else, but I felt the shards within myself resonating and reminding of what I already knew and learned.

From this “Lunar-Dharmacakra” Mixer, I learned one very important lesson: Giving dawah is not only a process of teaching others, but it is also a process of reminding yourself of what you already know. It is a process of rekindling knowledge’s flame inside, while letting its sparks fly off outside.

In this part of the series you will learn the basic steps towards building the Da’ee in you. The first step towards this Life-Long-Journey begins with you.

Here are some tips and things you (as a Da’ee) should be aware of whilst spreading the beautiful message of Islam:

1. Intentions and Du’aa: Ask yourself why your doing it? At the end of the day it comes down your intentions. 50% is giving Da’wah and the other 50% is making Du’aa that Allah Ta’alaa guides them.

Verily actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended (Bukhari, Muslim).

“Our Lord, indeed You know what we conceal and what we declare, and nothing on the earth or the heaven is hidden from Allah.”  (Quran 14:38)

2. Sincerity and humility: One day a sister and I were giving Da’wah out on Bruin Walk and as a fellow Bruin passed by we greeted him with a smile and a “Hey! Interested in learning about Islam?!” He, with a smile, came over and listened to our brief explanation of Islam (hint: we focused on Tawheed, the oneness of God).

Unexpectedly he said “You know, I don’t care what anyone says, what I see in the media, no one can deny that this is a beautiful religion. Why? Because you can see that its followers are the most, sincere, kind, and humble people. Anyone that walks down Bruin Walk, even if they reject you, they see it, and I see it, you truly are sincere and humble people, and that tells me a lot about Islam.”

Da’wah truly is one of the most humble things you can do as a Muslim, most importantly Allah (swt) sees it.

3.  Knowledge: You don’t need to be a hafiz, one who has memorized the Qu’ran, a sheikh, or a scholar to be giving Da’wah however, there are two types of knowledge a Da’ee should have: Islamic knowledge, and societal knowledge, such as topical issues.

“But Allah bears witness to that which He has revealed to you. He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness (as well). And sufficient is Allah as a witness.” (Quran 4:166)

4. Patience: Doing Da’wah in public places, like Bruin Walk for example, you’re going to meet with many different types of people, with different experiences, and different views.

It is an open arena for confrontation and heated “discussion”. But, do not let this happen to you, and do not fall into the traps of participating and fostering an argument.

Be patient with people and you will be greatly rewarded by Allah (swt). You will also find that the conversation will be of substantial benefit to you and the person your speaking to.

Remember that Prophet Nuh (A) spent 950 years in Da’wah (Quran 71:1-28).

“By time, indeed man is in a state of loss, except for those who believe and do good deeds and exhort one another to hold fast to the truth and who exhort one another to patience.” (Quran 103:1-3)

The word da’wah is an Arabic word that literally means “invite (to something)”. Even though this word or derivatives of this word can be used broadly, in Islam it is commonly used when Muslims extend a direct invitation to non-Muslims to accept and believe in the message of Islam by declaring that “there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the messenger of Allah”. It can also used when Muslims invite other Muslims to correct their actions and stay on the straight path.

So why is da’wah important?

The first reason why giving da’wah is an important action for Muslims is because it is a command from God. God says in the Qur’an:

“And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.” (3:104).

Just like all the prophets (peace be upon them all) of God have been commanded to give da’wah to the people in which they were sent to, we as Muslims have also received this command to invite others to the path God intended for us. Da’wah can also be done indirectly through righteous actions of a Muslim as they perpetuate a positive image of Islam. Righteousness and morality are important  principles of Islam and in the teachings of the prophets of God. For instance. in a hadith the Prophet (pbuh) said:

“Whoever among you sees an evil action, then let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart – and that is the weakest of faith” (narrated in Sahih Muslim).

The second reason why it is important to give da’wah is because it would expel all of the misconceptions and misunderstanding people may have about Islam and expedite the understanding and acceptance of Islam as a peaceful religion. Nowadays, partly due to the false depictions of Islam in the media, Islam is seen by many as a violent religion when Islam actually advocates for peace and justice; nowhere in the Quran does God order the killing of innocent lives. One of the teaching of Islam is interacting justly and gently with other regardless of  race or gender. For instance, God says:

“And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace” (Qur’an 25:63).

To further promote this message, the Prophet Muhammad taught Muslims that,

“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself” (narrated in al-Bukhari).

Therefore, the very fact that some non-Muslims believe Islam to be a violent religion should encourage the adherents of Islam to give da’wah. In order to do this task we should ask ourselves these question: what will the state of Muslim Americans in  10, 20 or 30 years from now? Will the hatred against Muslims subside or will it intensify? If it subsides, then what was my contribution? And if it intensifies, what could I do to prevent it?

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Qur'an, 51:56]

What is the significance of this verse? In this verse, our Creator is telling us the purpose behind our creation. We were created only so that we may worship God. Our worship can be in many ways. It can be through prayer, supplication, sleep, the act of eating, work, studies, marriage, and so on. Anything done for the sake of God alone can be considered worship. If our intention behind eating is to sustain our bodies in order to worship our Creator, then it is worship. If our intention behind studying is to gain knowledge to understand the creation of our Creator, then it is worship.

Despite all of this, however, Muslims today fail to realize the underlying purpose of life. Our life on earth is only a test. We are here to be tested between good and evil. Will we pick the right path? Will we enjoin the good and forbid the evil? Will we worship our Creator or deny Him? This is the test that we have been placed on earth to take. Our life here is simply a journey to the afterlife (the akhira). Unfortunately, many Muslims today have been caught up with this worldly life (the dunya). We seek wealth, fame, power; all of these things which are absolutely meaningless for the afterlife. Our money, power, and fame will not follow us into the grave. When we are standing before our Creator, we will be questioned about our deeds, our intentions. We will not be questioned about our wealth or our fame.

Therefore, I urge the ummah to please come back to reality. Keep the afterlife as the goal. I am not saying wealth is bad. If you truly earned it then it is rightfully yours, but think about those around the world who die every day without food. It is our duty to help feed and clothe those in need if God has blessed us with this wealth. If we do that and we remind ourselves that this worldly life is of no true meaning, then we will have succeeded that test, insha’Allah (God-Willing).

Yet people forget that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave Da’wah his entire life. This was his purpose on Earth, to call people to Islam. And in the Qur’an, we are commanded by Allah:

“Call to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious” [The Qur'an 16:125]

Yet even though this is an obligation upon every Muslim, many people neglect it because of fear of speaking with strangers. However the model of Da’wah that Muhammad (pbuh) used was to first start with speaking to his family about Islam. Later, he gave Da’wah to his friends. Soon after that, Allah commanded him in Surat Najm (The Stars) to give Da’wah to the public and this is when he made his first recitation to the tribe of the Quraysh (the tribe that Muhammad (pbuh) was born into and the tribe whom persecuted him for 23 years). Therefore by following the model of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in giving Da’wah, we can successfully gain comfort in the way we speak to people about Islam and at the same time gain knowledge about our own faith and others’ faith.

Many of us may fear giving Da’wah to strangers because they not be as welcoming as friends or family. So start with your family and friends. And as you gain comfort, move on to giving Da’wah to strangers. Just remember that no one will ever have every bit of Islamic Knowledge. But if you start out with Tawheed, I guarantee you will always succeed. So please do not delay this commandment from Allah, and share your religion with those deprived from it!