Sunday, December 27, 2009
Muslims should learn to build bridges with others instead of claiming the minarets, by Raheel Raza from the MCC
When the church bells ring in Saudi Arabia, the minarets will rise up in Europe.
TORONTO -
The Swiss have said no to mosques with minarets in a referendum that has just taken place. Nearly 58% of voters were against the minarets. In certain regions of the sequence, the proportion reached 70%! Leaders of the Muslim world have condemned the referendum as usual and have proposed a boycott of Swiss products. Are we going to stop eating cheese and Swiss chocolate or stop buying Swiss watches are renowned for their accuracy?
The referendum is indeed an important occasion for Muslims to seek to understand the deeper meaning of the Swiss rejected it as a warning to undertake major internal changes. Tariq Ramadan, a popular preacher who has recently visited Canada, spoke eloquently of the beauty of Islam, but he always forgets to mention the internal problems that beset the Muslim communities in the West, particularly in Europe: problems that slides under the carpet when addressing large audiences.
And therein lies the problem. Yes, Islam is a beautiful message for me and many Muslims. But it is not as good to many people and that is what we must learn to recognize and accept. The beauty of Islam must be demonstrated in our daily interactions with others, and not aggressively projecting our religion or we cover the face.
We have become people who plan aggressively "Muslimness" and we are the only religious group to use constant religious references with non-Muslims who have no idea what we mean. In so doing, we demonstrate a lack of vision and we continue to show intolerance towards "the other", while making unreasonable demands.
In Canada, they say that "he who sows the wind reaps the storm". Well in Europe, the tide is turning so quickly that if Muslims do not wake up, they will be swept into an abyss from which they are responsible.
The solution is simple.
It is difficult for Muslims to understand and accept that Islam is not the only faith that its message is not the only cause. Islam is the last, the youngest of the three Abrahamic monotheistic religions, yet Muslims are the most spoiled and those who behave the worst. Muslims can only advance if they do not seek out to other religious groups.
Muslims must also understand that criticism of their actions, their behavior is not Islamophobia (a term often used indiscriminately). Islamophobia is the "fear of Islam." Yes, the fear of Islam and Muslims and we do nothing to mitigate or eliminate this fear. Our impulse to defend Muslims, whatever they do is train to discredit us. We are not the guardians of our faith. Our only obligation is to learn to live in peace and harmony with all others, what we do very poorly. For example, it is rare that Muslims take time to discuss how treaties are non-Muslims in Islamic countries. If Muslims could practice their religion in the West and were treated as third class citizens, they would know better what discrimination and harassment mean really. We love to scream at "racism" at every opportunity, but they are silent when others are abused. Thus, in Switzerland, the minarets banned. Does this have any consequences for Islam? No. The first mosques had no minarets. They were added to many mosques after the death of the prophet, when Islam was becoming a political regime. But what is more important from a spiritual point of view is that the Creator does not live in domes or minarets, but in our hearts. Before starting to build minarets, first learn to build bridges with others.
Raheel Raza was one of three panelists for the public lecture organized by Point ROCKING October 2, 2008 in Montreal entitled Political Islam threatens our freedoms is also a member of the Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC), the only Muslim lobby Canadian which is not sponsored by foreign interests or by one or other of the countries of North Africa, Middle East, Persian Gulf countries or the Muslim world in general.
Link
Labels: Canada, Europe, Islam, Religion and fanaticism, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland
# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 8:12 PM 
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]