“Those who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah (God), even if it is against yourselves, or your parents, or your families, and whether it be against rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve; and if you distort or decline to do justice, verily know that Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do.” Qur’an 4:135

As-salamu Alaykum / Peace be upon you:

George Floyd dies after police officers in Minneapolis kneel on his neck. Ahmaud Arbery is shot and killed while jogging in a South Georgia neighborhood. Breonna Taylor is shot and killed in her sleep when police wrongly raided her home in Louisville. Yassin Mohamed, a Sudanese-American, is shot and killed in Georgia by a sheriff’s deputy responding to a report of jaywalking; Mohamed was suspected to be in the midst of a mental health crisis at the time.  These recent incidents, when black lives were so easily taken away, are no exceptional cases. Black males are 3 times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts when law enforcement officers use force. People of faith and conscience cannot abide by such glaring injustice.

There is no doubt that we are living at a critical moment that would define the America for our kids and grandkids in the years to come. With a pandemic ravaging the nation with over 100,000 dead, one in four citizens jobless, a dire economic outlook where whole industries are at risk of collapsing, cities burning, and armed militia in supremacist gear invading state capitols. Such times call for compassion and empathetic leadership.  It is not the time for irresponsible tweets calling for shooting of citizens that further stoke anger and revenge. It is also a fact that communities of faith whether exemplified by groups like the Quakers who lead anti-slavery movement or leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, forced the American society to come to terms with her excesses and prod her to correct course. The American Muslim community is mandated by divine command to persistently and firmly stand in justice and to do just that.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Whosoever of you witness an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” [Muslim] MAPS is already working various local organizations to lend our hand, our voice and our heart to stand with the African American community in light of these recent incidents. We ask all of our community to do likewise.

We pray that God Almighty shine His light upon the country in these difficult times and we ask Him to rid the land of the scourge of racism and hatred.

Ameen

Hyder Ali
MAPS President