Category: OPINIONS

Disclaimer: every opinion expressed in written pieces is that of the writer, and doesn’t represent the view of our publication.

On average, almost 100 people die each day in the United States from gun violence, according to a report done by Jama Network. As one of the richest nations on the planet is losing the battle against this pandemic, it’s worth noting that this fight is a matter the entire world is grappling with. 

Guns are the means, but the violence perpetrated from the use of these agencies is committed by people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. This poses the question of whether gun violence is a specific problem of one component of society, the Muslim one for example, or is it a burden that everyone must tackle? 

So, is gun violence a “Muslim issue?”

The simple answer is: yes.

But, like every topic Muslims deal with, the answer is never easy or straightforward and this one is no different. This one-word answer lingers with complications. 

You’re at home, you switch on the news while you’re in the kitchen making a snack. Suddenly, you hear Wolf Blitzer’s voice blaring “CNN Breaking News.”  A shooting, somewhere, many dead, more injured and the suspect is still on the run.

A non-Muslim’s reaction is, oh God, another shooting.

A Muslim’s reaction is, oh God, hope he’s not Muslim.

It’s the worst-case scenario for so many of us, because what we observe at home, learn in Masjid and experience on a daily basis will be twisted and shown dishonestly.

The Quran does not reference gun violence specifically, because guns did not exist at the time of the revelations. Quran with the Hadith together transcended the means to direct its teaching toward the action itself. Both the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet categorically and unequivocally reject any act of transgression.

“And fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but do not transgress. Truly God loves not the transgressors.” (2:190) al-Bagarah

“There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” A ruling by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) narrated ‘Ubadah bin Samit

Allah and his Messenger make it clear, with no dubiety, harm in any shape or form is unacceptable. 

But what about all those verses of killing non-Muslims?

The Quran’s description of violent actions are put in place as directions of protection, a manner of self-defense, which is the only justification for resorting to them, and even then, it’s better to dock at the port of peace. 

“God does not forbid you, with regard to those who did not fight you on account of religion and did not expel you from your homes, from treating them righteously and being just toward them. Truly God loves the just” (60:8) al-Mumtaḥanah

There is not a single verse in the Quran that calls for an unmitigated or unqualified cause of violence. Yet, extremist groups interpret verses to endorse their incoherent and unislamic violent actions. 

That is a fact, and while the perpetuated stereotypes of Muslims being synonyms to hate and destruction of human life are unjust, it is what makes violence committed using guns a Muslim issue. Simply, firearms are one of their weapons of choice. 

The Parkland shooting intensified the urgency around gun control and need for measures to be taken and implemented now. But, there were no Muslim casualties nor was the attacker Muslim. That was the case in many other shooting incidents and other sites of crimes where guns were used to slaughter innocent people.

Hence, it is easy to sit in the background and watch another community suffer from these events, yet we as Muslims are compelled to be the first to be on the front lines, not because it can happen to us in the future, and it did (Christchurch, New Zealand), nor because we were the victim of the same monstrosity before. It is because we are supposed to be categorically and unequivocally against violence.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The most hated persons to Allah are three: (1) A person who deviates from the right conduct, i.e., an evil doer, in the Haram (sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina); (2) a person who seeks that the traditions of the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, should remain in Islam (3) and a person who seeks to shed somebody’s blood without any right.” Narrated Ibn `Abbas

It should not be lost upon us as well, the word “violence” does not even appear in the Quran. Not once. 

Whether we are the victims, or collectively wrongfully accused or it is another community that might even be the one collectively wrongfully accusing us, our cornerstones of belief demand us to be the vigilant sounds of gun control.

So, when the next “Breaking News” comes along, we are profoundly moved to action, unapologetically and filled with conviction in support of our own people and of our fellow citizens. 

Disclaimer: every opinion expressed in written pieces is that of the writer, and doesn’t represent the view of our publication.

In an age of rising right-wing fascism – let alone the tide of hopelessness gripping much of our world through the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic and looming climate catastrophe – it’s easy to slip into despair. The past four years in particular have felt like shockwave after shockwave. 

The era of Donald Trump has come to define the absurdity of our world. An abhorrently brash and reckless presidency thus far, since taking the oval office in 2016 Trump has certainly stayed true to his time in the entertainment industry, running his administration like nothing more than a reality-tv show. He handles the presidency with a soap opera-esque feel with shocking gaffes, firings left-right and center, and a gripping anticipation of what will happen next. 

Over the past four years, the Trump administration has turned anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric –  which riled up support for him amongst hard-right factions – into legitimate policies. The Muslim ban perhaps most ardently shows the grim circumstances that Muslims are facing, with chances that a second Trump term would see further measures of increased policing, restriction and harassment targeting other minorities under the guise of protecting the country against terrorist threats. Not to mention the increased hostilities against Muslims: reports of attacks skyrocketing and the normalization of Islamophobic rhetoric and bigotry in the mainstream. 

This has been nothing but a testing time, and the community has become heavily invested in the 2020 election campaign.

So it’s understandable that many would take the first opportunity afforded to get rid of Trump. The Muslim community in America and much of the Muslim world are closely eyeing the upcoming November elections and wondering what outcome will ensue. 

The early promises of the Bernie Sanders campaign and his embrace of the Muslim community was met with a wave of overwhelming support from Muslims, especially from young Muslims. But as the attacks against him increased and further candidates began to drop out of the race, Sanders’ promise to quickly fizzled out. Losses in mid and late March led him to suspending his campaign by the first week of April.

Enter Joseph R. Biden Jr. 

Going into Super Tuesday, he was down in the pecking order, an afterthought, and someone who was expected to bow out of the race at any moment. But that night quickly shifted everything in his favor and now today he stands alone as the man millions will be looking towards to defeat Trump in a few months. 

Biden promises, both figuratively and literally, a return to the pre-Trump days. The former Vice-President symbolizes the stark contrast between the gloom and chaos of the current administration to that of the Obama White House – one of the most popular presidencies in recent American history. 

Biden has built a reputation as a charming fatherly figure, an old-timer whose experience and guile are unmatched; a career politician who has what it takes to dethrone Trump as commander-in-chief. He’s seen as the “Mr. Nice Guy” of American politics who even Lindsey Graham once described as “….as good of a man as God ever created.” 

The former vice-president has presented himself as an exemplar of honesty, a pillar of morality, and the candidate to bring stability back to a nation looking towards its leadership for sanity and direction. 

But who really is Joe Biden? Once you start scratching beneath the surface, a far more grim picture begins to take shape. Under the veneer, his track record is an atrocious plethora of issues that makes him out to be an extremely vulnerable candidate – especially since he’ll be up against someone like Trump who will not hold back in his attacks. 

Beyond the smile, we have seen a man struggle significantly on the campaign trail thus far as he routinely forgets things while speaking, displays moments of sheer cluelessness, incoherence and so forth. But what actually should be troubling potential supporters is his past. 

The “anyone but Trump” rhetoric starts to feel futile when we take a closer look at Biden’s record on a number of significant issues. For the Muslim community, we should be particularly weary given his stances on a number of issues that involved minority and civil rights.