Justin Parrott
Hatem al-Haj
“White Muslims”
I usually don’t address these trending issues because I believe there is so much basic knowledge that needs to be shared among us, Muslims in America. I am also not interested in increasing the number of likes on my page by that kind of “relevance.” Finally, any decent human being should desire to protect themselves from the aggression and lowly discourse that characterizes the exchanges on social media among many of my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. However, the interracial tensions within the Muslim community have reached a level that rules out silence as an option.
White Muslim converts did not choose their “White privilege.” They chose Islam at a high cost to their social (and sometimes professional) lives. As an Arab born to Muslim parents, I am grateful to Allah for having not tested me, but I still envy the converts of all backgrounds for passing the hard test of choosing Islam and sacrificing so much of the world they grew up in. I will never know if I could have passed that test. In this respect, they are most deserving of provenance to the Sahaba.
White Muslims born to Muslim parents have a hard test in America. Their faith is not weaker than the rest of the Muslims. However, the ease of assimilation into the non-Muslim majority puts an added pressure on them. If we make their assimilation into the larger Muslim community difficult, we can easily be Iblis’s best helpers against them.
Do we, Muslims, really need to be reminded that the Prophet (pbuh) was sent as “a mercy to all mankind,” who are equal in the sight of Allah with “the most noble of them being the most pious?”
Why don’t we understand that all people have their own sets of challenges and wish the best for all? Grace, chivalry, and pietistic heroism (futuwwa) is to wish ‘afiyah (safety and wellness) for others even if you are hurting. While we work for a more equitable society, let us adhere to equity.
Our political and activist involvements must be grounded in our beliefs and value system. If you decide to associate with groups that don’t share our values for political purposes or otherwise, make sure to take off your clothes and make ablution once you return home. Secondhand smoke is dangerous.
وصلى الله على محمد والحمد لله رب العالمين
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