A Message to American Muslims

“Americans who are embracing us now have shown great Muslim character. They already have a lot of Islam in them… Our [Muslim] fanatics are the enemies of Islam. Let’s condemn them clearly and distance ourselves from them.”  Thought-provoking insights from Imam Tammam Adi Ph.D in the post-September 11 world.

Brothers and Sisters. The world has changed and we must change.

God told us that we were made a “nation in the middle,” witnesses over humanity.

The message of Islam is meant to be “mercy for all mankind.” Our small community does have needs, but every one of us also has a responsibility toward the greater human community that we belong to, here in America, especially now.

Although criminals who claim to be Muslims have killed thousands of Americans, Americans are showing great interest in Islam and embracing Muslims. For that, we owe them our respect for their great character, and we owe them good answers to their questions about Islam.

But before we talk to Americans about Islam, let us remember that Islam means character. The worst kind of disbeliever, the hypocrite (munafiq) lies, betrays and is abusive in argument. Muslim character is about telling the truth, being trustworthy and arguing with respect. Americans who are embracing us now have shown great Muslim character. They already have a lot of Islam in them.

Let’s tell them that Islam, the Quran and the prophet Muhammad share with them the wonderful character that they have shown. That we already have a lot in common. That they already know Islam through their character.

Let us tell them that Islam is about the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity, about fairness and respect for all people regardless of their religion, about fairness despite anger, about having no compulsion in religion, about defending those who are persecuted because of their religion, about protecting all temples and religious freedom. Quran and Hadith are full of such principles.

Our fanatics have been violating all these holy principles for many years. Our fanatics have started a war of words and bullets against Christians, Jews and everybody who disagrees with them. Our fanatics have twisted the Quran to justify a Crusade. Our fanatics are the enemies of Islam. Let’s condemn them clearly and distance ourselves from them.

There are problems in American foreign policy. But they did not cause terrorism. The terrorists do not care about the Muslims, Palestinians, Afghans or Iraqis. They killed hundreds of them in the towers and in the embassies.

It is wrong to mention terrorism and foreign policy in one breath. It’s like saying, “You Americans deserve it because of your foreign policy.” I believe we should condemn terrorism without referring to foreign policy.

The way to improve American foreign policy is by having a respectful dialog with Americans, as the Quran instructs us, not by insulting America. There are a lot of people of good will in America who have been, and are still, working hard to improve America’s foreign policy.

But let’s not forget the great opportunity and the big duty to tell Americans about Islam. They are opening their hearts to us. Let’s tell them that Islam is not foreign to them, that we believe in all prophets and all scriptures and that we share so many of their cherished values. Let’s treat them like brothers and sisters. They are.

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Tammam Adi Ph.D is the Director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Eugene, Oregon, USA. Originally from Syria, he is a computational linguist specializing in Arabic.