Page 4 - MFP 2017

Editorial Note - Peace and Greetings
This year Muslims for Peace has reached a milestone in organizing its 10th Annual
Prophet Day.
A lot has happened since the very rst Prophet Day, but the country and especially the (minority) Muslims have seen and felt a lot of changes since the last Prophet Day in March 2016.
Soon after the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, the country witnessed a travel ban issued as an Executive Order that the current generation had never imagined would happen in this country. This great country was formed by immigrants and has always welcomed immigrants who come here legally to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as stated in the Declaration of Independence which is the foundation documentation of our nation.
Let us go back 1400 years ago and look at another foundational document – Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) Constitution or the Charter of Medina. It is evident that the Prophet (pbuh) and the Founding fathers shared the same common characteristics and beliefs. They shared an interest in protecting people regardless of their religion or ethnicity. God in Qur’an states “O mankind, we created you from male and female and made you into tribes and nations that you may know each other”. The Prophet (pbuh) also in his last sermon said “An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab,” he stated, “nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab... a white person has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over white except by piety and good ac- tion.”
When the Founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence the second paragraph of the Declaration states that Americans are “to hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” which mirrors the progressive spirit of the Prophet (pbuh).
The Prophet’s Constitution also gave equal rights to non-Muslims living under Islamic Government. Strangers were to be treated with special consideration. Almost a thou- sand years later Washington said, “the bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable strangers....”
In the current environment, we feel that the country is in reverse gear. We have seen a rise in anti-Semitism, islamophobia and racism. The killing of the members of the Bi- ble study group, the burning of the mosques, the phone threats to the JCC’s, and the desecration of tombstones in the Jewish cemeteries and that the country is disturbed by what is going on. The United States seems no longer quite the United States.
Having said that all is not lost. We have seen people who still believe in the equal rights and the pursuit of happiness – Jewish people giving keys to their synagogues to the Muslims whose mosque burnt down; Muslims raising money to repair the Jew- ish cemeteries that were desecrated. Also, look at the mix of people who came out in various cities to protest the travel ban.
The impartiality of the Prophet (pbuh) and the Founding Fathers is being challenged; the examples of the Prophet (pbuh) and Founding Fathers should remind us of our duty to uphold universal ideals even when intolerant people seek to destroy bridges of mutual respect and cooperation.
Mustafa Karim
Editor-in-Chief
THE REVEALER
www.muslims4peace.org P.O Box 6262, ISSUE 10 info@muslims4peace.org Monroe Township, NJ 08831 2017
The Revealer
Editor In Chief
Mustafa Karim editor@muslims4peace.org
President of Event
Dr Asad Sadiq
Senior Vice Presidents
Mustafa Karim Salman Rizvi Zaki Rizvi
Program Directors
Irshad Haji Zain Rizvi
Advocacy Director
Hassan Haider
Media Spokespersons
Fatima Abdi Hassan Haider Sajida Haji Noreen Jafri Mansoor Rizvi
Charity Director
Zain Ali
Fund Raising Director
Syed Hasan Ali
Finance
Faiz Ali
Legal Advisor
Umar A. Sheikh, Esq Sheikh Partners PC
Address
P O Box 6262 Monroe Township, NJ, 08831
Homepage
www.muslims4peace.org