Imam Earl Abdulmalik Mohammed Answers Important Question on Violence and Extremism
Question: Imam Abdulmalik, I have a difficult and sensitive question. I hope you will be able to answer and help us understand this. Why are places of worship and religious people being targeted for violent acts of extremism?
IMAM EARL ABDULMALIK MOHAMMED: It is a very serious and confusing time that we are living in now. We first have to see that the life we identify in is the same life that other people of faith identify in. It is not a separate life. And, I think you are implying that with your question. We may have different religious practices, or different methods to express our obedience to G'd, and to many people the differences may seem so wide-ranging that we think we have a different G'd we are devoting ourselves to. If you study these world religions, especially the heavenly religions -the religions that explicitly teach that we have a human conclusion and that there is a Merciful Lord and Creator who planned our human life, its origin and its destiny, you will see very clearly that we are identifying and seeking to be acceptable to the same G'd. This is given in plain language in the Holy Qur'an, in Prophet Muhammed's teaching and in his relationships with others who believe in G'd. We are taught that our G'd and the G'd of all people is One. It doesn't say the "same". It says One. Why? Because there is an accommodation for human perception and human error. Islam makes an accommodation for man to evolve into the correct consciousness and awareness. Islam teaches that man grows into his fullness and completion. So, this is the respect that we have for the other peoples in faith. This is Prophet Muhammad's way -the way of truth and honesty and humane treatment toward all who accept and strive to apply themselves to the best human thinking and behavior. We are to treat even the ignorant with human respect. We do not push away any human community, except those who have adopted the attitude that human life is expendable and can be exploited. The extremists who act against human life, this is what they are saying with their acts. They are saying that they don't care anything for the sanctity of the human life. They will use that innocent life to make their point about the condition of the world. This is the Enemy of man's thinking in the world. The Enemy wants to make his point by manipulating human life and using it to prove his greatness by carrying his opinion and doing his bidding against the plan for human life G'd intended.
We are outraged by the acts of these extremists. We pray to Allah and we want to reach the families of victims with our human compassion and empathy. The attacks on Christian, Jewish, and Muslim congregations all over this earth, and most recently in Sri Lanka -we are outraged. I cannot refer to them as humans anymore. They are not in the human community. They belong to a group that has left their humanity at the door of their political or world view. A world view that wants discord and divisiveness in the world. There are those posing as Christians and Jews who are stoking this discord. There are those who are posing as Muslims stoking this discord and wanting to stir all Muslims to carry their view of humanity. They are misanthropic -haters of humanity and the human purpose. They are haters of man's nature to have choices and to choose decency over discord. They claim they are following religion and religious faith. They claim they are following Muhammed, the prayers and the peace be on him -and may Allah strengthen us with knowledge to defeat their schemes to misrepresent Prophet Muhammed. They are reading something in the religious tradition that they think will bring about the order of civilization that their god approves. Their god is not the real G'd. Their god is the manifest desire in them to control nations and men and to extract the potential in man to exalt them as gods over society. Their master wants a brutal slavery for mankind. Their master wants to manipulate man's nature to obey, and bring that nature to obey in line with a mentality to build a world-wide, universal empire. Prophet Muhammed had not interest in nation or empire building.
Look at the sincerity in our past leaders. Look closely at them. Look at the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. Look at Imam W. Deen Mohammed. They were guarding our access to what G'd promises to the human soul, for the dignity of that soul that was denied us. They wanted that dignity not for a dominance in the world, but for a foundation with which to serve our best human aspirations and to join other nations of men and women to construct a better human world. The true and sincere are the guardians of that point of view, and the impostors want to see that idea destroyed in the world.
This time we are living in is spoken of by the Prophets and Seers, and Scripture. The Day of Noise. The Day of Confusion. The day when the serpent is raised as a sign of the rising of the son of man. The day when the Impostor makes his appeal and schemes to usurp G'd's plan to protect His servants and devotees. There are those who understand and obey the Signs, misread the Signs, that are ignorant of the Signs, and those that have bad intentions. Those who direct extremism in the world have bad intentions. Among them are the ignorant and those who are guessing, but their leaders are devils and the plan is to rise with the rising of the new Sun, so to confuse the perception of truth and goodness in the world.
Prophet Muhammed said that if you haven't awakened and performed the dawn prayer before the sunrise then delay until the sun shows itself because it will be rising between the two horns of the devil. This is the time when truth comes clothed in falsehood as the Holy Qur'an says. As the new sun is rising those appearing to be the defenders of the Life, wearing the helmet of authority, are following the logic and thinking of the devil. This is the Prophet's warning. Thank you for your question, and I hope you will think over what I am saying and share it with others.