Last week, I was honored to present at The Homeland Security and Emergency Management Conference in New Mexico. Set in historic Albuquerque, the conference venue and the audience could not have been more perfect–hundreds of law enforcement officers, emergency managers, and government officials, all working together to keep our country safe. As a keynote speaker, I was invited to talk about Islam.
Given the nature of the terrorist threat, and the lone-wolf attacks in America, I delivered a one-hour presentation on how the Muslim community can fight back.
What can Muslims do to reclaim their religion from extremists?
The abbreviated version of the presentation is on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgsWV4aA5pA
The key points of the talk are as follows:
- Muslims once lived in a time of glory when the gates of ijtihad, or critical thinking, was open.
- To fight against violent extremism, Muslims need to embrace independent reasoning, a powerful concept and strategy.
- Critical thinking leads to innovation and reminds Muslims that Islam is a religion of inclusion.
- Muslims believe in all the Prophets of the Old and New Testaments.
By embracing the Quran (in Arabic) and learning the Sunna (the ways of the Prophet and his Companions), Muslims represent the core principles of faith: Mercy, Compassion, and Peace. Those who do not understand scripture and the historical context of Islam are ‘ignorant’ and misled Muslims, or extremists.
In conclusion, I provided examples of model Muslim Americans such as convert Shaykh Hamza Yousef, whose knowledge and power of speech enables him to deliver a message that appeals to Muslims at home and abroad.
With more moderate and mainstream Muslim voices, religious extremists will eventually cease to exist. The message of violence and hate will never be as powerful or meaningful as the messages of mercy.
Thank you for sharing.
