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06th
Feburary 2010
ISLAM
From the Desk Al
Hajj Abdurasheed Popo.
CEO of the Islamic Association of St Lucia,
Inc.
Islam and Human
Rights
I’m
going to discuss human rights and Islam. This
is an issue that is not only important, but
probably one of the most misunderstood topics
that the world has about Islam today. Terrorist
attacks, the media and the images of Islam shown
on television give people a negative view of
this peaceful religion. Muslims in general are
looked at as terrorists, while Muslim women
are seen as oppressed.
When we speak about human rights in Islam, we
really mean rights that were granted by God.
Therefore, when we speak about this topic we
must first know what the Qu’ran says about
human rights, because the Qu’ran is the
word of God. No government or legislative assembly
on earth has the right to change or amend any
of those rights conferred by God. So, although
Islam has already laid down these human rights
for everyone to follow in the Qu’ran centuries
ago, the United Nations did not develop a Universal
Declaration of Human Rights until December of
1948. As Muslims who follow the Qu’ran
and the teachings of the Holy Prophet (saw),
we know that this declaration of the United
Nations is just recently discussing issues that
were already set out for us to follow centuries
ago. If everyone followed the Qu’ran and
it’s commandments regarding human rights
then stereotypes about true Islam such as oppression
and terrorism would be erased and this declaration
by the UN would not be necessary. Issues such
as slavery, racism and poverty would not be
as much of an issue today if we were to follow
these laws God had created for us.
I will go over just a few of the 30 articles
discussed in the UN declaration and show how
these issues had been revealed by God to the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) to bring to the
world and for us to follow.
Article 1 of the UN Declaration:
All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights. They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
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Before
I get to what Islam teaches in the Qu’ran
about this human right, I would like to share
an incident that occurred at a training course..
The course was on cultural competency, we discussed
issues such as stereotypes and labels that are
given to different races and cultures. Each
of us was asked to discuss a situation where
we interacted with a different race or culture
we weren’t familiar with and how we handled
it. It was interesting because I heard stories
of people who said they have never interacted
with other cultures and some of them said their
families would be upset if they bought someone
of a different race home.
One story I heard stood out more than others
and when I was given this topic, it made me
reflect about that day and the beauty of Islam.
This woman discussed how she had just moved
and she was looking for a church to go to. She
found a church and walked in, not knowing everyone
in the church was African-American. When people
noticed the “White lady” come in,
she said it was almost as if everything stopped
and everyone turned around to look at her. After
the service she said she was approached by the
person who delivered the sermon, who said to
her, we would appreciate if you didn’t
come back, you’re a distraction. When
I heard this I was shocked but it also made
me think about some places of worship today.
There are churches where the majority of the
people who attend are White, there are Hispanic
churches and there are Black churches, but there
is only one mosque for every race, color and
culture. When you go to any place of worship,
the sole focus should be the gaining nearness
to God. So regardless of your color, status
or ethnicity, you shouldn’t feel as if
you don’t belong.
Cont’d
in next weekend VOICE
Discuss
Story
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