“All opinions are that of the author and not necessarily those of the website that it is published under.”
In light of the passing of the celebrated boxing legend Mohammad Ali, Muslim community should raise up to the opportunity to discuss the faith which has motivated this honorable human being to become a champion not only in the ring but also in the wider global arena fighting fiercely against injustices, inequality and racism.
As the world is preparing to discuss his legacy, Muslims should use the opportunity to dispel the myths surrounding their faith and stand up with their heads high against hate filled politicians like Trump who portray them as an enemy we should all guard against.
Islam should be viewed with clear lenses through giants like Mohammed Ali who were the pioneers of justice, promoters of equality and freedom.
It should not be viewed through narrow visions of few fanatics who don’t represent the jewel of the faith which has the potential to transform people into the greatest successful human being like Mohammad Ali.
We usually read great people in history books and sometimes we tend to wonder whether they were living human beings like us or perhaps they were untouchable legends who don’t belong to our era and time. Mohammad Ali was a legend of our time and he has demonstrated that greatness is not something of the past only. Greatness is something that can be achieved all the time.
At a time when Muslims in America are facing scorn and bigotry, as reported in Aljazeera, the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali should be remembered as the true, peaceful face of Islam, residents of his home town say.
“With the stuff going on these days, most of the time, you see in the media there’s a bad image of Muslims,” said Hamza Shah, a doctor in Louisville, where Ali grew up and first started boxing.
“The one person we can definitely get a good image of was Muhammad Ali, and he portrayed what the real Islam is.”
“Islam is a religion of peace. It does not promote terrorism or killing people,” he said.
“I am angry that the world sees a certain group of Islam followers who caused this destruction, but they are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims, permitting the murder of thousands.”
Muslims should not be intimidated by few politicians who try to bully them and portray them as villains. They ought to follow the footsteps of this legend and be proud of who they are as they have nothing to be ashamed of.
Mohammad Ali showed courage and spoke up against injustice without compromise. When a bully made headlines about his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US, he was quick to denounce and reject it out rightly.
He released a statement to condemn such hateful proposal by saying, “Presidential Candidates Proposing to Ban Muslim Immigration to the United States,” the boxing legend reiterated his decades-long stance that Islam was a religion of peace, and that people, in this case Trump, should not be exploiting it for political points.
“We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda,” Ali said. “They have alienated many from learning about Islam. True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anybody.”
As the world is getting together to celebrate the life of the legend, the world need to take heed about the religion which has been vilified by the media and opportunistic politicians like Trump.
The media ought to do justice and don’t try to show a picture of a terrorist as a representation of the entire faith.
To know what the religion truly stands for, humanity should look deeper than the sensationalized images they see it on the media.
They ought to study the true legends who have influenced Mr. Ali and made him who he is.
Mr. Ali’s real role model whose teachings has contributed to his greatness included Prophet Muhammad who was sent as a mercy to mankind and described by George Bernard Shaw as a savior of humanity.
“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity.”
“All opinions are that of the author and not necessarily those of the website that it is published under.”
Yes but you are not asking the right questions. What can Muslims do to fight against this kind of fanatic thought? Why all this hypocrisy from Arabo-musulims? While still certain people held an extreme view which consists in excluding non-Muslim community (which is by the way against the principle of Islam as taught by our Prophet (peace be upon him), we need more than ever Muslim scholar to stand out and condemn these acts of terror rather than always blaming the West. Islamic fanatism is a problem within.
Condemning, passing judgement, blaming and targeting for attack is all too common these days, but how about proper inquiry and investigation to find the facts?
When attacks like the Orlando massacre takes place,the first casualty is TRUTH. Only now, facts are trickling in, which tend to indicate this attack too could be a false flag operation (just google to read why it could be a false flag), and has nothing to do with “Islamic extremism” Apparently, the culprit has been frequenting the bar and drinking and was himself had gay tendencies.
So, imams don’t have to condemn or apologize. Perhaps those who went to the gay-bar with him to drink and the gay community should be the ones to apologize for the acts of one of them.
Muslims are owed an apology for hastily being condemned for an act they had nothing to do.
Drvajra Sharma