Islam Is Color Blind!

My car broke down in the middle of the street, so I decided to take an Uber. It was a regular cab drive until I started talking to the driver. She was a sixty year old African American woman. It was quite an interesting ride, as she talked about how the city of Atlanta used to be fifty years ago. She would point out to the skyscrapers and say, this area of the town was inhabited by African Americans. People of color lived in a separate part of the city.

Being a millennial, I have heard of segregation, and racial discrimination, but it didn’t actually hit me until I met an actual person who have lived through the times walk me down the lane of how separated the society was, and how one skinned color person shunned the others merely because of the physical difference. When I dig down deeper, looking at the 3/5th compromise had me in tears. When we usually talk about the extreme racial discrimination, it seems like story of ages ago, but it has only been half a century since this nation has accepted the rights of colored people as being the same as that of the others.

However, Islam, the religion of peace outlawed racial segregation about 1,400 years ago, YES! 1,400 years ago, back when the British did not even know America existed, and Native Americans were flourishing in the Americas. Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), the messenger of peace, said in his last sermon advising Muslims, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good actions.” His simple statement eliminated all the physical and geological differences between mankind, and yet Islam is scrutinized today, as being a religion of hate.

Sunday is known to be the most segregated day of the week in USA, where African Americans go to their respected churches, and whites to theirs. However, worship in Islam is totally different from this concept. Islam embraces all cultures and colors. The Muslim congregational Prayers requires people of all statuses, colors, races, and ages to stand shoulder to shoulder to each other, forgetting all the differences. Muslims stand together and call, "Allah is the greatest", in complete harmony, disregarding all the differences. Even the way of ending the Salat (Prayer) involves looking to your right, and saying “May peace and mercy be upon you”, and then looking to your left and repeating the same. This action is performed as a reminder of the Islamic brotherhood, and forces one to forget all the differences. Islam teaches its followers to stand united in front of God against only the evil, not each other!

The religion of Islam is truly a religion of peace, and it has clarified every single topic that human mind can think of. In this world full of differences we need to find the dots that connect us all together. To make world a better place we have to first eliminate our misunderstandings. I would like to invite my fellow Americans to come to Baitul Ata Mosque in celebration of Black History Month this Sunday, 26th February 2017, at 12:00 pm, and take a step forward to try to eliminate differences.

The details of the events are:

African American's Journey to Peace and Justice, Through True Islam

When: Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 12:00 pm

Where: Baitul Ata Mosque (1800 Willow Trail Pkwy. Norcross, GA 30093)

Phone:(404) 826-3592

Cost: Free

Register here: http://bit.ly/2m1uTnP