By Amal Al-Sibai
Saudi Gazette
Shock. Dismay. Disbelief. Confusion. Frustration.
That pretty much sums up what most Muslims living in America felt on the morning of Donald Trump’s election as the President of the United States.
After the initial shock, comes a numb and dumbfounded feeling.
Muslims cannot be stuck in this inactive state for long. Reality has to be accepted and the bitter pill must be swallowed.
What next? How should we react? What do we tell our children?
Not well versed enough in politics to explore how a racist, sexist, Islamophobe, hate-filled man was elected as the leader of the United States I will not even try to.
What I do know well enough is that when Muslims are faced with a problem, the place we can go to for guidance, clarity, hope, and optimism is the Holy Qur’an, and in it we can find answers to our problems and solace amidst doubt and confusion.
In our current situation, we must again and again revisit the following verse in the Holy Qur’an.
{But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you.} (Chapter 2, verse 216)
Yes, it is difficult to see the silver lining of this cloud; it is difficult to see the good that could come out of this election, but we must keep trying to see it.
With Trump as president who seems to support mainly those groups that are white, male, and wealthy, Muslims in America may find alliances that they never knew they had. After this experience, Muslims will learn to work together towards common goals with other communities, with African-Americans, women’s rights groups, Latin-Americans, and immigrant populations.
Linda Sarsour, Palestinian-American activist from New York City, points out that we must work hard to fight against surveillance of Muslims, discrimination, Islamophobia, police brutality against African Americans, biased policing, and mass incarceration.
The whole Trump ordeal may inspire more young Muslim Americans to pursue an education and career in politics at the city, county, state, and national level. For many years, Muslim families in the US have produced many young doctors and engineers, but they have not encouraged the youth to engage in social affairs, politics, and civil rights. Maybe now this will change, and maybe in this there will be good for the American Muslim communities.
The following verse in the Holy Qur’an shows us that as Muslims we need to cultivate the collective wisdom to come together and unite.
{And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided} (Chapter 3, verse 103)
The direction we need to steer ourselves towards is one of unity and love for one another. Muslim communities do have a fair share of bickering, division among different racial and ethnic groups, and vying for leadership positions on the board of the Islamic community centers. That has to stop. Muslims in our communities should look out for one another, support one another, and strive for the success of each and every member.
Our children can only feel strong and confident in their Muslim identity and feel that they are safe and protected when we show our children that we are a unified Muslim community. It is fine to have more than one masjid in an American city as long as we collaborate with one another, love one another, support one another, and attend each other’s events. I want my daughters to feel safe and welcomed at all the Muslim community centers we have in the beautiful American city that I live in.
Our concern for and help is not only extended to the Muslims in our immediate geographical location, but to those in need in every place in the world. We need to give our time, efforts, and generous donations to alleviate the suffering of our fellow human beings.
Another lesson we can learn is that we will not give in to fear. It is immobilizing and counterproductive to fret over what the future will bring. Regardless of the threat, whether it is bullying at school, intimidation in the workplace, or Donald Trump as president, we will not be consumed by fear and pessimism.
There are successful and strong Muslims, despite fear-mongers, and they were described in the Holy Qur’an. In the face of fear, these people relied on Allah and trusted Him.
{Those to whom people said, “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them” But it increased them in faith, and they said, “Sufficient for us is Allah, the best Disposer of affairs.”} (Chapter 3, verse 173)
In my mind’s picture, I see these people not as lamenting and complaining over their situation, or making jokes of fleeing to Canada, or spewing hatred towards other people. They are not angry. I imagine that these people have true trust in Allah and they continue to serve their Muslim communities and also their non-Muslim neighbors. They have a regular spiritually rewarding routine of prayer, reading the Holy Qur’an, and supplicating to Allah. They are dedicated to education and to their families.
And what is the result of this positive attitude and the result of saying, “Sufficient for us is Allah, the best Disposer of affairs”?
The result is mentioned in the next verse in the Qur’an: {So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them.} (Chapter 3, verse 174)
