FOLLOW US
D. Khan: Self-Governance Takes Time
Written by Daisy Khan, Executive Director, American Society for Muslim Advancement, USA
Monday, January 2, 2006
Most American Muslims will tell you that America is the most Islamic country in the world, because it safeguards the rights that have been given to Muslims in their constitution, which is the Qur’an. It safeguards all those rights. It makes provisions for you to be a human being. It makes provisions for you to be a full human being and participate in society. This is why people continue flooding to America. Why do they come to America when they hate this place so much? They do so because they know that they can come here and be a street peddler; in 15 years their son will go to college, in five years he will become a lawyer, and they will have citizenship and full rights in this country. This is the hope that America gives. This is the American dream. This is the beauty of America.
Unfortunately, we don’t project this to the rest of the world. I’m not talking about American people, I’m talking about the policy that we have. We sometimes use a double standard. What’s good for us is not good for others. For years I have been hearing that Arabs cannot handle democracy. It’s very demeaning to keep telling people that they can’t handle democracy.
It takes time to work it out. Democracy and self-governance requires time for institution-building. A lot of things have to go into play before you can see a flourishing democracy. Look how long it took us in America to create the perfect democracy and still we’re not perfect.
A woman is given very special status in Islam. There was once a young man who came to the Prophet and said, “I want to go to the jihad.” And the Prophet said, “Why do you want to go to the jihad?” and the young man replied, “Well, I want to go to Paradise.”
And he said, “Do you have a mother?” And the young man said, “Yes.” “You serve your mother and take care of her and Paradise will be at her feet,” the Prophet said.
So, a mother is given a very high status in Islam. Motherhood is given high status in Islam. A mother is a nurturer, a teacher of the future generations. A good mother can create a good leader. This is what is important to regain. In Islam, we have forgotten how to honor a woman. In certain societies we have forgotten to honor women.
Well I think that it all starts with education. Education and understanding the other. Here’s a simple formula: if you have Muslim neighbors, go visit them. Get to know them at a personal level. As a human interaction, just get to know somebody personally. If you have a doctor that you know that is Muslim, go reach out to them. You will discover that they’re just ordinary people leading ordinary lives. You might even come to understand that they are extremely hospitable, gracious people. They love to socialize, love to entertain and to have people over to their house. They’ll throw a fantastic meal for you.
[Source: Islamic Perspectives on Peace. Tarrytown, NY: Universal Peace Federation, 2006.]