By IMAM DR. TALIB M. SHAREEF, USAF-Retired
Extending our best regards and prayers for the peace, stability and health of our nation.
We have experienced once again another dark moment in our history. Instigated by the sitting president, our nation and the world witnessed chaos and an insurrection by citizens at the U.S. Capitol to stop a Constitutionally ordained process of free and fair elections and a peaceful transition of power.
We are shocked but not surprised as the mob of domestic terrorists launched a violent assault on our democracy bringing America face-to-face with itself.
Over the past four years, this president, whose primary responsibility is to keep Americans safe, has incited violence against our government and fellow citizens.
He has consistently gone against the best of human motivations and the best of American traditions. He has been openly courting radicals, hate groups and white supremacist, ignoring and rejecting laws and betrayed American democracy.
But no one does anything in a vacuum, there were enablers, leaders, members of his party who have closed their eyes when keeping their eyes open required honoring their oath of office, standing upon truth and moral courage, while others have openly joined him in support of the aforementioned actions, his campaign of misinformation and fabricated claims of massive voter fraud.
Nevertheless, let us not overlook that a major enabler giving life to the present situation was a suitable environment. We, as a society, are a product of our environment. Before we can correct the problem of society, we must first correct the problems in ourselves.
As a nation, we have inherited and have been caught in the mistakes of the past that are rooted in the fact that human beings from lands of the dark races were enslaved, oppressed, gravely mistreated, and used as beasts of burden.
Subsequently, the nation grew and progressed, but its action during its growing process did not agree with its
Constitutional position that all men are created equal and that all men have a God-given right to freedom, to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness.
This conflict eventually brought about an end to slavery and millions were physically freed. That “freedom” was just a move further in the path towards the real thing that the life of freedom was trying to manifest in America.
Physical freedom came but we did not have the human dignity of other people and we were not recognized as equal citizens of the nation.
Despite the beautifully worded constitution, human beings were still treated as though they were no more than animals put on earth to be used, abused, and thrown out as trash.
There remained a disposition that said, “Yes, we believe that black people should not be chained or denied their rights, but we do not like to see them share with us in America as our equals.”
To attest to this is the double standard evident in our recent history and, in the treatment of the pro-Trump mob, which was clearly a threat, compared to that of protest by the Black Lives Matter movement.
In coming face-to-face with our own humanity as a nation, the social fabric of the society is rocking, and the threads have begun to break apart.
As we hold accountable those responsible for acts associated with the recent violent attacks on our democracy, we cannot just move on.
Among the healing that must be done, is that the President’s breaking of the law needs to be explained to his followers.
We need to find some way to reach the inherent goodness in them and bring them into the world of truth and reality.
We need to have a broader national conversation on how to end this polarization, and we need to listen attentively, thread the needle, and sew the fabric back together.
America began “In the name of G’d,” and in our pledge is “…One nation under G’d, indivisible with liberty and justice for all”. Let us have a true democracy for G’d’s sake and truly treat all citizens equally as the creation of the Creator.
The dream of the founding fathers and the pioneers was to build a home for religious people, a home for every human being that had a clean desire for the world.
IMAM DR. TALIB M. SHAREEF, USAF-Retired
Masjid Muhammad, The Nation’s Mosque
1519 Islamic Way, 4th St. NW, Washington DC 220001
202-483-8832 office
www.thenationsmosque.orgInfo@thenationsmosque.org
President/Chairman (Former), InterFaith Conference (IFCMW) www.ifcmw.org
Vice Commander/National Chaplain, Muslim-American Miltary Association (MAVA) https://mavanational.org/
Dean & Professor, Interfaith and Islamic Chaplaincy, Global Oved Dei Seminary UnivDirector,
American Muslims Against Terrorism & Extremism (AMATE) www.AMATEinitiative.com
Mayor’s Interfaith Council