Does Islam Really Hate America?
By Dr Aslam Abdullah
Las Vegas, Nevada
There are many millions who identify them as Americans. Nearly, 40 percent of them have been living in this country for centuries. They were persecuted, forced to change their faith, brutalized and badly humiliated. Yet none of them spoke the language of hatred against America. They consider America their home.
Then there are millions who left their countries of birth and adopted the citizenship of the new country giving all they had to this country.
Yet there are people in this country, who have turned their sacrifice and commitment to America as a statement of hatred against America. In fact, these are the people who are showing hatred towards America.
The Republican front runner, Donald Trump, discovered all of a sudden that Islam hates America. He did not know about it when he partnered with several big Muslim businesses in the Middle East to make millions. He did not know this when he came in contact with Muslim consultants who were advising him how to do business in the Muslim world. He did not know this when Muslim Americans tipped the FBI and other law enforcement agencies about individuals who were planning to harm others. He did not know this when millions of them were brought here as slaves and stripped of their humanity.
He discovered it only when he realized that speaking against Islam and Muslims would excite and incite the Republican base and elect him to be the nominee of the party. If he were not running for the highest office of the nation on the Republican ballot, he would still be making deals with Muslim businesses all over the world.
Does Islam really hate America and do Muslims seek the destruction of this nation?
Islam is a universal faith and it believes in the unity of humanity as the creator of the entire universe is God: and God alone. "VERILY, this community of yours is one single community, since I am the Sustainer of you all: worship, then, Me [alone]! Qur’an- 21:92
To hurt the creation of God physically, emotionally, socially or spiritually is considered an act against God. Islam demands from its followers total respect of others regardless of what they say about the faith. It admonishes Muslims not to speak ill of others, let alone show hatred towards them: "But do not revile those [beings] whom they invoke instead of God, lest they revile God out of spite, and in ignorance: for, goodly indeed have We made their own doings appear unto every community. In time, [however,] unto their Sustainer they must return: and then He will make them [truly] understand all that they were doing. (Qur’an: 6:108)
A universal religion that claims to seek the welfare of all has no place of hatred in its teachings. The moment a faith starts showing hatred to others, it loses its universality and it becomes a faith of we and them, we being the privileged and chosen. Islam seeks the welfare of all. It does not tell its followers to discriminate against others on the basis of their faith or ideologies. It even does not seek the destruction of those who oppose it because it believes in the freedom of opinion and expression. "Verily, We have shown him the way:[and it rests with him to prove himself] either grateful or ungrateful. Qur’an- 76:3
If Muslims have neglected this message of unity and respect of human life, they are the ones responsible for it and not the faith. If they have divided them into sects, they should be held accountable for that and not God, the source of divine teachings. The problem lies with those who divide God into a God of Christians, Muslims or Jews or Hindus. God does not have a denomination. He is God of all. To say Islam hates America or Americans is to say God hates Americans and God does not hate any of His creation. May be Jerry Falwell or Franklin Graham or Pat Robertson and among Muslims Zawahiri or Baghdadi may have said in the past that God's curse is on America. But God did not. Many clerics from all religions have fallen into the trap of speaking on behalf of God in times of calamities as they define the occurrences of natural disasters in terms of the deviation of a nation or a group of people from the divine guidance. But God assures people that the day of reckoning would come once each one of us would be revived again and each one of us would be shown his or her life sketch.
God is not in the business of cursing a region or a land or even a people. The Arabic word La'an that many translators of the Qur’an have often used to mean a curse need to realize that it means depriving oneself of the benefit of the divine guidance on the basis of one's own deviation.
He certainly dislikes those who violate their covenant with him, but he does not hate them. He would not hate his own creation. He says that the day of judgement would be the day when each one of us would bear the consequences of what we do. Before that day, the judgment cannot be passed by the mortal beings. Those who commit acts of violence or hatred in His name are not worthy of His name. They in fact use His name to serve their interests no matter what label they don.
Islam would not be a divine faith if it taught hatred against America or any other nation because all of us, regardless of our attitude towards Him, came from Him and He cannot make us fight against each other. He is not running a mafia. He is the one who reminds Muslims clearly. Those who spread hatred in His name are satanic no matter what label they don. Islam would not be a divine faith, if it taught hatred against America or any other nation because all of us, regardless of our attitude towards Him came from Him and He cannot make us fight against each other. He reminded Muslims in particular in His divine book: "For, [true] servants of the Most Gracious are [only] they who walk gently on earth, and who, whenever the foolish address them, reply with [words of] peace; - 25:63
Hatred is not part of Islam. In fact, Islam even does not hate those who show hatred towards it including Donald Trump who seems to be crossing all limits in his anti-Islam rhetoric.
