Comprehensive Plan to Stop Terror

Radiance once again editorially (Stop Terror, Don’t Disgrace Islam, 3-9 April 2016) has launched a comprehensive and definitive programme,  and is inviting others to get involved in detoxifying young minds of Muslims, helping them and  moving them away from twisted and destructive ideologies, and seeing to it that they do not fall prey to it again.
I would like to discuss some of the programmes we have in place in the United States for not only helping the young minds but also for those who are falling prey to the propaganda by Islamophobic Americans, extremists and political opportunists. Here we have a wide open field of opportunities to address the issue. We do agree with Radiance in formulating a comprehensive plan. This would be an ongoing plan requiring updates to meet current situations and anticipated ones.
Some of the actions we have taken to stop terror and educate the American public are:
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, originally from Rampur, India, a top Muslim scholar of North America, Imam of the Islamic Society of Orange County, Garden Grove, California, went immediately to Washington D.C. after 9/11 and presented a copy of the Qur’ān to President George W. Bush and told him that Islam is against terrorism and those engaged in terrorism are committing acts of sin. He later became the Chairman of the Islamic Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Council of North America, brought all scholars together and issued the following Fatwa in August 2005:
“Reaffirm Islam’s absolute condemnation of Terrorism and Religious Extremism in the light of Qur’ān and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. It is haram for a Muslim to cooperate with any individual or group involved in any act of terrorism or violence. All acts of terrorism targeting civilians are Haram (forbidden) in Islam. It is the civil and religious duty of Muslims to cooperate with law enforcement authorities to protect the lives of all civilians.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is building bridges of communication with the Christian and Jewish communities in the United States. It issued a declaration in 2004:
“Not in the Name of Islam. Those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and disassociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts. We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both the Qur’ān and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. CAIR (2004)”
The ignorance of the government officials, security agencies, police and the bureaucrats, has also given rise to extremism, hate crimes and Islamophobia in the United States. We have embarked upon the mission of helping these ignorant and hatemonger people. It is an uphill battle against the forces of evil, still we have to do it, and continue to educate them.
This writer wrote to Los Angeles Times in 1990s:  “There are more schools in the United States than in any other country in the world; there are more libraries in the United States than any other country in the world; there are more books in the United States than in any other country in the world; and yet there is more ignorance about Islam in the United States than in any other country in the world –  Mohammad Yacoob, Los Angeles Times – February 12, 1991”  (http://articles.latimes.com/1991-02-12/local/me-984_1_islam-anti-muslim-feeling-textbook)
In southern California, Muslim organisations are helping the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies in the western part of the US and making them understand that terror has no religion and adherents of all religions are engaged in terrorism activities and creating chaos in the United States and elsewhere. In 2015 there were 355 mass murders committed in the United States. When four or more people are killed or injured by gunfire, it is defined as a mass shooting. Out of the 355 mass shootings that took place in 336 days in 2015, only one was committed by a Muslim man and his wife in the city of San Bernardino, California on December 2, 2015. This means that less than half a per cent mass murders were committed by Muslims. The mass media converted, sensationalised and presented this as a terrorism act by playing a negative role and indirectly helping European-American extremists and hate-mongers who are now bent on killing Muslims. We challenge them and demand balanced coverage of news and urge to uphold journalistic discipline, integrity, honesty and accountability in reporting.
In the months of December 2015 and January 2016, a Muslim Physician Dr. Faisal Qazi, who works in San Bernardino, California, collected more than $ 214,000 for the families of the victims of December massacre and distributed the money through United Way Charity Organisation. Dr. Faisal Qazi spoke to many organisations, religious institutions, Churches and even the California Democratic Party convention. Our group met David L. Bowdich, FBI officer, Michael Downing, Deputy Chief, Commanding Office, and Shawn Alexander, Counter Terrorism and Special Operation Bureau, Los Angeles Police, at the Muslim Community Forum in the city of Granada Hills, California on October 29, 2015 to discuss ways and means to counter the terrorist’s propaganda, hate crimes against Muslims in the US and other concerns of the Muslim community.
Many Americans have written about outrage among the Muslims for the series of attacks by the Middle Eastern terrorists and home grown European-American terrorists here in the US. We have expressed our outrage not on the streets of America but in the corridors of politics by communicating with politicians, police and security agencies and making them understand the differences between terrorism, genuine struggle and jihad.
The Second Annual National Muslim Advocacy Day was hosted by the US Council of Muslim Organisations (USCMO) on April 18, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, to connect the Muslim community with members of Congress and to allow the Muslim community to advocate for the issues concerning their community and the Nation. More than 330 activists came to Washington from 28 States. A total of 225 meetings were held in congressional office on various issues.
In California, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) hosted 5th Annual Muslim Day at the Capitol – the seat of California government in Sacramento city, on May 25, 2016. More than 600 Muslims came to Sacramento and discussed various bills pending in California Senate and Assembly with members of the senate and the assembly. We will continue to educate American people about Islam, Muslims and the Muslim communities. We will continue to fight ignorance, racism and terrorism.
[MOHAMMAD YACOOB is a retired Industrial Engineer and Engineering Proposals Analyst, lives in Los Angeles, California]