The Muslim I Know

As you pick this book, recognize, from the onset, that: 1. It is not a religious book but a thought-provoking thesis against evolving challenges. 2. I didn't write it. I consolidated it. Inspired by the unrivaled character and conduct of my many Muslim neighbors, coworkers, and associates--evolving from my previous works, e.g. The Golden Boy of Islam and consistent with "A Perfect Man," (www.al-islam.org) -- "The Muslim I Know" is a response to the unnerving religious rift in our midst...
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As you pick this book, recognize, from the onset, that: 1. It is not a religious book but a thought-provoking thesis against evolving challenges. 2. I didn't write it. I consolidated it. Inspired by the unrivaled character and conduct of my many Muslim neighbors, coworkers, and associates--evolving from my previous works, e.g. The Golden Boy of Islam and consistent with "A Perfect Man," (www.al-islam.org) -- "The Muslim I Know" is a response to the unnerving religious rift in our midst and how to elbow our way out. 3. It is not a mere book but "The Manifesto of Religious Education." Why? It reflects the recent events that call out our attention; imbues instructions from the holy books, the Hadith; and speeches from religious and political leaders, e.g. Dr. Al-Tayyeb, King Salman, Pres. Al-Sisi, King Abdullah, Mehmet Gomez, Pres. Yodhoyono, Alhaji Dr. Bawumia, Ghana's VP, Mufti Menk, and free thinkers like Auwal Sani Anwar, Mona Eltahawy, etc. 4. This book has not been written to entertain you--and not without a reason. These 20 post-9/11 years have unveiled daunting realities about the DNA and magnitude of religious rift emerging from unwittingly condoning miseducation as extreme views--a skeleton in the closet--and costs for which we hadn't psyched ourselves up. Thanks to jihadists on one hand, and inaction on the part of the parents, clerics, thinkers, scholars, curricularists, policymakers, and government leaders on the other, the world has witnessed the most atrocious slaughters dispensed in the name of religion than any other in our recent history; the "unbelieving" men massacred instead of educating them, their wives and daughters abducted and divided among assassins as war booty alongside material properties; people beheaded in the name of the religion and God before the camera. "And yet...the worst images are...[those] unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children...forced to grow up without their...Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace...leaving a gaping hole in...hearts," said Barack Hussein Obama.

Ominous though that may be, it is for real. Alas! The perpetrators and their accomplices are not aliens! They are our neighbors, coworkers, siblings, and progenies. Make no mistakes! This is not a conventional battle. This is a battle that no military or smart weapons--anti-sniper or countermeasure features--can win. "EDUCATION," can take time. But it cannot fail. And Satan is watching with keen interest. Remove God from the equation, and Satan rises to the occasion--with a big grin--we've learned. As such, phobia against religion is also its demise. Eurobarometer Poll 2012 indicated that Atheists, non-believers, and agnostics form 49% of the population in the Netherlands, 37% in France, 37% in Estonia 43% in Sweden, and 59% in the Czech Republic. This is shocking, isn't it? Also, a 2013 poll by UPI/Harris showed that 23% of Americans (mostly youths) identified themselves as not at all religious in 2012, nearly double the 12% reported in 2007! Yet, the trend is not only unsettling in the "Christian West" but also in the South and the East. How? Motivated by "social evolution", cultures tend to merge over time making religion the potential biggest loser--in the long run--if time permits. Rewording Yakub Gowon, "None is winning. All of us are vanquished." The reality on the ground calls out all worthy religious leaders to do more. "As our case is new," said Lincoln, "so we must think anew and act anew." How? Evolve the religion from being alleged as a liability to mankind--and God--into an asset; Glorify God by making life grander and the world a better place; Bring more "unbelievers" to God rather than "freeze" them; Build bridges rather than Donald's way--the walls; Focus on the doughnut rather than the hole in it, (see Surat An-Nahl 16:61), etc. Make no mistakes. Time marches on!