Austria’s Harsh New Laws Risk Provoking Islamic Extremism, Not Stopping It

Can a language on its own cause extremism? Well it seems that according to Austria the answer might be yes. This would account for why they’ve passed new amendments to a 103 year old ‘Law on Islam’ which bans the Qur’an in any language but German and forbids imams (the ‘pastors’ of mosques) to hold any sermons in Arabic. The law also bans any foreign funding of mosques, even when that money is coming through well vetted channels.
The lawmakers have said they want an “Austrian” version of Islam, although none of them specified exactly what they meant by that. The amendments were voted in by the majority Roman Catholic Parliament, and backed by Christian religious groups within the country. However, the passage of the amendments led to demonstrations in front of Austria’s Parliament building with over 200 people lining up and chanting for no new Islam Law.
Many of those angered over the law point out that no other religion has had their sacred texts effectively banned. Jewish members of the community are still free to study the Torah in Hebrew, and hold worship in their synagogues in Hebrew. Roman Catholics are also still allowed the use of Latin in their sermons and scripts.
Classical Arabic is considered extremely important in Islam as this is the language Mohammad used to recorded his revelations from God. Although the Qur’an has been translated into hundreds of languages from all over the globe, many Muslims believe that every Qur’an that is translated from the original Arabic version contains small mistakes, with meanings of passages becoming lost in translation. The importance of Classical Arabic is cornerstone to many aspects of the faith, including taking the ‘Shahada’ (the proclamation of faith) and reciting daily prayers.
Even further, banning the use of Classical or Qur’anic Arabic in mosques and religious scripture is exactly the sort of tool ISIS would use to point out hypocrisy in the West. When many European Muslims are facing alienation and dangerous levels of Islamophobia, instituting measures which push European Muslims further into the margins, and send signs their culture is not welcome, could be playing right into the hands of ISIS recruitment.
Interestingly, although around 170 Austrians have left to fight in Iraq and Syria (half of them Chechen according to the Washington Post) there are few issues with extremism inside the country, with Austria not suffering attacks like those in Paris or London. Writer Shadia Nasralla referred to relations inside Austria as, “relatively unproblematic,” noting that this legislation was introduced long before the Charlie Hedbo attacks that killed 17 in Paris.
The law does include some positive provisions as well, though. Under the new rules Muslims will now be able to seek religious council from imams while in the military or hospitals, with certain imams receiving funding for training. In addition, Muslim holidays will now be recognized by Austrian businesses, and food distributors will allow Muslims to produce food in a halal manner, according to Islamic law.
However many feel the provisions banning a language seen by Muslims as the sacred word of God is taking reforms too far, and constitutes an unfair punishment on the 6 percent Muslim minority inside the country. Some have also voiced concerns that these laws could open up Austrian Muslims to a slew of new laws on Islam, which would only increase division at a time when cohesiveness and unity is more important than ever.

Credit to Lizabeth Paulat

What I Fear More than Islamic Jihadists

“I do not fear Islamic Jihadists nearly as much as I fear the Christian church in the West departing from biblical orthodoxy.”
That was how I opened a speech I made recently to the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, Tennessee. What gives that fear such certainty is the knowledge of a historical fact—namely, throughout history, Islam grew when Christianity was weakened through its departure from biblical authority.
There is no doubt that Islam grew out of a corpse of a church that was beset with heresy and apostasy. Immediately prior to the rise of Islam, viruses of false gospels had marred Christianity beyond recognition.
Christianity dominated regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. But despite that strength, the founder of Islam was confused and frustrated when he listened to some Christian leaders casting doubt on the divinity of Christ—the very heart of Christianity.
The falsehoods facing the church then are not unlike the ones the church in the West faces today. Then, they were known as: “Arianism,” “Nestorianism,” “Sabellianism,” “Ebionism.” Today, they go by names such as: “universalism,” “heterodoxy,” “emergent church,” “insider movement,” “hyper grace,” “Chrislam.”
When you take the heart out, you end up with a dead body with the name “Christian” written on its forehead. That’s what Mohammed found. And that’s what Mohammed believed to be true Christianity.
Mohammed got information from false Christians, and that led to apparent contradictions in Muslim writings—whether in the Qur’an or Sunnah. Those contradictions are the source for war within Islam today, with each faction quoting from contradicting texts.
The North African church was once powerful and influential. It produced great men such as Saint Augustine. Yet, the church fell into the clutches of false teachers as early as the 5^th century.
One of those falsehoods is known as the Montanist movement. Among the significant falsehoods that the Montanists taught was the belief that the canon of Scripture was not closed. The Bible could still be amended.
In the 7^th century, the Arab/Muslim armies stormed their way toward the pristine coastal Mediterranean towns of North Africa, which bulged with tens of thousands of churches. The conquest was over in a very short time. Having lost their biblical moorings, those churches wondered if God was not bringing a new revelation.
They were so opened-minded that they were like chickens letting the foxes into the hen house. It was only a matter of time before those tens of thousands of churches turned into mosques.
Credit to Michael Youssef

Morning Devotion in Schools – Let us learn from the Nigerians

Over the years Ghana seems to have been enjoying some semblance of both religious freedom and tolerance. Incidentally, this road to peace in the country is under threat as a result of our own myopic interpretation of religious tolerance.

Reference is made to a statement attributed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) on its notice to all students in missionary secondary schools to attend morning devotion sessions if it is a school rule. “We are trying to encourage our students notwithstanding their faith to come together to worship and it brings about national unity. If a Muslim takes part in morning worship, it doesn’t mean the person is being forced to convert to Christianity,” the Public Relations officer of the Ghana Education Service, Charles Parker Allotey (Parker) explained. According to the Service, failure to attend compulsory morning devotion sessions may lead to indiscipline among students.

The reaction of the GES followed a directive by President Mahama to all heads of public institutions, including schools, to desist from forcing Muslim students to compulsorily join Christian fellowships.

The Muslim Community in the Western Region on Friday (2/20/15) demonstrated to: protest their displeasure over the compulsory church service policy in some Senior High Schools in the country; force government to compel schools to allow female Muslim students to put on veils; prevent the attendance of church services in schools that make such gatherings compulsory.
For the first time in Ghana’s history aggrieved Muslim students vented out their frustration and displeasure through legally accepted procedure. This very act itself should be commended by all peace loving Ghanaians. President Mahama set the pace with his prompt positive response to the issue. GES disrespected him by sticking it into the noses of the Muslims.
The reaction of the GES to the Muslim Community is at best very insensitive, incendiary if not outright provocative. No wonder the swift and harsh response from the Ghana Muslim Students’ Association (GMSA) rejecting the directive from the GES and called on all Muslim students all over the country to do the same. In a statement released to the media the GMSA said “We want to make it clear that nobody can sit at his corner and make laws that contravene the constitution and the biddable Muslim student is expected to comply without questioning. Ghanaians must understand that GES made the Lord’s Prayer compulsory for us and we accepted it so they want to covertly add morning devotion. We vehemently reject both today.”
Such is the beginning of hostilities. The Muslims have thrown the first salvo. It is very unfortunate that individuals would want to impose their belief on others under the guise of education even if that would create chaos. Ghana underrates religious belief and feelings at its own peril. Christians should know that Muslims do not attach the same reverence to Jesus Christ as they (Christians) do. In the same way Muslims uphold Mohammed in a higher esteem than Christians. This should not be interpreted as one being better than the other. It should be seen as a sign of individual differences.
The missionary schools are public schools. They teach and prepare students to take the same examinations and they are open to all. This policy should continue since it has served Ghana very well. If after so many years of attending morning devotion in missionary schools Muslims are raising resentment, they should be listened to and appropriate measures taken to address their concerns.
A way out of this is what this writer observed as a teacher in a teachers’ training college in Lagos, Nigeria. The principal was a Muslim – an Alhaji. During morning devotion all Christians assembled in one area while the Muslims also met at a different spot for five to ten minutes of prayer or “kraming”. After this all students would be together for the morning assembly. This worked well for all and sundry. It could be easily replicated in Ghanaian schools.
If Parker is insisting that all students should attend morning devotion irrespective of religion, there is nothing wrong with it. Rather Muslim students should not be forced to observe Christian method of devotion. Within a given time frame all Muslim students should be grouped in one special place under the supervision of their leader(s) (where there is no Muslim teacher in the school) to go through their own rituals for morning devotion. When the Christians finish their morning devotion the Muslims would join them for the morning assembly. The same can be said about church services.
Since no Christian would like to be forced to “kram” they should be sympathetic towards the Muslims’ apprehension towards prayer and issues involving Jesus Christ. Christ did not force anybody to follow Him. He presented an alternative to the various religious practices at His time and called on all who believed to follow Him. The Muslims in missionary schools should be given some few minutes for their type of morning devotion if that would fulfill Christ’s request “That They All May Be One.”
Credit to OPANIN KWABENA MENSAH

Cardinal Timothy Dolan: Islamic State is Muslim like Irish Republican Army was Catholic

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said Islamic State militants terrorizing the Middle East are a distortion of "genuine" Islam much as the Irish Republican Army was a "perversion" of Catholicism.
Dolan's comments to CNN on Tuesday reflect similar statements about the Islamic State group from Pope Francis, but they also echo some of President Barack Obama's controversial remarks on Islam, Christianity and the history of violence carried out in the name of religion.
"The IRA claimed to be Catholic," Dolan told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo. "They were baptized. They had a Catholic identity." But, he continued, "what they were doing was a perversion of everything the church stood for."
The spiritual leader of New York's 2.8 million Catholics, Dolan said that likewise, the Islamic State extremists "do not represent genuine Islamic thought" but are "a particularly perverted form of Islam."

"The analogy [to the IRA] is somewhat accurate," said Dolan, an Irish-American who on March 17 will serve as grand marshal of the city's St. Patrick's Day parade.
"These are not pure, these are not real Muslims. Now what we need and what Pope Francis has led the world in saying, is we need the temperate, moderate, genuine forces of Islam to rise up and say this -- they do not represent us. Now, that's beginning to happen. God can bring good out of evil."
Francis has frequently said the Islamic State does not represent genuine Islam and that "all religions have these little groups." And he has pointed to instances when Catholics used religion to justify terrible violence.
But Obama sparked a fierce backlash at last month's National Prayer Breakfast when he said the Islamic State does not represent genuine Islam. He also said Christians should not "get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place," because in the past believers also "committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ."
Obama has also been criticized for not highlighting the fact that many Islamic State victims are targeted because they belong to the relatively small but ancient Christian communities in the Middle East.
Dolan showed no such hesitation this week, saying he believed the group was conducting a "systematic, well-choreographed, very well-focused attempt to eradicate the ancient Christian population in the Mideast."
The IRA was a violent extremist group that existed in various forms throughout most of the 20th century, staging brutal terrorist bombings and attacks aimed at ending British sovereignty in largely Protestant Northern Ireland.
Some Catholic leaders strongly denounced the IRA and sought to downplay the religious aspects of the violence, but the IRA also found support among many clergy and the faithful.

The IRA largely ended its armed struggle after the April 1998 Good Friday Agreement, although some holdouts remain.
Credit to David Gibson 

Franklin Graham Says Obama's 'Sympathy to Islam' Will Lead to Christian and Jewish Persecution in America

Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, addresses the crowd at the Festival of Hope, an evangelistic rally held at the national stadium in Port-au-Prince, January 9, 2011

The Rev. Franklin Graham has warned in an interview that President Barack Obama is "very sympathetic to Islam" and that America's foreign policy is influenced by Muslims. He added that this influence could lead to Christians and Jewish people being persecuted in the United States.
"There are Muslims that have access to him in the White House. Our foreign policy has a lot of influence now, from Muslims. We see the prime minister of Israel being snubbed by the president and by the White House and by the Democrats and it's because of the influence of Islam. They hate Israel and they hate Christians, and so the storm is coming, I believe," Graham told Gordon Robertson, host of CBN's "The 700 Club" interactive program
Graham further pointed out that Obama had a Muslim father, and that as a child the president went to school in Indonesia, which has the largest Islamic population in the world.

"So, growing up his frame of reference and his influence as a young man was Islam. It wasn't Christianity, it was Islam," the evangelist said.
Graham has criticized Obama's foreign policy on a number of occasions, including the president's refusal to call terror group ISIS "Islamic."
"The truth is — their barbaric murderers openly said they killed them because they were 'people of the cross.' Why is the president seemingly continuing to protect Islam and refusing to open his eyes to the truth?" Graham asked when an initial statement by the White House in February failed to identify the 21 Copts beheaded by ISIS as Christians.
Obama has responded to conservative criticism by asserting that he does not identify ISIS as "Islamic" because he doesn't want to give the terror group the legitimacy that it wants.
"These terrorists are desperate for legitimacy. And all of us have a responsibility to refute the notion that groups like ISIL somehow represent Islam, because that's a falsehood that embraces the terrorists' narrative," Obama said, using another name for ISIS.
Obama's has often stated that he's a Christian, and in January said that anyone who questions his faith does not know him.
"In our lives, Michelle [Obama] and I have been strengthened by our Christian faith. Still, as you may know, my faith has at times been questioned — by people who don't know me — or they've said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing," the president has said.
A poll released last week as part of the 2014 Cooperative Congressional Election Study found that many Americans don't believe "deep down" that Obama is a Christian, however.
As many as 54 percent of Republicans who responded to the survey said that Obama is really a Muslim, and only 45 percent of Democrats said that Obama is a Christian. More Independents, at 26 percent, said that Obama is a Muslim, than those who said he is a Christian, at 16 percent.
Credit to Stoyan Zaimov

Sabah student’s conversion to Islam invalid as she’s a minor, lawyer says

The conversion of a 16-year-old girl to Islam at her boarding school in Sabah without her Christian parents' knowledge is not valid under the law, as the religion of a minor can only be changed with both parents' consent, constitutional lawyer M.Kula Segaran said.

The law on this matter has been decided in the civil courts, he said, based on the Ipoh High Court ruling in the case of kindergarten teacher M.Indira Gandhi, where the court held that the unilateral conversion of her three children, aged between six and 17, by her Muslim-convert husband Riduan Abdullah was unconstitutional.

Kula  Segaran said the parents of the student in Kinarut, Papar, should be able to seek recourse in the civil court to impugn their daughter's conversion certificate, if one has been issued.

This is because under Sabah's Islamic laws, a person can convert to Islam only after attaining the age of majority according to the religion, but if the person is below 18, the parents' consent is needed.

Kula Segaran was asked about the legal status of the girl's religion, which has been disputed by her parents, who raised her as a Christian and who claim that she had been wrongly influenced at the school into embracing Islam.

It was reported that the the girl had been staying at a school hostel, as her father, rubber tapper Jilius Yapoo, could not afford the cost of the daily commute to school.

He discovered that his daughter had converted to Islam and was wearing the "tudung", or headscarf when he went to visit her after hearing reports that she had become a Muslim.

The teacher allegedly responsible for the conversion has been transferred to another school in Sabah and was not faulted for any wrongdoing after claiming that the student had wanted to embrace Islam voluntarily.

Kula Segaran said the consent of both parents to the changing of a minor's religion was stated in the Federal Constitution, which although read "parent", should be taken to mean the plural and not the singular under the constitution's rules of interpretation. The case of Indira Gandhi and her ex-husband is now pending at the Court of Appeal.

Kula Segaran, who is also the Ipoh Barat MP, said that in the case involving the Sabah schoolgirl, by nature of the fact that she was a non-Muslim and a minor before the alleged conversion took place, the Shariah court had no jurisdiction over her.

"Furthermore, no right-thinking Malaysian would buy the story that the girl went to school and converted willingly.

"The state education department should stop pretending as though this is not an issue, they should haul up and discipline the person who converted her," he said.

He also expressed concern that this case was the tip of the iceberg, whereby they could be many more students being converted, but which were not highlighted because the parents were too poor and did not have the means to bring the cases out into the open or to take legal action.

"Its totally fine if the parents consent to their minor children being converted to Islam, but if they are unaware of the conversion taking place, then, that is a problem," he said.

"The parents in rural areas have no choice but to allow their children to stay in school hostels.

"They send their kids to school to get an education, not to get converted," he added.

Giving a different view was lawyer Nizam Bashir, who practises in both the Shariah and civil courts.

He said the prevailing law on conversion of a minor is provided for under section 68 of the Administration of Islamic Law Enactment (Sabah) 1992, that states that parents consent is needed for the conversion of a minor below the age of 18.

Therefore, at first look, it appears that Yapoo might have recourse to impugn the conversion certificate.

However, Bashir added that the second limb of the section, where consent is required, may be unconstitutional.

This is because Article 11 of the Federal Constitution provides that every person has the right to profess and practice his own religion.

"As such, keeping in mind that the girl is not an infant, in the sense that she is not a child between 4 and 8, the pre-requisite of consent constitutes an unreasonable restriction and infringes her right under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution," Bashir added.

He also said that the other consideration as what constitutes the age of a minor, is seen differently from a civil perspective and Islamic law.

He added that a 16-year-old might be considered a minor from a civil perspective but from an Islamic law perspective, the girl may have "come of age" or reached puberty, as Islam doesn't just look at age but also considers other biological factors to determine age of responsibility.

He added in such instances, the child should be interviewed by the appropriate authorities to determine if she has come of age and also whether she has converted willingly.

Bashir said this would also be consistent with Article 14 of the Convention of the Rights of Child, that a State shall respect a child's right to freedom of conscience and religion.

He said similar sentiments are expressed in Article 10 of the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, that conversions through compulsion are prohibited in Islam.

"So, as Malaysia is a signatory to both documents, I think Malaysia's stand on this issue, whether as expressed by the Federal government or by a state government, should be identical irrespective of whether it is being expressed on an international front or the domestic front," Bashir said.

But he added that whether someone is a Muslim or not, should rightly be determined by the Shariah court, adding that civil courts cannot enter into "religious thickets" to determine this question.

"The only exception is the girl's father can fall back on neutral principle of law, where an applicant can rely on well-established principles of civil law to determine the question of his daughter's conversion.

"But for now, I can't think of any neutral principle of law to assist the father specifically, as I consider Article 11 to be superior as compared with Article 12 on this particular issue, where Article 11 guarantees every person of their freedom of conscience but Article 12 merely guarantees the right of a parent to determine the religion of a minor purely for religious instruction purposes," Bashir said. – March 2, 2015.

Credit to JENNIFER GOMEZ

#MeetAMuslimFamily: Campaign aims to 'remove any misconceptions' about Islam

In the wake of several shocking terrorist attacks carried out by extremists, some Canadian Muslim families are inviting strangers into their homes and mosques with the hopes of educating them about Islam.

The "Meet a Muslim Family" campaign kicked off on Sunday and wraps up on March 14. It connects Canadians with Muslim families, introducing them to their traditions, cultures and values. The goal is to "remove any misconceptions regarding Islam and Muslims," the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada, the group behind the campaign, said in a statement.

"In recent months, there has been several heinous terror attacks carried out in the name of Islam, by violent extremists, both here in Canada and around the world," the group said. "Through this campaign Canadian Muslims will showcase to their fellow Canadians that a Muslims faith is not in conflict with Canadian values."

In Canada, there are more than a million Muslims across the country, a 2011 National Household Survey reveals. Some of those identify as belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, a "fast growing international revival movement within Islam," according to the sect's official site. The group "categorically rejects terrorism in any form."

"Our motto is love for all, hatred for none and ... staying loyal to our country," said Safwan Choudhry, whose family is taking part in the Meet a Muslim campaign. Choudhry, whose family is taking part in the campaign, adds that Muslims also play a role in fighting extremists.

"I personally believe that the solution to eradicate these groups also remains with the Muslim community," Choudhry told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

"Any terror group, whether in the name of a religion or not, their primary goal is to create fear and create divide. If we stand united, especially here in Canada as per our core values, right there, we stop them in their footsteps."

So far, Choudhry said the response to the campaign has been "overwhelming."

He says he's been contacted by a number of Canadian families, many who live in communities he's never visited, such as Gander, N.L, and Brandon, Man.

"It's been really great to get the amazing feedback. There's been a lot of encouragement from Canadian families for this campaign and we’ve had a lot of Muslims from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community who have opened up their homes."

Earlier on Sunday, the Choudhrys hosted  neighbour and Vaughan City Councillor Marilyn Iafrate and her daughter on Sunday, cooking them a traditional home cooked meal.

"Being together and sharing common values … this is a moment where we can experience and solidify what we know and the food is awesome," said Iafrate, who had never met the Choudrys.

Southwest Muslims Reject Invitation To Meet Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan’s proposal to meet tomorrow with a cross-section of Muslim leaders in the southwest at Ansarudeen Central Mosque, Ajao Surulere, Lagos State, has met a brick wall, with most of the religious figures indicating their reluctance to attend. A source close to Mr. Jonathan told SaharaReporters that, unless there was a miraculous change of heart, the meeting is unlikely to hold.

Our sources said former Minister of State for Defense, Musiliu Obanikoro, had arranged the meeting. Mr. Obanikoro now faces growing public opprobrium over his inglorious role in the rigging of last year’s governorship election in Ekiti State. The former minister is one of several politicians of the ruling PDP caught on tape as they ordered a top military officer, Brigadier A. Momoh, to harass members of the APC in Ekiti in a scheme designed to secure victory for Ayo Fayose, the candidate of the PDP. Mr. Fayose was declared the winner of the election.

In a telephone conference, the secretary general of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Ishaq Oloyede, lauded the decision of Muslim leaders not to participate in a meeting designed to polarize and create disunity among Muslims across the geographical divide.

Northern Muslim leaders, including emirs, had earlier opposed a meeting of all Muslim leaders with Mr. Jonathan. Their objection had scuttled an earlier meeting the president had proposed with the entire Muslim leaders in the country. Two major Muslim leaders in the southwest disclosed that a meeting between and Mr. Jonathan would be a betrayal of the general decision not to draw Muslim leaders in the country into partisan conflicts.

The Muslim leaders also remarked that Mr. Jonathan’s alleged gift of N7 billion to the leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to encourage them to mobilize political support for the president’s re-election had left CAN in tatters. “It may take a long time before the wound inflicted on the umbrella organization for all Nigerian Christians is healed,” said one Muslim leader.

Another Muslim leader told SaharaReporters that it was shameless to go about distributing money that belongs to the masses to a few religious leaders. “We want the money to be used to better the lot of all Nigerians,” said the source, an Islamic cleric in Abeokuta.

One of the Muslim leaders also said it was difficult to trust Mr. Jonathan who had reneged on his promise to redress the marginalization of Muslims in the composition of last year’s national conference. “When we complained about it, Mr. President promised to redress it, but he went back on his words when CAN President, Ayo Oritsejafor, told him to ignore us.”

Some of the Muslim leaders stated that Mr. Jonathan had always ignored the pleas of Muslims for fairness and equity in appointments to top political appointments. “He never sent an invitation to us to meet with him before. Why is he now enthusiastic to meet Muslims [a] few weeks to the election,” one source asked.

SaharaReporters learned that the chief imam of Ansarudeen mosque, Abdurahman Ahmad, was given the assignment of telling Mr. Jonathan and his team that the southwest Muslim leaders were not enthusiastic about meeting him.

Professor talks presence of Muslims in African history

The Muslim Student Association celebrated Black History Month Thursday night with a lecture on Islam’s roots in Africa

The event, which was attended by about 50 people, was held in the Henderson Room of the Michigan League and features Associate History Prof. Rudolph Ware.

In his lecture, Ware outlined the history of Islam in Africa. He said that even before the official beginning of Islam, when Muhammad traveled from Mecca to Medina on an invitation to escape persecution, the religion has had a presence on the continent.

In the year 615 CE and again in 616 CE, Ware said Muslims escaped persecution by crossing the Red Sea into present day Ethiopia and seeking refuge with a Christian king. However, over time, he said Blacks practicing the religion have been alienated by current Middle Eastern countries, leading to the earlier prominence of Islam in Western Africa often being forgotten.

Nonetheless, one sixth of the world’s Muslim population currently resides in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ware said. In Senegal, he said 98 percent of citizens are Muslim.

“The only Arab countries that have that percentage are Saudi Arabia and Yemen,” Ware said. “There are more Muslims in Nigeria than there are in Egypt, and Nigeria’s only 50 percent Muslim. There’s more Muslims in Ethiopia than there are in Iraq.”

This number is so high because of the tradition of Qur’an schools in western Africa, he said. Dating back to the 1400s Qur’an schools were open to teach Muslim children mathematics and reading.

These schools, which still exist today, promoted the spread of Islam because certain groups of scholars were trained to memorize the Qu’uran to the point of being able to reproduce it, Ware said.

For hundreds of years, the clerics who taught Islam were protected through an agreement with the country’s rulers. However, when the Atlantic slave trade took off in the region, African kings began selling Muslim peasants despite a long history against enslavement of Muslims, Ware said. This led to the spread of Islam to America, Ware said.

“When those people are captured and sold as slaves and they’re taken away on European slave ships, and they’re dropped in places, they can reconstitute partial or entire copies of the Qur’an because they are the Qur’an,” Ware said.

Though some historians believe Muslims were unable to pass their religion onto their children because of this history, Ware said he disagreed. He cited several instances where Islam was prevalent in enslaved America, namely a case where slaves kept records in Arabic because their masters could not write. Other evidence include a 1920 interview with a woman who was freed during the Civil War remembered other slaves practicing Islam and a 1860 Louisiana census which acknowledged Black Muslims.

Ware noted many traditional Black superstitions in the United States come from Islamic roots, which he said additionally proved African Muslims were also a part of the slave trade.

A common superstition in the American South is that if someone sweeps a broom over one’s feet, in response the person whose feet have been swept spits on the broom, paralleling a common Muslim practice.

“That’s the reason why for an African American convert (to Islam), it’s a reversion not a conversion,” Ware said.

Engineering junior Jainabou Barry, who attended the event, grew up both in Gambia and the United States. She said through her experience, she was able to experience differences and parallels between the discussion of Islam in Africa and in the United States.

“There, my Qur’an school, was focused more on the spiritual,” Barry said. “Coming here, I saw the more political agenda being pushed.”

Ware said he saw America today as a unique opportunity for Muslims — one they have not had for seven or eight centuries. With freedom of religion in the United States, there are Muslims of all ethnic and racial background.

“The only way that you change the nature of the conversation is by changing the composition of the room,” Ware said. “If as relatively privileged upper middle class Muslims we don’t reach out to the African American Muslim community, to the African immigrant Muslim community, to the Bangladeshi Muslim community, if we don’t do that, then we can lament the fact that this conversation hasn’t started, but the truth is, we haven’t done our job to start it.”

Credit to  Emma Kinery