Inner City Muslim Experience

Transcript Details

Event Name: Inner City Muslim Experience
Transcription Date:Transcription Modified Date: 5/18/2019 9:35:10 PM
Transcript Version: 2


Transcript Text

for other places the fact that the

Mudge's Council of scholars in this city

is one of the most extraordinary

accomplishments in the Muslim world I'm

not talking just about the United States

of America a group of Imams from diverse

backgrounds different geographical

locations to come together to work

together that's what can happen in this

country we have the potential to change

the world that we're in and there's no

other reason to be in this world unless

you're here to change it for the better

because there's enough people out there

changing it for the worst and you need

to choose your sides choose your battles

but start the struggle because the

struggles if you don't go to the

struggle the struggle will come to you

it's the nature of life on this planet

if you don't go to the struggle the

struggle will go to you but this is a

long train and it's been moving for a

long time Rosa Parks went to jail in

this country so that these people could

be sitting at this table together that's

right

that's right Medgar Evers took a bullet

in the back Martin Luther King

malcom-x these people their sacrifice

their lives for a different America and

there are many positive and good things

about America today it is undeniable

some of the achievements that have

occurred in our lifetimes and we need to

acknowledge that and recognize that but

there are other things that are deeply

troubling and if we don't look those

things straight in the eye and deal with

them as a community recognize that we

have allies in the greater community we

have good people that are standing by us

that are defending us we have people on

the Left like Chris Chris Hedges

a pew litter Prize winning journalist

who's willing to speak the truth for the

Muslim community on our behalf and those

people need to be recognized we have

people like Robert George who's on the

right

one of the most significant legal minds

in the in the United States today

teaching at Princeton defending the

Muslim community we need to recognize

who our allies are and those out there

who are attacking this community there

are some of them who are simply ignorant

they need to be educated there are

others that are educated but they have

an agenda you cannot blame the Jewish

community not all of the Jewish

community but a certain segment of the

Jewish community in this country does

not like the idea of a strong Islam in

America because the Jewish community has

worked very hard to be enfranchised in

this country many of the Jewish

community has a tribal allegiance to

Israel just like many of the people in

this hall might have some tribal

allegiances to places they came from -

that's human nature that's human nature

so you have to be aware there are people

that are deeply disturbed by the idea of

a powerful vibrant Muslim community that

is going to engage the dominant

community in new discourses but there

are people within the Jewish community

that have stood by our community

defended our key

unity so it's important for us to

distinguish friends from foes right

friends from foes recognizing who our

friends are who our enemies are

and unfortunately we have amongst

ourselves amongst the Muslim community

what I would what I would call frenemies

right we've got a lot of those shooting

us in the foot as a community

unfortunately god bless you all god

bless imam suraj in his community we owe

them our support Saruman Akuma