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Sister Sarah Joseph : No One Nation Owns Islam
This is the story of
'Journey to Islam' of sister Sarah Joseph who is the Editor of Muslim Youth
Magazine Trends. She is a British Muslim who embraced the Religion of Allah not
from the pathway of birth and family, but from a different point of view. In her
own words she comes 'from the House of Pharaoh!'
Before entering the fold of Islam, she read the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of
the Noble Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) first. She did not follow the Muslims like so
many other persons whom she 'had the chance of meeting' and who had accepted
Islam. In other words, she did not follow suit.
On the contrary, she was impressed by the marvellous character, patience,
honesty and the integrity of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who faced the
hardest opposition and brutality. As she was a sincere 'seeker of truth' in the
real sense of the word, so Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, guided her to
the "Straight Path": "We have made the (Qur'an) a Light, wherewith We guide such
of Our servants as We will". (Surah Shu'ara 42: 52)
Let our sister Sarah tell her journey to Islam and her impressions about the
complicated relationship between the Muslims and the West:
I write as a women, inspired by role models too often ignored Khadija, Ayesha,
Sumayya and Nusayba - may Allah be pleased with them all, who fought and battled
alongside their brothers in Islam for the creation of a just and God-fearing
society. The men and women of Medinah society struggled together, doubling the
number of those striving for Allah. By emulating that example today, maybe we
too can help better our society.
I write as a British Muslim, embracing Islam not from the pathway of birth and
family, but from a different world. One can say that I come from the house of
Pharaoh; but even in the house of Pharaoh there was Pharaoh's wife, a pious
women; the Magicians, who were from Pharaoh, part of his workforce, but as soon
as they saw the truth, they followed it, even though Pharaoh threatened them
with torture and death; and of course, there was Moses, placed in Pharaoh's
house by Allah, to be called upon later to spread His Message.
Likewise, my home, Britain, has many pious and good people in it. It has within
it people who, if exposed to truth, would follow it. But all too often the truth
is veiled and hidden from them. And not just by the media. The truth is veiled
from them by Muslims, hiding Allah's message in culture, tradition and in anger.
I am not saying that Muslims, in so many cases, do not have the right to be
angry. Anger is natural when mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands,
wives, children - so many of our loved ones - are being hurt, injured and
ill-treated.
But anger is the opposite of da'wah, the divine invitation to the path of Allah,
and da'wah is an obligation upon each and every Muslim; Allah commands us:
"Invite all to the way, of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful teaching." (Al-Qur'an,
An-Nahal 16:125). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah on him) said that
every Muslim has a border to guard. Daw'ah is surely the frontier for Muslims
living in the West to guard; it must be considered our primary duty.
And yet, when we utter words such as 'Islam versus the West', then we are
basically saying that the West, in its entirety, is our enemy. Words such as
these breed nothing but enmity and hatred in the people, so they end up asking:
'Why should we want to embrace Islam? 'Why should we want to join with these
people who do not like us'?!
If I had read many of the leaflets or heard these slogans before I had embraced
Islam, I would not have wanted to be a Muslim, but alhumdulillah, I read the
Qur'an and the Sunnah first. I am not alone in these sentiments. So many whom I
have met who have embraced Islam did so in spite of, not because of, Muslims!
How far this is away from the example of the Prophet (peace and blessing of
Allah on him) who caused so many to enter the faith because of his character:
his patience, his honesty, and his integrity even in the face of the hardest
opposition and brutality.
Think of a woman who used to throw thorns, fish heads and other vile concoctions
over him as he passed by her house, he never got violent or aggressive towards
her. Indeed, after some days of passing by her house when he did not have her
'brew' poured over him, he became concerned about her. He visited her to find
that she had been ill and the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him)
cared after her. So inspired by his love in the face of her hatred, she embraced
Islam.
But how do we treat our neighbors and those we meet? Our reaction is gradually
one of retaliation in the face of mildest animosity towards us. We cite the
premise that self-defense is no offence and immediately attempt to combat
aggression with aggression.
Granted, self-defense is no offence, but one must consider the context of our
situation, and consider all the facets of the Prophet's (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) character. He did fight back on many occasions, but more
often than not his example was one of calm, patience and a firm belief that all
pride and honor are from Allah alone. He was discerning in his response, he did
not have a blanket response to all situations, even if they seemed similar.
We however, take "The West' as one whole unit, tending to have a negative
attitude towards it in its entirety. In this way we are denying what is good and
seeing only the bad.
Muslims around the world do not want to be associated with or judged by the
Muslim governments of the countries they live in. They do not want to be seen as
an integral unit with regimes that persecute, and so it is with many in the
West. But unlike Muslims, people in the West have no alternative system with
which to identify with. They do not have Islam. They cannot say 'we disassociate
ourselves from our governments and associate ourselves with Islam'. So whilst we
condemn their identity we give them nothing in return, for we are not giving
them Islam!
Islam is for 'all people" - no one nation owns Islam, yet still when I say 'I am
from England', the immediate response is : 'yes. But where are your parents
from?' The idea of a Western, English Muslim is almost unimaginable because of
the mental connections that we make between the West and tyranny. We do not
divide the individual people from the policies of governments, and as such
cannot really imagine an English Muslim.
But every year there are quite a few like me who embrace Islam in Britain alone.
Who knows how many more that there would be if we related with them as fellow
human beings, who are suffering injustice and inequity and need moral and
intellectual support to liberate themselves from their Pharaohs, instead of
looking at them with suspicion and judging the many by the actions of a few.
People need Islam - I pray that we do not hide it or keep it from them.
[From: Why Islam is
our only choice]
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