 Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Alhamdulillah it's great to be here at SBIA, very historical institution for Muslims here in the San Francisco Bay Area. And we pray that Allah continues to bestow His blessings upon the community as it grows and expands. InshaAllah soon you'll be running out of space. The MCC they went from place to place and they got their dream building and now they need another building. And so these are called good problems because they're indicative of growth in our community. Alhamdulillah tomorrow as we all know is the 20th year since the attacks of September 11th, 2001 and those attacks no matter what who you believe did it. So you could believe there was been that in his crew. You believe it was the Mossad, CIA inside job. Whatever you believe it was terrible and it was a crime and it has affected the world. And in a sense in many unprecedented ways is led to two very destructive wars from this country. One which is ended a little earlier. One phase of the war in Iraq and Syria ended and but a new phase began. The new phase is aerial bombardment or what they're mentioning now for Afghanistan war from over the horizon by robotic drones and it's it's ironic that the last act of that phase of the war was and a family of 10 people seven children being wiped out by a hellfire missile sent from a predator drone and I say that just to say that's the opening salvo and the new phase of the war in Afghanistan. We pray that a lot has mercy on the Afghan people and that there's peace and stability that our sisters are able to continue and the pursuits that they were involved in. Now while the spirit of the sharia brings great blessings to all men women children safety security peace and unity inshallah to the great muslim land of Afghanistan home of so many of our great scholars and personalities very beautiful and tough resilient people it's a lot higher bless them but but those two wars and over a million dead muslims all are rooted in the events of september 11th and that's about as controversial as i'm going to get someone said don't be controversial because it's a it's a time of remembrance for the american people i found that strange because i thought we're we're the american people also as if you know it's us and the american people and that that argument my dear brothers and sisters that argument is old and it prevents us from having those difficult conversations that's going to move this country forward that's what they said after this september 11th the tax no don't get too controversial don't talk about american foreign policy because american people are mourning so well that means i'm mourning too so i'll be affected by whatever anything is said so it's it's it's inexcusable that we can't have that conversation it's inexcusable that anything that would go against the false narrative of make america great again like again why a false narrative because it's either great for all of us or it's great for none of us and great again implies native american genocide so it wasn't so great for the native people it implies slavery and all of its brutality the african-american community implies here on the west coast uh chinese uh being hunted down like dogs 18 killed in one day in one of these west coast cities i forget which one maybe port in oregon it implies japanese internment and so it's either great for all of us or it's great for none of us definitely it's been good there's no doubt about that but we want to see our country be great and unless and until we're able to have those difficult conversations unless and until we're able to recognize that there's more than one story making up the american experience we won't be great we'll be good but we won't be great and we want to see our country be great there are many effects we can look at uh on the american muslim community itself as a result of the attacks on 9 11 one thing it there there are things we can look at in a positive sense and there are things we can look at in a negative sense and one of the positive thing things is that it led to many people who are involved in andawa and islamic work stepping back and examining the effectiveness of their approach so a lot of the rhetoric was delusional and so we had you had groups talking about khilafah here in america this was caliph caliph caliph caliphonia and things like that and without taking into any account just the difficulty of major societal change the hard it was for the prophets of the light of selim and a pre-modern society with a relatively small population to affect change against the arab as the messenger of Allah so how difficult would it be in a major complex massive country complicated country like the united states to affect meaningful societal change with no media resources to speak of no political capital at all to speak of no means to affect the popular culture to speak of and we could go down the mist and so september 11th in a in a sense was a wake-up call for many people and helped include myself some of us to reassess what it really really takes to change a society for the better it's easy to change it for the worse we see the consequences of many calculated efforts to change the country for the worse coming to fruition and it's not just on the on the side of the right wing we could point to trump and the forces that produce trump and most importantly the forces that produce the people who would vote in large numbers for a figure like donald trump and we need to look no further than the quran a lot highly reminds us in the quran look at that he can thus do we put some oppressors over others because of what the people themselves have earned so as a society we we earned donald trump and so many of us including muslims some muslims are are given to vulgar speech so when someone like a trump comes along with the vulgar language and boorish behavior yeah i like that guy that guy got my vote because he's just like me and we were talking earlier uh more relevant to the topic uh trump in a certain extent to a certain extent is a product of 9 11 and that's one consequence of 9 11 and that that that divide between those who want to fight a war on terror and those who want to take a more reason and balanced and just approach to the problems that were seen as producing those events and so that divide grew and grew and grew as the brutality the torture the wars got more and more uh entrenched into the national psyche the divisions became further and further entrenched until you get the severe polarization that culminated not with trump's election but with trump's exit where the polarization really came to a head to such an extent that half of the country says trump should be in jail for citing an insurrection and half of the country says how could you dare accuse trump he didn't do anything that was a peaceful rally and muslims are interwoven with that because for the first time in our history coming out of september 11 anti islam became a significant plank in the platform of one of the two major political parties anti islam and anti islam as a policy you're all familiar with the recent confessions of the fbi agent who and they were spying at zaytuna then zaytuna institute infiltrated and he was so outraged about how the fbi was transformed from a law enforcement agency and to an intelligence agency set up to spy on muslims set up to turn a blind eye to the demonization of muslims formally the fbi was fighting against organizations like the kufats clan how many of you saw the movie black clansmen mashallah right you know the law enforcement enforcement is infiltrating the clan that was at a local level but this was happening at a federal level and so it was a law enforcement agency it was turned into an intelligence agency to spy on the muslim community out of the mistaken belief that you have sleeper cells we're working for al-qaeda embedded in american society and they had to be weeded out and the only way to weed them out was to use the kind of intelligence and counter insurgency tactics that are used against foreign countries but to use those against our own citizens and that's taken a toll in some segments of the community uh recently some of you probably saw the the suicide report that was featured on mpr i mean if you saw that american muslims i don't know which american muslims they talk to are twice as likely as members of other religious communities to commit suicide and when the main driver that kept coming up over and over again was islamophobia and islamophobia and its uh current iteration comes directly out of 9 11 there was an opportunity for these groups to capitalize on the national fear and the hysteria resulting from those attacks to gain the financing necessary to traumatize large swaths of our community you can't do that easily and you can't do that cheaply but in the environment created by 9 11 people willing to pay for it and you've seen the reports from care from our very own bay area you see berkeley zaytona college doctor hatham bezian the studies of just how much money was being spent by these organizations to spy on the muslims to incarcerate muslims the initial dragnets to deport muslims and so the community are aspects of our community were traumatized may Allah give us tofiq and may Allah help us to deal with this climate so here we're going to shift gears because we could talk all night about what went wrong we could talk all night about the policy implications we can talk all night about the impact on muslims the radicalization of some of our youth comes out of 9 11 because a natural reaction many young people are rebellious and if an innocent person is told like you're a criminal you're a terrorist you're going to have some that say okay if you want me to be a terrorist i'm going to show you what a terrorist is it's sort of a human reaction and so that comes out of 9 11 so you have americans going overseas and joining al qaida going overseas joining isis or going to join some group in pakistan some of that jayshalli muhammad or this or that jayshad qayyaba this is a natural reaction for some people especially young people were very idealistic and when those ideals are shattered some people reconstruct an idealistic vision in less than desirable ways and so we could talk about all of that but what i want to do is shift gears and to just talk about how the original islamic community the community of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam as captured in the Quran and the sunnah how did they deal with the climate that they faced the climate of hatred the climate of fear and so islamic phobia fear and the terms extremely debatable because phobia is in irrational fear but if you see people who are captured in their most barbaric you see oh here's the taliban they're taking oh you see a guy with hair all over the place with a turban on his head hair flying everywhere face scowled up with an ak-47 if you're scared of that that's a rational fear that's not a phobia so be that as it is the the the climate is one that's driven by fear and the the the koresh one of the objectives was to instill fear in the hearts of the Muslims through the torture of the Muslims the persecution of the Prophet himself sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to exploit the power differential that existed between the Muslims and the koresh what what got them through that one thing that got them through that were a reminder exactly what it means to be a believer and we need to be reminded in our day and our time in the post 9 11 environment we're still believers and what does it mean to be a believer in the face of fear so there's a verse in the Quran that reminds us of that exact thing and so this is after two verses for that which is relevant and explaining this verse those who the people said that all of the forces are gathering against you right this the post 9 11 environment that the christian right is gathering against you the zionists are gathering against you the clan and the skinheads and the Aryan nation you're the new enemies they're all gathering against you they're not worried about african-americans and jews anymore they want muslims they said all of these forces are gathering against you fear them tazad ahum imana it only increased their faith why didn't increase their faith because when they realized all the forces are gathering against you we can't go to this tribe they're joining the koresh we can't go to that tribe they're joining the koresh we can't go to this we can't go to that the only one we can turn to is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and when they turn to Allah with sincerity and total dependence on Allah it energize their faith it restore their faith it renew their faith it strengthen their faith and this is the first step for us dear brothers and sisters the first step for us is to strengthen our faith because we are a faith community and if not we are nothing at all if not a faith community we're nothing at all and as the faith erodes in the face of fear in the face of envy in the face of arrogance in the face of superiority then we end up like other people worse so we'll end up with suicide rates like people who have no faith we'll end up with divorce rates like people who have no faith we'll end up with young people running away from religion like the young people in other communities are running away from religion because faith is our foundation and so the first thing that allowed that community to overcome that climate of fear that climate of persecution that led to the two migrations to avesinia to ethiopia and then the great migration to medina it was faith that that of imana and that increase in faith as opposed to a decrease was rooted in their turning to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because they realized there is no where else to turn and so as we muslims our community realizes there is nowhere else to turn a lot of people think you turn to the left the democratic party but as soon as you stand up and not follow them they'll they'll be just as anti muslim as the republicans you can bank on it if you say i'm a muslim and i i i really appreciate your environmental policies because we have a real climate crisis the west coast with the droughts and the fires the east coast with the hurricanes and the rain and the floods i appreciate that but as a muslim i can't get down with the lgpt qi plus agenda see how long they'll like you then and so what the muslims do compromise our principles where i am down with the agenda okay good muslim you're acceptable but manifest your islamic values and see how see how far you get the point is we are people of faith and it is our faith that will pull us through and our faith will be increased when we turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and ways great and small to re reconnect with the quran not just reading it reciting it it's beautifully recited in the magrid prayer and here in the introduction to this talk we're reading it the translation in a language that you understand so that the meaning begins to shape your consciousness there's tremendous benefit in reading quran and arabic but if you don't understand the arabic language that recitation will uplift your soul that recitation will bring comfort to your heart but that recitation will not give you an understanding of the rich philosophical ethical intellectual heritage that's rooted in the quran in the quranic message rather so we have to get in touch with the message that's what increases our our faith because the message connects us to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his messenger sallallahu alaihi wa sallam we have to learn to cry right for many of us our tears have dried and many of us our eyes our hearts have become so cold that they cannot communicate a message to our eyes to shed tears we have to soften our hearts how do we soften our hearts barely the remembrance of Allah brings tranquility to our heart and the tranquility comes through the softening of the heart and that renders our hearts more receptive to the message and that receptivity translates what is the heart of the message what is the dominant theme of the quranic message i'll give you a clue every chapter starts with it except one mercy mercy is at the heart of the quranic message and when the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was shedding tears after the the death of his son ibraheem and another occasion the death of a child amongst the sahaba the name escapes me right now and some of the companions said what's this old messenger of Allah you're the messenger of Allah you're crying he said these tears are mercy which Allah has placed in the heart of his merciful servants and so we have to soften our hearts and when our hearts are soft and they become more merciful and when they become more merciful they become the the conduit that connects to the all merciful the merciful people are the ones they all merciful will show mercy to and so these are the things that we have to do and these things will open our hearts these things will be the foundation for our faith increasing we have to move beyond fear so they they they connected with Allah ta'ala and they place their trust and their dependency on Allah ta'ala because all the hosts that were gathering against them they couldn't turn to them they're all gathering against you so there's no one for you except Allah and so they fled to Allah the fear of Allah flee to Allah and in fleeing to Allah they realized this is the source of our trust this is the source of our salvation this is the source of our of our escaping our condition as the next sentence affirms and they said Allah surprises us what an excellent one to entrust our fear to and so brothers and sisters when we do those things necessary to strengthen our faith and then when on that basis we turn to Allah and we acknowledge that Allah is the most excellent for us excellent one for us to entrust our fair to then our burden will be lifted the fear will be gone the low will be lighter the the confidence in our religion in our community will be stronger and we'll begin to do those great things that those who preceded us they did one of the lessons from the aftermath of 9 11 that we should always reflect on always reflect on is that it wasn't the end of the world this large blessing for the muslim community did it happen before after 9 11 happen nine afterwards the climate wasn't so anti muslim that muslims couldn't do this this zaytuna college did it happen before after 9 11 after 9 11 and you can go down the list sisters are still wearing hijab and there might be an isolated incident here or there but sisters you've been attacked lady anyone throw or throw anything that you lately tried to pull your scarf off and so this this lesson brothers and sisters is critically important 9 11 was not the end of the world and I say that to say this those who preceded us they faced situations that very well could have led to them saying this is the end of the world when the monger horde swept across the heartlands of Islam leaving millions of people dead stacking up the the the heads and pyramids when they left the town or village to to strike fear into the hearts of any survivors that might see it did that destroy Islam it did not why didn't it destroy Islam because those people who survived they have faith they had so much faith that they could look those mongol conquerors the descendants of ganas Khan and his children he could they could look them in the eye and they could say you need a slam after their lands their villages have been decimated you need a slam and so they never lost confidence in their religion they never doubted and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and as a result within two or three generations they brought those conquerors into Islam and a lot of you are Muslims to that are witness to that because you have the very name of those conquerors you're all cons so if on those circumstances they could retain their religion if under those circumstances they could have so much confidence in their religion that they can bring the people conquered them into that religion what excuse do we have under the circumstances we're confronted with what circumstances what excuse do we have not to have confidence what excuse do we have to blame Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala what excuse do we have to be committing suicide what excuse do we have to be filled with fear and a verse later where is that fear coming from that is satan he instills the fear of his dupes into you fear them not rather fear me if indeed you are believers goes back to faith if indeed you are believers and so brothers and sisters after this 20 year period of challenges hardships difficulties struggles let us return to our faith with confidence let us return to a good opinion of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala let us return to the tranquility and the peace and the calm that emanates from a heart that's in touch with the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala let us return to the remembrance of Allah let us fill our homes with the remembrance of Allah and all of his manifestations with Quran awrad abqar awrad mentioned that fill let let these fill our homes let us come to the masjid to learn to be in communion with our brothers and sisters to to show people that we are forging on that we're still here that we're not going anywhere and that we will be a great community we started with greatness and make America great again and we'll end with greatness we can contribute to making America great not again for the first time because as a community we are multiracial we have our issues but we're a community you come you see people from all backgrounds you see african-american converts european-american converts you see increasingly latino converts you see south asians you see central asians you see arabs you see all people africans senegalese sudanese all gathered together and brought together into one family the family of la ilaha illallah alhamdulillah and this can teach our country that brotherhood and sisterhood is possible you see our community with relatively small numbers but doing great things in terms of charity assisting how many millions of dollars are raised from our community for organizations like islamic relief and helping hands and penny appeal and this this one and that one just to provide relief for muslims and people increasing in this country islamic relief is in uh in new orleans they were there after katrina they were there after the tornadoes and kansas and the midwest during the tornado season and showing people muslims are extremely charitable extremely charitable and in an age where someone like ayn ran can be a best-selling author who advances a philosophy that altruism is an evil and bio characteristic that one should avoid that's the heart of her philosophy altruism is bad to think of others before thinking of yourself for prioritize others prioritize your own interest is bad this is called ethar this is called sadaqa this is called zakat this is again at the heart of islamic teachings and at a time when many americans are moving away from that our community can demonstrate that this is still a living viable approach to life we can teach so many lessons yes we have problems but alcoholism is in one of them our last year or the year before the global alcoholism study how many of you saw that all the countries plagued by alcohol all western nations countries where alcoholism is one percent pakistan bangladesh though you have some western educated luli people having their petty worthless parties drinking alcohol and acting like their brits but the overwhelming majority of the people 99 percent of the people those out in the villages up in the mountains there's no alcohol in their lives this is something we can show and demonstrate and contribute to making this country great giving priority to others you know what was driving the the right wing movement towards heightened degrees of xenophobia fear of strangers heightened degrees of racial based exclusion a lot of it is just selfishness anti-immigrant sentiments if you read our the hawks child we had it part of our book club at zaytona college strangers in their own land why did the tea party emerge and primarily older carcassian americans who feel or who are increasingly resentful because immigrants who are getting government assistance cut the line who's helping us who's helping us and that resentment grows until it becomes the foundation of a political movement what do we know what do we muslim see as one of the foundations of our society of our politics who those who inhabited the land those ensar who were their Medina first well iman and they gained faith so again faith is central they love those who migrated to them so love is important america will never be great until all of us love each other even if it's at a basic fundamental human level because we recognize all of us muslim jews christians atheists hindu buddhists all of us have been ennobled by allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we have been noble of the human being are we allowed to mutilate people in a battlefield like hamza radi Allahu anhu was mutilated can muslims then turn around and do that to people who are muslim no we can't why can't we because even that dead non muslim person has a basic dignity afforded to him or her by allah subhanahu wa ta'ala their creator and that human dignity can't be violated by mutilating their corpse so if that of just a basic fundamental human level we can show that we love people that we care about their well-being you have grown them and had your ileyhim and they find no agitation in the hearts of what others were given we're saying they're cutting the line they're getting food stamps from my tax dollars you're getting medicare medicaid from your tax dollars tax breaks best besides the point but resentment over what others are given why are we spending millions not billions millions of dollars on witch women and infants and children women infants and children why are they getting discount on milk no one's giving me discount i work hard what is the what is the foundation of the muslim community they find no agitation in their hearts based on what others are given and they give preference to others they let them take it i would prefer they have it while no canada be him khasasa even though they themselves were suffering from poverty i do need it but they needed more i do need it but i'm a single guy they have children those kids need this i can survive this is what we can teach our country at this very critical and crucial time or we cannot allow the division the hatred the bitterness the resentment that has been exacerbated by what happened on september 11 2001 to fester until it grows and becomes malignant and spreads throughout our body politic and threatens the very foundation of our union the choice in terms of what we do as a community that choice is ours brothers and sisters and we pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blesses us to make the right choice blesses us to make the courageous choice blesses us to make the morally and ethically sound choice bless us to make the choice that will be pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala our lord so may Allah bless you may Allah bless SBIA may Allah bless all of you for taking time from your at the end of a very busy week you're tired and you could be home unwinding and relaxing but you chose to come here may Allah bless you for that and reward you you pray that what we mentioned can be of some benefit to you and as they say ila liqa until we meet again