 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا وحديب قلوبنا للقاصل المصطحة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وحمد الله وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين وأصحابه المنتجبين ومن تبعهم للإحسان وإيمان إلى المدين أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الذين إمكانناهم في الأرض أقاموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاة وأمروا بالمعروف ومهوا عن المنكري ولله عقبات الأمور صلى الله عليه وعلي today I'd like to speak about our responsibilities towards our countries and our societies towards the land that we live in. في مدينة المنطقة التي يجب علينا. مدينة المنطقة التي يجب علينا. في الإسلام ، المدينة of the love of the country ومدينة of the land ومدينة المنطقة التي يتعامل فيهولي قرآن ومدينة المدينة من محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم. ونحن نرى أن حب الوطن من الإيمان ونحن نتعامل ونحن نتعامل للمدينة المنطقة ونحن نتعامل للمدينة المنطقة. This is part of faith, part of being a good believer, a good worshiper. A good worshiper is the one who cares not only about his family but his land and his country and his society. Where is your land? I think for us the Muslims who are living here in America, now this is our home. Many of us have been born in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, North Africa. Many of us are immigrants who came to this country many years ago. Some of you are second generation, third generation. But since you live and you consider this part of the world as your home, then this is your water. This is your country. And Imam Ali has something beautiful. He says, خير البلاد, what is the best home for you? Which one is the best home? He answers this. He says خير البلاد محملك, لا محملك. The best land, the best home, your real country is the land that embraces you and caters for you and protects you and respects you. لا محملك. Not the land that tortures you or burdens you. Don't call the land that tortures you a home. But the land that embraces you receives you, provides you with peace, with security, with food, with the clothing, with education, with equality, with dignity, with respect. This is your home. This is your home. In Islam we consider the land not only the land where we were born in any land that you can live peacefully in it we consider it home. We consider it home. And therefore the home we have obligations and responsibilities towards our home. In the same way that we receive from this home, we receive benefits. Our children they receive benefits. They grow here they learn here, they go to school here they get a job here we make an income, decent income here. Therefore we have responsibilities. What are the responsibilities? I put them in a few points. The most important responsibility we have towards the home and in this case here in America. Your home is America now. Yes, it's okay to have two homes. You say my home is in the Middle East and I have a second home. But since you live here and most of you are the citizens of this land. This is your home. In this case the first responsibility is not to exploit this country this society. Not to mishandle, not to abuse or misuse this country. We have to respect this country. We have to have a sense of belonging. Number one duty we have is to take care of the natural resources that God has given us. Some of them are in the earth, down. Some of them are above the earth. We have to take care of them. Some of them, some of it is an oil reserve. Some of it is fishery. Some of it is livestock. Some of it is crops. Some of it are beaches, deserts the soil, the air. We have to take care of it. National parks. We have to preserve. God says these are the trust. He created you in this land. He wants you to build it. So take care of it. These are national treasures and we the Muslims should be the pioneers in preserving them. Preserving the soil preserving the sea the beaches the deserts the air We have to take care of the environment. Remember I spoke about a Muslim, good Muslim being at the same time when you are a good Muslim you have to be an environmentalist to take care of the environment the environment anything around you the environment it could be human beings in your neighborhood, in your community physical objects you have to take care of it the greenery you have to make your city beautiful this is not only the job of the city or the mayor the job of every citizen to keep his neighborhood clean and fortunately let me share this with you I traveled extensively in America I have seen over 40 states and I go and I visit Muslim neighborhoods and fortunately the majority of them they don't live in good neighborhoods or at least they don't take care of their neighborhoods the vast majority of them whereas I believe if we want to say we are Muslims we are proud of our Islam and our Islam is a good religion the first thing we should do before thinking of the prayers of fasting is to take care of your neighborhood the safety the security the cleanliness the prosperity of your neighborhood of your street make your house the best house take care of it cleanliness neatness being organized his faith is an act of faith an act of religion an act of belief so we have to take care of our neighborhoods if there is something wrong in the neighborhood in your street you have to be the first one you have to be the first one to take the initiative to go and fix it to go and clean it take care of the land you live in make it a beautiful land do you know that one day the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he noticed that some of the companions around him they don't shower they don't clean themselves they don't clean the grass he was somehow angry he said to them listen do you know that when you don't clean yourself when you don't when you don't when you don't angels are not going to get close to you they are going to fan them off keep them away from you so don't do that and even in the mosque when you don't clean yourself and you go to the mosque the holy Quran says when you go to the mosque when you go to the mosque you have to wear your zina your ornaments the best dress the best perfume and the zina here has two meanings one of them is this this is zina what you wear the second is the akhla the manos also is something attractive so when you go to the masjid be in a good mood be smiling, be forgiving be accommodating in the mosque and the ornaments so he said to his companions if you don't clean yourself and you don't clean your homes then the angels are not going to get close to you you are keeping them away from you so try to take care of these thoughts this is number one number one point we live in a country we have to make that country beautiful you live in a city you live in a neighborhood your neighborhood has to be has to look organized and beautiful and you have to take care of everything do not pollute we Muslims we should not pollute there is a sign that I always like when I see it on the freeway it says there is a one thousand dollar penalty for glittering I wish we can have these signs in Arab countries and Muslim countries I wish we don't have it unfortunately this is how we keep your country beautiful this is how we keep your country beautiful the sign of faith is a cleanness if they take you somewhere it's not a clean it means faith is missing even if people pray ten times a day so we have to be the leaders the pioneers we have to be the leaders in this world to teach our children to teach the young generation that take care of this country sometimes the pollution is in the air we have to ask our family members if you don't if the drive this is drive this right it's not necessary you don't do it because you are contributing into the air pollution when you use your vehicle if you don't need it you have to use the family members you have to carpool rather than driving three vehicles going to the same destination we carpool to save to save the environment to protect the environment sometimes the pollution is in the water sometimes the pollution is noise pollution have you been to some capitals I don't want to mention the names of these capitals you can't sleep during the night even if you live in it in the best hotel if you go to the best hotel and you close the windows still you can't sleep because of the noise pollution this is not good it's not good for your health neither good for the physical health nor the mental health Allah says no noise pollution time to keep it down try to respect the environment respect others respect your neighbors if you have neighbors close to you those neighbors have to be very satisfied with you a neighbor in your neighborhood should say those are real Muslims because they are so clean they are so disciplined they don't make any sort of pollution no noises this is Islam and nothing else that's the byproduct of the genuine faith is to be good in your community an element of goodness an element of خير الذين امكنناهم في الأرض أقاموا الصلاة وقاتا و الزكات and then و أمروا بالمعروف they enjoy everything that is good و نهو عن المنكة and they forbid everything which is bad or evil that's the real Islam so this is number one the second duty that we have towards our countries is civic engagement political activism every single Muslim male or female have to be an activist in their societies political activists I'll give you an example of how to be a political activist you have to participate in the political life unfortunately Muslims in America their number is not small some people put the number at 7 million 8 million probably 10 million I don't know we don't have an exact census but when it comes to the political arena the political life they are missing therefore the candidates be it local or fiddle state or fiddle be it the president or others they don't care about the Muslims why because they know that they don't go to the ballot box although they are citizens and some of them they've been in this country for 50 years they don't care about the political process and this is not good in America if you want to be respected if you want the politician to respect you and listen to you you have to go to the ballot box you have to cast your vote they should know that you are a voting power your vote counts and I spoke to many congressmen they tell me sometimes we win by a very small margin probably only 20 votes 20 votes not 200 determine our future because the contest is so close between the contenders and one of them wins by only 20 votes it sends him to the congress so you have to ask your family members your friends that this is my fate I am a taxpayer in America I am a citizen I have to decide my fate Islam says you have to decide your fate wherever you live you have to have a voice you have to have a say you have to change we always ask the Americans please do this for us help us don't do that but when it comes to us we don't do anything they ask us where is your vote you know when you go and meet someone he says how many people listen to you how many of your people in your community they cast their votes how many what do you tell them do you lie do you tell them all my people go no I am not going to stop on that you are respected if you have a voice if you vote you will be a good citizen they consider you they respect you they listen to you but if not nobody is going to listen nobody is going to listen there is no participation and then when we go and vote we have to vote for the best not only the best for the Muslims the best for the American people some people say I am going to vote for someone who only respect the Muslims no I am not going to do that myself I am going to vote for someone who respects the American people we are part of the humanity we are part of the humanity we should not judge the candidates by only one dimension or two one aspect if he is pro Palestine pro Arabs then I am going to vote for him if not I am not going to vote for him we have to look at that person is he serving America the interest of America the interest of the people of America there are 320 million Americans so we should not be narrow minded and only we focus on our own narrow interests and we forget about others we should go for the one who respects the will of the majority of the Americans someone who advocates healthcare you know how many Americans they don't have health insurance here in this country the best hospitals the best clinics the best doctors but still some people can't afford going to see a doctor we have to advocate this we have to advocate good education we have to advocate fighting crime we have to advocate justice for all in particular for the black people in this country reforms and the police force these are national issues that we must participate in them you are part of this country your children are going to grow here and even if you want to take them back home they say no sorry you go home I stay here this is my home this is my land this is my future this is a fact this is a fact so you have to build your future today I let a disturbing survey in the CNN that Muslims in France they make 10% of the population 10% is a huge number you know the French are always almost 60 million people 10% of them it means 6 million people are Muslims they make 10% of the population but they also make 70% of the population in the prisons 70% of those who are behind bars in the prisons 70% of them are Muslims is this Islam and most of them 99% of those who are behind bars they are there for criminal records theft burglary whatever why is this Islam how do you convince the French people that my religion is a peaceful religion 70% of the people in the prisons are Muslims how do you convince them that does not work we have to change ourselves Islam is a religion of real peace not just prayers some people believe in the 5 day prayers but when it comes to being peaceful with others they don't understand that most Muslims are hungry unfortunately I've been to France I've been to Germany I've been to certain mosques and I see how people fight after the prayers immediately as soon as they say as soon as they say they disrespect others they have no tolerance for other for other schools of thought this is not Islam Islam is a religion of inclusion Islam is a religion that says we have to respect people for being humans regardless of their culture regardless of their ideology we don't ask people tell me what is your madhab what is your religion what is your school of thought what is your nationality so I decide whether I respect you or I not we don't we respect self control and piety and consciousness Когда قد كرامنا بني أدم الله says in Chapter 17 bastante أدم are honored don't ask about their identity don't when he built the house and then the man camemi to get some food and było إبراهيم لأنه كان مجرد يترك. الله سبحانه وتعالى. this man I'm giving him food for 50 years. I never asked him about his religion. And you are interrogating him today because you are giving him a small mean. Give him, don't ask people about their religion. الله wants us to serve the humanity. Humanity. In the humanity there are some people who they consider themselves to be believers. Some of them are non-believers. They all go and stand before God on the Day of Judgement. We are not the judge. We should not judge people. We should embrace. This is exactly the sunnah of رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. صلى الله عليه وسلم. لذلك another political activism that we must get engaged in is discussion with your representatives. Let me ask you how many of you know your representative here in Elvine and Costa Mesa in Orange County? How many of you know the name of your representative in the Congress? Be honest with me. Raise your hand. Only one. By the way, Loretta Sanchez is going to come here on Thursday after tomorrow because she's running for the Senate now. She's a Congresswoman now and she's running for the Senate. And we said, okay, come here and we'll listen to her. She's a House Representative but she's running for the Senate. Instead of what's her name? Barbara Barclay. So you have to know your representative. You have to have a relationship with them. You have to invite them, speak to them. How do you want them to support Islam? Do you know I read a survey today again? It was in the paper that Islamophobia is on the rise in America. It's not declining. It's not going down. It's going up. And it is your responsibility and my responsibility to combat this. It's our responsibility. We don't ask a foreign country to come and help us. We are American citizens. We have to do something about it. God will ask me on the Day of Judgement. What did you do? You lived in America for 30 years. We had a good income, good house, good car, children, you raised family. What did you do for Islam in the West? Islam in America. It's our responsibility. If Islamophobia is on the rise, then I'm guilty. I'm not doing well. We have to combat that. I know it's because of ISIS. I know because of what is happening in the Middle East. But we have a duty here of fixing this situation. We have to fix it. And we fix it through getting to know others. You know why most Americans, they don't accept Islam? They are suspicious about Islam. When they are asked, why are you suspicious about Islam? Do you know any Muslims? They say, no, we don't know Muslims. They only read about Islam. They watch TV. But they don't know a Muslim. If they get to know you and you invite them and you have a good relationship with them. They say, no, I don't believe this is right. Because I know I have a Muslim friend, a Muslim neighbor who is doing well. Who loves America. Who is serving America. He is serving his family. He is serving his country. This is the way you dispel these stereotypes. By forging good relationship, good friendship with your neighbors. The other thing that we can do, we can influence politics in this country is through interested groups. Interested groups, I'll give you an example. We have some Muslim interested groups. One of them is clear. One of them is impact. We have others. These interested groups, they introduce an initiative. An initiative on to the ballot. And they ask the government to introduce this so people vote on it. Propositions. You've heard about them. In regards to healthcare. In regards to education. To social issues. Even what happened two days ago in the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court when they legalized same sex marriage. It did not come from the president or it came from pressure groups. Interested groups. They introduced this bill. They put the pressure. They lobbied. They went after it. Day and night. They garnered support. And then they won. In America if you have a cause. Even if that cause is bad. But if you have supporters. If you garnered some support. You can win. It's not about the truth or falsehood here. It's about who has strength. Who's working harder in this country. For the very first time in the history of America. A black man was able to be the president. This thing does not happen in France. Even in a half a billion years from now. Neither in Britain nor in Germany. But it happens in America. A land of opportunity. Because he took it serious. He said I want to be the president. And he took it serious. He went after it. He worked hard. He was able to accomplish that. It's a lesson for us. If the Muslims they sit. And they complain. Only complain. And they do nothing. They go to complain for the rest of their life. And nothing will change. But if the Muslims as God says in the Quran. In Namma hala yuwayyu wa bi'awmin hatta yuwayyu. And they entrust in him. They have to go after it. We have to encourage our children. To be advocates. To be activists. We only encourage them to go to medical school. To law school. To be lawyers. To be physicians. How many of you encourage your children to be a reporter? A journalist. A filmmaker. A politician. Run for the city. Run for the council. The other day the city council of Costa Mesa invited me To give the benediction in the beginning of their session. When the mayor comes and the city council they come. They eat something. So they invited the Muslim to eat something from the Quran. So I went there. They respected all of them white Americans. Some of them are Christians. Some of them are Jews. For the very first time. And Muslim Imam of this turbine. He comes and they have to respect you. And I was reading from the Quran. And how I started with this ayah. إنه أكرمكم عنده. يا أيها الناس وإنه خلفناكم من ذكر المؤنثة. وجهناكم شعوباً وقبادلة لتعرف. And you get to know each other. To respect each other. To learn from each other. Not to despise each other. Not to fight against each other. It made a lot of sense. So they came to me. They said asking people to come and participate in these sessions. You have to go and listen. You are a citizen here. They are deciding things on your behalf. And you are absent. And this is not good. You have to go there. You have to have a voice. Unless we take this initiative. We are not going to succeed. Again. This is our land. This is our country. We have duties. And we have responsibilities. To empower our families. To empower Islam. But through these channels. Not through yelling and shouting. And being angry. Not through asking for Sharia. We want Sharia. We want Quran. And then they come to my house. My house is this organized. I know nothing about my kids. This is not good. This is not going to work. We struggle. But through the legal reasonable challenge. Once we do that. We are going to succeed. I assure you in 20-30 years. If the Muslims work hard. They are going to be dignified. Then Islamophobia is going to go down. Then no one is going to dare. To threaten any Muslim. Or look down at any Muslim. In this country. The same thing that the Jews did. The Jews when they came here. They were despised. Disrespected. Some of the shops. They did not allow. No blacks. No Jews. Even America. But they worked hard. They worked hard. And look at what they achieved now. We can do the same. We can learn from the same experience. اللهم خر المؤمنين والمؤمنات. والمسلمين والمسلمات. الأحياء منهم والأموات. تابع لهم بيننا. و بينهم بالخيرات. اللهم وحد كلمة المسلمين. على الخير والبرل والصلاح والتقوة. يا أرحم الراحمين. اللهم أحمد الفتنة في بلاد المسلمين. في اليمن. في سوريا. في العراق. و تصرهم على أعداء الإنسانية. و أعداء الدين. يا أرحم الراحمين. و أن على مرضانا في الشفاء والعافية. و عجل في فرد سيدنا. و مولانا صاحب الأصلي والزبان. و إلى الواحن مؤمنين والمؤمنات والشهداء. تواب الفاتح مع الصلاة. على محمل والمحمل.