Assalaamu-alaikum,
The need for positive press coverage for Muslims is vitally important. Alhamdulillah the work of MCCT has shone the light on the importance of this work again:
Local Muslims seek to serve humanity, be a voice of moderation
Published: January 14, 2015 | Last Modified: January 14, 2015 11:43AM
By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
For Berlin resident Dr. Reza Mansoor, his faith is a large source of inspiration that pushed him to consider a career in medicine. One translation of a verse that the Hartford Hospital cardiologist said inspired his interest in medicine reads, “To save a life would be as great a virtue as to save all of mankind.”
Mansoor is not alone in taking inspiration from his religion, Islam. According to Cornell University, 42.7 percent of American Muslims, such as him, hold an advanced degree and one in 10 is a physician or medical doctor.
Mansoor serves as president of the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, which is based in Berlin. He is also a founding member of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, an organization that seeks to serve its faith through social activism and community service as well as to educate the public about one of the less well understood faith communities in the state.
The group was “founded by some of the local leaders realizing that the actions of extremists had resulted in unfair stereotyping of Muslims,” the MCCT website reads.
“We wanted to live Islam through what the Quran asks us to do,” Mansoor said. “The Quran asks us to be aware and to serve humanity. That is the way you serve God… (it is) a form a worship.”
Local Muslims join members of other faiths to participate regularly in service at soup kitchens, including Mercy Shelter in Hartford and the Friendship Center in New Britain. Local Muslims also participate in Habitat for Humanity’s House of Abraham Program, which brings together Muslims, Jews, and Christians who share Abraham as a common religious figure.
Muslims also participate in the Foodshare Walk Against Hunger in Hartford every year. Mansoor said the community has welcomed service from Muslims. For example, the walk accommodates the Muslims’ midday prayer, which falls during the Foodshare program. All three faith leaders participate in an interfaith prayer, followed by the Muslims’ midday prayer, after which the walk goes on.
In the media, “you hear that Islam is a violent religion,” Mansoor said, but for him Islam is a religion that condemns violence; he cites a scripture that compares killing a person to “killing all of humanity.” Mansoor also said that Islam is not a religion opposed to free speech.
Local Muslims sought to spearhead efforts to hold a memorial service remembering victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on the 10thanniversary, and found their efforts welcomed by other local faith leaders, Mansoor said. The organization also recently posted a statement on its website condemning the attack by gunmen on the offices of the Parisian magazine Charlie Hebdo.
“I don’t think we should just blame the media,” for stereotypes of Muslims or the ways violent extremists are sometimes conflated with all Muslims, Mansoor said.
“We should try to make a difference in the community and allow people to ask us what Islam represents to us.”
One problem is that many people know very little about their Muslim neighbors in American communities. “Not only are we a minority community that is not well understood, we are a relatively new minority community in America,” Mansoor said.
“There are extremists in all faith communities, and we have our extremists,” Mansoor said. The Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, however, “actively tries to show the true calling of Islam, which is not only to serve humanity but to be a voice of moderation.”
According to Mansoor, moderation is an important tenet of his faith. “At all times, a Muslim should be thinking, ‘is this the middle course,’” avoiding extremism while also not becoming too lax in one’s faith, he said.
“This comes directly from the life of the prophet,” Mansoor said.
After the Islamic prophet Muhammad was forced to leave Mecca and settled in Medina, he drafted the constitution that would govern that community, which included local Jews as well as polytheists. “He formed the constitution of Medina, giving rights to women and to minorities, and this is hardly ever spoken about,” Mansoor said.
“Islam is very much a religion that asks you to go out and be part of the community and do service to the community,” Mansoor said.
For more information visit www.muslimcoalitionct.org/.