By: Shourouk Abdalla

I am instantly scared of the backlash on Muslims worldwide after the explosions in Paris. I’m already seeing Muslim friends of mine asking their Facebook friends to not correlate these attacks with Muslims or Islam. It is not even confirmed yet that ‘ISIS’ committed these attacks, and they probably did but please dear friends know that you DO NOT have to defend yourself. You alone should be living proof to your friends that terrorism has nothing to do with your religion.

I’d like to believe that the world is past this silly “jihadist, extreme Muslims” rhetoric but it’s not. So it makes sense to automatically want to share that the religion of Islam has nothing to do with this. However do so in a more strategic way. Help them get passed what the media doesn’t want the general viewers to get passed. Help them question what the government doesn’t want the general public to know. Ask them to think critically before being feed into media/gov prescribed islamaphobia. Inform them that “ISIL” has been terrorizing Muslims in Syria and Iraq since the group miraculously formed. Ask them to do research on the “history” of ISIS. Or it’s relation to various western governments and what could a world power benefit from these groups. Ask them to consider the fact that these extreme terrorist groups could be an inevitable result of European colonization. Colonization that has lead to a deteriorated Middle East region. Colonization that has instigated and manipulated wars among neighboring countries and created self-hate among these people through western supremacy and neo-colonialism. Colonization that has made these people dependent on the West in order to survive. Ask them to try to understand where it’s coming from and why. We can’t act surprised when there are terrorists attacks among western nations when years ago these countries were the attackers first. It is what it is and that still is no excuse for any type of attack.

Now if your friends need proof from Muslim religious scholars that the Quran doesn’t teach this then tell them to search the internet! Simple as that. There are thousands of religious leaders & scholars who have publically denounced the actions of these terrorist groups and have provided proof as well as what Islam says on the topics of killings, murder etc.

On to another important note.  #PrayforBeirut. #PrayforYemen. #PrayforSyria. #PrayforNumerousAfricanCountries… the list is endless.

Yes, pray for them all. If you only begin to mourn once it’s a trend on social media that all your friends jumped onto or because it’s all over the news then please be concerned for your own being. Very little were going to talk about Lebanon if it wasn’t for Paris. At least we’re getting somewhere however do note that selective mourning and sympathy is offensive and these attacks in Paris should be a reminder of the horrific events going on in the world and a wake up call for everyone, ESPECIALLY  to ISIS.

To friends who say it is not fair that people only care about France when things like this happen everyday. Indeed it is sad that everyone gets a quick update about horrific attacks only when it’s in a first world country and all the other countries get kicked aside. However it is fair for French to care about France as it is for Arabs to care about the Arab world. What makes it not fair is the controlled media that gets to pick and choose what to share and what to hype up. I HIGHLY suggest that everyone finds their own trustworthy source of information for global ongoings and stray away from government/power controlled media & news outlets. I stopped watching television years ago for a reason. While it is unclear why there is a constant series of terror and unfortunatee events all I have to say is that we must stay awake and keep an eye out for the source of everything.

The perpetrators of these horrendous attacks must be held accountable, apprehended, and brought to justice. Those brutal murders will have to answer to the One who created them. So even if there is no justice in this world, I find my comfort knowing that. “ “

*To my friends in Paris please mark yourself safe on Facebook or message me, I’m deeply concerned about your safety…

*To friends who don’t know, over 50 were killed in the “Paris of the Middle East.” Beirut, Lebanon.

#NoToTerrorism

By: Shourouk Abdalla

Personally, before entering Depaul I have always been a person who questions ‘what must be done’. A person who fights injustices in everyday situations. This is an Islamic principle that I have grown to know very well, the Prophet PBUH said if you see something wrong, fix it with your hand, and if you cant fix it with your hand, speak of it with your tongue, and if you can’t do that, dislike it inside your heart and that is the weakest of faith. So as a Muslim we must oppose evil in an active and principled nuanced way, we must actively help, assist, and figure out ‘what must be done’. And this is the question St. Vincent spent his life answering. St. Vincent’s faith gave him a vision of how the world should look, in much of the same way so does Islam, therefore acting upon faith is a common ground and can invite anyone of all faiths and backgrounds to the Vincentian family and its values.

This reminds me of a Quick story: when the Prophet PBUH saw a man in a street and asked the man he was with, what do you think of this man, the man he was with responded by saying he is the noblestest of men and any woman would take his hand in marriage in a heartbeat. He later asked another man, ‘what do you think of this man’ and the man said this man?! He is the poorest of all muslims, and no women would ever accept his hand in marriage, no woman would ever consider him for marriage and he also added that no one will ever listen to him when he speaks because he is not worth listening too. Then the prophet pbuh said this man has more value than the noblest man and the entire mighty earth combined than to the wealthy man you compare him to.
Only today I realized that this is a Vincentian value. What I like about St. Vincent is that he didn’t like the statuesque, he saw countless men, women, infants and children living at the margins, people who had gone hungry, people experiencing homelessness, victims of war, orphaned children, and elderly left alone, people who did not receive adequate health care, no educational, employment, or economical opportunities. And so he tried to work upon that and figure out ‘what must be done’.

So this all inspires me, and reassures me I’m on some right path in my career and life.

You don’t have to be an activist to uphold this, just think of St.Vincents values within every day actions. Actively do good. Teaches you how to lead.