FEAR or FAITH

I remember my early summers in St. Louis. We lived in an apartment complex with a pool. Although, my parents were just making ‘ends-meet’, I thought the complex was the best neighborhood ever. My friends and I would venture to the pool everyday during the summers, take a break for lunch, then back till closing. We had a full-size pool, up to10 feet deep and a diving board. As a little guy, the diving board was the most intimidating, majestic and awe-striking part of the pool. It encapsulated everything about being a ‘man’ at the pool.

Shortly after I passed the test to swim in the deep end, my next goal was to conquer the diving board…but I was afraid. I had a friend who frequently dove off the board who encouraged me to take the jump. One day, she walked me up on the board, holding my hand, we both eased to the end. Looking below, all I saw was water, the unknown, my heart racing, I was filled with fear. My friend stepped back and said “jump, you’ll be okay!” I believed her but couldn’t muster the courage or the faith to jump.

In recalling this moment, I thought of the often paraphrased verse where Jesus says, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matt: 17-20. The faith of a mustard seed can move mountains!

Take a moment and reflect on yourself. When has fear won over faith? How much faith do you have? Many of us have had moments in our lives when we’ve looked down from our ‘diving board’ with more fear than faith. We hold tight to what’s familiar, tangible, reliable and not move forward with faith where the impossible becomes possible and our goals and dreams are realized.


In the Holy Quran, God is “the All-Knowing, the All-Aware” and states often, “It is I who provides.” We are reassured that God provides for us and knows what waits for us in the ‘pool’. Faith requires us to overcome our fear and move forward even when we are comfortable in our current condition or afraid of the unknown. When God gives us our visions and dreams He also makes the provision for their success but faith is required.


God reminds us, “Most surely in the heavens and the earth there are signs for the believers. And in your own creation and that of all the creatures which He spreads in the earth are Signs for a people who possess firm faith.” – Quran, 45:4-5. Faith doesn’t require miracles so don’t wait. The greatest miracle is your very existence.


I did jump off that diving board. I asked God to protect me, closed my eyes, held my nose and ‘splash’…now it’s your turn.

How Much is "Much"?

The often quoted Luke 12:48, "to whomsoever much is given, much is required" is usually in reference to the rich and famous. Many of us have had conversations discussing successful entertainers, athletes, lawyers, business folk, etc. and their responsibility to give of their wealth. How many times have we spent Oprah's money, or at least complained about how she gives millions to causes that are not our own. Or talked about all these Black athletes making all this money and how the hood receives little-to-none of the money. For us regular folks, the verse above applies to those that have, not those of us living check to check...at least it's often perceived that way.

The other Sunday I was trying to catch the late football game. I had some good eats prepared and doing some online window shopping. As I surfed through the channels I came across one of those Feed the Children segments. Honestly, I usually keep clicking but this was dealing with children born with a cleft palate. In America, when kids are born with this issue it is fixed but in poor countries many end up living with the deformity. This blog isn't to get folks to give to Operation Smile, an organization that travels and performs the repair surgery but for whatever reason I was intrigued by the stories.

There was a girl, 11 or so whose grandfather took her to the main city for the repair surgery. The narrator said, "the trip will cost $4," which I thought was reasonable. The narrator continued, "which is a month's pay in this part of the world". Wait a minute...a month's pay! At that moment the above verse detonated in my head, "to whomsoever much is given, much is required." I became absorbed with the thought, what defines "much"? Is it the amount one has in excess or our check-to-check monies? Is it qualified as financial means, physical talents, good health or a good spirit?

I thought about the comforts we enjoy, fast food, brick huts, shoes, clothes, etc. I thought about our culture of materialism and how we sacrifice to look good, ride good, etc. I thought about us as a Black community debilitated by the paradox of poverty and frivolous spending. I thought about the 'much' we don't have and the 'much' we do have even in our broke-ness. I thought about my mother when she saved coins to to have 'something' yet ever-ready to give to the neighbor in need, saying, "we may not have 'much' but they are people with less."

I thought, does the Creator requires us all to do more? Is some of my daily meal money required to provide a meal? Is some of my weekend entertainment money required (which I don't have 'entertainment money'...but I make it happen when possible)? As the Creator provides for me should I be willing to provide for another?

I looked at my game treats; a bag of Red Hot Ripplets, popcorn, twizzlers, chilled tea and thought...$4 a month?! I didn't think the verse applied to us regular folk but I realized, whatever 'much' we have, that 'much' is required.

Religion Must Die..for Us to Live

There is something conceptually irreligious with what is religious today. All religions suffer from segregative nuances albeit from geographic location, origin and even birth-rite. We have 'middle-eastern' religions, 'asian' religions' religions, 'inherited' religions, 'black' churches, 'white' churches, etc. Some claim to be universal and inclusive but are usually universal and inclusive if one is a member. So how is humanity to come together while every religion requires one to 'ride' in their car to heaven.

As a Muslim, I was taught to be familiar with various religious dogmas, information I would use for debating and the promotion of my named religion. As a MuslimSoul, I've opened myself to studying the Creator in various historical contexts and experiences. God has guided humanity throughout human history being revealed to every people and nation. One not superior to the other, for God of today is the same God of ancient, consistent and constant. Yet every spiritual generation and dispensation has claimed ownership of God by prophet or profit. Our desire to be the chosen of God divides us, not moral vs. immoral but divisions based on religious titles and the names we use to call God.

We are told who God is early in life while our environment forms our religious prejudice. Religious prejudice and phobias allow us to demean and condemn other God-faiths called by different names. Christianity of old labeled non-Christians as heathens who were damned for hell. In their damnation, they could be colonized, killed or accept salvation. This obvious God-less concept of religion wasn't unique to Christianity, most religions have suffered from a false sense of supremacy. When people speak for God, they and their objectives tend to get in the way of what God has called us to do.

So this brings us to the real question, what religion is God? Is God Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, or something else? This question may seem absurd or even blasphemous but isn't this what every faith subliminally defines as we follow our “true” religions. Few would agree this is true yet the reality of our actions tell a different truth. The rule of non-discussable topics, religion and politics could possibly damn us all to a permanent segregation. If this is true then religion must die for Us to live.

What would happen if we dropped the religious surnames. No longer called Muslim or Christian but following the God-given principles of all faiths; Love God, Love thy neighbor, ya’ll know the rest. Would we be any less? Could we then find equitable appreciation in a gospel choir, a Hasidic community or prostrating muslims? Could we eventually rid ourselves of religious phobias and strive to be God-like as a collective society? A utopian dream, maybe but isn’t this the purpose that all of our ‘Gods’ have challenged us with.

At the core of every religion is a value system that has been the same since the first revelation. Yes, God has spoken to different peoples in different languages in different ages but the purpose and goal of human existence has never changed. If we can get past the titles and focus on what is consistent in all faiths then maybe we create a heaven on earth...if we don't...well, tune in to your local news.

The Truth can set us Free: Thanks Juan!

As most Muslims in America know by now, Juan Williams was fired from NPR. His so-called inflammatory comments have made him the poster child of the anti-Islam movement in America. Yea OK, maybe not that far but considering the amount of press his comments have garnered and the amount of buzz on the web and in Muslim circles, I can't help but wonder why are we demonizing Juan?

Juan Williams is an analyst that makes his living providing editorials on political and social subjects. Like all of us, his editorials come from his own personal perspective...which by the way I don't always agree. The comment relating the fear he experiences when on a plane and seeing people in Muslim garb is a bold admission. Particularly, in these days of Islamophobia, (which I also don't agree with but that's another blog) are we to believe his firing to be a result of media outlets being more sensitive and careful in how Islam is paired with terror, radical, anti-American, etc? NOT!

Most analyst, particularly, conservatives speak in languages that create fear in the viewers. This fear isn't coming just from conservative outlets such as Fox but even the liberal outlets do little to separate Islam from the radical. It's heard so much one would think Radical-Islam is a new religion. Juan, I believe spoke not only from his heart but also from the view of many Americans who remember 9/11. He spoke of a trauma that has affected many Americans but rarely do we discuss the healing process, which I wonder, in war times is that what the country wants.

We are at war in Muslim countries; Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Although we no longer use the war time 'shorts' of WWII to generate "patriotism" and anti-whoeverwefighting sentiment, we do use news outlets and hollywood to create a similar phobic state. So, how can we truly have a discourse separating the crimes of a few from a peaceful religion of many. We are able to separate local acts of terror from the perpetrators such as; the shoe bomber, the IRS bomber, the Hutari, Catholic priests, gang violence, etc. We don't blame a race, community or religion for the acts of a few. What we do is acknowledge the inhumaness of the act, find methods of prevention and for the victim, discuss ways to heal and not displace our anger or anxiety.

Juan started the conversation not in an accusatory manner as O'Reilly, Beck and other fear-mongers but by speaking from a perspective of personal fear and contextualizing that fear at the scene of the crime itself. Honest dialogue isn't always easy, sometimes hearing the truth hurts but from truth, on both sides, we can have a legitimate discourse, begin to heal and free ourselves from the illegitimate fear of a religion.

Let me be the first to tell Mr. Juan Williams that it is okay to fly in a plane with Muslims. 99.9% of Muslims warrant no concern on planes or anywhere, regardless of their dress. But of course, that .1% of Whites, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Europeans, Christians, Jews, Atheists and yes Muslims, we all need to be nervous about.