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Montgomery Muslim Leader: "perception has been distorted"

Andrew J. Yawn, Montgomery Advertiser

Montgomery, AL

Spirits were high at Masjid Qasim Bilal El-Amin as dozens gathered for the jumuah — a weekly prayer held each Friday just after noon.

Muslims of all nationalities walked in the door of the mosque, removed their shoes and prepared for prayer.

Invariably each arrival was greeted with several handshakes and the traditional greeting.

“As-Salaamu Alaikum.”

“Wa Alaikum As-Salaam.”

There are some variations of the exchange, but the meaning is always the same.

“Peace be unto you.”

“And unto you be peace.”

Everybody filed into the prayer hall to hear a sermon from Student of Knowledge Najeeb Al-Anjelesi, a teacher at the mosque.

A week removed from ISIS’s recent attacks on Paris and Beirut, Al-Anjelesi addressed the extremist group claiming to be Islamic.

“Those responsible for the indiscriminate spilling of blood are not in covenant with Islamic legislature,” Al-Anjelesi said as those in the prayer hall nodded along. “These people have a serious misunderstanding as it relates to Islamic legislation. Their affair is crystal clear: indiscriminate destruction of peoples, property, wealth, the spilling of their blood. These things are prohibited in Islam and are considered major and grave sins, as I explained in the sermon earlier.”

Al-Anjelesi spoke at length about the religion he has spent all of his life practicing and much of his life studying. During his studies, he spent six years in Yemen, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and said that the perception of Muslims has been distorted.

“First, people have to understand that Muslims are trying to rectify their relationship with the Creator,” Al-Anjelesi sid. “That’s the goal and intent of Islam. That’s the No. 1 thing for people to know and understand.”

Each Muslim who was asked to speak about the fundamentals of Islam Friday gave similar answers: peace, respect and submission to the Creator.

“Islam promotes peace and justice, but the main thing is that the goal is bringing a person to correct their relationship with the creator,” Al-Anjelesi said.

Taous Kochi and his parents moved to Montgomery in 1979 after the beginning of the Russian-Afghan War.

Kochi said that no matter what people say about Islam, the actions of a few should not taint his religion. Kochi said there is only one place to find the truth: the Quran.

“Each person is individual,” Kochi said. “It’s up to him if they want to do right or wrong. If you ever want to know what Islam is about, just grab the book. There is only one book.”

Al-Anjelesi echoed that sentiment. With every new attack by ISIS or Boko Haram, Islamophobia increases. However, Al-Anjelesi said the religion is being weighed against the actions of extremists.

“On the contrary, the actions of Muslims need to be weighed against Islam to see if what they’re doing is in accordance with Islam or not. You have some people using the actions of ISIS or Boko Haram to state, ‘This is Islam.’

“It aids the Islamophobia we find happening.”

Kochi said true Muslims do not accept the comparison to groups that do not extol Islamic values. If the actions of a group claiming to be Islamic do not align with Islamic legislature — the Quran — then they should not be viewed as a product of Islam.

“It’s just like when a Christian commits a crime, it’s never attached to his religion,” Kochi said. “He’s just a crazy man with psychological problems. When a Muslim does it, his religion is questioned, so we don’t accept what the media puts out. Religion is if you practice it or don’t practice it.”

Anti-Islamic sentiment on social media has increased in the days since more than 120 were killed in Paris and approximately 40 were killed in Beirut.

The mosque’s Imam William Abdullah said he has seen no animosity toward Muslims in Montgomery. Still, like others, he wishes for his religion to be attributed to those who practice it faithfully.

“Most people are very cordial to us. We’re just trying to live in peace and be good citizens,” Imam Abdullah said. “People are saying a lot of wild things about Islam that really aren’t true. We try to worship God, treat our parents good, treat our neighbors good, and be just in our business relationships.”

Al-Anjelesi attributed much of the animosity between the Middle East and the United States to a lack of communication. He said he often sees the media interview professors in comparative religions about Islam, but none seek answers from established scholars of Islam in the Middle East.

“My question is where is the Western media going back to true and authentic sources to see what they’re saying?” Al-Anjelesi said. “If we were to look into who among the scholars approves these groups, you won’t find any.”

One scholar for instance, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al ash-Sheikh, has been warning of ISIS years before they were known worldwide, Al-Anjelesi said. To him, the lack of dialogue helps create the misconceptions. One popular misconception is the meaning of the word jihad.

While jihad means one’s internal struggle, a separate meaning does exist on the battlefield, but Al-Anjelesi said there are rules guiding it. He likened jihad to American warfare in that it has to be declared by an established “head of state.”

“If it’s not under the authority of the head of state, you can’t have a jihad,” Al-Anjelesi said. “Similar to here in America, when America goes to war, it’s under the commander-in-chief. No ragtag band of Americans can make that call.”

In addition, no women or children can be killed in a sanctioned jihad, a rule clearly violated by ISIS and similar extremist groups.

Al-Anjelesi conceded that many Muslims in the Middle East harbor resentment for “the West” due to incessant warfare. To him, communication is the only solution, and an understanding of each other’s cultures will only bring more stability.

“There are Muslims who place the blame for these things happening on America,” Al-Anjelesi said. “Yet and still, that makes it easy for people to come out of nowhere and instill a desire and hatred for the west that is out of place in context of the Quran. In the west, there has to be a real dialogue with Muslim heads of state. There has to be some kind of understanding to go about rectifying these things.”

Imam Abdullah also said that war didn’t stop the rise of terror groups.

“When people are in hard-pressed situations, you’ll have crazy things happening,” Abdullah said.

As for Muslims in Montgomery, Abdullah — a Montgomery native — said he has seen no ill will toward them. He also hopes one day for Americans to see Islam for what it is. He also sees Montgomery as an example of peaceful co-existence.

“In America, we have peace,” Abdullah said. “I hope everyone sees our actions and how we live in this country and Montgomery. We’ve been here a long time.”


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