I dare you to read/watch this.

I dare you to read/watch this.

Originally shared by Nancy Levan

Hey, the video probably caught your attention during your scrolling but please read my post. I know this is a little long and I appreciate you taking the time to read it. A friend made an excellent point that I want to share and expand it with my own comments.

There was a bombing yesterday in the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia. (http://goo.gl/6q5tTx)

1. Medina is one of the holiest cities in Islam.
2. It's a major pilgrimage site for Muslims who visit the Prophet's Mosque and where the Prophet Muhammad is buried.
3. This attack happened during Ramadan, one of the holiest times of the year in Islam.

As my friend said to me, "It isn't logical to bomb the city of Islam in the name of Islam." Can we please now stop saying that ISIS is an Islamic extremist group? ISIS is not Islamic. They are a terrorist group obsessed with power who have co-opted the name of a religion and corrupted its teachings to diffuse our attention to all Muslims. They are a very minute few hiding among millions of innocents.

They could just have easily claimed themselves to be Christian but then they wouldn't have gotten our attention, would they? They triggered our xenophobia to get a response. They use our "war on terror" to arm and fund themselves when our weapons shipments are stolen and put on the black market. (http://goo.gl/Jj7r7x)

We play into hands of isis (ugh, I don't even want to give them the credit of capitalizing it anymore) every single time we throw an innocent person to the ground and arrest them for wearing traditional dress and speaking Arabic (http://goo.gl/znf2Vt) or escort them off a plane for looking Arabic and doing math (https://goo.gl/AoOx09) in fear that they are a terrorist.

Every time we send weapons and money that can be diverted and used to further their agenda.

Every time our media spends 48 hours straight reporting on an attack and the focus is on isis while the victims are simply casualty numbers used to make the story more sensational.

Every time our media prioritizes news stories happening in Europe or North America over anywhere else (read: non-white majority population).

Every time the prominent figures of our country call for a ban on Muslims, or "rounding them up" and creating internment camps. (Hello? World War 2 lessons, anyone? Anyone?) Also, every lie or misinformation they spread to fan the flames of our fear and further their political agendas.

Every time we react with fear and suspicion of anyone with brown skin, different clothing, different language, and even different hair styles, isis wins because our children are watching and they are learning to be afraid of people who are different from them. Our children will grow up and carry on the war because of us and there will never be peace.

I know this is long and I thank you for reading this far. Now I ask you to please help me to stop this insanity.

Please understand that isis is not representative of Islam just as the kkk isn't representative of Christianity. The majority of Muslims aren't even Arabic, they are Asian, so our fear of Muslims and Islam based on an Arabic image isn't even accurate.

Please, don't rely on a single news source or even just a few. Read international websites. Talk to your international friends about what is happening where they are (the social part of social media) and try to understand it from a local perspective.

Please set aside unwarranted, irrational fear and reach out to people who are different from you, offer them a peaceful handshake, speak with them respectfully. Most would be glad to answer your questions when approached this way. I will bet that you'll learn something new and dispel some things you "know". You might even make a friend.

If after all of this you have 9 more minutes to spare, here's a video I thought was good. It's worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHFtU89R2Do

Oh and if you have another 2 seconds free, can you please share this post? Thank you!

#educationnotfear   #Islam   #Muslim   #worldpeaceispossible  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHFtU89R2Do