honestly if a Muslim family moved next
door to you you would be the happiest
person in the world first of all the
chances of your kids getting in trouble
just went way down okay went way down
because the Muslim Community has the
lowest crime rate the highest
entrepreneurship the highest educational
attainment for women in the country they
are the model American community and so
when you have people who are now afraid
to come here and that's starting to
happen you have Geniuses who are from
Pakistan who are from Indonesia who who
now that I don't know if I'm safe here
that becomes an economic problem for the
for America long term so that we're
starting to do stuff here that doesn't
make good sense for for what has made us
great so far keeping it real real how we
keep it get ready for sit
back Alum I just met my brother William
Alum
William how you guys doing alhamdulillah
it's always exciting to meet people who
have found this beautiful way of life we
and we want to pick their brains and see
why why why did they accept Islam why
did you accept
Islam well it was the the fitra the
spiritual truth looking for you know the
Oneness of God the who is our creator
what is our purpose who is our Lord and
You Know It uh took half my life um but
uh it it came to fruition through to you
know struggle this is why like you were
speaking earlier about you know um and
the other brother was about struggles
and you know how we have to look at this
is the test from Allah this is this is
what makes us who we are we're supposed
to accept it struggle through it if it
was easy we wouldn't be Muslim right you
know this is what Allah has for us to
test us we have to sell the seeds for
the right tell tell me William uh
there's so many there's so much
misinformation and there's so much dirt
put over Islam but many people like
yourself when they dig a little bit they
find the treasure
so for people who are out there they see
you white American they hear the word
Allah they think of Islam as something
so foreign and strange it's for the
other but then they see an American they
see someone he's he's he's a practicing
Muslim you know what do you have to say
for those people who are scared they
think that Islam is like the boogeyman
coming to get
you well this is what I usually tell
people cuz I I do alhamdulillah I've
been blessed to be able as an American
to be able to reach out speak to my
fellow Americans from from the same
culture is that I told them most Muslims
are Americans that much of our culture
and history here in America has Muslims
have always been there Islam has always
been part of it founding fathers had a
Quran knew about Islam understood you
know the justice of of the laws of how
the ottoman caliphate operated at that
time they had contacts Kingdom of
Morocco was the first country to
recognize the United States we got to
remember a lot of many of our African
brothers and sisters who came for
hundreds of years against their will
were Muslims some of them were allowed
to maintain their Dean and we have these
these stories and these narratives
preserved so Islam has always been here
it's always been part of it and so we're
we're as much of the fabric of this
country in this history you know and I
like to trace it back being from Detroit
if you look at the auto industry you
know economists and historians will say
this is what built the the the middle
class here in the 20th century was the
Auto industry what was a big part of the
Auto industry we know Detroit was the
mecca of it right araban Americans
Muslim and Christian that was the back
that was that was my grandfather did
when he came here over 100 years ago he
worked on the Ford assembly line and
then like many Lebanese he went and
started his own business
entrepreneurship we helped build this
country so we're just as much as any
other group and so you know and I let
people know we're not a bunch of weird
foreigners we're everyday people just
like everybody else sure we have these
same struggles we got first generation
second generation generation third
generation fifth generation and if you
again look at our African-American
brothers and sisters how many
generations do they go back they
discover look for their identity and
they find out you know what I'm a Muslim
that's who my people were and are many
people they get you know when you start
to explain like they hear this word
Allah you know you tell them that look
Jesus he spoke aric he would say allaha
Muslim is simply one like in the Lord's
Prayer is said oh our father in heav and
Hallowed be thy name thy will be done
and a Muslim I'm a Muslim I'm one who
submitted to the of God so you didn't do
nothing weird nothing strange you
submitted yourself like Jesus to the
Creator tell me what is one of the major
misconceptions that people have that you
come across when you're you know sharing
the message what's one of the the number
one things that people fear or they
misunderstand about Islam in your
experience well it's kind of changed
never first it was you know the
misconception that we don't have Jesus
we do have Jesus and that's one of the
things that was like The Guiding factor
for me was I can still love Jesus and I
have to love Jesus as a Muslim so though
this still exists the understanding
about Mary and Jesus on both of them but
also the the intention they they think
there's an agenda that our agenda is to
establish control over people from a top
down way this is obviously not correct
this is not the Menage of the prophet he
he emboldened people with faith this is
what Allah gave him the earliest
Revelations were about Iman and
accountability and our place with the
Creator that's what the early and this
is what we are supposed to do we're
supposed to be benefiting Mankind and
our society so this is the the
misconceptions and we've got to do our
part physically to show because the
Christians and the Jews and our cousins
Jews have been doing it for a long time
been doing social justice work we have
to follow in the footsteps of our
cousins more we really got to get out
there and that's the B biggest
misconception and you know one
journalist said it great I'm I'm sorry
I'm taking a lot of time but I want to
put it out there van Jones said a very
good thing that I always say he mimicked
what I say and he's not even Muslim and
he said honestly if a Muslim family
mooved next door to you you would be the
happiest person in the world first of
all the chances of your kids getting in
trouble just went way down okay went way
down because the Muslim Community has
the lowest crime rate the highest
entrepreneurship the highest educational
attainment for women in the country they
are the bottle American community and so
when you have people who are now afraid
to come here and that's starting to
happen you have Geniuses who are from
Pakistan who are from Indonesia who who
now that I don't know if I'm safe here
that becomes an economic problem for the
for America long term so that we're
starting to do stuff here that doesn't
make good sense for for what has made us
great so far the best people you want as
your neighbor are Muslims these are the
people you want as your neighbor and he
gave all the reasons why these are the
people with you know the highest income
less crime uh uh uh statistically and
and the people who contribute the most
to our society is the good practicing
Muslim so when people ask me the
question the biggest you know question
that they have misconception fundamental
fundamental is Islam they hear this this
word fundamental and I say that's where
you get it wrong this is where our
society has has misinterpreted that word
for Christians Jews and Muslims at any P
If You observe the fundamental
principles then you're supposed to be a
good person you're supposed to not be a
judgmental person and you know a a
negative person you're supposed to be a
positive contributing loving loving
caring kind person so that's what so
fundamentalist that's a good thing
that's a good thing and those who call
themselves fundamentalists and are
judgmental and hateful they got it wrong
they got it wrong whatever Faith they
are that's amazing you know to see
people like yourself who are searching
for purpose you know and and and had an
open heart you think that's one of the
key you know ingredients that you got to
be open you got to be be sincere and you
got to be searching for the truth it's
it's got to what do you think is the
ingredient to finding because many
people say there's so many religions
they're all the same it's a crutch I
don't need a religion it's just
something to you know control the masses
what do you say to that well in some
ways when you look at how people have
manipulated uh people for their
intentions right this is true but that's
why we use the word Dean right you know
this Aden Mr Aden Dean is a way of life
so when we understand you know the Quran
you know we we have the final element
that existed in all other faiths that
Allah has guidance for us for every
aspect of our life for our physical and
the spiritual nature see that's what man
has gone astray they forgot the
combination of the two so for those who
say that if you understand that that
you've got two halves of your existence
that you've got to feed then you'll get
past all the Dogma you'll get past all
that and and you just have to ask that
creator for whatever who however you
would Define it you know a very good
book to read about Ted believe it or not
was the alcoholic an animous book The
Little Blue Book because the guy who
wrote that book he said look just pray
to whatever higher power you acknowledge
he's talking vitra he's talking he
didn't know anything about Islam I'm
assuming I don't know but if you ask
whatever higher power give me guidance
let me find what it is you want me to do
to guide me Allah's going to answer that
Dua if you're sincere it doesn't matter
and you eventually you you'll get past
that negativity about oh it's just
system it's just bureaucracy it's just
control whatever you do it on your own
you talk to Allah only you are a Creator
however you want to call that Creator
and you're going to get an answer
somewhere you're going to feel that
answer beautiful that makes sense
doesn't it you don't pray to a stick a
stone a bone a man a woman a dead person
in the grave but the one who created you
you reach out and say oh my Creator the
one who created me the one who passioned
Me Guide Me what do you want from me in
this life you did it you're a Muslim now
alhamdulillah alhamdulillah last last
closing piece of advice for those people
who are struggling you know one in 10
people they say are on
anti-depressants you have according to
the CDC you have the second leading
cause of death is suicide amongst kids
from the age of 10 to
24 you know so many people there are
more people on painkillers than on
nicotine I mean it's you know you know
that 5% get this we we consume we're 5%
of the global population and we consume
not we but people in America they
consume 80% of the cocaine so people are
getting doped up drugged up alcohol is
just consuming them at the pubs you're
fed up with it you tune in to the dean
show you've been led to it now but now
they have this trepidation they think
like Muslim terrorists you know I'm
going to join this weird cult what do
you got to say you know what it if
there's something wrong with it you know
it it must be good because people are
trying to attack it so much and I can
tell you what I see day and night we
have people just because we make oursel
open our misch our Center in Detroit I
just have a neon open sign in front of
our door and our bookstore and people
come by all the time and we go out we do
the Outreach we don't sit and wait but I
honestly at this point I can sit and
wait and people will come they want to
know more so if it's so bad if it's so
why is everyone trying to attack if it's
if it's so bad then you wouldn't have to
right they wouldn't have to spend
millions and hundreds of millions of
dollars to defame our Dean and defame
our Prophet
Sall if it was so evident why do they
have to make such an effort that's
because it's good because that Shan
leading them they choose to follow that
path those who are the Righteous Allah
says I'm going to test you and they're
going to come after you and shaan's
going to come after you so yeah this is
this is our actual Jihad this is our
struggle so what do I say to you it's
think about it that's a very I I was
able someone put it to me that way I
don't know who it was I was watching and
they said if it was so if it was so bad
they wouldn't have to make do all this
work to make it look bad and when I
looked myself I looked at the dean I
looked at the history I looked at the
Quan and the Sunnah and I didn't judge
based on people right cuz we're still
Muslims we're still people we are we
have our problems obviously but when I
looked at the dean and I looked at the
you know the reality of humankind of our
Society I studied the history I studied
the anthropology and I looked and the
Quran answers all of this throughout
time it's Eternal it's
Eternal so you know it's evident it's
right there in front of you it's right
there in front of you if it was already
if it was so bad and terrible why is
there 200 million plus dollars spent a
year and then some by numerous
organizations to defame and attack our
Dean cuz it's good cuz it's from Allah
cuz it's from the Creator it's just it's
righteousness and Shayan wants to
destroy that that's why we're in this
fight we're in this fight and it's a
spiritual fight join up thank you thank
you William if you can dig this simple
message of worshiping the Creator not
the creation believing in Jesus as a
messenger of God who called people to
the same message as all the other
Messengers including Abraham Moses John
the Baptist yaha Solomon David and the
last and final mess of prophet Muhammad
peace and blessings be upon all of them
calling people to Paradise calling them
to prepare for the day of judgment
warning them against the Hellfire and to
not get attached to something that's
temporary this world take your share of
it but prepare for the Hereafter it's a
simple message these are the basic
principles and do good be good make a
positive contribution to making the
world a better
place if you can dig that you can dig
Islam it's simple to understand Callos
1800 662 Islam ask those tough questions
anything you want to know make the human
connection coming to a mosque come and
visit William if he's if they're aware
where can they visit you they can Vis
visit us at Iona Islamic organization of
North America 28630 Ryan Road in the
city of Warren Michigan 48092 look us up
give us a call 586 558 6900 we'd love to
have you come visit us make the human
connection subscribe if you haven't
already tune in to the dean show every
week we'll see you next time until then
peace be with you please subscribe to
the dean show follow us on our official
Facebook and Twitter pages in The Links
below please also help support the dean
show by making a donation in the link
[Music]
below