Dairy Queen Owner’s action to be condemned | www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
As a Muslim, I condemn the actions of a Muslim Dairy Queen Owner for his anti-Hindu marquis at his business in Kemah, Texas. However, it is obligatory on all of us to verify, if this Report is accurate. Even if the sign did not mean anti-Hindu, it is perceived as such by some of the Hindus of Houston area. Therefore, it becomes necessary to take the sign down to prevent pitting one American against the other.
If Mohammad Dar has mocked Hinduism on this Marquis at his store, it is is not acceptable and as Muslims we condemn his action.
As a Muslim and an interfaith speaker, I want to assure my fellow Americans who are Hindu in this instance, that this man Mohammad Dar is a nut case like so many others.
No religion ever teaches one to be ugly towards fellow beings, and each one of the religions teaches one to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of his creation. What happens then? Conflicts fade and solutions emerge. 99.9% of the people in each faith get that message right, a few don’t and Dar is one of them.
Take a look at few of the many verses from Quran (Muhammad Asad translation), thanks to Imam Zia and Imam Yahya, my partners in getting the right message of Islam out, for responding to my request quickly.
In this article, I have also thrown a challenge to fellow members of family of faiths including Hindus.
God has created this universe in balance, and whenever that balance is lost, it is our duty to restore it, and that is all religion is about.
Quran, 49:13 — O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware. ( We are all one large family – in Hinduism it is the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum, and in Abrahimic faiths, we all are children of Adam and Eve)
Quran, 49-10 — All believers are but brethren. Hence, [whenever they are at odds,] make peace between your two brethren, and remain conscious of God, so that you might be graced with His mercy. – 49:10
Quran, 6:108 — But do not revile those [beings] whom they invoke instead of God, (This prohibition of reviling anything that other people hold sacred – even in contravention of the principle of God’s oneness – is expressed in the plural and is, therefore, addressed to all believers. Thus, while Muslims are expected to argue against the false beliefs of others, they are not allowed to abuse the objects of those beliefs and to hurt thereby the feelings of their erring fellow-men.(Quran Ref: 6:108 )) lest they revile God out of spite, and in ignorance: for, goodly indeed have We made their own doings appear unto every community (Lit., “thus goodly have We made…”, etc., implying that it is in the nature of man to regard the beliefs which have been implanted in him from childhood, and which he now shares with his social environment, as the only true and possible ones – with the result that a polemic against those beliefs often tends to provoke a hostile psychological reaction. (In time, [however,] unto their Sustainer they must return: and then He will make them [truly] understand all that they were doing. – 6:108
Hinduism and Islam teach non-violence, so do other religions, and I ask my friends of faiths, from all faiths to heed this verse.
Quran, 41.34 — “To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil.” It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”
References:
Dallas Morning News – http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2016/03/houston-area-dairy-queen-owner-doesnt-apologize-for-his-anti-hindu-signs.html/
Grubbs – http://www.grubstreet.com/2016/03/dairy-queen-owner-attacks-hindus.html
Khou – http://www.khou.com/news/dairy-queen-owner-displays-anti-hindu-sign/97160102
Thank you
It reminded me of a restaurant in Houston. “
A president has to live a normal life as an example to others. Presidents Bush, Clinton, and Reagan have all lived a normal life. In fact Bush broke the silence when New York was down after 9/11, he encouraged people to go out do the shopping and start living.
God would not have given us the ability to talk or dialogue, if he did not want us to have that freedom. Whether we are British, American, Chinese, Mexicans, Arabs or Indians, free speech is our inalienable right. Free speech should never be compromised, and free assembly should never be compromised either. However, hate speech that creates a safety issue to the society must be contained; it is the responsibility of the society to maintain law and order.
We the people, of different faiths, races, and ethnicities must come together and remain united against terrorist who want to tear us apart.
Some of the most beautiful moments of the weddings that I cherish were; the statement made by bride’s father, “My daughter took complete charge of this ceremony; it’s all her planning.” He was very proud of the fact that his little daughter is so capable. The Mother of the Bride, on the other hand, was standing quietly and admiring her daughter’s freedom and independence. I wish I had taken her picture, she was standing right in front me absorbed in her daughter’s happiness. The Grooms parents acknowledged how they have raised their son to be open minded about fellow humans. Of course, I can relate with his faith, one of my best friends was a Mormon. Groom’s mother was serenely happy and the father felt proud of seeing his son making a great choice.
In one of the interfaith weddings I officiated a few years ago, a Christian man turned Atheist was marrying a Hindu girl, and his parents had disowned him and did not want to talk with him unless the girl is converted. (Conservatism is a part of every religion). It took some counseling and the father agreed to attend the wedding ceremony if I call on Jesus as the witness, and groom agreed to live with it. After all, that is the whole purpose of an interfaith marriage ceremony, to give a semblance of their faith in the sermon. After the ceremony, the father who was standing aloof in the corner, walked up to me and gave a big hug and joined his kids in the celebrations. Thank God, the tenseness between the families evaporated in a hurry, it was meant to be.