The American principles of democracy expresses the deepest values of the Sharia both structurally and in the government... Sharia requires us Muslims anywhere to abide by the law of the land. Feisal Abdul Rauf More Quotes by Feisal Abdul Rauf More Quotes From Feisal Abdul Rauf One of the misperceptions that exists in the Muslim world, which needs to be fixed, is the perception that Muslims in America are - are - are living in - in very, very, very bad circumstances. They cannot practice religion freely. It is not the truth at all. The fact is, we are practicing. We fast, we pray, we do our prayers. Feisal Abdul Rauf practice prayer america The battleground has been moderates of all faith traditions in all the countries of the world against the radicals of all faith traditions in all parts of the world. Feisal Abdul Rauf countries-of-the-world faith country Yusuf Qaradawi is probably the most well-known legal authority in the whole Muslim world today. Feisal Abdul Rauf well-known today world A kind of racism still exists in the United States, and Islamophobia is a more convenient way to express that sentiment. There has also been an attempt to paint Muslims as enemies of the United States. Feisal Abdul Rauf united-states racism enemy I am an American citizen born in Kuwait of Egyptian parents. I grew up in Great Britain, Malaysia, and Egypt and have lived in the United States since 1965, when I was seventeen. Feisal Abdul Rauf kuwait egypt parent I read, read enormously on all different fields of Islamic thought, from philosophy to Islamic literature, poetry, exegeses, knowledge of the Hadith, the teachings of the prophet. That's how I trained myself. And then I was appointed imam by a Sufi master from Istanbul, Turkey. Feisal Abdul Rauf islamic teaching philosophy I was completely surrounded by religion from a young time. I was taught by my father. I engaged in discussions with him and many of these scholars who visited and came around the dining table, the lunch table, and attended many lectures with my dad. And so I learned the apprentice way. Feisal Abdul Rauf lunch dad father When I arrived in America, I experienced serious culture shock. For someone with a religious upbringing, the 1960s were an extremely difficult time. Even though religion was a big part of the civil rights and peace movements, in my college religion was treated as irrelevant, hopelessly stodgy, and behind the times. Feisal Abdul Rauf college religious rights The Islamic method of waging war is not to kill innocent civilians, but it was Christians in World War II who bombed innocent civilians in Dresden and dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, neither of which were military targets. Feisal Abdul Rauf innocent military war world In the Muslim world, there are many people who have been vocal and we have been very vocal against extremists. But how to win this battle is an ongoing battle. And we must continue to wage the battle for peace. Feisal Abdul Rauf win peace people world We've got to be fair. You can't say a place that has strip joints is sacred ground. We've got to be just. We've got to speak the truth. We've got to have justice for everybody. We're a country of justice for all, not justice for non-Muslims only or some groups and not for others. Feisal Abdul Rauf you speak truth justice
