AAF - American Arab Forum, New Jersey, USA

Library of Congress

Jefferson probably purchased this translation of the Koran in 1765 from the office of the Virginia Gazette. At the time, Jefferson was engaged in his law studies at the College of William and Mary, so it is likely that he purchased the book as an example of Arabic law, as his textbooks suggested. Jefferson cataloged the book in his section on Religion,ând where it shared the shelves with early Greek and Roman mythology and the Bible.

A marriage made in heaven, the religion of Islam and the American Constitution share no inherent contradictions. They actually embody the same universal ideals of justice, fairness, and equality. This was the conclusion of a recent fatwa, Arabic for a religious decree, issued by the Fiqh Council of North America, or FCNA. The FCNA is the highest religious institution responsible for issuing opinions on a wide range of Muslim practices. Notable is the almost total lack of media attention given to this document.

While the opinion, "Resolution on Being Faithful Muslims and Loyal Americans, is a welcome step, American Muslims still face unprecedented hurdles that thus far have precluded them from being accepted as equal citizens. Islamophobes of all types will discredit the religious opinion and may in fact twist it to imply the "creeping of Islamic Sharia." The core lie underlying the recent rise of Islamophobia is the claim that Muslims' loyalty to their faith makes them untrustworthy Americans. Baseless and meritless at its face, this claim is now forcefully challenged by a statement of far reaching implications.

The recent reality TV series "The All-American Muslim" had the grand objective of showing several Muslim families living their lives as Muslim and as Americans, struggling to reconcile their faith's commandments with the constraints of temporal demands. Identity with one's religious group first, one's nation second, is not a Muslim monopoly. Any good Christian or Jew must believe the same thing, I would argue.

The fatwa, is in part, a response to what the FNCA calls "erroneous perceptions and Islamophobic propaganda" that has been built up for a decade following the 9/11 attacks and subsequent terrorist plots by adherents of al-Qaida and other extremist groups. The FCNA group, consisting of Islamic scholars who meet several times a year to draft opinions on issues of concern to American Muslims, made the document public in Virginia in September of 2011. " As a body of Islamic scholars, we the members of FCNA believe that it is false and misleading to suggest that there is a contradiction between being faithful Muslims committed to God (Allah) and being loyal American citizens," the fatwa declared.

"Islamic teachings require respect for the laws of the land where Muslims live as minorities, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, so long as there is no conflict with Muslims' obligation for obedience to God. We do not see any such conflict with the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The primacy of obedience to God is a commonly held position of many practicing Jews and Christians as well."

Muslims make up less than 1 percent of the nation, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, yet the fast-growing community has been a constant target of right-wing groups. From protests against the so-called "ground zero mosque in NYC," to efforts in more than a dozen states to ban the sharia law in courts, to recent Capitol Hill hearings on so called "American Islamic radicalization" that brought comparisons to McCarthyism, Muslims have had to assert their loyalty time and again. Even a reality TV show sparked a nationwide outrage when Lowe's, a major home improvement chain, pulled its advertising because of pressure from a known right wing, Muslim-hating group.

Dr. Azizah Al-Hibri, a professor of law at the T. C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond , talks about Islam, law and the concept of democracy.

America's first Muslim Congressman in 2002, Keith Ellison, used for his swearing in cermoney a borrowed English copy of the Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson . Congressman Ellison wanted to signal that Jefferson's involvement in the drafting of the declaration of Independence and US Constitution must have been influenced by his readings of the Koran. (An excellent expose of the Jefferson' Koran is contained here.)

With some comparative study of the legal cultures that were formed around the Koran and the Constitution, a few common themes start to emerge, and ultimately it turns out that there may be as many similarities as differences between the jurisprudence of Islam and that of the United States. This is in fact the conclusion of law Professor Asifa Quraishi. She contends that "What is striking about putting Islamic and American legal discourses side by side is that many presumptions inherent in the different interpretive methods translate across cultures quite easily, as do the corresponding attacks against those using an opposing method." In layman terms, as relates to approaches to considering the textual interpretation, Muslim and American jurists following a given method often will have more in common with each other than with those of an opposite methodology in their own society. Sadly, these common denominators have been relegated thus far, largely because the greater Muslim and American legal communities have themselves been disengaged from fruitful debates.

It ought to be noted here that the American Muslim community is now sufficiently independent from other Muslim communities in that its religious institutions can issue rulings based on the specific needs of American Muslims. There is a body of fatwas issued by learned Imams or Councils regarding a multitude of issues affecting Americans Muslims such as condemnation of terrorism, voting in American elections, consumption and or sale of disallowed foods and drinks, interfaith marriage, the Islamic calendar for fasting, holidays, and as we reported recently, exchanging holiday greetings with non Muslims. This growing independence of American Muslims is rarely pointed out, as pundits tend to lump this community in with decisions and actions by Muslims in other parts of the world. To no avail, I find myself
often distancing myself from acts committed thousands of miles from our US
border. Why are we often expected and punished as if we are our brothers'
keepers?

Legal or academic research on this topic is rare indeed, but this need not remain so for long. Often, the Judeo-Christian traditions are considered the doctrinal foundation of the US Constitution. A more appropriate tradition, the Abrahamic Tradition, that incorporates the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, may offer clearer insights onto the moral compass of America. The fatwa mentioned, we hope, might face some warmer welcome once serious research has started.

In their book, Crisis, Call, and Leadership in the Abrahamic Traditions, Peter Ochs and William S. Johnson (2009) reveal how over three years of study and fellowship, sixteen Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars sought to answer one question: "Do our three scriptures unite or divide us?" They offer their answers in this book: sixteen essays on how certain ways of reading scripture may draw us apart and other ways may draw us, together, into the source that each tradition calls peace. This groundbreaking book, the outcome of an imaginative 3-year experiment by the Princeton Center of Theological Inquiry, shows scholars and thinkers of the Abrahamic traditions going deeper into the traditions and into their contemporary situation.

Those who are quick to dismiss Islam as unrelated to the Judeo-Christian tradition need to recognize that many People are attracted to Islam because of its beautiful simplicity and the spiritual wholeness that Islam encompasses. Also highly appealing is Islam's 'code of equality' amongst differing peoples, a truly unparalleled ideal when compared to any other faith.

Under Islam, all - black, white, red, and yellow-are at one in justice, freedom, and equality. For Islam, true excellence lies, not in the intellectual or manual attainments of people of differing gifts; but in the level of piety and fear of God.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), in his farewell sermon informed the believers relating to this matter:

"All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood."

"O Mankind: We created you from a male and a female; and made you into tribes and
nations that you may get to know each other. and verily, most honored before
God is the most virtuous." – Qur'an English Translation [49:13]

Islam clearly states from the above quote in the Qur'an people are made equal in God's eyes and one's true test of character is not decided by what "tribe or ethnicity" he/she is from but rather how virtuous and pious the individual. Islam stresses the point that all of the God fearing believers of this world are a part of a single brotherhood. [23:52-54]

Resolution on Being Faithful Muslims and Loyal Americans

Wed, 10/05/2011 - 13:31 — FCNA Resolution of the Fiqh Council of North America Adopted in its General Body Meeting held in Virginia on September 24-25, 2011 On Being Faithful Muslims and Loyal Americans Like other faith communities in the US and elsewhere, we see no inherent conflict between the normative values of Islam and the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Contrary to erroneous perceptions and Islamophobic propaganda of political extremists from various backgrounds, the true and authentic teachings of Islam promote the sanctity of human life, dignity of all humans, and respect of human, civil and political rights. Islamic teachings uphold religious freedom and adherence to the same universal moral values which are accepted by the majority of people of all backgrounds and upon which the US Constitution was established and according to which the Bill of Rights was enunciated.

The Qur'an speaks explicitly about the imperative of just and peaceful co-existence, and the rights of legitimate self-defense against aggression and oppression that pose threats to freedom and security, provided that, a strict code of behavior is adhered to, including the protection of innocent non-combatants. The foregoing values and teachings can be amply documented from the two primary sources of Islamic jurisprudence – the Qur'an and authentic Hadith. These values are rooted, not in political correctness or pretense, but on the universally accepted supreme objectives of Islamic Shari'ah, which is to protect religious liberty, life, reason, family and property of all.

The Shari'ah, contrary to misrepresentations, is a comprehensive and broad guidance for all aspects of a Muslim's life – spiritual, moral, social and legal. Secular legal systems in Western democracies generally share the same supreme objectives, and are generally compatible with Islamic Shari'ah. Likewise, the core modern democratic systems are compatible with the Islamic principles of Shura – mutual consultation and co-determination of all social affairs at all levels and in all spheres, family, community, society, state and globally. As a body of Islamic scholars, we the members of FCNA believe that it is false and misleading to suggest that there is a contradiction between being faithful Muslims committed to God (Allah) and being loyal American citizens. Islamic teachings require respect of the laws of the land where Muslims live as minorities, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, so long as there is no conflict with Muslims' obligation for obedience to God. We do not see any such conflict with the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. The primacy of obedience to God is a commonly held position of many practicing Jews and Christians as well.

We believe further that as citizens of a free and democratic society, we have the same obligations and rights of all US citizens. We believe that right of dissent can only be exercised in a peaceful and lawful manner to advance the short and long term interests of our country. The Fiqh Council of North America calls on all Muslim Americans and American citizens at large to engage in objective, peaceful and respectful dialogue at all levels and spheres of common social concerns.

We call upon all Muslim Americans to be involved in solving pressing social problems, such as the challenge of poverty, discrimination, violence, health care and environmental protection. It is fully compatible with Islam for Muslims to integrate positively in the society of which they are equal citizens, without losing their identity as Muslims (just as Jews and Christians do not lose their religious identity in doing the same). We believe that emphasis on dialogue and positive collaborative action is a far better approach than following the paths of those who thrive on hate mongering and fear propaganda. Anti-Islam, anti-Semitism and other similar forms of religious and/or political-based discrimination are all forms of racism unfit for civilized people and are betrayal of the true American as well as Islamic values. May the pursuit of peace, justice, love, compassion, human equality and fellowship prevail in the pluralistic mosaic that is the hallmark of our nation.

The current FCNA members are: Executive Council Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, Chairman Dr. Zainab Alwani, Vice Chairman Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah, S.G./Executive Director Dr. Mohamad A. El Sheikh Dr. Jamal Badawi Shaikh Abdur Rahman Khan Shaikh Muhammad Nur Abdullah Council Members Dr. Deina Abdelkader Dr. Muneer Fareed Shaikh Muhammad Hanooti Imam Yahya Hendi Dr. Yusuf Z. Kavakci Dr. Muhammad Qatanani Imam Hassan Qazwini Dr. Ali Solaiman Ali Dr. Muddassir H. Siddiqui Dr. Ihsan Bagby