Indeed Allah’s mercy has been upon him, from whom the punishment has been averted on that Day; and this is the clear success.[6:16]

“It is one of the greatest sins that a man should curse his parents.” It was asked (by the people), “O Allah’s Apostle! How does a man curse his parents?” The Prophet said, “‘The man abuses the father of another man and the latter abuses the father of the former and abuses his mother.” (Bukhari)

Besides the call for revolution, one common slogan in the recent Middle East uprisings is “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is the greatest.” Add to these chants the recent declaration by the Libyan national transition council that Libya will abide by Islamic law, and most recently the victory of the Islamist Ennahda party in Tunisia, and you can understand why many in the West are alarmed about the rise of Islam. Is this alarm a legitimate concern, or is it Islamophobia?

In a recent survey by Léger Marketing for the Association of Canadian Studies in Montreal, Canadians were asked how positive they feel about different groups. Muslims received the lowest ranking. The results echoed the findings of a previous survey for the association, this one marking 10 years since 9/11, which found that a majority of Canadians believe that conflicts between Western nations and the Muslim world are “irreconcilable.”

Muslims continue to struggle to integrate safely and openly into Canadian society. Even Canadian-born Muslims find it difficult to be Muslim; growing up as a Muslim here isn’t always easy. Most kids and teenagers are afraid of expressing their Islamic identity, and thus end up living a kind of doublestandard life filled with psychological dilemmas and religious and moral sacrifices.

Whether it’s a girl wearing a hijab, a guy praying during lunch hour at school, or simply having a name such as Osama or Jihad, Muslims are often intimidated about expressing themselves and the values they cherish. I remember as a student having to pray at the bottom end of stairwells during lunch hour, since the school wouldn’t provide space for this purpose for a few minutes, even when all the classrooms were free.

Intolerant attitudes don’t end when one becomes an adult. I was sitting in a public park in Montreal over the summer with my wife and two children, which was enough to attract the attention of a passerby who held a cellphone and pretended to speak to someone about the contamination of the park with Muslims. He spoke loudly enough that we could hear him. Finally, the language became so foul that we left.

In the last few years, Canadians have been exposed to a wide range of negativity about Islam. There was a proposal to bar public services being made available to anyone who wore a niqab in Quebec, bans on girls wearing the hijab while playing sports, and most notably, the passing of a “code of conduct” by the municipality of Hérouxville that prohibited the stoning of women! More recently, Ontario schools were under fire for allowing Muslims to pray at school.

Islamophobia is harmful to all Canadians, irrespective of their faith. Muslims form an integral and constructive part of Canadian society. Take a close look at your daily dealings and see how often they include interactions with Muslims: your visit to the hospital, meeting a professor at university or classmates in school, your ride in a taxicab, your order from the shawarma restaurant, or passing a local mosque as you’re driving.

Islam carries deeply rooted respect, understanding and love for others regardless of their faith or ideology. The Quran clearly states: “There’s no compulsion in religion.” Islam also makes it clear that “the best of people are those who are most beneficial to others.”

The rise of Islamophobia means immediate steps need to be taken to educate people about Islam and Muslims in Canada.

The causes of Islamophobia must be addressed, and clear guidelines formulated to identify and put an end to Islamophobic actions. Only when this happens will the fears and concerns that we manufacture fade away, replaced with the respect and freedom that we hope for.

Céline Cooper is a Montrealer and a PhD candidate in sociology and equity studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/welcome+Muslims+Canada/5672146/story.html#ixzz1dWui0Hkv

And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.[3:103].

There is a fantastic new iPhone app for performing Tasbeeh by Avenue Islam. It lets you keep a count of your daily duas and has over 50 dua’s. It also helps you plan and organise your daily zikr. Click here to download.  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tasbeeh/id449671634?mt=8

[And] who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks?(67:3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJrw0bEX6fo&feature=fvst

Narrated Anas: The Prophet stayed for three rights between Khaibar and Medina and was married to Safiya. I invited the Muslim to h s marriage banquet and there wa neither meat nor bread in that banquet but the Prophet ordered Bilal to spread the leather mats on which dates, dried yogurt and butter were put. The Muslims said amongst themselves, “Will she (i.e. Safiya) be one of the mothers of the believers, (i.e. one of the wives of the Prophet ) or just (a lady captive) of what his right-hand possesses” Some of them said, “If the Prophet makes her observe the veil, then she will be one of the mothers of the believers (i.e. one of the Prophet’s wives), and if he does not make her observe the veil, then she will be his lady slave.” So when he departed, he made a place for her behind him (on his and made her observe the veil.[Bukhari 059:524]

Then We brought forth for you therewith gardens of date-palms and grapes, wherein is much fruit for you, and whereof you eat. [23:19]

O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed – that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind.(22:5)

Then do they not look at the camels – how they are created?(88:17)
And at the sky – how it is raised?(88:18)
And at the mountains – how they are erected?(88:19)
And at the earth – how it is spread out?(88:20)

Shaitaan sticks to the heart of the child of Adam. When he does Zikr of Allah, he (Shaitaan) runs away from him. And when the child of Adam becomes careless from the Zikr of Allah, the Shaitan begins to put was-wasah (evil suggestion​s) into his heart.” [Bukhari]