CHINO, CALIFORNIA:
The Muslim community in California is campaigning to reach out to non-Muslims to show them what the international media is not saying about their religion, according to foreign media sources.
Interestingly, Chino Police Chief Karen Comstock said that the police could relate to this because they also find themselves in a similar predicament.
“We, as law enforcement professionals, share in your same plight because every day on the news, you are watching, you are watching the secular media tell you a story about law enforcement and policing that I am telling you is wrong. There are men and women in this profession, which I love so much, that are performing with a high degree of professionalism and accuracy and protecting the community that you live in,” Comstock said.
Similarly, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Los Angeles East Chapter President Ahsan Mahmood Khan, also said that news of extremists from around the globe did not reflect who they really are.
“You hear a lot in the news about ISIL or ISIS [IS] and what is going on in the Middle East. It is just terrible, and we hear this in the news every day. And it is very similar to what happened post-9/11, with what was going on with al Qaeda where you had this juxtaposition. You had those who claim to be Muslim doing the most heinous acts and proclaiming the name of Allah and in the name of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and doing such horrible things, and then you have a community like ours,” Mahmood said.
A few years ago, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community started a campaign in the US called “Muslims for Loyalty.” Khan said its message is that a devout Muslim can also be a loyal American.
He further said, “[It] is a way for us to reach out to the communities around the world and show that as Muslims we are also loyal to our nation.”
“The only way to counter this negative image that may be conveyed to the young people is for our own youth to engage in setting the record straight,” said Khan.
The imam of the Baitul Hameed Mosque, Mohammed Zafarullah, said, “Islam is a religion of peace, but that extremists tarnish his faith.”
“Those people who are doing these kind of things, they say they are Muslim but according to our religion, they are not a real Muslim because that is … they have their own agenda, which they are using in the name of the religion,” he continued.
This article originally appeared on Voice of America
