Jehron Muhammad: Anti-Islamic bus ads may backfire in City of Brotherly Love
The anti-Islam advertisements that have plagued several U.S. cities have come to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. The ad, appearing on 84 SEPTA buses during the month of April, desecrates the Muslim holy book called the Quran, and some say, seeks to label Islam as a religion that justifies religious intolerance against Jews.
Imam Mikal Shabazz, of the Philadelphia-based Masjidullah, says nothing is further from the truth. In fact, he believes even though the advertisement is designed for evil, the positive results might far outweigh its original intent.
"If nothing else, rather than dividing us, [the anti-Islam ad campaign] has brought us together," said Shabazz, in the midst of a rally in Love Park last month that brought together Mayor Nutter and people of varied faiths in opposition to the campaign.
The ad campaign was led by blogger Pam Geller of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI). The text of her organization's advertisement inaccurately, and many say deliberately, misrepresents the Muslim holy book as showing hatred toward Jews.
In fact, the verse (5:51) of the Quran that's butchered by the AFDI-sponsored ad, tells the Muslims of Prophet Muhammad's day not to take Jews and others (that had made common cause against Islam) for "friends" or "allies" because as historians note, some Jewish tribes and members of certain Arab tribes, including the Quraysh, had pledged Islam's destruction, and formed an alliance with each other.
Though unity of the interfaith community appears to have been achieved, the historical divisions between the various local Muslim communities make the ability to combat such hateful and inaccurate misrepresentations of Islam difficult.
Shabazz says this is a teachable moment. In fact, the leader of the largest Masjid in the tri-state region believes adversity is giving the local Muslim community a platform to highlight the positive contributions of Philadelphia's diverse Muslim community.
Opposition to the advertisements seemed to be resounding at the rally at Love Park and a subsequent rally and press conference on Friday, April 3 at the West Oak Lane based Masjidullah Center for Human Excellence.
Minister Rodney Muhammad, the Philadelphia NAACP president and local Nation of Islam representative, noted that "the NAACP expresses public outrage over these ads." He said the ads are "a desperate attempt" at discrediting Islam.
State Rep. Dwight Evans, who was recently appointed to the SEPTA board of directors by Gov. Tom Wolf, expressed his outrage after a federal judge ordered SEPTA to run the advertisements.
"This is my district and I wanted to join you and send the message that Muslims should not be attacked because of their religious beliefs. No single religion should be focused on or charged with this," Evans said.
"The message we're sending is very empathetic," he said. "You attack one of us, you attack all of us."
Michael Rashid, the former CEO and president of AmeriHealth Caritas, who sits on the board of directors at Masjidullah, said it is "not about free speech or being anti-free speech. We have to be civilized in our dialogue. We have a right to believe in whatever religion we choose and that's what all these people [who included representatives from the Islamic, Jewish and Christian communities] are saying. We're very gratified that we have a cross community group of people who are standing up to say this is wrong."
University of Penn Muslim chaplain and founding member of the advocacy group, Muslims Make It Plain, Kameelah Muh'Min Rashad called Geller's effort to discredit a religion of 1.5 billion adherents worldwide as an "act of desperation."
She also said Geller "actually has given us a gift." She said the unity achieved by this ad helps us "bridge gaps and encourages us to work together as one ummah or community."
During a recent phone interview Imam Anwar Muhaiman of the West Philadelphia based Masjid Quba said persons interested in knowing more about "collaborative efforts to combat the ad campaign's message of hate" can go to the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia's website: Interfaithcenterpa.org.