As “we the people” prepare for this year’s Fourth of July celebration, America is reeling from the isolating impacts of Covid-19, the political upheaval of the previous year, the four years of blatant race baiting, and a strong need to connect with each other.
Islamophobia is real. You may have personally experienced it or know a family member, friend, or acquaintance who has. You may hear of news accounts which describe incidents of harassment, violence, and even murder. And it is happening all over the globe.
Islamophobia is nothing new. The earliest Muslim communities of the Prophetic age dealt with the fear of the new way of life brought by Islam and the people who practiced it – Muslims.
Let us make a serious effort to fight hate on campus.
With the recent terrorist attack on a Canadian Muslim family of five, leaving one survivor in London, Ontario, fear is the last thing that should control our next step.
It’s tempting to want to just relax the summer before college. But this is a time to not only buy items for dorm rooms and schedule fall classes. This summer is a time to build the spiritual reserves necessary to face this new chapter of life with strong faith.