Protecting the Citizens of DC: Guidance From the Religion of Islam

Contributed by Andra Baylus, Regional Director of the Meher Baba Spiritual Community

Carrying out protecting citizens and the many variations of being a citizen, which includes people of different faith traditions, cultures, the wealthy, the poor, the middle class, the homeless and the immigrants, should be done carefully and respectfully taking into consideration each individual’s circumstances, thus ~ judiciously.

This is what America is all about.

When issues are raised of crime being rampant in DC and people not feeling safe to attend their houses of worship at night or people “disappearing” who are citizens and have not committed any crime, then of course, it is an invitation for action of some kind to take place to remedy these valid concerns. The questions then would be, “What kind of action is needed?” and, “How best can these actions be fairly implemented?”.

Not to act would be an abdication of governmental responsibility to protect its citizens, however, rounding up people indiscriminately may not be the wisest way to go about protecting the citizens of DC.

Muhammad (May blessings and peace be upon him- bpbuh) often spoke about the ” middle path”. He also was thought to have said that, “One hour of reflection is worth 70 years of prayer.”.

Would it be possible to follow the ” middle path” suggested by Muhammad (bpbuh) and pause to reflect upon how best to proceed?

Speaking to people who have experience in these areas of concern to seek their guidance would tap their knowledge and experience and help guide and refine actions to be not only fair to all citizens, but also effective. The importance and value of knowledge is firmly rooted in Islamic teachings. There are authentic Hadith that emphasize the obligation of seeking knowledge, such as: ” Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.”

“Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China” is a widely known saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (bpbuh), however, its authenticity as a hadith is debated among scholars. Many Muslims interpret this as a figurative expression emphasizing the importance of seeking knowledge diligently even if it requires traveling to the ends of the Earth.

Why not then seek advice about the issues of crime from professionals and before stepping forward to do something, is it possible to pause, do “due diligence”, inquire, reflect and use discernment to gauge the proper course of action.

All of our many faith traditions have wisdom embedded in our respective holy books and writings, as referenced above regarding Islamic texts. In today’s world, surely this guidance is more important than ever before.

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.