Barack Obama Wins (repost)

I have new hope for my country…

I have received several emails about my statement above this video. Yes. I do have new hope for my country. I do.

Does this mean I will agree with every decision the leaders make? No. I certainly will not. And that’s okay. I am not in their position. I am not faced with the same challenges and circumstances that they are. And I should be grateful that I am in an environment where I can disagree, where I can object, where I can speak out… I can go beyond simply doing good… I can object to wrongdoing.

My point in saying that “I have new hope for my country” has more to do with the people… That my fellow Americans could rise above past (hopefully past) prejudices in this election, for me, offers hope.

Do my wife and I still get stares when we go out to dinner? Do people still say some mean things to us in front of the kids? Do people still (assuming that I’m Jewish or Amish) have Muslim-bashing conversations in my presence? Did it break my heart when my daughter came home and asked me, “Abu (Daddy), why do so many people hate Muslims?”

Of course.

But you know what? There is more of the opposite. More people start out ignorant, but later want to know. More people smile at my wife and kids. More people ask where we are from and are amazed when we say, “Right here” – they want to talk more. They genuinely want to learn. They want to understand.

So, yes, I have hope.

…and here’s another reason why…

For every one person that has the ignorance of that woman speaking to McCain, there is one who knows better, and one more who wants to know better.

Allah Subhannahu Wa Ta’ala mentions in a hadeeth Qudsi (the rough meaning of which is…) “If you find something good, then praise Allah. If you find something other than that, then blame no one but yourself.”