The Wake

“And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin what is right and hinder the wrong, and these it is that shall be successful.” These profound words seem as though they could come from the memoirs of some great American philosopher or one of our nation’s founding fathers. However, these words come from no other text than the Islamic holy book, the Quran. This commandment serves as a fundamental principle that every Muslim should incorporate into his or her life. These words also form the basis for my decision to cast a ballot in 2004.

Over the past four years, I have transitioned from a time when I was too young to vote or even care about the presidential ticket, to a situation where I would be not only doing a disservice to my country, but also plainly ignorant not to vote. Election 2004 consumes nearly every waking minute of my day. During this time, I have seen thousands of my countrymen perish in atrocious acts of terrorism, fellow Americans be denied their rights for no other reason than their Muslim faith or looks, and a growing state of fear in this nation where one in four Americans holds anti-Muslim views. We have all suffered through the reign of a president who invades countries with “shock and awe,” yet fails to follow through, establishing peace and justice. This same president cannot admit a mistake, the trademark of any human being, and further believes, as do many of his followers, that his hands carry out the will of God. All the while, the state of his nation, our nation, has unraveled disastrously.

Our list of ailments seems to grow longer every day: the future of social security is bleak; 45 million Americans find themselves without health care; and families are working themselves ragged just to put a few morsels of food on the table. Here at this very school, tuition has near doubled over the past four years. As a Muslim American, I see storms of hate crimes, unwarranted interrogations and illegal detainments, and the dismissal of the Muslim American voice and opinion even after doing everything to repudiate the acts of September 11, 2001.

These sentiments all cumulate in the vote I will cast on November 2. The widespread national as well as global disapproval of the direction our country finds itself going in has mobilized many of us to try to affect some change in this system. As voters, we should not guarantee our vote to any one candidate until the day we cast our ballots. For once we do, our issues are no longer the candidates’ top priority. Furthermore, we should not limit our voice to the ballot box on November 2. We should continue to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. By enjoining the good and peace, and by forbidding the wrong and injustice, we will all see this great nation prosper for generations to come.

Mohamed H. Sabur is a Member of Al-Madinah Cultural Center and can be contacted at sabu0004@umn.edu. This is the last cultural perspective editorial before the 2004 election. Don’t forget to vote!