Sufis Teach That We First Must Battle

When I Arrived In America, I Experienced Serious Culture Shock. For Someone With A Religious Upbringing, The 1960s Were An Extremely Difficult Time. Even Though Religion Was A Big Part Of The Civil Rights And Peace Movements, In My College Religion Was Treated As Irrelevant, Hopelessly Stodgy, And Behind The Times.

We Are Americans. We - We - We Are - We Are Doctors. We Are Investment Bankers. We Are Taxi Drivers. We Are Store Keepers. We Are Lawyers. We Are - We Are Part Of The Fabric Of America. And The Way That America Today Treats Its Muslims Is Being Watched By Over A Billion Muslims Worldwide.

'jihad' Can Mean Holy War To Extremists, But It Means Struggle To The Average Muslim.

I've Spoken With Friends Who Are Rabbis And Priests And We've Agreed That Most People Have An Emotional Attachment To Their Faith, A Desire To Fulfill Their Spiritual Longings, But They Are Not Experts In Understanding The History Of Their Religion.

In Malaysia, Where Western Culture Was Extremely Influential, I'd Grown Up Listening To Elvis And The Beatles And Watching American Movies. People Wanted To Be Like Americans. In Contrast, When I Got Here, I Saw Prosperous Middle-class American College Students Wanting To Somehow Join The Third World.