If I Should Speak by Umm Zakiyyah

Author:Umm Zakiyyah
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: coming of age, multicultural, african american, muslims, islam, muslim women, interfaith, muslim fiction, islamic fiction, ruby moore
Publisher: Umm Zakiyyah

***

“You have anymore questions for your paper?” Aminah inquired.

“Uh,” Tamika searched her mind, glancing at the notebook in her lap, gathering her thoughts all of a sudden.

“Oh yeah,” Tamika said, pulling herself together as she read her notes. “What’s this jihad?” she said slowly, hoping she was pronouncing it correctly. That was a major question Tamika had had. She could understand obeying a man and covering her body, but she did not support terrorism, even if done in the name of God.

“Jihad?” Aminah repeated.

“Yeah.”

“That’s an Arabic word meaning a struggle, but under certain circumstances it can mean physically fighting in the battlefield.”

“What?” Tamika asked incredulously. “So they do go out and fight people and say it’s for God?”

Aminah chuckled. “No, I didn’t say that.”

“But aren’t they fighting people?”

“Who’s they?”

Who were they? People Tamika had seen on television? “Uh, the Muslims.”

“What Muslims?” Aminah inquired.

Tamika did not respond.

“We have to be careful of stereotypes,” Aminah cautioned. “Just like you wouldn’t want a person to view Blacks as they’re portrayed on television, you shouldn’t view Muslims, or any people for that matter, based on what you see or hear on television.” She added, “Even if it’s the news. I don’t think I have to convince you that even that’s biased.”

Tamika nodded. “That’s true, but I was just saying —”

“I know,” Aminah cut in, “that’s what most people say.”

“So what is jihad then?” Tamika asked her question again, smiling self-consciously. “I guess I should just leave it like that and you can answer.”

“Jihad,” Aminah replied, “as I explained before, is simply a struggle, and sometimes it means physical fighting. And I guess you can look at the fight as you might look at the fights American soldiers partake in. Certainly, we don’t look at them as terrorists, do we?”

“No,” Tamika replied emphatically. Several of her friends and family were in the military, some having even fought before. She definitely did not view them as terrorists.

“But American soldiers fight in wars,” Aminah pointed out.

“But it’s to defend and help people,” Tamika interjected.

“Well,” Aminah replied, “in Islam, it’s similar to that. Just like America does not tolerate oppression in the world and at times goes to help those who are oppressed, Muslims are not allowed to permit people to be oppressed. And when the oppression occurs, Muslims must defend and help the oppressed. These are the two types of jihad, the first being when Muslims fight to help people who are being oppressed, like America does at times, and the second being when Muslims defend themselves from attack.”

“But is it like a holy war or something?”

“That’s the term the media likes to use to paint an unfavorable picture of Muslims, but jihad is simply as I explained.”

“So does this include attacking innocent people?”

“Of course not,” Aminah replied emphatically. “In fact, killing and harming innocent people, as with any form of terrorism, is strictly prohibited in Islam. This prohibition is so strict that even when Muslims do fight, they aren’t even allowed to harm as much as a tree.

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