3 myths about Muslims:
Myth: “I’m just one person; I can’t make a difference.”
In Allah, Liberty and Love, I tell the story of “just one person” who became Islam’s Gandhi. Never heard of him? Neither have most Muslims. That’s why, as “one person,” you can approach your local school to include the Muslim Gandhi in its curriculum. Allah, Liberty and Love offers many more tips to advance reconciliation, whether you’re an individual or joining hands with others.
Myth: “I’m not a Muslim, so I’m not allowed to say anything.”
Hooey. As I explain, Martin Luther King Jr. himself faced the charge of being an “outside agitator” because he dared to cross state lines. As Rev. King reminded the critics, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality; tied in a single garment of destiny.” Similarly, what takes place among Muslims today affects countless lives outside the fold. Non-Muslims have a right—and responsibility—to be part of this urgent conversation.
Myth: “Interfaith dialog is the answer.”
Too often, interfaith dialog degenerates into an exchange of platitudes. But Allah, Liberty and Love gives you the permission to ask uncomfortable questions, which shows faith in our capacity to think. Questions also show respect: You’re honoring me when you refuse to infantilize me.
Ultimately, Allah, Liberty and Love will equip readers to develop “moral courage”—the willingness to speak up when everyone else wants to shut you up. This can be fun: At the end of the book, I publish my recipe for spiced chai tea as a delicious incentive to get together with friends, share these ideas and support each other in the journey of moral courage—a journey that, taken by enough of us, will transport Muslims and non-Muslims to a peace worth having.
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