Allah's House was Bombed, and I Didn't Even Know It.

I woke up Sunday morning and after doing some dhikr (remembrances of Allah), I reached for my phone and found out that a masjid, (Muslim place of worship) was bombed in Minnesota. Apparently it happened at fajr, the time of the dawn prayer. Thankfully, no one was hurt. I read about it in an article by Al-Jazeera. I quickly looked to CNN on Facebook to see their coverage. I found nothing. I googled and only found AMP and Al-Jazeera. Could this be right? Someone literally tried to blow up a place of worship in the United States and the media is silent? I turned CNN and saw Dana Bash talking about Trump and Russia. I decided to send the article to several people on my Facebook friends list. A friend wrote back and told me this happened yesterday. SubhanAllah! Wait a minute, a mosque was bombed with an IED and I'm finding out a full day later! 

You're probably thinking the same thing I thought. This stinks of a double standard. Michael Jackson's song came right to my mind, "They don't really care about us." Let this have been a church full of the "right" people and we would have had 24 hour news coverage by CNN. The FBI would have been knocking on the doors of the Muslim families in the surrounding neighborhoods trying to find the terrorist. What kind of a message does this send to all the Muslims living in this country? Where is the White House's statement? Three hours ago, CNN wrote about it but only because the governor of Minnesota publicly declared the bombing an act of terrorism. So now that someone said it was terrorism, you can cover it for 60 seconds CNN? If you google the definition of terrorism, you will read: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. When a Muslim place of worship is bombed in the current social climate, is there any doubt this was an act of terrorism? 

      Double the Standard for Double the Reason If you didn't already know, Minnesota is home to the largest population of Somali Americans, most of whom are Muslim. So the double standard here is for double the reason. Not only are the victims of the bombing Muslims, they are black. I have two black teenage sons who comment that they know they are America's most hated. They just can't figure out what part is hated more, their religion or the their skin.  Imagine what is going on in the minds of the Somalis in Minnesota, particularly the youth. They are new immigrants, looking for a better life. Did they expect this type of backlash? If the Somalis I know are anything like the Somalis in Minnesota, then I know they are strong, resilient and deeply faithful in Allah. However, events like this affect the youth a little harder.

Where do We Go From Here?  But what does this mean for us going forward? How do the Muslims in Minnesota are feel after all this. When will the hate crimes against Muslims end? I personally draw the conclusion that it is only beginning. Although I may sound pessimistic, my conclusion is based off of history. I do not think things will get better in America for Muslims. It only takes a brief view of the history of this country to see that for every newcomer to America,  It always gets much worse before it gets better. So where does that leave us? Has a line been crossed with this? Do they want to go back to Somalia? If you're a Muslim like myself with no ties to any other land besides America, you're stuck here to face whatever comes to us. But for an immigrant, there may exist the option of going back. Is going back to Somalia ideal right now? The media highlights mention US airstrikes against Shabab in Somalia, car bombings, and speak of a country on the brink of famine. On the positive side, hundreds of people immediately started donating money to rebuild the masjid. Al Jazeera put out a report stating that as of August 8th, over $84,000 has been donated to rebuild the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center.  Truly the word of Allah is true. ;after every hardship comes ease. Allahuakbar! To all my Somali brothers and sisters of Bloomington, Minnesota,  my dua is with you. I would love to hear your comments and insights so my readers and I can understand your situation more fully. 

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