My name is Mohammad Mohabbat and I’m the author of the internationally selling book “My Name is Mohammad,” which is a heart-wrenching story of my life. I have been working diligently for decades to bring people of the world together and not allow just a few misguided individuals to pit us against each other.
My story has graced the front pages of newspapers in this country and I have been on the radio and TV. I also have had a live TV show, “World of Love,” which broadcasted internationally.
I have lived 30 years of my life in Afghanistan, where I was born, and more than 30 years in America, which is my home now. I understand how easily we can be misguided because of our ignorance of other cultures. Every community, regardless of its religion, economic status, culture, and race, has some evil people living within it. America is not an exception.
We strive to find reasons for evil and isolate them from the rest of our communities, attaching religion, culture, or race to the criminals and their actions. This injustice is costing us dearly. Look at what is going on around the globe due to this ignorance and fear of the unknown. Very few people benefit from this and the rest of us innocent people become the victims—and we even lose our loved ones in wars driven by the egos of some higher-ups.
I’m on a mission to make a difference. I’m going to churches and other organizations where I give speeches about Islam, terrorism, peace, and love, and the differences among cultures, religions, and politics.
Not many of my fellow American citizens know that Islam means “peace and submission to God’s will.” So, when we say Islamic terrorism, we are contradicting ourselves because one cannot peacefully submit to God and be violent at the same time. This is an oxymoron.
Not many people know that Muslims must believe in Jesus Christ—may peace and blessings be upon him—and the original scriptures. Muslims must believe in Christ’s miraculous birth from the Virgin Mary—may peace and blessings be upon her. Jesus’ name has been mentioned in honor more than Mohammad’s name in the Quran. Muslims must believe in Moses—may peace and blessings be upon him—and the Torah. Muslims are required to follow their messages and guidance. Islam is an all-inclusive religion, yet some evil individuals have given it a bad name for their own evil purposes.
The wars we see nowadays in Iraq and Afghanistan have nothing to do with religion. It is all about power, ego, revenge, and being trigger-happy just because we can.
Let us wash and purify our hearts from those evil thoughts and become one human race, and spend our resources in a peaceful manner so that we can all benefit from them. I reach out to religious leaders and community leaders on the Central Coast to contact me and have me come to their organizations and give talks and answer questions.
I lived with a White Christian American family for a year in the 1960s when I was just a teenager. I received so much love, acceptance, and understanding from that community that when I went back home to Afghanistan, I stood up for America against the Soviets, who were working hard to convert our young generation into communists. As a result, I paid for it dearly. When the Soviets took over Afghanistan by force, I was tortured and marked for execution, and still I would tell them that Americans were peace-loving people and were not evil.
I had been invited to the White House where President Lyndon B. Johnson told me to go home and tell my people the good and the bad as I have seen them during my year of stay in America. I took the message to heart. I was ready to give my life for America when I wasn’t even an American. It was my duty as a Muslim to stand up for truth and be loyal to my host country. I eventually escaped from execution and took my wife and two toddlers out of the country where I finally reached America and started my life all over again. The horrifying details are in my book.
This is what Islam teaches us. This is what a Muslim will do for those who treat him right. There are approximately two billion Muslims in the world. Would it not be nice to treat them well and turn them into loyal friends like me who would be ready to die for us in defense of our interests, rather than bombing and killing innocent people and turning them into our enemies?
Islam was not born on September 11, 2001. Islam has existed from the time of Abraham—may peace and blessings be upon him. Let us look at the glories that Islam brought to the human race. Arabs invented the numeric system, which we use today. Otherwise, we would still be stuck with Roman Numerals. Arabs invented Algebra and we can reach the stars because of it. Arabs invented the number zero. Our computer programs consist of ones and zeros. Avo Sina, the father of medicine, was a Muslim and his teachings are the basis of today’s medicine. Arabs invented the game of Chess.
Let us turn to God and His word and become one. Let us forgive each other and not allow anyone, whether from within or abroad, to pit us against each other. Let us not go by what others tell us, but rather read, study, research, and find the facts on our own. Let us not allow blind people to lead the blind. Let love, peace, truth, understanding, and brotherhood and sisterhood prevail. Amen.
Mohammad Mohabbat is an author, photographer, and musician, as well as the Imam at the Central Coast Islamic Center of Santa Maria. Send comments to Executive Editor Ryan Miller at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 2, 2012.