The Islamic revival symbolized by the current resurgence of the hijab is often considered as an attempt of Arab Muslims to restore their pride and identity which have been repeatedly undermined by colonization and economic retardation. Man has always had a conservative tendency and reacts against which is new and unfamiliar without realizing whether it is good or bad for him. Some people still think the Muslim women insist on wearing hijab which is the “very symbol of the oppressed situation because they are enslaved by the tradition and are not sufficiently aware of their lamentable situation. “If only”, they probably think, “the movement of the women’s liberation and independence awakes those women’s mind, they will take away the hijab.”

Over the past few years, I have come to get to meet and know several outstanding Muslims, a great majority of them were reverts from Islam. People like Brother Shah Kirit, Brother Nicholas Sylvester and Brother Kamaruddin Abdullah are such examples of towering Muslims who were former Hindus or Christians and have come to reject the worship of a half-naked man and recognise Islam as the Truth. Today they are not only zealous Muslims, but also well-known preachers of Islam and calling people to God’s Way. It puts many of these “born Muslims” (me included) to shame.

Almost two weeks have passed in this new Hijrah year 1426. I’m sure that we have listened a lot about the Hijrah, the Migration. However, there is one misconception that may still prevail among some of us and our children. And that is the date of the Hijrah. The Hijrah, or the migration of Rasulullah salla allahu alayhi wassallam from Mecca to Medina, did not take place in the month of Muharram, as been widely misconceived. Instead, it took place in early Rabiul Awal. The Prophet salla allahu alayhi wassallam went out of Mecca towards the end of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar.

We have seen throughout history many examples of terrorists and terrorism, for instance, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the New England Witch Hunts, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, the IRA, the Ku Klux Klan, Timothy McVeigh, David Korresh and Slobodan Milosevic, just to name a few. The evil actions of those mentioned speak for themselves, with the crimes they perpetrated against humanity. Sadly, today, terrorism continues at a feverish pace, with no end in sight.

If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad?

Here is an interesting website, aptly named Islamophobia, which discusses issues concerning Islamophobia as well as real cases involving Islamophobia and the terrorism that Muslims had to face due to this disease.