Muslims, Terrorists and "The Comforter" Who Will Bring Peace and Charity

Last week my son walked down the school corridor, when two
girls noticed his maroon fez. They pointed at him, saying, “You’re a
terrorist!”

He happened to be wearing his “Muslims for Peace” t-shirt.

“Look at the back,” he told them and he showed them Terrorism,
crossed out, which is the express belief of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Then the girls pointed at his book, “Man of God,” which
showed a picture of the third caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on the
cover, Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, depicted in a snow white pugri.

“We saw him on tv. He kills people,” they accused.

“He’s been dead for ten years,” my son replied.

This is not the first time that my children have been called
terrorists in Georgia, but I like to think on the positive side, hoping that
this could be the last, since the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is actively
explaining the true history of Muhammad, the Messenger of Peace.

When I tried to tell
my own mother of my love for Islam, she felt very leery of my proclamation. She
quoted an article by National Geographic about how Islam was spread by the
sword. I felt shocked into silence by such a accusation coming from my own
mother. It cut into a lifetime of trust.

Of course the article she referred to was not written by a
Muslim. I knew that without asking. Would anyone in their right minds listen to
a Palestinian, who said he was an authority on Judaism? Not likely.

“Mom,” I said, “When you have to get up at fajr, before dawn, where is the guy with the sword?”

“Mom, when you have to fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, where is the guy with the sword?”

I love my mother and I respect her even more because I firmly believe that her search for the truth started me on this journey, but I relished the silence that followed, because when you think about a lot of these “arguments” they do not make a lot of sense. They are just empty accusations.

Ask yourself, why would I want to pray five times a day? Why
would I want to fast when we all love to eat and drink? It is because we all
fall in love with the character of Muhammad, the Messenger of Peace. He was so
loving, he hugged all the children in the neighborhood. He took them for rides
on his camel in Medina and he gave them salaams of peace, which was to say that he thought they were important and deserved respect.

We want to emulate the character of one who was so loving
and kind that he became the King of Arabia, yet he lived in a mud hut. What
kind of a king is that? A spiritual king.

Mr. Mahmood Ahmad, an engineer from Augusta, Georgia,
pointed out last weekend at the Baitul Baqi Messenger of Peace Campaign that
Muhammad was the first man to create a charter of rights for women. It is an
astonishing fact, if you think about this for a minute. Women in America have
had to fight for every right, asking the men to give them the right to vote and
the right to inherit property—but women had that right 1400 years ago in Islam,
because Muhammad intended to be their Messenger of Peace.

If Muhammad, pbuh, saw an animal in distress, he would find
the owner and inform him that he needed to treat the animal better because we
need to fear the punishment of the hereafter, not just fulfill our needs of the
moment. Add that to the list—he was an animal rights activist.

The bible states, “I will pray to the Father,
and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever"
(14:16) The Comforter is Muhammad. The ahadith, or sayings of the prophet, are
examples of how he expects Muslims to behave.

Muhammad brought spiritual knowledge and a prayerful way of
life.  Turning to God in difficulties tells Him that we have our spiritual priorities straight. But if people would rather go to the mall or watch the latest movie--that is just the worldly world--full of activity yet empty of value at the same time. It is not satisfying, because it is so ephemeral.

Muhammad, 1400 years ago, stated that we should “seek
knowledge from the cradle to the grave.” As a teacher, I particularly love this
philosophy, because as long as we are learning new things, we feel we are
growing and it gives us great pleasure. So, we can say he was an advocate of
life-long learning.

Despite the negative encounter, I am happy to say that my
son is still getting up at 6:30 am, so he can do a community service for his
school—hall patrol. After prayers, reading the Quran and eating breakfast, he
arrives at school with his maroon fez on, ready to do his duty. The prophet,
Muhammad, did not have any sons who survived, but we always hope that our sons will be his “son” in character. True love of God, means that we must serve
mankind free of charge.