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The need is urgent Every day, the loyalties of Muslims in the West is called into question. Our community is becoming increasingly isolated as tensions are built between us and our fellow citizens. Our instititions, well intentioned as they might be, do not have the resources to adequately defend our community from attack, nor are they able to effectively organize Muslims to respond in a constructive manner to the challenges we face. We have yet to fully articulate a vision of Muslims in the West - a vision that we feel includes interaction, involvement, moderation, spiritual excellence, and concern for the welfare of our non-Muslim neighbors. While we wait, others who are less well-intentioned are doing it for us. If they succeed, the future of Islam in the West cannot be assured.
It shouldn't have to be this way Our community is one of the most diverse, yet talented demographic groups in the West. In the US and Canada, Muslim per-capita income is among the highest, and Muslims have been able to reach great heights in educational levels and business leadership. In Britain, stereotypes about Muslims are debunked every day by Muslim artists, activists, and intellectuals, despite an insensitive media campaign against them.
We know from the global Muslim experience, as well as the tenets of our faith, the importance of public service and giving of our time and money to help those who have been afflicted with poverty, political strife, and restrictions on freedom. Empowered with the gifts of this country, Muslims have the potential of contributing significantly to the larger community. Actions such as these would prove once and for all that our respect for the lands that have provided us with such opportunities in no way conflicts with our strong identity as Muslims.
It's time to act Technology has enabled us to network and share information as never before. We can create opportunities for people to give of their time and money in ways that take into account our daily struggles and busy lifestyles. Volunteerism and public service should not solely be the domain of those with the blessings of free time, or of material wealth. The process of building grassroots Muslim leadership through hard work is long overdue. And with your help, unitedmuslims.org intends to change that.
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THE VISION OF UNITEDMUSLIMS.ORG:
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 | Distribute the activism
In order to make effective change, we feel that it is better to have thousands of people making small efforts than to have a few devoting their whole lives to such work. unitedmuslims.org is our way of creating an infrastructure that allows this to happen.
You define the parameters of your activism - your available time, your skill sets, your service interests - and we will help find and deliver to you opportunities to make change happen, all on your own terms.
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 | Integrate the community
Integration - not isolation or assimilation - is the key to promoting acceptance of the Muslim community among people of other faiths. Others need to see that Muslims care about the welfare of the larger community and are willing to give their time, energy, and money to make a difference.
If every non-Muslim personally knew a Muslim like this, paranoia and prejudice against Muslims would not be the problem that it is today. With unitedmuslims.org, we can go a long way towards that reality.
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 | Promote our values
When non-Muslims think of "Islamic values", they think of values that threaten them. We need to work to show non-Muslims that society at large benefits when Muslims put their faith into action.
Through the work made possible by unitedmuslims.org, where Muslims can be a visible part of existing efforts by our non-Muslim neighbors to make change happen, we can convince others that the West is better off with Muslims as an integral part of Western society than it would be without us.
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