Trump is wrong and Ghazallah Khan is not alone

Last week I could not stop thinking about my own family, my two sister, a retired veteran of the U.S. Navy, the other a former U.S. Marine, still working as a nurse for the VA; and my brother, who served as a Navy medic in Vietnam. I thought how must they feel when they heard Trump’s words.  An attack on a mother’s grief, an attack on the memory of her son, and on the very fabric of America. Today, violence comes often, and in many forms. Sometimes, it is delivered through spoken words.  For Muslim-Americans and everyone, the rhetoric against our religion on the public stages is extremely disturbing, and disappointing. When Republican nominee Donald Trump suggested that Ghazallah Khan, the mother of a fallen American hero, had nothing to say because she is Muslim, Donald Trump insulted all of us. The attack was not limited to Muslim women or Muslim people, but to the most basic elements of our shared values and humanity.

It’s happening every week; and sometimes, every day. Violence in the name of hatred or religion, whether in Nice, Orlando, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Chicago or Munich, is an affront to humanity and to every religion.  As a community faith leader, I see this as a challenge of overwhelming proportions. As a Muslim faith leader, I see these tragedies as continuing sorrow to our community. Every day following these events, Muslim-Americans experience terrible social backlash, and endure the pain of discrimination, while already traumatized by the same tragedy as everyone else. In light of these things, the insults against the Khan family is all the more egregious.

The disillusionment and sadness is overwhelming. Yet with hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the U.S., I see that our community utilizes tools found in our faith, those that promise peace and hope, and support our from brothers and sisters of every faith and culture, in order to find our way along the shared journey of recovery, forgiveness, and healing. I have witnessed the power of unity, and have seen Muslims, Jews and Christians engage and embrace that unifying power and realize significant hope, stability and recovery. Each unique religion offers an abundance of hope and guidelines for how to treat our fellow man, and when those principles and powers of goodness are combined, the chances of fighting and winning against hatred become very real.

Yet many ask, how can we focus on love when we are in so much pain? It is far from easy, but it is our responsibility to try. For Muslims, our belief, coming from the teachings of the The Holy Quran;states: “And good and evil deeds are not alike. Repel evil with good and your enemy will become your dearest friend.” (Quran. Chapter 41 Verse 33-34)  Confronting the full scope of trauma and pain is necessary for moving beyond that pain. Discussing the sorrow of yesterday is part of the journey to healing and reconciliation. This idea is reflected in every religion.

There are living examples that offer practical wisdom on the value of bringing together members of different faith communities to achieve significant healing, even in the face of absolute, chaotic war. The majority-Muslim secular nation of Azerbaijan has faced the horrors of hatred, intolerance and oppression, such as in the Khojaly Massacre of 1992, where innocent Azerbaijani civilians were brutally murdered by invading forces, simply for being Muslim. How Azerbaijan has supported the refugees and survivors and continues to champion diversity for people of every faith, despite enduring devastating occupation from a neighboring nation, serves as a source of hope for people and nations that strive for inclusive harmony and also face the debilitating costs of inhumanity. The example of Azerbaijan enabling the peaceful coexistence of Muslims, Christians and Jews serves as proof that by working together across religious and cultural divides, our values and hopes for peace can outlast and overshadow the traumas and challenges.

Achieving success and openness involves active, intentional forgiveness. This forgiveness applies not only to those that hurt us today, but perhaps most importantly, to the countless examples of tragedy from the past that continue to haunt many hearts, minds and voices around the world. If we look at the many acts of violence occurring now, whether in Paris, Texas, or Syria, we can also see the connection between these current tragedies and the historical narratives behind them, often built on many years of collected pain. Forgiveness is the value and practice that can bring  communities together, because it can remove the pain and hurt that continue to divide us.

There is no question that this entire world is in desperate need of healing. But with the divisiveness that is being discussed, with our community under attack for our religious faith, we have no choice but to find a way to engage and to overcome the hatred. The Khan family is on our minds everyday, and although they may never truly overcome such an overwhelming loss,  they have a national community of supporters behind them. I pray that this nation will one day also serve as a model of compassion and tolerance, as we have seen in other countries around the world. That we can forgive the past, and that we can find ways to continue the dialogue of friendship and use that friendship to empower and protect each other.

Khan is director of community and interfaith at the King Fahad Mosque in Los Angeles.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.