Sharing The Essence of Our Beliefs by Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf

This is the translation

Take a President Barack Obama during his trip to Turkey on Tuesday, the next step to fulfill its promise to address the Muslim world. He has some critics by warning: do not do it. I think they are wrong. This is exactly the right thing to do. Obama is the right person to do.

The forum will address the President of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul as a way to talk directly with the Muslims about finding common ground for peace. Critics say that Obama should not try to engage "the Islamic world" because there is anything in common. They say it would be beneficial to put Osama bin Laden that portrays itself as the protector of "Islamic World". They say that the conflicts in the Middle East, with Iran, and inside Iraq and between Pakistan and India are not rooted in religion, but is a secular conflicts over land and influence and control.

That may be true, but it is equally true that even if it was not religion is the cause of this conflict but it certainly was at the core of the solution. In order to understand this, one must understand the role played by Islam in the Muslim world. We say in the United States when we have a complaint: "This is unconstitutional. There must be a law." Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for us, and accompanied by the list of rights, is the essence of what we believe.

When one of the complaint in the Middle East, says that "there must be a law," he knows that this law exists. The only law that the Muslim needs to exist in the Koran and the Hadith. I have asked people directly after the onslaught of atheist ten of September, why did the movements of the many political agendas, religious names? Why it is called the "Muslim Brotherhood" or "Party of God" or "Hamas" or Islamic Resistance Movement? Ojibam that the trend towards Islamic law and justice begins in religious movements, because secularism had failed to deliver what he wants Muslims, which is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

If this seems to be similar to the Declaration of Independence is suspicious, it is because Islamic law and principles of American democracy involved in many things, so contrary to what many think in the West. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the Creator God Almighty has given human rights can not be isolated. Those who wrote the Constitution they are prepared to lay the rules of justice and ensure peace and tranquility at home and encourage prosperity and believe in the blessings of freedom.

And in the same way, he believes Islamic law that Allah is the political justice, economic justice and helping the weak and the poor. These concepts of Islamic deep. Many Muslims believe that what is happening by the Muslims from their government is in fact the same article, which must be provided by the State and the Islamic faith in the American personal freedom and individual dignity are the Islamic principles as well.

Obama sent a wave of shock across the Muslim world by quoting the noble Hadith in the National Prayer Breakfast on the fifth of February, and that none of you is not a believer until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself. The president equated between the doctrine of Islam and the words of Jesus Christ "love thy neighbor as thyself", and the Jewish Torah commandment of "What is hateful to you, not to do by your brother in humanity".

U.S. president highlights the use of the language of Islam to show they are consistent with American values and Jewish and Christian mission and magnified a hundred times among the Muslims. With draws Osama bin Laden is powered by the debate that the United States is trying to impose Western values on the Islamic world, leading to the destruction of Islam. The United States has signed many times the victim to be put to this.

What Obama can do is to turn this approach. Can confirm the universality of Western values and Islamic, and can say that if the United States to safeguard the values of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and if the Muslims managed the maintenance of the principles of Islamic law, we will find that we have fewer points of conflict, and more common ground. When this is established in common Muslims will not be afraid anymore of Western domination, not afraid of the West after the expansion of Islam. Could then develop a "clash of civilizations" narrative of the test.

* Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is the Chairman of the Cordoba Initiative

It is pretty hard to really dispute the fact that the Imam is trying to infuse and make Sharia law as US law.