The following is the full text of the keynote address delivered by Dr. Fasil Khan at the 2008 Martin Luther King Day Ecumenical Prayer Service at Asbury United Methodist Church in Charleston, W. Va. on Monday, Jan. 21.
Bismillah-Ar-Rahman-Ar Rahim
"In the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful"
Gov. Manchin, Mrs. Manchin, Congresswoman Capito, ladies and gentlemen
Asalam-o-alaikum.
"Peace be with all of you."
My dear friends, I bring you the very warmest of greetings from the Muslim community in West Virginia as we gather to celebrate an extraordinary life and legacy. I am humbled at being asked today to share with you an American Muslim perspective on the life and work of Rev. King.
As I sat down to record my thoughts on paper, I found it remarkably easy to do so. I grew up in my native, Pakistan studying the life and work of Dr. King. I recall to this day the excitement and intense competition in my 9th grade classmates at having to write a five hundred word essay on his letter from Birmingham Jail. My school was not an exception but the norm and that exercise continues to this day.
Rev. King’s life is the embodiment for me of the righteous life. The very same espoused by the true peaceful teachings of Islam.
When my wife and I decided to move back to West Virginia after four years in the North East, we did so largely because we wanted to bring up our children in this beautiful state and enjoy the warm hearted hospitality and mutual respect that is the hall mark of West Virginia. And yes, with due apologies to the Herd, we became Mountaineer fans.
Another major reason was the incredibly pro-active on going interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue that is truly exemplary for the rest of the country. At the Islamic Center of West Virginia in South Charleston, your fellow Muslim West Virginians welcome you to join us in all such events.
It goes without saying that the success of this inter-faith cross-cultural process is the result of the wonderful clergy we have in the state as well as the tremendous moral support from Gov. Manchin and Mrs. Manchin.
My son, Hamza is in the audience today. He came home from kindergarten last year and recited verbatim the life story of Rev. King and Rosa Parks.
Sensing a teaching moment, I asked him why he thought Rosa Parks sat on that bus. He looked up at me and said, "‘Because she was tired.' "
As is often the case with the profound wisdom of six-year olds, he taught me something. Seemingly ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things by doing the ordinary tasks of life.
As I reflected on Hamza’s thoughts, I could not help but think that as a 26- year old pastor, when the Montgomery bus boycott began, Rev. King was not necessarily motivated by thoughts of revolutionary change but by the thought of watching his own children suffer the indignities of a indescribably unjust and cruel system.
I realized for the first time, having read the “I Have a Dream" speech innumerable times, that the most important words in the speech are "my four little children" as in "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
My dear friends…that is a father looking at his children and wondering what he can do to improve their lives. That is a thought I live with constantly. As does everyone else with children or grandchildren.
I say again, Dr. King belongs to the world. His words transcend all boundaries of caste, creed, color, race, religion, geography or nationality.
His legacy, in no small part is comprised of his immortal words of which there are thousands upon thousands.
His legacy, in no small part is comprised of his immortal words of which there are thousands upon thousands.
Oh what beautiful words...
Each carefully measured and delicately woven into an intricate tapestry of oratorical excellence. Each word designed to inspire. Each sentence crafted for maximum effect.
I like to remind myself every now and then that there was a perfectly logical reason why he did not say ‘I have a strategic plan." No, he said, “I have a dream,” and in so doing launched a revolutionary change in the American conscience.
It was undoubtedly his God given talent and inherent courage that inspired him to achieve revolutionary change in the most unprecedented manner imaginable…a peaceful manner.
On February 9, 1968, Dr. King preached what we might consider to be his own eulogy from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church:
I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others.
I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.
I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question.
I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try to feed the hungry.
And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison.
I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness.
And all of the other shallow things will not matter.
We might use this occasion to question why certain moments in Dr. King's magnificent body of sermons, speeches and writings have achieved canonical status while others are all but forgotten. The poverty, inadequate access to education, employment, and health care, discrimination and military aggression against which he struggled are still with us. They may have assumed different forms, but we face them nevertheless.
In this era of guided munitions and misguided leaders, his voice still rings out bravely. Challenging, questioning and defying the seemingly insane logic of unending warfare and violence.
The Holy Quran teaches us that "God has created all of us from a single pair of male and female and divided us into nations and tribes so that we may know each other and respect each other not so we may despise each other.”
Today, we find the world aflame with the violence and hatred of religious extremism and military imperialism. Bigotry, anti-semitism, racism, and oppression are once again raising their ugly heads worldwide. We have indeed seen signs of it locally as well.
Our political leadership uses words with utterly devastating effect. Words that are thoughtlessly written and hopelessly mangled in delivery to pander to their respective political powerbases. Words that hurt and insult because they reek of ignorance and arrogance.
As an American Muslim, I wince in disgust every time one of our politicians uses words like islamist or jihadist. To them they are mere words, to any Muslim they are an insult. The word Jihad for instance simply means “struggle”.
As in my own personal jihad is against my fondness for chocolate. One that I am likely to lose.
Words…
Is it not a shocking fact that more children and young adults in the Muslim world know the names of the latest American weapons, yet they have never heard of the Peace Corps? Is it not shocking that the wider world forms its opinions by watching television of the ‘We Report You Decide’ variety?
Fair and Balanced, indeed! They most assuredly will never be known as the ugly Americans…they are far too overqualified for that title!
Washington today, sir, with all due respect, is simply the story of an aggressive elephant, an ornery donkey and a lot of bull in-between.
Where one asks are the men and women of conscience such as our very own Rev. Jim Lewis who speak truth to power regardless of the consequences. Why does the beltway seem to form an unbreakable barrier between reason and the peaceful pursuit of the American ideals of life, liberty and justice?
If you find my tone indignant, I assure you it is laced with just the right amount of righteous indignation that Dr. King would have liked to see in us all.
I recall once again my favorite passage from the letter form Birmingham Jail: " ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.’"
Let us be inspired once again by Martin Luther King, who said in January of 1968 to his own children: “ 'I am going to work and do everything that I can do to see that you get a good education. I don’t ever want you to forget that there are millions of God’s children who will not and cannot get a good education, and I don’t want you feeling that you are better than they are. For you will never be what you ought to be until they are what they ought to be.' ”
May God grant us all the patience and perseverance to be agents for positive peaceful change in this world. Amen.
God bless you all.
God bless West Virginia. God bless America.
