Translator: Imamali Dadashzada Reviewer: Denise RQ
If you look around the world right now,
many problems arise because of miscommunication,
because of prejudice, and because of ignorance.
This ignorance will only continue to fuel more hatred
unless an effort is made to enlighten.
In the midst of this commotion,
as a Muslim, I feel it is important
for the world to hear my views.
Maybe, just maybe,
these chains of ignorance will slowly but surely be broken
by my message and those who are willing to listen.
As I thought about what I would share with you tonight,
I kept coming back to the principles
by which my parents have raised me:
a few fundamental aspects of my religion,
the values of acceptance, humbleness, diversity,
and most importantly, peace.
Tonight, I want to share an example with you
that my mom once gave me
when I was feeling the pressure of being different.
She said, "Look at your hands.
Did God make all of your fingers the same length?
No.
God made every finger different from one another
so that they could work together and get the job done."
If our fingers were all the same length,
we wouldn't even be able to pick up a pencil.
This proves that our differences
are what enables us to conquer the impossible.
Our greatest strength as human beings
is our ability to recognize our differences.
But our greatest weakness
is our failure to accept and cherish them.
We are so fortunate to be here,
in a country where everyone truly has equal rights and freedoms to excel.
Me, standing up here, as an American Muslim,
is a true example of that.
I never take these freedoms for granted.
It is our privilege and responsibility to our country
to trust one another and stand up for what is right.
Even though we may read different holy books
and call God by different names,
inside, each and every one of us,
we have one heart that can love.
Love does not see color, races, or features.
Love sees people.
Where there is love, there is harmony and balance in the world.
Where love is absent,
there's hatred, fear, miscommunication, and jealousy.
Look at the trouble spots in the world.
Who could say that if love ruled there
the killing, the fighting, the hostilities would not stop immediately?
Sometimes, it is easier to clench a fist than to shake a hand,
but we must remember that love is far stronger than hate.
In my opinion, hate and violence have no faith, no culture,
no color of skin,
but we can defeat them with our faith and unity.
We must rely on each other to uphold peace and justice.
When one part of the community aches, we must all stand up in solidarity.
If there's still someone sitting in this room thinking,
"No, I'm too shy.
I can't take that big of a leap, I can't make a difference,"
well, let me tell you this:
when there's a will, there's a way.
As Mother Teresa once said. "Peace begins with a smile."
A smile is the easiest and most effective way
to make a difference.
To frown, it takes 48 muscles. while it only takes 17 muscles to smile.
I'm going to ask you to do something for me:
on the count of three,
just smile to the person sitting next to you for two seconds.
Ready? 1, 2, 3.
Regardless of who was sitting next to you,
wasn't this room all full of happiness in just two seconds?
If two seconds can make that big of a difference,
imagine the difference you can make by just smiling more often.
The world would be such a better place if we all just smiled more.
In conclusion, I would ask all of you to make a commitment
that whenever you have the opportunity to simply go out and do good,
do so without condition or qualification,
not seeing if the hand that extends a hand to you
matches you in terms of race, nationality, gender, religion,
or any other socially constructed difference
that is used to justify as being apart.
We should be the ones who build bridges instead of walls.
We should be the ones who break the chains of ignorance
and create love through communication and understanding.
We should be the ones who drive to prove
that America is really the land of freedom for all.
Thank you.
(Applause)