russabali

Wow, this thread blew up while I was asleep (For those wondering it's currently 10 am here). I want to be very clear on my position on this question, I support and affirm LGBTQIA+ rights. I believe in an America that is a country of equal liberty in which all are welcome. That welcoming, however, should come with the condition that we affirm and support the rights and liberties of others.

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I also just want to add that I'm of the belief that one can be BOTH gay and Muslim.

I am a deeply religious man and faith plays a large part in helping me stay calm and relaxed. The conviction I have in my religion allows me to do what I feel is right for the people and not stress too much.

In terms of day to day decisions, however, I don't let religion let me inform my decisions. I saw there were a lot of Muslim kids not getting the food they needed so I pushed for halal food, however, I'm also noticing a growing vegan population and so I've also pushed to have vegan options.

I try to have all my decisions in office come from an objective lens.

I don't think people realize that the OP needed to go to sleep.

My religion is relevant because our current President made it relevant. To lie about Muslims in Jersey City celebrating really pissed me off, especially because of the fallout of 9/11 where mosques in Jersey City were infiltrated by the NYPD as well as Muslim Student Associations. My religion is part of who I am and I see it as extremely relevant in a climate where Muslims are constantly under attack by individuals, like many on this thread, who paint Islam in broad strokes without any understanding of my faith. Again I'm not a scholar of the faith but I want people to understand that Muslims aren't people who want to come to kill you or "hate us" but they are people like me who have grown up in this country and want to serve the communities that raised us. Muslims aren't terrorists but rather community leaders and activists that want to push the envelope forward on American inclusivity.

I answered another similar question regarding cartoons:

"Let me share a part of Islam with you that you probably haven't been exposed to, in Islam, there is a hadith that says you must follow the laws of a land that you are in, which is why I don't understand all these shariah law questions because as Muslims in America we are subject to the laws of America.

To this question, in my own personal capacity, I support free speech. Period. That being said I would find it deeply insulting for someone to draw cartoons of Mohammed (pbuh) the same way that I find it deeply infuriating that there are people out there who deny the Holocaust ever happened."

*Edit: I'm not equating the two, in fact, I even use different verbs in the original post to illustrate this -insulting vs infuriating- the latter is much stronger than the former in emotions.