STORY WRITING - AGES 11 - 14 - OMAR RAHMAN - IL
Islam
We were studying slavery in America in Mr. Step’s fourth-grade class, and the entire class was listening with rapt attention. Then one of my classmates commented, “Aren’t all slaves black?” I gasped in disbelief about that comment, and everyone in the class started looking toward the darker-skinned kids, which made everyone uncomfortable. My teacher, Mr. Step jumped in to break the awkward situation and said “All people are equal and we should not judge people by the way they look.” He further added that all religions and cultures talk about equality and offered an opportunity to the class to discuss racism and equality in their respective religions. At that moment I shouted out, “That is what Islam also teaches about!”Apparently he was pleased with my eagerness and said, “Omar, why don’t you come here and tell us about your religion and share the views of your religion about equality” I got up and shared with the class whatever I had learned from my parents’ teachings and from Sunday school with a passion.
Trying to recollect the relevant information in mind I started saying that Islam is a religion where we pray to the one god Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammed was the messenger of Allah. Islam originated from Mecca and Medina. Allah sent several prophets to spread the message of Islam such as Adam (AS), Ibrahim (AS), Isa -Jesus(AS), and Prophet Muhammed (SAW). Jesus is an important prophet of Islam and the leader of these prophets was named Prophet Muhammed and he was the last prophet. The Quran is the final book of Allah and it is the book of rules and teaches us how to be good Muslims and good human beings. Islam teaches about caring and respecting others, being good neighbors, giving charity for the poor and orphans, caring for the sick and elderly and caring for the environment
At that point, Mr. Step interrupted and asked “ Can you tell more about racism and equality in Islam.” In response, I added that one of the beloved companions of the prophet was Bilal (RA), who was was a black slave and gained freedom from another beloved companion Abu- Bakr (RA) as all people were supposed to be treated equally and racism is against Islam. Bilal (RA) was a leader for the Muslims and the first to recite the call to prayer (Azan). He is a beloved hero of Muslims and respected by people of other faiths too. Regarding equality, Prophet Muhammed in his last sermon declared that “No one is better than another, black or white, Arab or non-Arab, except by the virtue of deeds.”
As I finished my story, Mr. Step and the rest of the class applauded saying that it was a great presentation and that message of Islam was truly inspiring. I was glad that I got to present my wonderful religion to my class and I think they really liked it!