In his latest tweet storm, U.S. President Donald Trump assured the public that he had no regrets over enforcing the >"Muslim Ban" without prior warning, because "if the ban were announced with a one week notice," that would have just allowed all the "bad dudes" to rush into the country.
Apart from the leader of the free world consciously referencing a 1988 arcade hit tilted, Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, he does it with ease, without so much as batting an eyelid over the >spike in politically-motivated crimes, racial tensions, or the state of dozens of families >now broken apart as a result of his executive order.
With all this in mind, I can't help but think -as a Muslim- of just how bad we really are. So bad, that I feel the need to list these examples.
Sad.
1. We're so bad we even risked our lives to save Jews from the Holocaust
Yes, a lot of people actually don't know that a number of >Muslims risked their lives to protect the persecuted Jews - some risking everything they have for the sake of humanity.
Among these Muslims are Algerian Si Kaddour Benghabrit, The Pilkus family in Albania, Turkish Selahattin Ulkumen, and Tunisians Si Ali Sakkat and Khaled Abdul-Wahab.
2. And saved tens of people after Hurricane Katrina
After evacuating his wife and 4 children ahead of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a Syrian building contractor, Abd Al Rahman Zeitoun chose to stay in the top floor of his house in New Orleans, Louisiana.
When the storm settled, Zeitoun traveled the flooded city using a wooden boat. He rescued neighbors, abandoned pets and distributed fresh water.
He saved tens of people during his six-day journey.
The American authorities arrested him for 3 weeks under George Bush's administration after false accusations surfaced of him working with Al-Qaeda. He was then released on a $75,000 bail.
Dave Eggers released the book Zeitoun in 2009 detailing the events.
3. We wage wars against hate ... with humor
Azhar Usman is a Sufi Muslim who has made it big in the United States' comedy scene.
Usman fights Islamophobia with humor, being best known for one third of a comedy trio, "Allah Made Me Funny."
Is it a crime to be funny? Does that make us the bad guys?
4. We risk our lives to prevent assassinations of presidents
In 2003, Algerian university professor Mohammad Shalali saved then-French President Jacques Chirac from attempted murder.
He snatched a gun from the shooter before he got the chance to fire the second bullet at the president.
Shalali was on vacation in France with his family at the time.
He jumped the man and tackled him in the middle of a crowd. He was granted the Legion of Honor, the highest honor granted in France.
5. We read verses from the Quran to ... protect ourselves from evil
Ayat El Kursi is one of the verses in Sourat Al Bakarah that many Muslims recite out loud when in danger.
Many wear the verse in the form of a bracelet or necklace to protect them at all times.
It's funny that Muslims are always blamed for inviting evil ... when in fact we read verses to protect OURSELVES from evil.
6. "Al-fatiha" even made it to the moon
Farouk el-Baz is an Egyptian-American space scientist, who made> ground-breaking discoveries with his work with NASA between 1967 and 1972.
He played a key role in helping NASA choose the ideal moon landing site and later served on the rover mission.
Al-Baz gave a group of astronauts on mission a copy of Surat Al-Fatiha to take with them for protection. His role was so instrumental that he was nicknamed 'The King,' by his peers.
7. We have an actual "Valley of Peace"
Wadi Al-Salaam (the Valley of Peace) is the world’s largest graveyard located in the city of Najaf, Iraq - with approximately 500,000 additional corpses buried every year.
The ancient Islamic cemetery is around 1400 years old.