Keeping Your Faith Strong in Times of Rising Islamophobia

By Arshad Gamiet

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Keeping Your Faith Strong in Times of Rising Islamophobia

“A-ūthubillāhi minash shayṭānir rajīm. Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm

Alhamdu lil Lāhi nahmaduhū wanasta’īnahū, wanastagh;-firuhū, wanatūbu ilayhi, wana’ūthu Billāhi min shurūri an-fusinā, wamin sayyi āti a’mālinā. May- Yahdil-lahū fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falantajidā lahū walīyan murshidā. Wa ash-hadu an Lā-ilāha ill-Allāh, wahdahū lā sharīkalah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhū warasūluh”

All Praise is due to Allāh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allāh is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no All but Allāh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.

Bismillāhir Raḥmānir Raḥīm! Yā Ay-yuhal-lathīna ‘āmanut taqul-lāha, ḥaqqa tuqātihī walātamū tun-na, il-lā wa-antum Muslimūn.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allāh, with correct awareness, an awe-inspired awareness, and die not except as Muslims.

“Yā Ay-yuhal-lathīna āmanut taqul-lāha, waqūlū qawlan sadīdā. Yuslih-lakum a’mālakum wayaghfir lakum thunūbakum, wamay yu’-til-lāha waRasūlahū, faqad fāza fawzan athīmā.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allāh, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allāh and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.

In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa’, Allāh says:

“O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Be conscious of Allāh, through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allāh always watches over you.”

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

As-salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.

We gather here today, alhamdulillah, in the house of Allah — in peace, in brotherhood and sisterhood, in gratitude. And yet many of us walk out of this very masjid and immediately feel the weight of a world that does not always welcome us. A woman adjusts her hijab and steels herself for the stare on the bus. A young man with a beard swipes his travel card and hopes he will not be singled out at the barrier. A child comes home from school with tears running down her cheeks, asking: “Mama, why do they say such terrible things about our religion?”

My dear brothers and sisters, let us be honest with one another today. Islamophobia is real. It is not imagined. It is not mere sensitivity. It is a systematic, socially-sanctioned fear and hostility directed at Muslims and at Islam itself — and in recent years, it has been rising. We see it in legislation that targets our communities. We see it in media coverage that frames our faith as a problem. We see it on social media, in school corridors, and sometimes, painfully, in the workplace. And so the question we must ask — and answer — today is this: how do we keep our faith STRONG in the face of all of this?

The Test is Not New

Let us begin with perspective. Hostility to Islam is nothing new under the sun. The Quraysh of Makkah had their propaganda too. They called our beloved Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, a madman, a sorcerer, a poet who had lost his mind. They boycotted the Muslims for three years, leaving them to near-starvation in the mountain passes. They tortured the weak and the enslaved who had accepted Islam.

Do you remember Bilal ibn Rabah, radiyallahu ‘anhu — our brother, our first Muadhdhin, the man whose voice could call the very heavens to attention? He was dragged through the burning sands of Makkah with a heavy rock placed upon his chest, by those who wished to force him to recant. And what did Bilal say? “Ahad. Ahad.” One. One. They could not silence him. They could not break him. And today, fourteen centuries later, his name is honoured in every mosque on earth.

Today the tools are different — television studios, Twitter algorithms, well-funded think-tanks with impressive-sounding names — but the intention is the same: to make us doubt ourselves, to make us feel that we do not belong, to make us shrink. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala warns us plainly in Surah Al-Baqarah:

“Never will they be pleased with you until you follow their way of life.” (Al-Baqarah 2:120)”

Understand this verse clearly. It is not said with bitterness or hostility toward others. It is said with compassion and clarity toward us. Allah is saying: do not make the approval of the world the measure of your faith. If you spend your life seeking validation from those who wish you to abandon your identity, you will never know peace. Anchor yourself instead to the One whose approval truly matters.

The Danger Within — The Crisis of Identity

Here is the deeper harm that Islamophobia inflicts, and we must name it honestly today. Its most insidious weapon is not what it does to us from the outside — it is what it slowly does on the inside. It breeds shame. And shame, my brothers and sisters, is faith’s quiet killer.

Sadly, some Muslims — bright, kind, good-hearted young people — have stopped praying at work because they did not want their colleagues to know they were Muslim. Sisters who removed their hijab — not out of conviction, but out of exhaustion and fear. Brothers who drifted away from the masjid, telling themselves they were “too busy,” when the truth was they had grown uncomfortable being visibly Muslim in public life.

I say this not to judge them — not for one moment. The pressure they face is genuine and it is heavy. But I want to say something clearly and lovingly to every young Muslim here today: the answer to hostility is never to make yourself smaller. The answer to hatred is never to become invisible. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says:

“”You are the best nation ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah.” (Aal Imran 3:110)”

You are not a problem to be managed. You are not a threat to be monitored. You are not a community that needs to apologise for its existence. You are — if you live up to the demands of your deen — the best community raised up for the benefit of all of humanity. That is not arrogance. That is a divine trust. Carry it with dignity.

Our identity crisis is, at its root, a spiritual crisis. When a person’s connection to Allah is deep and nourished, the opinions of the world — however loud, however hostile — cannot shake the foundations. It is the person who is unsure of who they are that can be made to feel ashamed. Strengthen the root, and no storm will fell the tree.

III. Three Pillars of Strength

So let us be practical — because our deen is always practical. How do we remain strong? I want to offer three pillars.

The first pillar is knowledge. Know your deen. Ignorance is the enemy of confidence. When a hostile commentator makes a sweeping claim about Islam on television, and you have never opened the Quran yourself, you have no armour. But when you have studied — when you know the history of Islamic tolerance and Islamic civilisation, the principles of justice that run through our fiqh, the traditions of scholarship that gave the world algebra and medicine and philosophy — then you can respond with calm confidence rather than panic or defensiveness. The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.” Not just the scholars. Not just the imams. Every single Muslim. Invest in your own understanding of this beautiful deen.

The second pillar is community. Do not isolate yourself. The masjid is not merely a place of prayer — it is a fortress of belonging, of identity, of mutual support. Allah did not make us to be scattered individuals facing a hostile world alone. He made us an ummah. The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, described the believers as one body: when any part of the body is in pain, the whole body responds with fever and sleeplessness. If your brother is being discriminated against, that is your concern. If your sister is being harassed, that is your fight. Come closer to your community in times of pressure — do not drift away.

The third pillar is engagement — with wisdom and with beautiful conduct. Allah says in Surah An-Nahl:

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching.” (An-Nahl 16:125)”

Do not hide away. But do not engage in anger either. Be the Muslim whose neighbour one day says: “I was genuinely afraid of Islam — until I met him. Then I understood.” Be the Muslim whose colleague says: “I had such a distorted picture of this religion — until I worked with her.” Your conduct — your smile, your honesty, your reliability, your compassion in small things — is da’wah. It is, in truth, the most powerful argument against Islamophobia that has ever existed.

“Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalamīn. Was-salātu was-salāmu alaa Khairil mursalīn. Muhammadin-nabīy-yil Ummiy-yī, wa-‘alā ālihī, wasah-bihī, aj-ma’īn.

Ammā ba’ad:

“Innalláha wa malāikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal lathīna ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas līma. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa alā áli Muhammad, kamā salayta alā Ibrahim, wa alā ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik alā Muhammad, kamā barakta alā Ibrahim, wa alā āli ibrahim. Fil ála mīn, innaka hamīdun majīd.”

(Second Khutbah):

“Soob’ hānallahi wal hamdu lillāh, walā hawla walā quwwata illāh billāh yu althi yual thīm”

Glory to Allah! Praise to Allah! There is no power and no strength except from Allah!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

A Word to Those Who Are Hurting

Before I speak of hope, let me speak directly — heart to heart — to those among us who are carrying real pain. Those who have been verbally abused in the street. Those who have lost jobs or been passed over for promotion. Those who have been made to feel like strangers in the country of their birth. Those who carry the quiet, exhausting weight of being judged before they have even spoken a word.

Know this: Allah sees you. He sees every indignity you have suffered. Every door that was closed in your face. Every slur that was hurled at you. Every moment you swallowed your hurt and carried on. Allah is Al-Adl — the Perfectly Just — and nothing, nothing, goes unaccounted before Him.

And know this too: your suffering does not diminish you. Look at the Prophet himself, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He was driven from his home city. He buried his children. He was mocked, boycotted, and threatened with death. And yet — on the day he returned to Makkah in victory, standing before the very people who had done all of this to him and to his companions — he said: “Go. You are free.” No revenge. No bitterness. No cruelty. His akhlaq, his character, was simply not theirs to damage. And neither is yours.

The Response is Excellence

Our deen is, at its heart, a deen of hope. Allah says in Surah Az-Zumar: do not despair of the mercy of Allah. If He forbids despair even for those who have sinned against themselves — how much more so for the community that is suffering unjustly?

Look at the long arc of history with the eyes of iman. Every attempt to suppress Islam has ultimately failed. The Mongols swept through and destroyed the great cities of the Muslim world — and within two generations, their descendants had embraced Islam. European colonialism dismantled our institutions for centuries — and still Islam grew. Today, in the heart of the secular West, mosques are being built and communities are flourishing. The message is true. And truth, as Allah has promised, ultimately prevails.

Our response to Islamophobia — our true, lasting, dignified response — is excellence. It is ihsan. The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:

“”Indeed Allah has prescribed excellence in all things.” (Sahih Muslim)”

Let this masjid be known in its neighbourhood as the place that feeds the hungry and supports the vulnerable. Let Muslim doctors be known for their extraordinary compassion. Let Muslim teachers be known for going the extra mile for every student. Let our children be known in their schools not as a source of suspicion — but as a source of light, of intellect, of integrity and joy.

This is the Islam that will, by the will of Allah, defeat Islamophobia. Not rage — but radiance. Not bitterness — but beauty of character. Not withdrawal — but wholehearted, confident, joyful engagement with the world Allah has placed us in.

So go from this masjid today as a person of ihsan. When you face hostility, respond with ihsan. When you are tired, renew your connection to Allah and return with ihsan. When you represent your faith in your workplace, your school, your neighbourhood — represent it with ihsan. And never forget: you are not alone in this. Allah is with the patient. Allah is with the righteous. And Allah never abandons those who hold fast to His rope.

May Allah protect our community and strengthen our iman. May He guide those who act out of ignorance and fear. May He make each and every one of us a means of goodness, of light, and of mercy for this world. Ameen, ya Rabbal Alameen.

My dear sisters and brothers, to conclude our khutbah:

Innal-Lāha, Yamuru bil ‘adel, wal ihsān, wa ītā-i zil qurbā; wa yanhā anil fahshā-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-karūn. (Sura 16:90),

“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.”

Fadth kurūnī adth kurkum, wash kurūlī walā tak furūn [2:152].

(Allah says), “and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.”

walā thikrul-Lāhi akbar, Wal-Lāhu ya’lamu mā tasna’ūn.” [29:45].

“and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”

Amīn. Aqīmus ṣalāh