Source: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
(April 10, 2007) — What is your community doing about environmental issues?" asked the articulate and erudite preacher. As she continued with her sermon, she encouraged the gathered faithful to look beyond the confines of their immediate faith community to the larger world as they seek to bridge the gap between wealth and poverty.
She preached a social justice message, encouraging the community to move from charity to justice.
Advocacy and political engagement to change the systems that create poverty are what are needed today in addition to soup kitchens and clothing closets, she declared.
As I listened to this woman, I marveled at how exactly she was tracking the themes of my own sermons over the past years. Then came the words that made me sit up and take notice. "A lot of people in this culture hate us. It's hard to be Muslim in this country today. But in spite of that we must continue to live as good Muslims."