By Papatia Feauxzar
The war in Gaza is still ongoing much to our dismay and our collective efforts, prayers, cries to ceasefire. Alhamdullilah, Muslims and non-Muslims who are true to their fitra, continue to stand on what is morally right, just, and fair. Muslims don the keffiyeh proudly everywhere, aware of the risks, boycotting, divesting, marching and protesting, writing books, posting on social media, the message being “We’re Standing with Palestine.” It is clear and echoing globally. In this light, here are My Top Five Muslim Changemakers of 2024.
1. Dr. Shaun King
Islam is a religion that welcomes converts. The first Muslims were converts. This is why Dr. Shaun King, a social activist and writer, is a Muslim Legacy. When he saw that the atrocities committed upon the Gazans were exacerbated in October 2023, he used his platform to raise awareness about it and oppose the catastrophic mistreatment. I remember being in class one day when one of my teachers made dua that Allah ﷻ guided Dr. Shaun King to Islam. I am sure a lot of other Muslims felt that same sentiment toward Dr. Shaun King. To see oppression and denounce it when you have nothing in common with the oppressed people is truly brave. A few months later, lo and behold, Dr. Shaun King and his wife, Dr. Rai King, took their shahada at a local masjid, during the month of Ramadan. Allahu Akbar! He ﷻ hears and sees. May Allah ﷻ also guides some of the oppressors. Heﷻ sees fit of redemption, ameen. On to the next Muslim Legacy.
2. Dr. Rai King
Dr. Rai King took her shahada with her husband after sheread the Quran cover to cover in less than a day. This was after her husband had confided in her that he wanted to convert to Islam. Dr. Rai was adamant that she would not convert. Curiosity got the best of her. One day, her husband returned from a tiring trip and laid two copies of the Quran on the dresser or table and went to sleep sometime. By the time he woke up, she had read the words of Allah ﷻ and submitted to them.
Recently, Dr. Rai King helped her eldest daughter take shadaha. When I was in a sorority, while you applied to be accepted in it, any child of yours is an automatic legacy. While Islam is not a sorority, even if it fosters bonds of sisterhood, the analogy of legacy applies here. For this reason, they (Mother and Daughter) are both Muslim legacies. Masha’Allah alhamdullilah.
3. Khabib Nurmagomedov
This Muslim Legacy needs no introduction. He fiercely posted on social media that you don’t need to be Muslim to stand up for Gaza. The previous Muslim Legacies mentioned, are the epitome of his statement. Truly, having humanity doesn’t require the faith qualifier. We are all children of Adam and Eve aleihum salam. We should be more compassionate toward each other. We are from one set of parents collectively, and Khabib is telling us that we are Muslim Legacies, including himself. If many were silent before his viral post, they certainly weren’t after. He influenced a positive change.
4. Sheikh Omar Suleiman
Sheikh Omar Suleiman has been vocal about the plight of the Palestinians for a lengthy time now. Coming from diverse Multicultural and Muslim origins including that of African and Palestinian backgrounds, Sheikh is a Muslim Legacy that has supported the boycott of the oppressors. He is a changemaker because the ummah listens to him and follows suit. All those boycotts have impacted the economy big time and oppressors have definitely seen a sharp decrease in their sales. Subhan’Allah, power to the Muslim Dollar; a thing the book Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World by Shelina Janmohamed hints at. This leads to the next point.
5. The Muslim Youth of American Universities. Special shout to Columbia University, UT Arlington, and UT Dallas!
Truly, this group is changing the world. They collectively disrupted the status quo on their normal platform who conveniently had turned a blind eye to Gaza. While a few universities approved of speeches for Palestine from their graduates and students, most schools across the country harshly opposed these youngsters who want to advocate for the truth. Their bravery in speaking up and creating a movement that called for universities to divest from Israel, is reminiscent of that of the Companions of the Cave. Knowing fully well the repercussions, this brave lot stood their ground. Scores of Muslim students were arrested as a result. Muslim Lawyers tried to help and are helping; some were successful and others still fighting.
My friend is a lawyer who works for the DA of Dallas. Her daughter protested but was not arrested alhamdullilah. When her mother tried to pull strings to help the ummah that was arrested though, my friend was really intimidated into backing off. The students were released, but the DA still plans on pressing charges against those same students. Nothing is impossible under Allah ﷻ my ownmother keeps reminding me every day.
We pray that the lawyers that are working on the cases of these charged students are successful by the might of Allah al-Aziz, aameen. These brave children are our Muslim Legacies. May Allah ﷻ protect and preserve them, thumma aameen.
We also pray that Allah ﷻ brings about a change inYemen, in Palestine, in Syria, for the Rohingya Muslims, the Chinese Muslims, for the earthquake survivors in Morocco and Turkey, and in war–torn Sudan and Congo. In all, may Allah ﷻ continue to guide us and help us in every makan. Allahummah aameen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Papatia Feauxzar is an author-publisher. She has studied Quranic Arabic and Fundamental Islamic Sciences. Papatia is now working on becoming an Alimiyyah. She loves tea, coffee, and comfort food. A mother of one, she lives with her family in Dallas, Texas. Visit her blogs at papatia.wordpress.com or aducktrinormom.wordpress.com Find her @PapatyaFZ on Twitter, @papatia_feauxzar on IG, and at https://www.facebook.com/PapatyaFZ/ on FB.
