Of the greatest ironies noted by the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), was the birth and death of Abdullah Ibn Az Zubayr.Ībdullah Ibn Az Zubayr was the first child born in the Muslim community after they had migrated to Medina from Mecca to escape persecution. Though these words that are used to celebrate life also sometimes accompany horrific acts, this is not a new phenomenon. Nor do those who declare that no further details are needed to determine motive once a man with a Muslim-sounding name perpetrates an attack using those words.Īs Hassan Shibly, executive director of CAIR-Florida, said in response to the recent terror attack in New York, "That is the biggest act of heresy to shout God's glorious name when committing the worst crime against God." But a lone terrorist who shouts "Allahu Akbar" while murdering innocent people in the streets of New York does not get to own that term. While noting that "moderate Muslims" also say "Allahu Akbar," McCain said the phrase is no more troubling that a Christian saying "Thank God."īut the way "Allahu Akbar" often appears in the media seems to serve a nefarious agenda: to instill fear of anyone who utters the phrase and to raise concerns even about Islam itself. John McCain has argued on Fox News, that does not make the phrase itself abhorrent. Is "Allahu Akbar" sometimes used as a battle cry? Yes, though as Sen. And Muslims at a mosque in Minnesota were reciting "Allahu Akbar" during their morning prayers when their mosque was firebombed this August. Worshipers at a mosque in Quebec reportedly heard the phrase "Allahu Akhbar," the very phrase they recite in morning prayers, uttered by their white supremacist attacker just before he opened fire and killed six Muslims this January. It is a prayerful phrase that reminds us that, no matter what our concerns may be, God is greater than them. They are used to indicate gratitude when God bestows something upon you that you would have been incapable of attaining were it not for divine benevolence. It is a celebration of life, the first words fathers whisper in the ears of their newborns. They are words that he now uses in prayer.Ĭontrary to what many people seem to think, the words "Allahu Akbar" simply mean "God is greater." It is a powerful declaration used by Muslims on many occasions and in many prayers. The army veteran never thought that the words that had terrified him in Iraq would be the very same that would welcome him to his new faith.
He arrived in his full uniform, and was overcome with emotion when he heard the congregation shout "Allahu Akbar" after he uttered the Islamic declaration of faith. I'll never forget the day a US army veteran who had fought in Iraq embraced Islam at my former mosque in New Orleans.