Sheikh Hamza Yusuf | View Transcript > Changing the Tide
Quote:
" Lastly in closing I must say we are all ambassadors of our deen. The founding American values which this country is based on, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, has a lot in common with Islamic values. I would just like to see Americans being Americans and Muslims being Muslims. If both live up to their basic ideals, I honestly feel we wouldn't have so much problems today. There is a thing called soft power and hard power as coined by an American Professor at Princeton University. He described hard power as anything of or relating to force and military strength. And soft power is the power of talk, dialogue, discussion, and persuasion…to persuade the other side of your viewpoint without force. And I firmly believe Islam at its very root has a tremendous, overwhelming power to persuade anyone open to reason. All we need to do is convey the message. We don't need to dress up Islam, just pass the essential Islam to those unfamiliar with it. For we Muslims for far too long have used hard power, its time to use soft power. "
