On behalf of the Muslim community, I thank you for inviting us here. I am a poor representative of Islam, and I know that most of us here today do not really know what Islam is all about or have outright misconceptions about us. I thus apologize in advance for my inability to adequately communicate to you the richness and stunning beauty that is Islam...

My brother in Islam, so and so, will recite a passage from our Holy Book, the Qur'an, and I will then give a translation of the meaning.... (so, maybe a brief recitation here rather than at the end...)

For us, the Qur'an is the verbatim, the literal word of God... the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and, as we think, Muhammad, may God's peace and blessings be upon them all. The Qur'an consistently draws our attention to the rich variety of God's creation, including variety among humanity. God tells us in the Qur'an to look, listen, think and learn from these patterns. We are commanded in the Qur'an to look at the human cultures and societies of the past-- to see how the peoples of the past lived... and to learn from the mistakes they made that led to their cultures' collapse and extinction.

We are here today in praise of our Creator's awe-inspiring creative imagination as shown by the kaleidoscopic variety of human expression. Perhaps nowhere else in the world is this variety of expression so evident as it is in the United States. We are not just "Americans", but are African-Americans, Italian-Americans, Vietnamese-Americans, or Irish-American Muslims, as the case may be.

Not all of us want to be identified as just "American". We hang the flags of our ancestors' countries outside our houses, we wear the clothes or take the names of our motherlands and fatherlands, we eat certain traditional foods and have special celebrations other groups in America may not share.... we say "Yes, I am American, but I am also of a certain group...."

Some say this is bad. And certainly, as we see in our own country and throughout the world, our identities as members of various ethnic or religious groups-- the rich variety of humanity-- can easily lead us into evil practices; from covert, unconscious racism to outright "ethnic cleansing" and genocidal insanity.

Islam sees variety of human expression as a good, and as a part of God's creative design. The Qur'an specifically addresses the issue of group dynamics. God tells us in the Qur'an: "I made you into different groups, and in different colors, so that you might get to know each other."

So that we might get to know each other.

It sounds so easy, but it is so difficult. How strange people can seem-- their foods, their music, their styles of interaction! And what happens when a member of one group-- a group which may have treated another with injustice-- sits with a member of the group so treated? How difficult it is to sort through the anger and guilt, the shame and fear as part of the process of "getting to know each other". Often, we just simply misunderstand each other in spite of our best efforts to communicate our good will, or our forgiveness.

So that we might get to know each other...

Recent studies have reported that 95% of Americans say they "believe in God". 95%! Clearly, this is simply not true, despite what we report to pollsters. If 95% of us really believed in God would we have the violence, ethnic hatred and social injustice that is so evident in the United States? Of course not. Of course not.

Islam teaches that it is only on the foundation of a healthy, balanced, mature and authentic belief in God that the just society and good group relations can be realized. This does not mean that we all end up the same-- the Qur'an says that the variety of human expression is from God, and we Muslims are told in the Qur'an that we are but one group of people among many. From our perspective the establishment of the "just society" of positive relations among various ethnic, cultural and religious groups does not mean that everyone must be a Muslim.

BUT, Islam does challenge all of us to treat religious and spiritual issues with the utmost seriousness, and as the most important concern in our lives, as the only issue of real importance to humanity. All else follows this.

Islam asks you: how much time do you spend on sports, music, fashion, partying or other activities and how much time do you spend reading, thinking, studying and discussing issues related to religion and spirituality? The "issue of Deity"?

For us Muslims, this is the heart of the matter and the key to the blessings possible from the variety of human expression. It is what determines whether the fascinating variety of human expression is a source of racism and genocidal madness, or a source of a joyful, friendly "getting to know each other".