In his November 15, 2024, Friday sermon at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) discussed the need to “market Islam” to the American public. He stated that “no product in the United States can succeed without marketing,” emphasizing that Islam is being deliberately misrepresented in Hollywood and academia. He argued that a budget must be allocated to effectively market Islam, and that once it is understood, Islam will be respected and followed. Awad also told listeners that American Muslims are “in for a rough four years,” and therefore cannot afford to shy away from leadership roles during this time. The sermon was streamed live on MCC MD on YouTube.
Click here or below to view the clip on MEMRI TV:
The Next Four Years Will Be A Rough Ride; We Are Living Under U.S. Leadership That Is Creating Havoc In The Muslim World; American Muslims Cannot Afford Not To Be Leaders
Nihad Awad: "We are in for a rough ride, brothers and sisters, for the next four years. The thing is, we are here [in America], and things are being done in our names and with our tax dollars, and we try our best, we are making some progress, but we are not going that fast. So the first conclusion of this sermon, is that we American Muslims – especially American Muslims in this country at this time – we cannot afford not to be leaders.
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"We are not living in any other country, we are living under the leadership that is creating havoc in the world, in the Muslim world.
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Islam Has Been Deliberately Misrepresented In Hollywood And Academia; We Need To Market Islam To The Public; Once Islam Is Understood In American, It Will Be Respected And Followed
"Islam in this country has been intentionally misrepresented in a scientific and deliberate way, through Hollywood movies, through academia, and you cannot underestimate that.
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"No product in the United States can succeed without marketing. Yes, we need to market Islam, and we need to put scientific budgets on how to get the information about Islam out in the public.
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"As some of you know, my name is Nihad Awad, I am the executive director of CAIR – the Council on American-Islamic Relations. It is the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. Our main purpose is to enhance the understanding of Islam in America because we understand that once Islam is understood – Islam will be respected and Islam will be followed."
