"And if your Lord had willed, He could have made mankind one community; but they will not cease to differ." [Quran11:118]. We, as mankind, are the guests of God on the face of Earth. He does not discriminate us in terms of His blessings and His bounties whether we are submissive to Him or not. Furthermore, Quran defines mankind as vicegerant (a successive authority) on Earth, so we are expected to act on His behalf, and treat His creation the same way He does, which translates as welcoming everyone in our land and sharing what we have, having a chair and a spot in our hearts so that everyone has a place to sit. Imagine that you are a guest in someone's house besides other guests, you just can not assume a privilege to tell them where to sit, or let them in as you wish and push them away as you wish. It is the hosting person's right, not yours, right? So, let us behave in our Lord's house, and know our limits as guests of 'The Landlord'. He can treat His guests as He wills, NOT as we wish. And As Prophet Muhammad said "a meal for one person would be enough for two, and a meal for two persons would be enough for three."
Re: “Rochester Muslims share their experiences”
"And if your Lord had willed, He could have made mankind one community; but they will not cease to differ." [Quran11:118]. We, as mankind, are the guests of God on the face of Earth. He does not discriminate us in terms of His blessings and His bounties whether we are submissive to Him or not. Furthermore, Quran defines mankind as vicegerant (a successive authority) on Earth, so we are expected to act on His behalf, and treat His creation the same way He does, which translates as welcoming everyone in our land and sharing what we have, having a chair and a spot in our hearts so that everyone has a place to sit. Imagine that you are a guest in someone's house besides other guests, you just can not assume a privilege to tell them where to sit, or let them in as you wish and push them away as you wish. It is the hosting person's right, not yours, right? So, let us behave in our Lord's house, and know our limits as guests of 'The Landlord'. He can treat His guests as He wills, NOT as we wish. And As Prophet Muhammad said "a meal for one person would be enough for two, and a meal for two persons would be enough for three."
Thank you for the article.