Happy Fourth of July from AIFD

We at AIFD would like to take an opportunity to wish you a happy and safe Independence Day.

As American Muslims dedicated to preserving the founding principles of the United States Constitution – liberty and freedom – we experience a renewed sense of gratitude on this day, which celebrates our great nation’s independence from a power that sought to undermine individual and religious liberty.

Two-hundred and thirty-eight years ago, our founding fathers set forth to guarantee that the generations to follow would live in a country that would respect their inalienable right to life, to liberty and to the pursuit of happiness.

The founding fathers were people of varying levels of religiosity but who all understood the need for men and women to live free from the prison of tyranny in order to thrive. As Muslims, some of our ancestors have been on American soil since its founding. Others among us have families who fled to this country to seek safety in the haven of freedom so many have lost their lives to give us. Ultimately, the meaning of this holiday is at the core of what we at AIFD do. The American Revolution was a struggle against theocracy, which we as liberty-minded Muslims remember and are inspired by as we combat Islamism.

The Declaration of Independence was not just a declaration of our rights – it was also a declaration of our obligation to protect those rights, defending them and ourselves from tyrants who would seek to strip them from us.

This Fourth of July, we reaffirm our commitment to protect American values at home, as well as to advance individual liberty for all who seek it. God bless you, and God bless America!