1. Sakib Afzal Khan
Class of 2007
Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
Columbia University
2007 BACCALAUREATE SERVICE
STUDENT KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Sunday, May 12th, 2007
3:00 P.M.
St. Paul’s Chapel
Columbia University
New York, NY
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May 12, 2007
Audhu Billah min ash shaytan ar rajim, Bismillah Ir-Rahman Ir-Rahim
In the name of God, Most Merciful, Most Beneficent
Peace and blessings to you all
The news came in frantically. It hit home—this time, it was our
community. Even though it still hasn’t set in as reality, the minute after
news got out life slowed down and the abstract began to manifest all too
tangibly. Violence is a horrifying concept when studied in the classroom,
but recently, it has become all too real. I wish I was speaking about just one
incident, but I’m not.
April 13th. Her home was invaded—she was assaulted and tortured
for 19 hours. She is a student at the Journalism School, a fellow Columbia
student. This time, it was our community.
April 16th. We saw it on CNN. 32 students passed away at the hands
of one of their peers. We called our friends, tried to offer whatever we
could. They were students like us. This time, it was our community.
May 8th, this past Tuesday. He was at a Chinese take-out restaurant.
Police still aren’t exactly sure what happened. He was shot. He passed at
St. Luke’s 20 minutes later. And while many Columbia undergrads might
not have known him, he was a pillar for the Muslim community. We knew
Shaykh Malik Murray Abdul-Quddous for his smile, his wisdom, his
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May 12, 2007
remarkable even-keeled demeanor, and his impeccable comedic timing. We
saw his young son at Friday prayer and Muslim Students Association
picnics. This time, it was our community.
***
From the very beginning, acts of violence have tested our faith. Surah
Bakrah, the second chapter of the Qur’an, verse 30 describes the moment
after God created Adam:
Wa-ith qala rabbuka lilmalaaa-ikati innee jaeelun fee al-ardi
khaleefat
qaaaloo ataj-aalu fee ha mein yufsidu fee ha wayasfiku al-
deemaa wanahnu nusabbihu bee-hamdik
wanahnu nusabbihu bee-hamdika wanuqad-disulak
qaaala innee aa’alamu ma la taa’alamoon
And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place on
the earth a vice-regent, they said, “What! Wilt Thou place on it
such as shall make mischief on it and shed blood? Wilst we
celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holy name?”
He said, “Surely I know that, which you do not know.”
Please take a moment to reflect and pray for our brothers and sisters at
Virginia Tech, for the healing and recovery of our sister at the Journalism
school and for the family of Shaykh Malik Murray Abdul-Quddous.
<PAUSE>
What does God know about our nature? God knows we are capable
of overcoming mischief and bloodshed and acting as agents for peace,
mercy, and compassion.
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May 12, 2007
***
Fellow classmates, we must take special heed of that verse as we
graduate. If God has placed mankind on earth as His vice-regent, then for
the past few decades, our parents and their generation have taken on that
responsibility. Now, as we prepare to move forward with life, we must take
on these burdens as opportunities for change.
Beginning with our own souls and expanding outwards in concentric
circles, we must be advocates for patience, compassion, mercy and peace.
We must exhibit patience with our families, our peers, and our communities.
Through disciplined and well-metered lives, we can be more thoughtful and
respectful.
We must approach the victims with compassion and we must
approach the perpetrators with mercy. Those who have committed these
crimes must be offered fair, even-handed justice and the opportunity for
forgiveness and redemption. The underlying systemic problems must be
approached aggressively in our neighborhoods and schools, whether they be
the poor availability and accessibility of counseling and psychological
services or poverty and a lack of education and employment opportunities.
Addressing those problems will work to bring peace to ourselves and others.
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May 12, 2007
We must live our lives as individuals to promote peace, and as
members of institutions and larger actors, we must influence those
institutions to promote peace as well. Our primary concern as rising alumni
must be to promote peace through Columbia. To do so, we must critically
evaluate the University’s relationships with students and with its neighbors.
Columbia must be consistent in applying the values taught inside the
classroom to its student life and expansion efforts.
Moving beyond responsibilities as members of this community,
responsibilities arise as members of the workforce, as consumers, as citizens,
as neighbors, as investors as friends, as mentors, and as mentees. As
working folk, our professional lives should be peaceful, merciful and
compassionate. As consumers, we must consume products from equitable
suppliers, and avoid the companies—restaurants, fruit-giants, or laundry
services—that abuse their workers and their communities, pay less than a
living wage, or employ those who cause mischief and bloodshed. As
investors, we must choose to invest in companies that preserve the peace and
respect our earth, and avoid investments that profit from war or pollution.
As neighbors we must stand up when injustice and racism presents itself at
our doorstep, and we must strive to preserve peace in our communities and
schools.
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May 12, 2007
A comprehensive understanding of our vice regency can guide us to
live righteous and pious lives. Moreover, it can allow us to meet that
potential God has blessed us with.
As we remember the tragedies against our brothers and sisters, I ask
you to remember the compassionate words of the Prophet Mohammed,
peace be upon him. “Whosoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it
with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is
not able to do so, then with his heart.”
Thank you.
