May we have what it takes to live up to our Constitution

Muslims and other minorities have cause to love the U.S. Constitution more than most. The reasons are straightforward. One is the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the state from establishing a national religion or endorsing a specific faith.

The First Amendment prevents the state from interfering in any way in its citizens’ right to practice their own faiths and traditions. There is freedom of speech, freedom to complain and insult, as long as the speech is not inciting violence.

There are no blasphemy laws that are so easily misused. If a group or its leader is made fun of, the group can respond in kind or, even better, respond to bad with good. Could there be a better constitution, better protection of minority rights? No wonder Muslims and other minorities feel they can breathe freely in our country.

The U.S. Constitution, which we celebrated this month during Constitution Week, is the envy of most of the world and has inspired other constitutions. It is not perfect and, yes, the crafters were all property-owning men. There are no explicit protections against majoritarianism. But the framers of the Constitution had the wisdom to craft governing principles that could change and improve with time. They were envisioning a just, equitable and kind society that would be the proverbial shining city on the hill.

Muslims see the values in the first written constitution of the world, Sahifatul-Madinah, (variously called the Constitution or Covenant of Madina), which happened to be a Muslim document, mirrored in the U.S. Constitution. Key concepts are included in both constitutions — that all groups in the nation, regardless of faith, or ethnicity or tradition, are one and should defend an outside enemy as one, protection of religious freedom, respect for personal laws, freedom to complain against the highest authority and governance by mutual consultation.

Of late the U.S. Constitution is under threat. No one would have imagined that the most serious threats to the Constitution would come from the president and the ultra-conservative members of our Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, with rare exceptions, has repeatedly rubber-stamped whatever the president likes. It has even given President Donald Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution. Sen. Sam Erwin’s wise words appeared to have been forgotten, when he pointed out in the Watergate hearings that the U.S. Constitution, “is based on (the) principle that the president is a servant of the Constitution and not its master.”

“There is nothing explicit or implicit in that instrument,” he added, “which exempts him from a duty the law imposes on all competent human beings in our land.”

Both the U.S. and the Madina Constitution aspired to create a kind and just society. There is a significant departure from this ideal in how the administration is dealing with undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. Ronald Reagan tried to fix the problem by signing a law that included amnesty and a path to citizenship and special exemption for farmers. It was a practical and humane plan.

The current group of Republicans while paying homage to Reagan (I recently received in the mail a Reagan calendar) have abandoned his ideas of dealing with the immigrant issue. Unleashing of masked ICE agents without IDs, driving unmarked cars, who can write their own “administrative warrants” against anyone they wish and detain and even deport, goes against so many principles of the Constitution that it takes your breath away. Federal courts have provided guard rails sometimes.

Islam says all humanity is one and the only gradations between humans should be based on their righteous action. The U.S. Declaration of Independence recognizes “all humans are created equal,” but the Constitution does not provide any concrete ways of dealing with racism. It leaves it up to the wisdom of the society.

For example, racism, whose most toxic manifestation is Islamophobia, as it combines religion, race and immigration, is not only alive but is worse than ever before. Just listen to the pronouncement of elected Republican officials and policy makers.

The anti-Sharia caucus, a bizarre manifestation of Islamophobia, already has 68 members from 25 states. Muslim Americans are afraid that it will impact their safety, freedom of religion and speech. There is no evidence that the Republican Party is trying to stop this misconduct. Muslims are optimistic that the courts will protect the right to practice their faith in safety.

The great social reformer Fredrick Douglass, talking about the Constitution, pointed out that “the problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own Constitution.”

Hoping that the Constitution will remain strong, e pluribus unum.

• Javeed Akhter is a physician and freelance writer from Oak Brook.