According to Islamic law, Muslims are obligated to three entities: the self, God and society. This last has been overlooked too often by Muslims and their adopted societies.

Similar to the Christian obligation to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,” the Quran and the derived corpus of Islamic jurisprudence support Muslims’ engagement with those to whom power is entrusted. Chapter 4, verse 59 of the Quran reads: “Verily, Allah commands you to give over the trusts to those entitled to them, and that, when you judge between men, you judge with justice.”

That patriotic majority has a duty not only to follow the laws of the United States, but to make sure that their fellow Muslims do the same. Islam calls this duty “commanding the right and forbidding the wrong.” It is an obligation that is sourced widely in Islamic scripture, beginning with the Quran. The scriptures even underline that this duty is shared by both men and women.