Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan talks about taking our narrative back and he divides the conversation into two parts - the conversation has to be taken back from the forces outside of ourselves and the forces within ourselves
People have always tried to hijack the narrative which is evident in the case of all Messengers of Allah ﷺ. Their portrayal started with character assassination; of them being accused of having agendas other than their actual agenda or it being a point of ridicule. Whether it was words like magic or sorcery or whether they were accused of being liars. One of the greatest examples of that, which are repeated in the quran is the discourse between Firoun and Musa (AS).
He next talks about the exact propaganda that Islam is being painted with, by certain fringe media outlets, that exact narrative is being duplicated by certain Muslims that are calling for their definition of Jihad fisabillillah and writing blogs and articles and papers and there are a string of aayat and ahadith and many are victim to it. So, we are heading down a dangerous path and it is therefore essential that we have to make a distinction between those who are seeking knowledge still and those who are more knowledgeable than us and those who are scholars.
Muslim youth in this country are pioneers and the Qur'an has to be studied in the right way such that it does not make us lazy and closes our eyes. Rather, it opens them! We must have the ability to carry this message as it should be carried in our speech, in our character, and in our actions. We must take this advice to heart and generate a source of motivation for the generations to come. We must strive to become a source of light in the midst of all this darkness and pray to Allah to protect us from vanity so that we are able to find a higher purpose and commit to it and become the people of balance. AMEEN!