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SPEAKING
FREELY
Beyond Muslim condemnation of
terrorism
By Louay Safi
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online
feature that allows guest writers to have their
say. Please click here
if you are interested in
contributing.
The London terrorist bombings elicited
familiar responses: Islamic organizations and
Muslim communities in Europe and North America
condemned the terrorist attacks and stressed the
dissonance between the deplorable acts of the
terrorists and the humane principles of Islam.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair paid
tribute to the intrinsically peaceful teaching of
Islam and reminded his countrymen that British
Muslims are law-abiding and contributing members
of British society, as he condemned the militant
ideology espoused by the terrorists. “We know that
these people act in the name of Islam,” Blair
stressed, “but we also know that the vast and
overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad
are decent and law-abiding people who abhor
terrorism every bit as much as we do.”
Pundits of the militant right found in the
London attacks another opportunity to equate Islam
with terrorism, to question the sincerity of the
Muslim rejection of terrorism, and to incite the
public against Islam and Muslims. Given the loud
and extensive condemnation of terrorism by
Muslims, particularly in North America and Europe,
the militant-right cry has shifted from “why do
Muslim leaders not speak out against terrorism?”
to “are Muslim leaders sincere in their
condemnation of terrorism, or are they doing it to
deflect anger and prevent a backlash?”
Clearly, Muslims are genuinely appalled by
the terrorist acts, and some are going the extra
mile to make sure their condemnation is made loud
enough, and is repeated enough, to be heard by the
deafest of their critics. The fatwa issued
by the Religious Council of North America, and
supported by major Muslim organizations, is the
latest effort in this regard.
The strong
stand taken by American Muslim leaders against
indiscriminate violence is testimony to a
remarkable maturity and clarity of vision in
dealing with a complex issue. The loud
condemnation of terrorism is important to cut
through the anti-Islam rhetoric and to reassure
the public that Muslims reject indiscriminate
violence and the killing of innocent civilians.
Muslim leaders cannot, however, stop their
quest for justice at condemning atrocities
committed by a few misguided Muslim youth. They
must do more to show young Muslims how to turn
their moral indignation into a positive force that
brings more balance and justice to the world,
instead of exploding in anger. Muslim leaders must
also work more to shed light on the
double-standard approach adopted by many Western
governments and institutions toward Muslims.
This is not only the right thing to do,
but the only path to ensuring that Muslim leaders
continue to speak for the values and interests of
the larger Muslim community and address Muslim
concerns. The expression of justice and compassion
should not be reserved for atrocities committed by
the terrorists against Western civilians, but must
also address Muslim pain and suffering visited on
them by the action of Western democracies.
Muslim leaders must do more to expose the
harsh reality of many Muslims throughout the world
and speak for Muslim suffering; they must do more
to pressure political and public-opinion leaders
to address the roots of anger and frustration that
breed militancy and give rise to terrorism. The
key here is the foreign policy of Western powers,
particularly the United States, toward Islam and
Muslims. Ignoring legitimate grievances and
applying double standards in dealing with Muslim
societies and issues must stop if the war on
terrorism is to bear fruit.
Muslim leaders
and organizations have been repeatedly asked to
condemn terrorism and repudiate individuals and
groups connected with terrorist acts. This is a
fair demand and Muslims should respond positively
and take an unequivocal stand against the violent
attacks by angry Muslim radicals against innocent
civilians and bystanders. By the same token,
Muslim leaders should make similar demands of
Western leaders, and insist that the same set of
standards be applied to all.
It does not
help addressing the problem of terrorism when
someone like New York Times columnist Thomas
Friedman puts all the blame for terrorism on the
Muslim world and feels that the West might be
justified for treating every “Muslim living in a
Western society” as a suspect and “a potential
walking bomb”, and in cracking “down even harder
on their own Muslim populations”. Friedman
conveniently forgets that Western governments must
take responsibility for befriending brutal
dictators throughout the Muslim world, and
supporting the daily humiliation of Palestinians
in occupied Gaza and the West Bank.
It
does not help when American leaders press hard to
liberate European societies and Christian
minorities in western Indonesia and southern Sudan
from the yoke of totalitarian and authoritarian
regimes, but remain passive in the face of
authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world, or in
the face of the Israeli, the Indian, or the Thai
aggression against Muslim populations that live
under their control.
Similarly, Muslims do
not hear loud condemnation when bigots like Ann
Coulter, Daniel Pipes, Franklin Graham, Michael
Savage, or Pat Robertson use venom to demonize
Islam and Muslims, incite the attacks against both
Western and Eastern Muslims, or openly call for
violation of the basic human rights of all
Muslims.
Muslim leaders must continue to
speak against violence, brutality, and injustice,
as they reject terrorism and indiscriminate
violence against civilians and demand that the
Islamic respect for the sanctity of human life,
and the Islamic injunction against the killing of
innocents be strictly observed. But this is not
enough. Muslim leaders must go beyond the
condemnation of terrorism to become more active in
exposing the roots of violence, hatred, and
terrorism. They must reject exclusivist ideologies
that privilege particular religious or ethnic
communities whether it takes the form of Jewish,
Christian, or Muslim exclusivism.
Dr
Louay M Safi serves as the executive director
of ISNA Leadership Development Center, an
Indiana-based organization dedicated to enhancing
leadership awareness and skills among American
Muslim leaders. He writes and lectures on issues
relating to Islam, American Muslims, democracy,
human rights, leadership, and world peace. His
current affairs commentaries can be found on his
blog at http://blog.lsinsight.org
(Copyright 2005, Louay M
Safi)
Speaking
Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows
guest writers to have their say. Please click here
if you are interested in
contributing. |
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