Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a basketball legend and, no doubt, a
role model for tens of millions of young people around the globe. Which is probably why, in 2012, then US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed him Global Cultural
Ambassador, with special emphasis on education to tolerance. Add the fact that Kareem is a Muslim – and you'll understand why I read with extreme interest a
commentary he penned for Time Magazine, in the wake of the recent terror
attacks in Paris.
At first, I was thrilled: Kareem opened his article
by acknowledging that “another horrendous act of terrorism has taken place”. I was expecting some thoughtful analysis and well-pondered
proposals on how to ensure that ’another’ will finally become ‘the last’. But, soooo disappointingly, he proceeded to
explain that “these barbaric acts are in no way related to Islam”. And to complain that he even has to explain something so obvious.
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, self-styled 'Caliph' of the 'Islamic State', preaching to supporters in Mosul, Iraq |
To claim that Islamist terrorism is “in no way related to
Islam” is absurd, pointless and unhelpful.
It is absurd, because home-grown Jihadi terrorists do not come from
Mars, they come from within our society; and more precisely, they come from
within Muslim communities.
It is pointless, because reasonable people don’t blame Islam
and Muslims en-masse; and Kareem’s ‘washing of the hands’ is unlikely to
convince the unreasonable ones.
Finally, it’s unhelpful, because it attempts to slam shut the
door leading to analysis and solutions. Kareem
is right when he argues ‘don’t look at me, I’m not to blame for this’;
but he is wrong when he appears to say ‘it’s not my problem’.
I cannot repeat this often enough: Muslims cannot, should
not be blamed – either individually or collectively – for the acts of a few
extremists. But nor can, nor should it
be ignored that there are issues within Muslim communities, issues that enable extremism
to grow in their midst like a cancer – wrongly tolerated, recklessly unchallenged
until too late. Muslims like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
are certainly free of blame; but that should not make them free of introspection.
US-born imam-turned-terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki |
As mentioned in a previous article,
20% of US-born Muslims believe that suicide bombing aimed at innocent civilians
is justified (whether ‘rarely’, ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’), in order “to defend Islam from its enemies”. 45%
of European-born Muslims believe that “Jews cannot be trusted”. Of course, not everyone expressing extremist,
racist opinions will go on to commit acts of terror; but it’s from the toxic
soil of fundamentalism and intolerance that those poisonous weeds draw their
venom.
20%, 45%... These numbers may represent minorities; but not
fringe minorities. The sane majority of Muslims
(to which Kareem Abdul-Jabbar belongs) cannot merely shrug them away and
sanctimoniously intone “nothing to do with Islam”. The toxic soil needs to be cleaned – and who
if not that sane majority will do it??
Mr. Abdul-Jabbar does not appear to understand this; fortunately,
other Muslims do.
In an article entitled “Only
Muslims can change the world’s view of Islam”, Mohammed Wattad (a Visiting
Professor at the University of California at Irvine), opines:
“Terrorism today stems primarily from Muslims in the name of Islam, and we cannot brush off accusations about our faith just by saying that the terrorists do not act in our name.”
In her acclaimed book ‘The Trouble with Islam Today’, Canadian
activist Irshad Manji pleads:
“When he [the Prophet Muhammad] was asked to define religion, he reportedly replied that religion is the way we conduct ourselves toward others. A fine definition – simple without being simplistic. And yet, by that definition, how we Muslims behave, not in theory but in actuality, is Islam. Which means our complacency is Islam. It also means the power is ours to restore Islam’s better angels, those who care about the human rights of women and religious minorities. To do that, though, we have to snap out of our denial. By insisting that there’s nothing the matter with Islam today, we’re sweeping the reality of our religion under the rug of Islam as an ideal, thereby absolving ourselves of responsibility for our fellow human beings, including our fellow Muslims. See why I’m struggling? By writing this open letter, I’m not implying that other religions are problem -free. Hardly. The difference is, libraries abound in books about the trouble with Christianity. There’s no shortage of books about the trouble with Judaism. We Muslims have a lot of catching up to do in the dissent department. Whose permission are we waiting for?”
Whose, indeed? “[T]he
power is ours to restore Islam’s better angels…” Someone should tell Global Cultural
Ambassador Abdul-Jabbar that education to tolerance, just like charity, begins
at home!
The moderate Muslims will never curb radical Islamism ,because its actions are sanctioned by their holy book. There are 18 passages in the Koran which sanction either directly or implicitly the right to kill the 'infidel'. No Moslem,however 'moderate' his outward behaviour is allowed to deny the validity of these or any other passages from their holy book without becoming an apostate.to their religion. Catch 22.
ReplyDeleteMuslims are in denial, in part because Islam has painted itself into a corner with its philosophy of perfection. Obviously a perfect entity is above human criticism. Moreover, there is no reason for it to indulge in self-introspection or to change. Unfortunately, the rest of the human race has discovered that Islam is far from perfect. Its sacred sources preach hatred and sanctify violence. What are Muslims to do? To admit the imperfection is to admit that Muhammad was mistaken in his revelation, and that the 14 centuries-long Islamic public narrative is a sham. Such admissions would bring the entire ideology tumbling down. Better to simply deny the problems and hope they disappear, despite the cognitive dissonance this evokes and the amount of human misery it permits. Islam has some serious reorganization and reinterpretation ahead if it hopes to survive. Yet most Muslims have yet to take the first step. They are still hiding behind the traditional narrative of perfection.
ReplyDelete