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this corporate identity called America, it only happens outside of its borders (and especially in the Muslim world). And if thats true, the only time we need to really speak out or work assiduously against injustice is when it concerns what happens back home. Though this is a widespread understanding among Muslim immigrants, it doesnt really fully explain the vacillation and irresponsiveness of non-immigrants and/or converts (leaders and others). Though converts have done more recently to express their desire to come out of the shadows of eastern ideological and cultural domination, by far they continue to serve the immigrant national agenda in America. (And before someone rebukes me for calling naturalized Muslim citizens immigrants, know that I consider any person an immigrant who still believes that he himself is one). The way that converts serve that agenda is through having the same obsession with protecting the image of Islam. Let me try to be clear about what Im saying here. There is no doubt to me that most non-Muslims in America who abhor Islam and Muslims do so largely because of the great job the media has done to make Muslims look like a bunch of clowns, demons, and subhuman species. They have successfully exploited the ignorance of these people to create fear which appeals directly to the base qualities in them (e.g. bigotry, xenophobia, racism). This in turn has conjured up a similar fearful response of Muslims, but because Muslims dont feel empowered, they are led to combine fear with politics as a way to serve their interest of protecting and securing their physical, emotional and economic well-being even if that is to the detriment of other Muslims (like those Muslims who want to blame everything on AlQaeda or the Wahhabis). In my opinion, there are three primary reasons that Muslims are not being affective in improving their overall image: I. Obsession with propagation The effort to improve ones image is fundamentally a political endeavor. Being political, it opens one up to have ones intentions doubted and probed. This political aim is born out of the principle of propagation/proselytizing (dawa). What that means is that by its very nature, it is difficult for Muslims to have a genuine interaction with nonMuslims: the people they are trying to convince of their innocence and innocuousness. Only genuine interaction with people will cure the disease of distrust. That is to say that we can have no preconditions or pretenses when we interact with others, like the intention to missionize them. We must remember that God makes Muslims and He controls hearts. This should, of course, not be understood as an abandonment of enjoining the right and forbidding wrong behavior or calling to good. The point is merely that we should treat people good because our religion teaches us to, not because we hope that people will convert to Islam. Secondly, Muslims need to stop trying to speak for all Muslims and start speaking for themselves. Rather, we even need to start demanding from non-Muslims that they judge us by who we are, not by the images they see on television. This is what it really means to be judged by the content of ones character. We need to tell them that no one speaks for me but me, not that guy 8000 miles away who I dont know, never met, and will unlikely ever meet. And even if I do meet him, he has one perspective on Islam and I have another. Stop telling people, Thats not REALLY Islam! or Theyre distorting the teachings of ISLAM or that Muslims need to be doing more to teach people what TRUE Islam is. The reason why none of that works is that for a non-Muslim, all they hear is that Muslims have multiple understandings about their religion, and who are they
to say who is interpreting it correctly or incorrectly? Rather, tell them, I disagree with that view and The person does not represent ME and my views. This is a whole lot better excommunicating a believer simply because it does not serve our particular interest or because they disagree with our interpretation. Another thing we could do is instead of spending so much time on producing the most appealing pamphlet, book, or the most attractive video for public consumption, we could actually get out and go to the people we want to influence and make feel unthreatened by our presence. We should invite them to our religious space and have frank conversations about their and our fears. THIS IS BECAUSE ITS NOT JUST US. ITS THEM TOO. White Muslims (leaders especially) have a greater obligation to do this, since it is clear that those whose fears need to be assuaged significantly more are white Americans. My proof for this is the very fact that all our condemnations, apologies, and efforts are directed at impressing white people nationally (and even internationally). I dont believe that anyone can sincerely say that one is condemning violence as a way to assuage the concerns of Blacks, Latinos, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, or other people. II. Obsession with factionalism If the efforts of one group of Muslims are thwarted by the responses of others, this leads the former to accuse the latter of distorting or misrepresenting Islam. A hallmark of the Islamic dogmatic theological tradition is that scholars even have contributed negatively to the perpetuation of factionalism and parochialism historically. Its as if every Muslim group, sect, or faction seems to have believed that one of the most important aims of Muslims is to preserve an authentic master or metanarrative intact so that when the day comes when all Muslims are on the same page theologically and doctrinally well be able to present this to the non-Muslim world, and they will all easily abandon their beliefs and become Muslims. We are at a point in my view when we need to divest ourselves of this fantasy. You can only speak for yourself. The whole does not equal the individual. And the individual does NOT equal the whole. You may believe that your understanding is TRUE Islam. But another will ALWAYS differ with you. We have done ourselves one of the greatest disservices by trying to speak for ALL Muslims and for ISLAM. There is nothing more arrogant than that, because it implies that God speaks through me. III. The Commitment to Morally Relative Concerns (al-Wala wa al-Bara) The third matter that harms us in my view is that too many of us only seem concerned about injustice when it is related to the Islamic world, but in particular the Arab/IndoPersian realities. If non-Muslims are killing Arabs, we cry out magnifying our voices as an expression of our love of our brethren. But when Muslims are killing one another (e.g. Sunni-Shiite), our voices are muted. Its as if we say to one another, I love you as long as you are at a distance from me, but I loathe you when you draw near to me. As for the concerns of non-Muslims, converts, or even countries outside of the sphere and concern of Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, and Persians, they avoid our detection and interest. The message this sends is that Islam is only concerned about Muslims and Muslim concerns. To HELL with the rest of the world! Their lives have no true meaning anyway! The other extreme that has developed with some national organizations recently has been to only condemn the actions of Muslims when the American government is directly
opposed to them, and when our government is in support of a Muslim regime, we express our support for that regime and their actions. That said, it is important that we now realize that we are in dire need of a new paradigm: a paradigm shift in the way that we have been trying to manage the Muslims public image. The old way of apologetics have not worked and have only made it easier for our antagonists to attack us. We have allowed them to continually control the narrative. Were constantly playing defense. When do we play some offense? You cant win a game only with defense. Otherwise, how do you score a goal? Too often in this supposedly post-racial America we as Muslims continue to find ourselves living as 2 nd and 3rd class citizens. When the media and status quo speak of the American People, where is your voice to be found in that? Are you American or not? I say, yes you are! This is YOUR country too! Be sure to let THEM know that. Dont let fear cripple you into complete divestment of everything that is you. You dont have to be like THEM in order to be an authentic America. Choose not to live in fear. May Allah grant us success and the courage to see it through. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali
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