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Twin cities - Nov. 28, 2004 These days the safest thing for Muslims By Naheed Ali These days the safest thing for Muslims is to be less Muslim. The list of suspicious behavior includes praying regularly and going to the mosque. Mona Mayfield understood this when she tried to defend her husband, wrongfully accused in the Spain bombing. She pleaded that her husband "was on the less religious side." As if the crime were being Muslim itself. Supposedly this war is not against Islam, and moderate Muslims are called on to voice their opposition to extremism. Yet it seems we are less interested in faithful Muslims who vehemently condemn terrorism (as do the millions of Muslims in America and the world) and we embrace those who shed Islam and are ready to vilify it. This has become the acceptable "moderate" Muslim, which is to be not Muslim at all. These Muslims are not self-critical Muslims who contribute and change Islam's interaction with the West, but they are self-promoting individuals whose quickest way to fame is to attack Islam's core tenets. Irshad Manji is among those "moderate" Muslims being hailed in our country as a voice of courage. She has been given glowing reviews in the New York Times for reforming Islam. Yet her much applauded "reform" is just to give up her faith. Her method of making Islam unrecognizable and demonizing its followers will affect little change. On the other hand, a renowned Muslim intellectual in Europe was rejected quite literally when he was not allowed in the country to begin research at a university. Tariq Ramadan was raised in the West and believes "it's time to abandon the dichotomy in Muslim thought that has defined Islam in opposition to the West." It seems we should be desperate for minds like these. But maybe it was something else he said that makes him unacceptable: "I'm a European who has grown up here. I don't deny my Muslim roots, but I don't vilify Europe either." His unwillingness to deny Islam as his identity is his crime. It's clear we've begun to define the radical extremists as those who have a little too much to do with Islam rather than those who have something to do with terrorism. The title of "moderate Muslim" is only given to those who are unquestioning of U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim world and openly abandon Islam's beliefs and malign its scripture. We discredit the countless Muslim leaders, scholars and organizations that have made it their mission to strongly condemn terrorism and examine the problems in the Muslim world. Muslim organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations have without fail condemned each and every terrorist act these past few years. CAIR has the overwhelming if not unanimous support of Muslims. Leading Muslim scholars like Hamza Yusuf in the United States and Yusuf Qaradawi in the Arab world have condemned the renegades who preach violence. Intellectuals like Tariq Ramadan call for an end to anti-Western rhetoric among Muslims. These men have more far-reaching influence than the man wrongfully perceived as the Muslim spokesman, Osama bin Laden. They also have far more influence than those who resort to changing Islam's basic beliefs. The common person, like me, takes every chance to explain to friends, the community, schools, churches, workplaces and newspapers that we condemn terrorism in the name of Islam. Muslim speakers bureaus have sprung up in the Twin Cities for this purpose, as well as to present Islamic beliefs and practices. Yet mainstream Muslims are accused repeatedly of being silent. The truth is those Muslims are being silenced because they are not willing to give up their belief in Islam. They still pray five times a day and read the Quran and this quite simply makes them "potential suspects." It seems there are only two ways for a Muslim to be heard. Either they become media-savvy extremists or they demonize Islam in books filled with prejudice and self-hate. Those admired as "courageous" are actually doing what is the easiest thing to do today — Muslim bashing. What is courageous is the men and women who hold strong to their faith and simultaneously call for an end to terrorism and violence against civilians. The Muslims who practice openly and have never shied from calling terrorists illegitimate interpreters of their faith, they are the ones who are fearless. Ali is a 2004 Pioneer Press community columnist. She lives in Minneapolis. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/10278626.htm?1c |