Recognition of Islamophobia as the irrational and unwarranted fear of
Muslims and Is-lam lingers in lexical incubation. Some accept the term
fully while others discount its validity. Whether this neologism will gain
currency as a bona fide social pathology or be viewed simply as a
marginally legitimate term, moonlighting as a public relations tool,
remains to be seen. Phobias, according to the American Psychiatric
Association, are mental disorders characterised by persistent and
irrational fear of a particular thing, situation or animal. The word
Islamophobia and the operative definition applied to it is far from
clinical recognition. However, I must admit, it is a catchy term and
certainly trendy-sounding enough to fuel circulation. Like: "What are you
guys doing this weekend? "We’re going to fight Islamophobia!" Its
etymology ensures seamless placement in the "for Islam", "saving the
deen", "for Allah" category.
Islamophobia has a diabolical, sinister ring to it. You can almost
picture a young Muslim mother sending her child off to public school: "Now
son, remember to drink your milk, look both ways when you cross the
street, don’t forget to say your prayers on time and be sure to watch out
for any Islamophobia!" We’ve used the term with such frequency and with
such self-serving overtones that it has started to lose it effectiveness
if it even had any. Picture the scenario of a man who utters an
anti-Muslim remark causing outrage in the Muslim community; he’s rushed to
a licensed Islamophobist for diagnosis, after submitting to a few
diagnostics the man turns to the doctor in anxious trepidation and says:
"Well Doc, tell me! What is it? Racism? Psychomotor agitation? Bipolar
disorder? Bird flu? The doctor, clipboard in hand, gazes solemnly into his
eyes and says: "No Pat, what you have is a mild case of Islamophobia." The
man, wiping the sweat off his brow, says: "That’s all? Thank God, for a
moment I thought it was something serious."
As Muslims, accurate and responsible use of categorical verbiage is a
moral obligation and, in this case, a vital tactical adjunct for Muslims
in America. This is why it is critical that before we wage jihad against
Islamophobia, we accurately define the terminology. Perhaps we can avoid
misdirecting our energies in what may very well be another fruitless
pursuit, frocked in Islamic trappings, that fails to address the root of
our problems as Muslims. Sure there is discrimination against Muslims and
yes, it should be addressed, but not manipulated. I don’t see crowds of
rednecks chasing down Muslims in the streets.
Let’s set aside American foreign policy for a moment, that’s a separate
issue. I’m talking about everyday life, living in America. Are there
Americans who fear Muslims? Absolutely, and there are some that fear
bald-headed bikers clad in leather, there are some that fear Latinos,
Italians whose last name ends in a vowel and Christian fundamentalists.
There are people in America who fear African Americans, especially those
less than 25 years of age who, parenthetically, may be the most feared
minority in the country. There are people in America who fear skinheads,
the sound of fire trucks, the din of crowded subways, men with bushy
moustaches, Caucasians, the police, Catholic priests, the homeless, and
there are even people in America, believe it or not, who are mortified by
toothless old ladies. I’m terrified of dentist visits and a contentious
divorce could make a person afraid of the opposite sex. Welcome to the
club. Fear is an industry in America and that’s not going to change any
time soon.
Accepting that there are Americans who fear Muslims, is such fear
completely irrational? Well, knowing that a surgically worded fatwa can
turn an unsuspecting young Muslim into a societal menace overnight and the
capricious way in which a Muslim can be suddenly labelled a non-Muslim, a
deviant or infidel does cause concern. Is there fanaticism in the name of
Islam? Yes. Is it widespread? Yes. Are we doing much to combat it? I don’t
think so. I’d never expect that anyone could find any moral imperative to
suicide bomb a Mawlid celebration. Regardless of the variant opinions of
Muslims on celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, bombing a group
of Muslims – many of whom were scholars of Islam – gathered in honour of
Allah’s final messenger would make a person say Hmm… Talk about Americans
fearing Muslims, there are Muslims that fear Muslims! Does this qualify
them as Islamophobes? I think not.
We can blame the media until we are blue in the face for negative
portrayals of Islam and Muslims. Even as of this writing, graphic imagery
of Muslim on Muslim violence, Muslim rage, Muslim turmoil, dominate
network and print media. However, these images fuel policy; they help pass
massive budget appropriations and provide justification for the mega
industry that is known as the war on terror. Preparing ourselves for the
so-called Muslim threat has created completely new industries in America
as well as bolstering others. Police departments are spending billions of
dollars on preventive arsenal and technology to prepare for the Muslim
threat. Kevlar-fitted canines, which 10 years ago might have been the butt
of a Jay Leno opening monologue, are now a lucrative commercial venture.
There is such abundance and variety of Muslim media footage that
politicians, policy makers, businessmen, non-profits and industrialists
can literally pick out what suits their purpose. Want to do missionary
work in Iraq? Grab some hungry children footage. Want to get funding to
buy new jail doors from your brother in-law’s company? Get some terrorist
cell simulation footage. Want to retrofit that county bridge to withstand
a terrorist attack? Of course, no one could imagine what a so-called
terrorist would want with a bridge in the middle of nowhere, but you
simply pull out the appropriate news footage and motion passed. The press
is only doing their job, selling news entertainment.
The question is, what are we going to do? Continue complaining? Ignore
our own ills? Only take on agendas that have fund-raising potential? The
only thing stopping the Muslims from changing their condition is our own
arrogance, religious sectarianism, injustices to our selves and refusal to
address serious social Islamic issues. It is nonsense to assume that the
media is the only culprit. Or to assume we can somehow eradicate
unwarranted fear or distrust of Muslims through the rhetoric of public
relations or references to the glorious history of Islam. America is a
‘what have you done for me lately’ kind of country. Which, by the way, is
not an unIslamic viewpoint. The prophet said: "Verily deeds are tallied
according to those that are last (innamaa al-a’maalu bil
khawaa’teem)." Years of town halls, demonstrations, accountability
sessions, sensitivity training and boycotts hasn’t removed graphic
negative Muslim media imagery from top billing on headline news. Money
can’t buy you love. Yeah, I know the Beatles said it in 1964 but Allah
said it 1,400 years prior: "And if you spent everything in the world you
could not have joined between their hearts, but it is Allah who joined
between them", 8:63.
Americans do not necessarily fear Islam and Muslims. What Americans do
not want is to see suicide bombers in New York City. As an American Muslim
who knows no other homeland, I have no problem in protecting our borders
or legitimately defending my country. Does that make me a bad Muslim? I
live here, why would I want to see America go down in flames? I have
issues with the phrase "Death to America". Our way of life here may not be
all good but it definitely is not all bad. We need to stop making politics
part of theology or if we insist on doing so we should accept that no one
group or ethnicity can speak for all American Muslims. You have scholars
who have never experienced the family bonding that takes place at
Thanksgiving dinner or understood the true nature of the holiday making
fatwas using triangulated logic, telling me that to sit down with my
Muslim and non-Muslim family to eat roasted turkey, macaroni and cheese,
hug my aunties whom I haven’t seen all year and watch a football game with
my cousins is a faith deficiency! My response to that fatwa is posted
elsewhere. However, the point I’m making is that there is a distinct,
irrational, extremist tendency in our application of Islam that needs to
be extricated.
Americans are more confused about Islam and Muslims than anything else.
I don’t think the media is entirely to blame for that. Heck, even Muslims
are confused about Islam. Every year there are millions of Muslims in
America who are confused about the start of Ramadan. Should I fast or
should I eat? Can I do both? Taraaweeh prayer: is it 20 rakáat or
8? Am I wrong if I do 8? Am I an innovator if I do 20? Do I give salaams
to all Muslims or just some of them? Do I boycott American products even
though I live in America? I still can’t figure that one out. There are so
many conflicting fatwas flying around that a person spirals into
bewilderment just trying to keep track of them, let alone making sense of
some of them.
Domestically, the American people have accommodated and accepted the
Muslim presence in too many ways for anyone to suggest that there is a
pandemic of Islamophobia. It has been and still is a struggle. However,
the doors have already been opened in large part by African American
Muslims. American Muslims in the United States have very little difficulty
buying homes, starting businesses, enrolling in universities or obtaining
the so-called American dream. Redundant use of psycho-suggestive coinage
would tend to make you feel that people are staring you down when they
just happen to be looking at you like they do everybody else. It can also
convince you that you were not hired because you were a Muslim and not
simply because another candidate was more appealing or more qualified.
Statistically speaking, incidents of anti-Muslim hate, violence,
discrimination in America are relatively low. If we divide the 1,500 or so
anti-Muslim and anti-Arab (what about anti-African or anti-Asian?)
incidents reported by one of the largest and loudest civil rights groups
in America into the six million Muslims who legally reside in America,
that adds up to 2/10ths of a per cent. If we multiply the number by five
to take into consideration unreported incidents, we arrive at the grand
total of one per cent of the general Muslim population, hardly enough to
qualify fighting Islamophobia as a top priority!
Using the term as a scare tactic has created another neologism:
‘Islamophobia-phobia’ (the fear of Islamophobia), which is a greater
threat to Muslims than Islamophobia. It is true that many Muslims in
America receive daily briefs detailing anti-Muslim incidents. However,
these daily alarms appear more like self-serving, opinion shaping,
headline grabbing and manipulative issue control than proof of an evil,
unwarranted, mindless campaign against Muslims and Arabs by the American
citizenry. Give me a break!
With respect to the religion of Islam, the only ones who can taint its
image are its designated practitioners i.e. the Muslims. This is why the
prophet opted not to dispose of some of the treasonous hypocrites in
Medina. It also explains why he reprimanded Mu’aath ibn Jabal for leading
the congregational prayer beyond reasonable length. Both actions are
potential repellents. Extremism – although it may seem, depending upon the
interpreter, to have a textual basis (Koran and Sunna) – usually results
in other than the desired outcome. Our failure to realise this point will
leave us in disappointment. We have many examples of such. Our recent
overreaction to the cartoon portrayal of the prophet is just one. None of
our protests altered the prophet’s status in any way. His place with Allah
is still secure and in the same degree he is still the honoured last
prophet of god. All the ranting did not endear the masses to Islam; it
exposed our lack of rectitude, it cost us lives, money, time, moral
capital and lacked definitive textual basis.
Human beings cannot invalidate the quality or value of Islam; on the
contrary, Islam is a divinely pre-validated faith and way of life
according to orthodox Islamic creed (aqeeeda). "Verily the religion
of Allah is Islam", 3:19. Adherence to Islam or lack of it determines
humanistic value, balances societies and, by the way, supports stable,
healthy civilisations. Anti-Islamic sentiment in the United States has
particular causes such as providential disbelief or what is known in
theological jargon as kufr. Nothing we can do about that. "And tis
no different whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not
believe", 36:10. Other causes are misunderstanding, misrepresentation of
Islam by Muslims or non-Muslims, injustice, the absence of Islamic
standards of civility (yes, there is such a thing) and the conspicuous
scarcity of Muslim social service institutions in America. Furthermore,
anti-Islamic sentiment is not always tantamount to anti-god,
anti-righteousness or anti-justice. You can’t go around accusing anyone
who criticises a Muslim of being immoral or Islamophobic. We are gullible
but we’re not idiots, at least not all of us.
Placing responsibility for Islam’s image on other than ourselves is a
flawed and unstable paradigm that siphons away valuable time, energy and
spiritual as well as temporal benefit. It distracts us from individual and
collective responsibility and sets in motion as’baab (causative
factors) that could deprive us, at this critical juncture in our history,
of what we need most: divine intervention and support. This can only come
from Allah. "Allah is the Friend of those who believe; He takes them out
of the darknesses into the (one) light", 2:257. Faith, more than rhetoric
action, is required. If we for a moment think that success or improvement
in our condition can ever occur without it we are engaging in a fantasy,
existing only in the quilt of our minds, woven together with the threads
of wishful thinking. Want to prove people in the West wrong about Muslims?
Be charitable, help others, feed the hungry, assist the orphan, teach
people to read, build a hospital, pave a road or clean a park. Charitable
work does wonders for the soul and it doesn’t hurt public image either if
that’s what we care about. The prophet said: "Prayer is light and charity
is proof." When a people address their own ills and acknowledge
their individual and collective faults and their need to change wrongful
ways, and embrace fairness, righteousness, civility, adab,
humility, brotherhood, honesty, patience and the qualities that ultimately
define our character, change becomes imminent. Divine assistance is set in
motion.
Labelling people Islamophobes still muzzles some criticism of Islam and
Muslims. However, for many other Americans it just tees them off,
especially when one can easily see the upward mobility, affluence,
academic, commercial and political presence of immigrant Muslims in
American society. No one likes a perpetual whiner, especially one
perceived as having a silver spoon on his palate. This is regardless of
whether he worked for it or not. Other than paying taxes, there is no
significant Islamic social welfare component to offset suspicion,
hostility, resentment or mistrust. This is another cause for anti-Muslim
or anti-Arab sentiment in America.
We hardly see Islamic ideals and principles manifested institutionally
in the United States. Oh, pardon me, that’s not entirely true. Islamic
ideals and principles do exist in many American institutions. Let’s see:
the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, free and reduced fee clinics,
food stamps, homeless shelters, the SPCA, fire departments, traffic
lights, free libraries, trash collection, the ability to disagree
publicly, oh, and we have tawheed (monotheism) here too. Maybe we
have forgotten what Islam is all about. It just may be possible that we
have some closet Islamophobia within us! Let us all, myself included, get
our act together and leave dog-and-pony shows to the circus.
The answers are coming…
(Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad is a freelance writer, consultant and
American Muslim political and social analyst. Parts of this article were
excerpted from his upcoming book, Normalising Islam in America, due
in July 2006. You can contact him at [email protected] or visit his
web site at www.lotustreepublications.com.)