A Salute to America

There, in the small curvy streets of the hill town Kathmandu, the Capital of Nepal, a few girls are being introduced to other residents of that small house. They all have one thing in common. Until they met, they were all living like slaves bought by their owners in India, Bangladesh or Pakistan. An elderly woman was instrumental in buying them back from the owners and bringing them to the house, she had prepared from her own money. Many of these girls came from Islamic and Hindu backgrounds.
No, that woman is not a Nepalese. Nor she is a Muslim or a Hindu. She is a white American woman who moved to Nepal to help these enslaved women buy their freedom. Once the girls are freed, she teaches them skills that would help them stand on their own feet financially. She teaches them dignity and living in harmony with others. She encourages them to continue to follow their faith.
Why?
Then there is this young man who was deployed in Pakistan in 2005 to assist the earthquake victims. Subsequently, he formed the Community Disaster and Relief Services and decided to settle in Pakistan to provide relief to deserving communities in Pakistan. With over 100 employees and hundreds of volunteers, this young man has devoted his life to educating the poor, the neglected and disadvantaged children so that they face the future challenges of life effectively. He left his well settled life in the US to live in conditions that many upper class rich Pakistanis would not identify with.
Why?
Then in Las Vegas, there are these 10 or 12 young men and women who take time from their busy professional life and go to Chennai, India, to live among young lepers who they clean with their own hands and who they teach music so that they can take pride in their own abilities despite the stigma that society attaches them.
Why
There are hundreds of Americans who have volunteered their life and resources to help the poor and the neglected mostly in the Muslim world. They are unknown to Muslims with the exception to their beneficiaries.
Then there is this group of immigrants who moved from Pakistan or India or Bangladesh to this country in the late 60s and made a life for them on the basis of their hard work and integrity. Now they are spending their resources in building schools in various smaller towns of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to help educate the poor and the needy.
Why?
They do this because they believe in the goodness and they believe in serving humanity. Perhaps the verse of the Quran, “you are the people whose task is to serve and secure the good of the people,” applies to them most appropriately. Perhaps they are the ones who deserve at least silent thanks for each one of us as they do not want to be recognized for what they do.
They are there serving people regardless of 9/11 or 7/7 or violence that often permeates in Pakistan and Iraq or other parts of the world. They are there as a sign from God that good and evil are not equal and if someone is doing wrong, good should always be given the priority.
Many Muslims blame America for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and Muslims criticize America for drone attacks. But Muslims are not the only ones who feel this way. Millions of Americans have made their rejection of the military adventures in the past and continue to do so. But these Americans do not punish fellow Americans for the mistakes in foreign policies. They never abandon their commitment to good.
Can’t we Muslims be more rational, realistic and fair in our assessment of what the citizens of this country have been doing in different parts of the word? Can’t we Muslims be appreciative of them and remember them in our prayers for the good they are contributing and can’t we Muslims join their hands to strengthen their work rather than being critical of America always?
But this is the America we Muslims rarely talk in our institutions and homes. This is not how Muslim groups and parties in the Muslim world introduce America to their followers. They pick on everything that is negative in America while ignoring their own ills.
Don’t you think that these Americans deserve a salute from all of us, and don’t you think that we are blessed to be among people who have goodness in their action and no amount of negative talk about Islam prevents them from continuing to do what they have been doing.

Boston Bombing and Muslims: The inability to handle the dissent effectively is the main cause of violence

Every time an act of terror is attributed to a Muslim, the debate about Islam, Muslim history, culture and relationship with the West or the non-Muslim world becomes dominant in our academic circles, homes and the media. Muslims argue that the action of a few cannot be used to judge their community, while many non-Muslims view all Muslims as potential terrorists.

Both are right to a certain degree. If someone commits an act of terror in the name of a faith or an ideology, however, twisted their logic may be, what is the guarantee that others belonging to that ideology or faith would not follow the same behavior? Similarly, why is it that an entire community is punished and defined in the image of a few criminals, unknown to the community.

The failure to understand the causes of such behavior on the part of isolated individuals and groups would always lead us to behave in a manner that would further complicate the issue. Both, the Muslims and their critics need to evaluate their responses to incidents of terror when they occur.
Non-Muslims need to understand that Muslims are not a monolith group. Their diversity is self-evident in their divisions on social, ethnic, cultural, political and economic lines. They do not have a single leader. They are not represented by a single organization and no single group can claim to speak on their behalf. Often the differences among them are the manifestation of the power play of the opposing groups. They even have differences in their understanding of their scriptures on key issues. However, the general consensus among Muslims is that human life is sacred and it must be respected. If one acts contrary to the general belief, then, it should be considered an isolated action and the entire community cannot be held accountable for that.

The Boston bombing explains this clearly. Two brothers acting in isolation acted arbitrarily on the basis of their understanding of their faith and history and committed what Muslims rightly describes crime against humanity. Their action should be considered a deviation from the norm.
However, Muslims have to look at their own community critically and understand why do individuals commit these acts. The one issue that Muslims have often failed to handle effectively is the issue of dissent. How should they resolve the differences within them and with others? Despite the fact that the scriptures of Islam and the lifestyle and teaching of Prophet provide ample guidance to deal it effectively, Muslims have often responded to their differences in a tribal, feudal or conflicting manner. Dissent frowned within the community. Critical questioning is discouraged by many. Those who take an opposing viewpoint are either ostracized or isolated or even declared non-Muslims. It is not uncommon to see Muslims refusing to pray behind fellow whom they differ in details. Rarely one finds a Shia Imam leading the prayer of Sunnis and vice versa.

In our books of jurisprudence, the dissent is often punishable by death. Our history is a witness of the sectarian violence that has been led by religious leaders on the basis of their differences in the details of the faith. The war between Iraq and Iran is a testimony of that juristic style where both parties first declared each other non-Muslim and then engaged in mass killing on the basis of their readings of the Quran. In our history of the earliest Muslims, we read about wars among the companions of the Prophet on the basis of their political differences. The violence against the grandson of the Prophet is evidence of that methodology of dealing with differences arbitrarily on the basis of power play.

The use of this methodology where violence is justified against the opponent is malice, we have been living for centuries and it must be handled tactfully and directly by our generation of Muslims. The Quran is against violence. It describes war a reprehensible act. It invites people to peace and reminds the believers that the best way to resolve the difference is not to act on the basis of the feelings of revenge or anger, but on the basis of understanding others viewpoint or forgiveness or responding wrong with right. It even quotes the prophet when he was asked to tell those who were opposed to his ideals:
"O messenger tell your people “You may do whatever you choose; I will not interfere. On the other hand, do not interfere with my program. The results will soon show to whom success will eventually belong. Allah’s law is those wrong doers can never prosper.” (6:135) or 

"Remember! Deeds which create balance and harmony in society and in one's own self, cannot be like the actions which create chaos.  If disorder and chaos has affected society, the best way to get rid of these would be to do more constructive work.  (This would offset the ill effects of their misdeeds and stop further deterioration.  It would have one more advantage that) The severe enmity or hatred that has developed between yourself and the one who was responsible for creating disorder, would turn into a close friendship." (41:34)

The Quran suggests that dissent must be acknowledged and accepted.  It is thus imperative that we address this issue effectively. Unfortunately, the community, by and large, ignore the scriptures when it comes to seeking guidance. It accepts the interpretation of individuals in defining God and his message. It is a common practice among Muslims to quote this scholar or that scholar in defining verse of the Quran while ignoring the text. A great majority of Muslims lack a meaningful, direct connect with their scripture and the messenger, Prophet Muhammad. They rely on the understanding of the scholars of the divine guidance and the life of the messenger without attempting to directly relate to the Quran. The Quran for them has become a book to seek the blessings and not guidance. Thus, in crucial issues such as respecting human life, freedoms of expression, they tend to rely more on the opinions of those scholars who were influenced by their history, culture, and politics. It seems that they have left the task of following the Quran to the Prophet, while they are satisfied with their loyalty to their scholars and parties.

It is, thus, imperative that we address this issue urgently reminding ourselves of the ultimate purpose of the divine guidance that in the words of the Quran is to create a disciplined, non-anarchic society where the interests and dignity of all are secured and guaranteed, where Muslims' presence in communities the live with is a source of comfort and peace. This would happen when they assure them that they can live with each other peacefully without resorting to even a language of violence accepting the differences. Unless that happens, we should be prepared to suffer the consequences of violence for a long time.

Should We dialogue with Islamophobes?

Islamophobes in the US are well known through their regular columns, speeches, and talk shows. They include people from all races and ethnic groups as well people of non-Islamic religions. Among them are also those who claim to be former Muslims, as well as Jews, Christians, Hindus, atheists, and liberals. Their arguments are well known and the responses of Muslims are also well-publicized or documented. Perhaps an innovative approach is needed to address the issue as we cannot live in a state of perpetual fear and hostility. Muslims through their organizations, local, regional or national, should invite the well-known critics or Islamophobes for dialogue either directly or through interfaith councils moderated by a neutral person. The agenda of such a dialogue should be well defined and a code of ethics as well prepared. The purpose of the dialogue should be to understand and seek clarifications as well as explain and clarify concerns. Regardless of the outcome, the doors for the dialogue must remain open for the future.

Such an approach might help both the groups to at least disagree with respect and dignity. The accusations against Islam and the clarification given by Muslims are documented, but a face to face dialogue might help both to see the human face of the other. In our civilized world, a dialogue is the only way to understand and clarify alternative positions.

As Muslims, we should not expect all to agree with our theology or religious perspectives. We cannot demand that people should view the world from our angle. All we can hope is that our angle or perspective is better understood by others.

We are not naive to believe that the accusations against Muslims and Islam are the outcome of serious and sincere efforts of others to understand Islam and Muslims. There are those who are acting as agents of other groups who have remained in the background, but there are certainly those who are genuinely concerned about certain issues related to Islam. The door of dialogue must not be closed to anyone as this is the only way forward in our world.

Even if the other party refuses to join us in dialogue, we can at least tell those who are watching the two groups with anxiety and fear that we made efforts to clarify our position. Perhaps this path of dialogue would open new avenues for us and we can play a more proactive role in defining ourselves rather than being defined by others.