Thomas Friedman wrote a recent article for the New York Times in which he extensively quoted a Muslim turned Christian Arab activist, Brother Rachid.
According to Rachid, President Barack Obama should stop being “politically correct” and label Islam as an extremist religion that promotes the views of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabab. After all, he says, they are all “made in Islam.”
To add a sense of credibility to his claims, Rachid says he was born in a Muslim household and knows first-hand that the teachings of the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) support extremism.
As a Muslim, I fail to understand how Rachid’s view of Islam became so skewed because the Islam I know teaches the opposite of what he describes. I belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community that preaches love for all, hatred for none. The Holy Quran I follow equates the killing of one person to the killing of the entire mankind (5:32). It forbids compulsion in religion and admonishes human beings from creating disorder on Earth (2:256; 7:57).
The same Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Rachid labels as a supporter of violence said that mankind should suffer no loss at the hands or tongue of a Muslim.
The teachings of the Prophet of Islam and the Islamic scripture seem to be in direct contradiction to mass executions and beheadings ISIS and other extremist groups are responsible for.
While Rachid and I both grew up Muslims, the only thing I can deduce from his beliefs is that he was most likely exposed to a warped view of Islam. By quoting him at great lengths, Friedman’s article paints a very incomplete picture of a faith that is practiced by more than a billion people. The total word count of Friedman’s article is about 900 words and he devotes about a third of that to Rachid’s statements that Islam is responsible for ISIS and other extremist groups. It is a very disproportionate view of Islam.
Friedman also argues that ISIS is driving Muslims away from Islam. It might be true in the cases of few people like Rachid, but again, it’s not a complete picture. While some choose to leave this faith, others find affirmation of their belief in the true Islam. For many of us, Islamic teachings of peace and love are a refuge against the barbaric actions of extremists. We find comfort in the fact that Islam teaches compassion for all of humanity.
I wrote a letter to the New York Times refuting the views of Rachid and calling for Friedman to give us a wider view of Islam. My efforts were ignored. While ISIS and the loudest opponents of Islam are often represented in the media, the voices of many moderate Muslims are nowhere to be found. Instead, what you see in the media is ISIS blowing up a church while proclaiming “God is great,” or the voices of the Bill Mahers of the world. The moderate Muslim voice is lost somewhere in the commotion.
If a person wore a shark costume and insisted that he or she was a real shark, would we believe them? If the answer is no, why do we believe ISIS is the true picture of Islam? Truth is, Islam is the biggest victim of extremism. ISIS and others are using it as a tool to manipulate people’s opinion of Islam, and some are falling prey to its scheme.
We see mainstream Jews confronting Jewish extremests openly and in public, even confronting them face to face. We see it here in Tikkun .Are you capable of doing the same? I know Malala was willing to and can never return to Pakistan because of widespread threats on her life.
Jack, you seem to have totally missed the point of the article. The article is arguing that Muslims are not monolithic, and that whenever people like yourself ask “What are Muslims doing about extremism?” your premise is one based on prejudice and generalisations. Consider the following question: “What are Christians doing about the Lords Resistance Army of Uganda, or the Anti-Balaka ground of CAR?”
The reasonable response would be to recognise that only bigotry would, due to the actions some within a group, automatically place a responsibility to act on the whole of that group. Especially since Christians (like Muslims) are a group who, as individuals, often have no direct link with each other, living in different continents, and are most likely following vastly different religions which only happen to be superficially labelled by the same name.
Having said that Muslims often do speak out; not due to the the unethical and prejudicial pressure of people like yourself, but because of a heartfelt need to defend their faith which they love from being disgraced by the actions of extremists.
Ahamdi Muslims, such as the author above, in particular are extremely vocal about their opposition to violence. Around the world in many countries, every year, Ahmadi Muslims gather for three days for their annual convention and preach peace, love and common humanity for all, and hatred for none. In the US over 6000 Ahmadi Muslims congregated to show the love they have for their faith, and to reject and oppose all extremism. In the UK 30,000 Ahmadi Muslims meet each year for three days for the same purpose.
If you don’t hear these voices, it is not because they are not loud enough. It’s because they are not being listened to; either through neglect from the media or simply individuals not wanting to hear them since in their unjust discrimination against Islam they have metaphorically sealed their own ears and hearts to the voices of justice and peace.
Charles,
Your response brought tears to my eyes. You hit the spot! Thank you for your response. I appreciate it.
Charles your first two paragraphs brought tears to my eyes. The expression of cowardice. If an American drone kills an innocent then we expect Obama to apologise even though he did not press the button. If the IRA killed then Catholics around the world condemned them. When the KKK used religion as an excuse for racism Protestants rose up to voice their protests. In this country when someone invokes violence in the name of a religion then the leaders of that religion are expected to stand up and contest those views. This is why we live in the worlds happiest nation. We get along. Obviously they don’t where you come from.
And your point is? Heard of Reza Aslan? There are many like him around the world. And then again, [personal attack removed].. don’t waste our time.
I bet you would post tat same response on an Islamic website or cat got your tongue? I have heard of Malala. She has a price on her head in Pakistan. Now she’s brave and inspiring.
Jack, my Muslim community has been speaking repeatedly and loudly against violence of all kind especially that perpetuated by Muslims in the name of Islam. We quote the Holy Quran and Sunnah to refute all the garbage they try to spread in the name of Islam. My community also tries to alert the media for coverage when we hold our events, but it is rare for them to cover these events. A perfect example would be our annual convention a year or so ago where several thousand members participated and many of the speeches were against the current violence in Middle East. When the news venue learned the whole convention was about promoting peace, they said it wasn’t news worthy. Thousands of proponents of peace speaking against ISIS and the like were not newsworthy, had only a handful of people been standing outside chanting slogans in favor of ISIS, it would have been on all the news channels.
Perhaps you can do it o a full page add in the NY Times or organize a protest in for iof Turkey’s embassy of their passive response to ISIS. I’m sure time can be found in between relentless condemnation of Israel.
You are right Huma Munir, the Islam i am familiar with only teaches me peace and promotes “love for all hatred for none”.