Anti-Muslim rhetoric isn’t brave

[GennGreymane]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...ef3_story.html

By Fareed Zakaria Opinion writer December 3

The most recent act of horrific violence in the United States — in San Bernardino, Calif. — was reportedly perpetrated by a Muslim man and woman. There are about 3 million Muslims in the United States, almost all of whom are law-abiding citizens. How should they react to the actions of the couple who killed 14 people on Wednesday?

The most commonly heard response is that Muslims must immediately and loudly condemn these acts of barbarity. But Dalia Mogahed, a Muslim American leader, argues eloquently that this is unfair. She made her case to NBC’s Chuck Todd.

“According to the FBI, the majority of domestic terrorist attacks are actually committed by white, male Christians. . . . When those things occur, we don’t suspect other people who share their faith and ethnicity of condoning them. We assume that these things outrage them just as much as they do anyone else. And we have to afford that same assumption of innocence to Muslims.”

Muslims face a double standard, but I understand why. Muslim terrorists don’t just happen to be Muslim. They claim to be motivated by religion, cite religious justifications for their actions and tell their fellow Muslims to follow in their bloody path. There are groups around the world spreading this religiously infused ideology and trying to seduce Muslims to become terrorists. In these circumstances, it is important for the majority of Muslims who profoundly disagree with jihad to speak up.

But it is also important to remember that there are 1.6 billion Muslims on the planet. If you took the total number of deaths from terrorism last year — about 30,000 — and assumed that 50 people were involved in planning each one (a vastly exaggerated estimate), it would still add up to less than 0.1 percent of the world’s Muslims.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking in Birmingham, Ala., went into detail about how he wanted to monitor "certain mosques" in the United States. (AP)

The writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a tough critic of Islam. She divides the Muslim world into two groups: Mecca Muslims and Medina Muslims. (The Koranic revelations to Muhammad made in Mecca are mostly about brotherhood and love; the ones in Medina have the fire and brimstone.) She estimates that 3 percent of the worldwide community are radical Medina Muslims, the other 97 percent being mainstream Mecca Muslims. Now, 3 percent works out to a large number, 48 million, and that’s why we spend lots of time, money and effort dealing with the threats that might emanate from them. But that still leaves the other 97 percent — the more than 1.55 billion — who are not jihadists. They may be reactionary and backward in many ways. But that is not the same as being terrorists.

While I believe that Muslims do bear a responsibility to speak up, non-Muslims also have a responsibility not to make assumptions about them based on such a small minority. Individuals should be judged as individuals and not placed under suspicion for some “group characteristic.” It is dehumanizing and un-American to do otherwise.

It also misunderstands how religion works in people’s lives. Imagine a Bangladeshi taxi driver in New York. He has not, in any meaningful sense, chosen to be Muslim. He was born into a religion, grew up with it, and like hundreds of millions of people around the world in every religion, follows it out of a mixture of faith, respect for his parents and family, camaraderie with his community and inertia. His knowledge of the sacred texts is limited. He is trying to make a living and provide for his family. For him, Islam provides identity and psychological support in a hard life. This is what religion looks like for the vast majority of Muslims.

But increasingly, Americans seem to view Muslims as actively propagating a dangerous ideology, like communist activists. It’s not just Donald Trump. Republican candidates are vying with each other to make insinuations and declarations about Islam and all Muslims. And it’s not just on the right. The television personality and outspoken liberal Bill Maher made the expansive generalization recently that “If you are in this religion, you probably do have values that are at odds [with American values].”

What is most bizarre is to hear this anti-Muslim rhetoric described as brave truth-telling. Trump insists that he will not be silenced on this issue. Chris Christie says that he will not follow a “politically correct” national security policy. They are simply feeding a prejudice. The reality is that Muslims are today the most despised minority in America. Their faith is constantly criticized, and they face insults, discrimination and a dramatic rise in acts of violence against them, as Max Fisher of Vox has detailed superbly. And the leading Republican candidate has flirted with the idea of registering Muslims, a form of collective punishment that has not been seen since the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940s.

This is the first time that I can recall watching politicians pander to mobs — and then congratulate themselves for their political courage.

[Underverse]

They may be reactionary and backward in many ways. But that is not the same as being terrorists.

But increasingly, Americans seem to view Muslims as actively propagating a dangerous ideology

So, the author admits that non-radical Muslims are reactionary and backwards, and then criticizes Americans for viewing them as propagating a dangerous ideology?

Okay.

[Vetis]

we generally dont blame them because its clear everyone detests their actions from the response and secondly that its rarely done in the name of christianity outside of pro life extremists. If 7-10% of a global population of a billion are active or sympathise with the goals and methods of the extremists as with islam then damn right the attitude would change.

[Ryme]

The most commonly heard response is that Muslims must immediately and loudly condemn these acts of barbarity.

Where is this response? I've never seen it spouted by anyone, least of all anyone credible.

Americans seem to view Muslims as actively propagating a dangerous ideology

So what? Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, so long as you're focused on the ideology and not the person following it then you're doing nothing wrong. In fact, by merely wanting to have a discussion on the matter you're probably doing a good thing.

[Salech]

Anti Anti-Muslim rhetoric isn't brave.

[Austilias]

This is a very long-winded way of saying that it isn't very nice to criticize an ideology that isn't very nice.

Too bad.

[Breccia]

Anti Anti-Muslim rhetoric isn't brave.

Indeed it is not. It is extremely easy to be anti-anti-Muslim. You know the majority of the country/world has your back.

[GennGreymane]

Where is this response? I've never seen it spouted by anyone, least of all anyone credible.



So what? Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, so long as you're focused on the ideology and not the person following it then you're doing nothing wrong. In fact, by merely wanting to have a discussion on the matter you're probably doing a good thing.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a6765976.html

Organisers of an anti-Isis march in London have spoken of their frustration after mainstream media outlets failed to cover the demonstration.

Thousands of people took part in the annual UK Arbaeen Procession, coordinated by the Husaini Islamic Trust UK, on Sunday.

Although Shia Muslims take part in the march each year to mark the Arbaeen, or mourning, anniversary of Imam Husain - a seventh-century leader who fought for social justice - this year organisers decided to use the event as a platform to denounce terrorism following the recent Isis attacks in Paris, Beirut and elsewhere.

Organiser Waqar Haider said: "This year we had hundreds of placards which were basically saying ‘no’ to terrorism and ‘no’ to Isis. A very direct message.

"For us it was a controversial move to go political. Normally we don’t mix politics with mourning. However with what's happened recently, we thought we had to make sure we as a community totally disassociate ourselves with what's happening elsewhere in the world."

Despite this, Mr Haider said the demonstration still failed to garner attention in the mainstream media because of "stereotyping".

"It is the oldest annual Muslim event in London but unfortunately it is very difficult to get any media coverage," he said.

"I think it's because of stereotyping. People see the entire Muslim community as one community.

"[But] the Muslim community is a very diverse community, with the vast majority of us horrified by Isis.

"With our event, we had so many people from different ethnic backgrounds. It's more of a family event in terms of people it attracts."

Volunteer Mohammed Al-Sharifi also commented on the lack of media coverage for the event.

In a tweet, he said: “Hundreds of Muslims flooded the streets of London yesterday to condemn terrorism. Media’s response: Silence.”

His post has been re-tweeted more than 5,000 times.

Other social media users also believed the demonstration should have been more widely covered.


Mr Al-Sharifi told The Independent: "I think the reason the mainstream media hasn’t covered the story is because I don’t think it's juicy enough to sell papers. It's simply not interesting enough."

"Unfortunately [some] media outlets have gone for stories that to some extent can be divisive. If a group of Muslims do something good, it's not mentioned or the religion is not mentioned. But if someone does something [negative], it is on the front page and their religion is mentioned."

"It's feeding this hatred and divisiveness and demonisation, I think, of Muslims."

He said the media had an increased level of responsibility to create a cohesive society.

"The reason my tweet went viral… is because I think people realise there is a huge disparity between what they're being fed in the media and the reality of the day-to-day interactions they have with Muslims at work, at school."

Mr Al-Sharifi called on the country's leadership to counter Islamophobia.

The Arbaeen processions take place in other locations around the world including Iraq, Nigeria and the US.

During this year's event in Kano, a Boko Har

[Kraenen]

It is when you get a fatwa put on you, or when you're physically threatened for making a cartoon, get bomb threats, get assassinated in the street, when you have to live your life with bodyguards, etc... I think Rushdie's Fatwa is still going, and that wasn't even anti-muslim in the sense that we'd think. Free speech on this issue is regularly under threat. If you don't believe that, go and test if you really have freedom from religious bullies.

Look at polls on muslim perspectives. Even some of the most moderate populations have 10-15% support for things like Sharia. Now consider that there are 1.6 billion, or 22% of the world population, and that very conservative number of 10-15% is quite significant.

[Gwiez]

It's a good opinion piece that makes a lot of good points. It won't go over well here.

[Vyxn]

I stopped reading after who I seen who wrote it

Fareed Zakaria's Plagiarism: Even Worse Than It Looks
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-sl...b_1765903.html

Ya like I will take anything he says as credible and deserve discussion

[Ryme]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a6765976.html

So no one asked them to condemn the actions, they did so anyway and still no one cared because no one's asking them to do this?

[Imatapir]

The main problem is in the buzzword Muslim has became for the Media.
If they'd just stop using Muslim and Terrorist at the same time maybe it would help.

[TITAN308]

...was reportedly perpetrated by a Muslim man and woman.

From the very first sentence.

Why is he posting this sentence as if he has his doubts about their background? Or am I misreading this?

I mean all else aside, it is a fact they were Muslim. Right?

[GennGreymane]

So no one asked them to condemn the actions, they did so anyway and still no one cared because no one's asking them to do this?

They are told on social media, politicians, Obama basically said the same thing in his speech recently, and many people ON THIS VERY FORUM, tell them to.

[Shibito]

Despite what Batman seem to think, Islam needs a reform to get away from the bad stuff in the same way the bible did away with the OT. Also a problem with the PC people who are afraid to speak out even when we got a mosque in Oslo that has visits from hateful imam's nothing is done. We need to stop the radicalization of islamic youth in the moqsue's first as young males are often easy to mislead.

[Kraenen]

They are told on social media, politicians, Obama basically said the same thing in his speech recently, and many people ON THIS VERY FORUM, tell them to.

It's kind of frustrating when people say you shouldn't change them, that they have to change from the inside (in other words, muslims have to change their culture themselves) and at the same time that you can't ask them to 'police' their own religion.

[GennGreymane]

It's kind of frustrating when people say you're not allowed to change them, they have to change from the inside (in other words, muslims have to change their culture themselves) and at the same time that you can't ask them to 'police' their own religion.

Hey, guy who lives in Colorado, tell Isis to stop being a dick!

[Ryme]

They are told on social media, politicians, Obama basically said the same thing in his speech recently, and many people ON THIS VERY FORUM, tell them to.

Ignoring social media and these forums since they're not credible in any way, where have politicians done this, all I can find on Obama is stating that "if we’re to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies" and asked muslim leaders to try to confront any spread of extremism when it presents itself.

I'm not trying to be petulant here, genuinely interested since I read that line a lot lately.

[Hiricine]

While Donald Trump is creating some inflammatory situations by talking about banning Muslim travel and Muslim ID's, the flip side of letting in thousands of asylum seekers who would be better served in their own country than here is even more insane. Also its not simply LETTING them in, its PAYING for them to come over, and PAYING for them to stay.

The stance of being as nice as possible to every Muslim hasn't worked in any country, such as France or Sweden, where Muslims have become a minority that mirror African-Americans in terms of crime rate, unemployment, and education. The problem is that the people talking from the other side aren't proposing anything close to reasonable solutions.