A moderate American Islamic voice

[J. Paul Everett]

To all:

I strongly support this man's point of view.

Paul

         A Memo to American Muslims
M. A. Muqtedar Khan

In the name of Allah, the most Benevolent and the Most Merciful. May this
memo find you in the shade of Islam enjoying the mercy, the protection and
the grace of Allah.

I am writing this memo to you all with the explicit purpose of inviting you
to lead the American Muslim community in soul searching, reflection and
reassessment.

What happened on September 11th in New York and Washington DC will forever
remain a horrible scar on the history of Islam and humanity. No matter how
much we condemn it, and point to the Quran and the Sunnah to argue that Islam
forbids the killing of innocent people, the fact remains that the
perpetrators of this crime against humanity have indicated that their actions
are sanctioned by Islamic values.

The fact that even now several Muslim scholars and thousands of Muslims
defend the accused is indicative that not all Muslims believe that the
attacks are unIslamic.  This is truly sad.

Even if it were true that Israel and the US are enemies of the Muslim World,
wonder what is preventing them from unleashing their nuclear arsenal against
Muslims, a response that mercilessly murders thousands of innocent people,
including hundreds of Muslims is absolutely indefensible.  If anywhere in
your hearts there is any sympathy or understanding with those who committed
this act, I invite you to ask yourself this question, would Muhammad (pbuh)
sanction such an act?

While encouraging Muslims to struggle against injustice (Al Quran 4:135),
Allah also imposes strict rules of engagement. He says in unequivocal terms
that to kill an innocent being is like killing entire humanity (Al Quran
5:32). He also encourages Muslims to forgive Jews and Christians if they have
committed injustices against us (Al Quran 2:109, 3:159, 5:85).

Muslims, including American Muslims have been practicing hypocrisy on a grand
scale. They protest against the discriminatory practices of Israel but are
silent against the discriminatory practices in Muslim states. In the Gulf one
can see how laws and even salaries are based on ethnic origin. This is
racism, but we never hear of Muslims protesting against them at International
fora.

The Israeli occupation of Palestine is perhaps central to Muslim grievance
against the West. While acknowledging that, I must remind you that Israel
treats its one million Arab citizens with greater respect and dignity than
most Arab nations treat their citizens. Today Palestinian refugees can settle
and become citizens of the United States but in spite of all the tall
rhetoric of the Arab world and Quranic injunctions (24:22) no Muslim country
except Jordan extends this support to them.
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While we loudly and consistently condemn Israel for its ill treatment of
Palestinians we are silent when Muslim regimes abuse the rights of Muslims
and slaughter thousands of them.  Remember Saddam and his use of chemical
weapons against Muslims (Kurds)?. Remember Pakistani army’s excesses against
Muslims (Bengalis)?.  Remember the Mujahideen of Afghanistan and their mutual
slaughter?  Have we ever condemned them for their excesses? Have we demanded
international intervention or retribution against them? Do you know how the
Saudis treat their minority Shiis? Have we protested the violation of their
rights? But we all are eager to condemn Israel; not because we care for
rights and lives of the Palestinians, we don’t. We condemn Israel because we
hate “them".

Muslims love to live in the US but also love to hate it. Many openly claim
that the US is a terrorist state but they continue to live in it. Their
decision to live here is testimony that they would rather live here than
anywhere else. As an Indian Muslim, I know for sure that nowhere on earth,
including India, will I get the same sense of dignity and respect that I have
received in the US.  No Muslim country will treat me as well as the US has.
If what happened on september 11th had happened in India, the biggest
democracy, thousands of Muslims would have been slaughterred in riots on mere
suspicion and there would be another slaughter after confirmation. But in the
US, bigotry and xenophobia has been kept in check by media and leaders. In
many places hundreds of Americans have gathered around Islamic centers in
symbolic gestures of protection and embrace of American Muslims. In many
cities Christian congregations have started wearing hijab to identify with
fellow Muslim women. In patience and in tolerance ordinary Americans have
demonstrated their extraordinary virtues.

It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in the US are more
desirable to us than superficial solidarity with the Muslim World. If you
disagree than prove it by packing your bags and going to whichever Muslim
country you identify with.  If you do not leave and do not acknowledge that
you would rather live here than anywhere else, know that you are being
hypocritical.

It is time that we faced these hypocritical practices and struggled to
transcend them. It is time that American Muslim leaders fought to purify
their own lot.

For over a decade we have watched as Muslims in the name of Islam have
committed violence against other Muslims and other peoples. We have always
found a way to reconcile the vast distance between Islamic values and Muslim
practices by pointing out to the injustices committed upon Muslims by others.
The point however is this – our belief in Islam and commitment to Islamic
values is not contingent on the moral conduct of the US or Israel. And as
Muslims can we condone such inhuman and senseless waste of life in the name
of Islam?

The biggest victims of hate filled politics as embodied in the actions of
several Muslim militias all over the world are Muslims themselves. Hate is
the extreme form of intolerance and when individuals and groups succumb to it
they can do nothing constructive. Militias like the Taliban have allowed
their hate for the West to override their obligation to pursue the welfare of
their people and as a result of their actions not only have thousands of
innocent people died in America, but thousands of people will die in the
Muslim World.

Already, half a million Afghans have had to leave their homes and their
country.  The war has not yet begun. It will only get worst. Hamas and
Islamic Jihad may kill a few Jews, women and children included, with their
suicide bombs and temporarily satisfy their lust for Jewish blood, but
thousands of Palestinians then pay the price for their actions.

The culture of hate and killing is tearing away at the moral fabric of the
Muslim society. We are more focused on “the other” and have completely
forgotten our duty to Allah. In pursuit of the inferior jihad we have
sacrificed the superior jihad.

Islamic resurgence, the cherished ideals of which pursued the ultimate goal
of a universally just and moral society has been hijacked by hate and call
for murder and mayhem. If Binladen were an individual then we would have no
problem. But unfortunately Binladen has become a phenomenon -- a cancer
eating away at the morality of our youth, and undermining the spiritual
health of our future.

Today the century old Islamic revival is in jeopardy because we have allowed
insanity to prevail over our better judgment. Yes, the US has played a hand
in the creation of Binladen and the Taliban, but it is we who have allowed
them to grow and gain such a foothold. It is our duty to police our world. It
is our responsibility to prevent people from abusing Islam. It is our job to
ensure that Islam is not misrepresented.  We should have made sure that what
happened on Sept. 11th should never have happened.
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It is time the leaders of the American Muslim community woke up and realized
that there is more to life than competing with the American Jewish lobby for
power over US foreign policy. Islam is not about defeating Jews or conquering
Jerusalem. It is about mercy, about virtue, about sacrifice and about duty.
Above all it is the pursuit of moral perfection. Nothing can be further away
from moral perfection than the wanton slaughter of thousands of unsuspecting
innocent people.

I hope that we will now rededicate our lives and our institutions to the
search for harmony, peace and tolerance. Let us be prepared to suffer
injustice rather than commit injustices. After all it is we who carry the
divine burden of Islam and not others. We have to be morally better, more
forgiving, more sacrificing than others, if we wish to convince the world
about the truth of our message. We cannot even be equal to others in virtue,
we must excel.

It is time for soul searching. How can the message of Muhammad (pbuh) who was
sent as mercy to mankind become a source of horror and fear? How can Islam
inspire thousands of youth to dedicate their lives to killing others? We are
supposed to invite people to Islam not murder them.

The worst exhibition of Islam happened on our turf. We must take first
responsibility to undo the evil it has manifest. This is our mandate, our
burden and also our opportunity.

Muqtedar Khan, Ph.D.
Director of International Studies, Adrian College, MI
Association of Muslim Social Scientists
Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy
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