Now Reading
A Widely Unlearned Lesson About Islam
Slut for Slicha
A Very Jewcy Rosh Hashanah
Snipped and Satisfied
Schtupless in Seattle
Gefilte Guilt
Messy Meshugane. Again.

A Widely Unlearned Lesson About Islam

If you spend enough time spouting vitriol toward violent Islamism, you're almost certain to be deemed a 'racist' or an 'Islamophobe' sooner than later. Sometimes it comes from Muslims who are justifiably sensitive because their AK-toting coreligionists get such an inordinate amount of airtime compared with those who fight for democracy and social justice. Other times–oftentimes–it comes from educated Western liberals. Sami Zubaida takes on this careless and inaccurate portrayal of the so-called Muslim World:

It is not just that there are ethnic and social diversities within Muslims, but that many of them are nominal Muslims, and religion enters marginally, if at all, into their lives.

The political implication is that all Muslims are to be "recognised" in terms of their faith, as a community, which is clearly not sociologically viable. But it is politically pursued by those individuals and institutions that seek communal authority and leadership, encouraged by government quarters which seek such "leaders" for shows of consultation and participation.

In the process, he also swiftly debunks the standard liberal myth that regards Islamism as a response to hegemonic cultural incursion:

These men are not culturally distinct from the mainstream. They were proficient and articulate in English, spoke with local accents, were products of British education, social life, sports and entertainments. They had separated from the cultural religion of their parents and embraced militant salafism. Their hostility to their British compatriots did not proceed from cultural difference but from ideological hostility, one that is phrased in the idioms of British culture.

I added the bold-faced emphasis to the quote above because bold-faced emphasis on this very fact–that not all Muslims are terrorists–is strangely missing from most 'liberal' conversations today, but in the most bizarre way. The Islamophobia watchdogs who play fast and loose with the charge make a strange error: if not all Muslims are terrorists (a point on which we agree), then criticism of radical Islamist terror does not extend to all Muslims. It is far more disrespectful to deny people the diversity of their culture than it is to criticize those diseased elements within it that wreak havoc on all the others.

There's hardly anything more bizarre than telling a person who says "bin-Laden is a backward, bloodthirsty freak" that they're racist against Muslims. The implication of such an accusation is that bin-Laden is representative of a singular Muslim World, a world with no capability for independent thought, or creative difference–a world where those who sacrifice their lives for freedom and justice are the same as those who sacrifice themselves for dictatorship and oppression. No matter how hard I try, I can think of no greater insult to the adherents of the Islamic faith.

 

View Comments (6)
  • You lost me, friend. I am talking about, I imagine I am what youre saying. I am aware what you’re saying, and you just seem to have forgotten that might be other folks in the world who view this issue for it is actually and may perhaps not concur with you. You may well be turning away a whole lot of folks who might have been lovers of your website.

  • There are some fascinating points in time in this article however I don know if I see all of them middle to heart. There may be some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want extra! Added to FeedBurner as well

  • It absolutely was any exhilaration finding your site yesterday evening. We arrived here these days seeking something totally new. I used to be not disappointed. Your opinions on brand new approaches on this factor were helpful as well as an superb help to me personally. Appreciate leaving out time to write out these items and for discussing your thoughts.

  • Hey there this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding skills so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  • I discovered your blog site web site on yahoo and appearance some of your early posts. Preserve up the top notch operate. I merely additional increase RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Looking for toward reading a lot more on your part down the line!…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Scroll To Top