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Confronting Anti-Muslim Sentiment: A Battle of Mirages?
Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad

Coverage of Muslims and Islam in mainstream Media is a bread and butter commodity. First amendment guarantees and free speech provisions in other western countries insulate from censorship based upon the sensitivities of a particular religious group.  Journalistic integrity is a subjective matter; responsible reporting from one perspective is unwarranted media bias from another. Negative portrayal and contemptuous commentary of Muslims, and Islam in western media is an inextricable reality of the industry especially in the age of free speech. Although it frequently angers Muslims, and evokes protest and condemnation, it is unlikely to go away. Nevertheless, as Muslims our concern is legitimate and the matter requires attention.

Despite condemnation of terrorism, various public relations overtures, civil rights actions and legal maneuvers, the problem has not abated. When will it end? How can we stop it?   The truth is, there is no foreseeable end in sight, and if we continue to employ the same reactionary methods to change public opinion, or quell anti-Muslim statements, the problem will only exacerbate. Part of the conundrum is our reluctance to assume accountability for our condition. Another cause of the problem is conspicuous absence of Qur'ânic and Prophetic guidance in our choice of tactics. It is unfathomable that Allah has left us without guidance in this matter; His ability to lift us out of darkness is without limit, restraint or incapacity.

Slander, ill treatment, and negative perception of Muslims are not simply public relations challenges requiring conventional image re-tooling or merely a civil rights dilemma remedied by protest and letters to the editor, and certainly not just a constitutional infraction requiring a Bill of Rights refresher course.  There are numerous geo-political, theological, and socio-environmental factors which determine how Muslims living in the United States are spoken of, spoken to, and treated. Overstating the scale and breadth of ill treatment toward Muslims in America is counter productive.  Disregarding the root causes is irresponsible. Ignoring it completely is expecting positive results while failing to employ an Islamic approach is a fantasy existing only in the quilt of our minds woven together with the threads of wishful thinking.

Perhaps if we declare a moratorium on the unwritten taboo against being open and honest with ourselves, we will alleviate some of our frustration and save considerable time and worry.  Ill treatment and verbal attacks against Islam and some Muslims in the United States does occur. However, considering that there are about 5 million Muslims in America, the ratio of reported incidents of anti Muslim bias reported by CAIR is 40 out every 100,000, which is too low[1],  to warrant priority one status.

Countering verbal disparagement with protest, and plea, is a tactically flawed approach. In this year alone; there has been at least three major incidents (the cartoon satirizing our Prophet ( SAWS ), the Pope’s statement, and the eight Imams who were escorted off the plane) of verbal or public disparagement of Islam, the Prophet ( SAWS ) and Muslims. In each case there was protest, letters, vociferous indignation, and demands for retraction or apologies. Yet, in each case, our response yielded no measurable improvement of Muslim image or cessation of anti-Muslim bias or speech. Additionally, the principal sentiment fueling the response was anger.  It is ironic that anger is the very emotion that warrants suppression according to the shariah. In all but the last incident, response resulted in the loss of life.

A greater irony is that in each case, media characterization of Muslim response was replete with words like, “rage”, “fury”, and “anger”.   I personally did not read any headlines that read; “Muslims love for their Prophet caused them to… “or the love of Allah fuels protest”, or, Muslim expresses their love for Islam by boycotting….” Thus from a strategic perspective, our response yielded negligible dividend. To consider whatever dialogue that followed as tangible gain is a smokescreen since it was dialogue that produced the very invectives to which we responded in the first place.

Islamic canonical law does not prescribe recrimination as a response to verbal insult. Wrong does not repel wrong, it only feeds it. On the contrary evil is only repelled by justice. “Nor can goodness and evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!”[2]  Ibn Abbaas said: “Allah (God) summons the Muslim community to exercise patience when angry, benevolence in the face of ignorance, and pardon when offended. If people did that, Allah would protect them from the Devil”[3].  If countering verbal disparagement with protest and reciprocal assault is righteousness, then to do the opposite constitutes unrighteousness. Obviously, such a hypothesis contradicts Prophetic guidance.  The example of the Prophet ( SAWS )   in responding to verbal disparagement against himself, Allah, and Muslims was to exercise restraint.

The dangerous theological implications of this protest approach seem to escape consideration. Understandably we are frustrated by the incessant degrading, slaughter, and humiliation of Muslims.  Although anger, insult and frustration are causes of moral infraction in Islamic law, they are unacceptable justifications for it. Otherwise, emotion would outrank divine injunction as the primary criterion of good conduct.  Such a notion is heresy by the Qur'ân, the Sunna and the entire body of Muslim scholars.

Prioritization of anti-Muslim bias and Islamophobia over Muslim intra-religious hostility and sectarianism transposes the divine contractual assignment of Islamic law.   It creates a reverse moral assumptive whereas intra-religious sectarianism is an acceptable paradigm while anti Muslim bias is not. The latter is declared intolerable to the degree of public protest, indignant responses, and central billing in Friday sermons, while the former warrants no such attention, although it ranks amongst the category of major sins in Islam. Stoicism in the face of verbal invective is virtue while the Muslim slander of Muslim is depravity and the killing of a Muslim is major offense. “Slander of a Muslim is depravity and killing him is heresy”. Therefore how can we address anti-Muslim sentiment, which by itself bears no spiritual penalty for Muslims if left unattended, and not devote similar attention to Muslim on Muslim killing and slander which register sin by occurrence, and sin when allowed to continue. “And when two groups of believers fight; make peace between them”[4].

Since verbal disparagement against Muslims and Islam is an inevitable occurrence, Islamic spiritual etiquette emphasizes preparing in advance for its contingency and utilizing deflective buffering if and when it happens. “Ye shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your personal selves; and ye shall certainly Hear much that will grieve you, from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship many gods. But if ye persevere patiently, and guard against evil,-then that will be a determining factor in all affairs!”[5] Hence, no shock or dismay should follow slanderous, negative, or degrading statements about Muslims especially in where we are religious minorities, such as the United States . As a rule Muslims should resist grieving over verbal insult, “Let not their speech, then, grieve thee. Verily We know what they hide as well as what they disclose[6]

When it happens, there are scriptural analgesics that buffer and counteract psychological, emotional, or spiritual irritation.  “And have patience with what they say, and leave them with noble (dignity)”[7].  Dignified detachment rekindles spiritual fortitude and prioritizes inner jihad. Self control and spiritual focus does more to convey the noble attributes of Islamic teachings than hypersensitivity and angered reaction to disparagement. It brings forth divine assurance of blessing and guidance which benefit us in significantly more fruitful ways than surrendering to antagonist ramblings.  “Those who, when afflicted with calamity say: "To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return. They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance”.[8] Blessings and mercy is better than anguish and consternation.  

Frenzied retort to anti-Muslim speech underscores the need for moral attentiveness, and bolsters the argument for reform. Not reform of Islam as suggested by many, but reform of the Muslim heart so that behavior response conforms to Islamic modality and pleasing the Creator takes precedence over pleasing the created. If there is truth in the verbal invectives launched against us, we take the accusation as a reminder since remembrance benefits the believer.  If it is false, and the accusation has no basis in truth, we praise Allah that we are free of it.  Asking or demanding that people not insult or speak ill of us only emboldens them. Let’s leave response to insult to Allah and concentrate on ourselves. “If good fortune comes to you, it grieves them; and if evil befalls you, they rejoice in it. But if you are patient in adversity and conscious of God, their guile cannot harm you at all: for, verily, God encompasses [with His might] all that they do.[9]” The sooner we realize this better. Otherwise we will find ourselves inducted into a war of words in which entry itself assures moral defeat.

©Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad

About the Author:
Imam Abu Laith Luqman is a free lance writer and Imam. He is a Shura member of MANA (Muslim Alliance of North America) and executive committee member of NAIF (North American Imams Federation). His sentiments are his own and do not represent any organization, officially or otherwise. He can be reached at imamabulaith@yahoo.com.