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Memo to American Muslims M. A. Muqtedar Khan Published
in The Mirror International and the Muslim Observer 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. 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 slaughtered 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 Bin laden were an individual then we would have no
problem. But unfortunately Bin laden 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 Bin laden 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. 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. |