Islam and the West: Take two
Perspective
Salwa Shameem
Issue date: 12/7/09 Section: Opinions
Please, don't let him/her be Muslim.
That was my first thought when I turned on the television and was informed about the Fort Hood shootings. As a Muslim - as I'm sure the vast majority of mainstream, American Muslims - the last thing we wanted to hear was that the perpetrator of this malicious act called himself Muslim, tarnishing our identity as a whole and depicting the estimated six to eight million American Muslims around the country as murderous, terror-inducing people. In the last eight years, and with the still raw wounds left open after 9/11, Muslims in America have been actively involved in strengthening relations with the rest of mainstream America so as not to fall into the category of "the others."
Since 9/11 more than one hundred Islamic and Muslim relations organizations condemned terror attacks on innocent civilians in the name of Islam just in the United States alone. To name a few: the Muslim American Society, Islamic Circle of North America, Council on American Islamic Relations, Muslim Alliance of North America, Muslim Student Associations across the country, including the Muslim Student Association at UIC, American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, Islamic Media Foundation, American Muslim Foundation, and the Muslim Arab Youth Association. These organizations issued joint statements denouncing the September 11 attacks as "deplorable" and "cowardly," addressing the attacks as failing to uphold the most basic tenet of Islam: the sanctity of human life. However, in a matter of a few hours, a sick individual using his own corrupted and ignorant interpretation of Islam as his religious shield destroyed eight years worth of rebuilding relations.
Those who claim that Islam, as a religion, and the Qur'an, as its most revered and respected Holy Book, incite and encourage violence, are not just misinformed, but oblivious to the difference between a minority, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and the mainstream, orthodox Islam which reprimands those who use acts of terror to support their cause. Just as with any religious group with extremist followers, they are considered an isolated fringe group by mainstream followers. The Ku Klux Klan, which uses the Bible as a crutch for its racist and violent behavior, and the extremist Jewish Kahane movement, which justifies the use of terror against Arabs in Israel by citing out-of- context Judaic principles, are not and should not be considered as the norm of either Christianity nor Judaism.
That was my first thought when I turned on the television and was informed about the Fort Hood shootings. As a Muslim - as I'm sure the vast majority of mainstream, American Muslims - the last thing we wanted to hear was that the perpetrator of this malicious act called himself Muslim, tarnishing our identity as a whole and depicting the estimated six to eight million American Muslims around the country as murderous, terror-inducing people. In the last eight years, and with the still raw wounds left open after 9/11, Muslims in America have been actively involved in strengthening relations with the rest of mainstream America so as not to fall into the category of "the others."
Since 9/11 more than one hundred Islamic and Muslim relations organizations condemned terror attacks on innocent civilians in the name of Islam just in the United States alone. To name a few: the Muslim American Society, Islamic Circle of North America, Council on American Islamic Relations, Muslim Alliance of North America, Muslim Student Associations across the country, including the Muslim Student Association at UIC, American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, Islamic Media Foundation, American Muslim Foundation, and the Muslim Arab Youth Association. These organizations issued joint statements denouncing the September 11 attacks as "deplorable" and "cowardly," addressing the attacks as failing to uphold the most basic tenet of Islam: the sanctity of human life. However, in a matter of a few hours, a sick individual using his own corrupted and ignorant interpretation of Islam as his religious shield destroyed eight years worth of rebuilding relations.
Those who claim that Islam, as a religion, and the Qur'an, as its most revered and respected Holy Book, incite and encourage violence, are not just misinformed, but oblivious to the difference between a minority, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and the mainstream, orthodox Islam which reprimands those who use acts of terror to support their cause. Just as with any religious group with extremist followers, they are considered an isolated fringe group by mainstream followers. The Ku Klux Klan, which uses the Bible as a crutch for its racist and violent behavior, and the extremist Jewish Kahane movement, which justifies the use of terror against Arabs in Israel by citing out-of- context Judaic principles, are not and should not be considered as the norm of either Christianity nor Judaism.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 17
Carl
posted 12/07/09 @ 6:17 AM CST
Salwa Shameem,
Until you and fellow Muslims demand that Muslim Brotherhood groups like the Muslim American Society, Islamic Circle of North America, Council on American Islamic Relations, Muslim Alliance of North America, and the Muslim Student Association all be disbanded and shut down for being terrorist supporting front groups, everything you wrote is just lip service. (Continued…)
Zachariah B. Wiedeman
posted 12/07/09 @ 6:36 AM CST
VERY well put Salwa.
People do bad things because human beings are flawed. The justification and reasoning for their behavior comes from whatever is handy. (Continued…)
John Goes
posted 12/07/09 @ 9:56 AM CST
Some of the lines in the piece were strange, particularly about the most important tenant in Islam being the sanctity of life. It's a very nice sounding thing to say, but it's a bit deceptive. (Continued…)
Nori
posted 12/07/09 @ 10:55 AM CST
islam is a clear and present danger to the west. There is no rationality in islam and muslims cannot differenciate between reality and commonsense. Islam is a vile religion that is bent on taking over the west and submitting it to islam
www. (Continued…)
Ad
posted 12/07/09 @ 2:00 PM CST
I second the writer's comments. BTW, Carl, why not disband Pat Robertson and his like minded friends like yourself. Also, Judism is not free of these nut jobs. (Continued…)
Ariel
posted 12/07/09 @ 4:10 PM CST
Thank you Salwa. To others, we all have different perceptions of what is wrong and right, but where does one get off shoving those ideas down other people's throats? Why can't opposing sides exist? No one is evil for having a different opinion or belief, whether it be about religion or the weather, and I am not just saying this because I happen to agree with this article. (Continued…)
Payal
posted 12/07/09 @ 4:19 PM CST
Excellent article, Salwa. I commend you for speaking out against arguments that lack concrete support and target certain groups of people as the source of the world's problems. (Continued…)
Shaina
posted 12/07/09 @ 4:25 PM CST
Salwa, you continue to do your religion, family, friends, and everyone associated with you proud. I could not be happier to see you express your opinions eloquently and with substantial evidence and support. (Continued…)
Puja
posted 12/07/09 @ 4:56 PM CST
Salwa, great job! I'm glad to have come across this. It's really a shame that ignorance still exists in such a diverse community and nation, but I know it won't discourage your from writing more about your opinions. (Continued…)
Atheist
posted 12/07/09 @ 8:35 PM CST
I think it's time to finally drop political correctness and define the Abrahamic faiths for what they really are: primitive set of superstitions concocted by demented men. (Continued…)
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