Written June 6, 2009

To be clear from the very beginning, I consider myself to be neither “Salafi” or “Sufi” or whatever other label gets thrown around. I honestly don't care if all you engage in some sort of all out Warcraft-like 'end all' theological debate. This is also not aimed at the Muslim Obama supporters who do recognize the current policies in place (the reality on the ground) and get involved with the necessary grassroots work regarding some of the issues involved. I am completely fine with these people being optimistic. While I find it slightly delusional in light of the current policies in place, at least we all agree about the need to look at the facts on the ground and as to what those facts are. It is always the necessary starting point for people to work together to create change. Without this, it is impossible to engage in any meaningful dialogue. That’s when you get people sounding like insane hippies. Those who know where the starting point is, they have the dignity to not abandon their identities as respectable and rational minded Muslims for the sake of fortifying the repute of a man who could very well be pissing in their ears. How do you know if he is doing that? You look at the facts on the ground. This sounds like such a simple concept but it is difficult for some to grasp.

My concern is Muslims who have no dignity or self-respect when it comes to reacting to every single speech Obama makes toward the so-called Muslim world. They are only concerned about jumping around like a bunch of monkeys after being given a banana. When someone tries to take a piece of it away, they start snarling and threatening to gouge your eyes out. In the case of some of these Uncle Tom Muslims, they will do stuff like start quoting the Quran and hadiths as a way of dissing (in a “Yo, Mama” like manner, talk about hiding your true intentions) and automatically undercutting another Muslim who says otherwise. It is a way of sidetracking the issue because suddenly the issue, if you choose to challenge, becomes whether or not the source is being used appropriately and not about how Obama’s rhetoric matches reality.

I would be lying if I said that this is not irritating because I am not the most well versed when it comes to using the Quran and Bukhari’s hadith collection to diss people. I would rather prefer to drop a “Yo, Mama” joke (I know plenty from high school, I won a tournament as I remember) because at least it doesn’t hide my real intention. I don’t think one needs to go through the Quran a million times in order to understand the importance of fighting injustice and telling the truth. The unfortunate reality for some of these Quranic-disses gun slingers is that all those things are connected to looking at how Obama’s rhetoric matches reality. It’s depressing to be told that because that bubble where vague rhetorical quotables pass for an intellectual thought suddenly becomes meaningless in a sea of details. Smart becomes dumb. Smart people cheering each other on becomes a bunch of hippies smoking weed together talking about chocolate chip cookies.

I find it really freaky that there is always this weird 'hype' surrounding every speech that Obama makes without looking into the actual policies in place. Instead of exerting the same impressive amount of fervor on recognizing the reality on the ground (as substantiated by mountains of reliable commentaries), it is exerted at always celebrating the speech as momentous (somehow it is different from previous presidents) and trying to undercut anyone who even dares to provide an injection of reality to the fervor. It has even gone to the extent of people accusing critics of being nothing more than lazy-all-talk-pessimistic bastards because they choose to recognize an elementary rule of thumb that is difficult to comprehend for them: Action speaks louder than words, if action does not match words, you're getting screwed.

This article by Robert Fisk is the best critical commentary that I have found so far.

These Uncle Tom Muslims are so incapable of expressing rational thoughts – in particular, putting the rhetoric side by side with official policies – that they choose to utilize a tactic generally reserved for racist pundits on Fox News. For some reason, they cannot stand anyone doing such a thing that they feel the absolute need to swipe the rug right under their feet.

In terms of Obama’s comments on Muslims, as Fisk highlights, these are things that have been said before by previous Presidents. While it is good to commend any sort of positive speech regarding Muslims, should it be something that Muslims should have an orgasm about? From the look of things many do feel that: “Oh, he said Muslims are human beings who deserve not to be subjected to racism nor are they to be butchered like cattles! Yay!”

Talk about a textbook definition of an Uncle Tom Muslim. Ones who will express no hesitation when it comes to dropping ever-so impressive zingers like “radicalized” or “extremist” in order to gain an ideological edge over what they consider to be fringe Muslims. What a perfect time to perform for shady events and figures from the Muslim community. What a perfect time to align with them on an organizational level. What mindless and immoral opportunism which might result in some money and exposure.

It is definitely a terrific occasion to grind those axes: the first ever black president of the United States getting lambasted by extremist Muslims. These are bargain basement prices for such bottom-dwellers who love to make a claim to something that they clearly don’t have based on their lack of logic and knowledge of the world alone: morality. Sure they can knock you out with 150 Quranic verses per minute but when it comes time to applying such verses to the real world, it drops down to barely a fart.

Before all this, I admit that I had a personal bias (mainly due to out of negative experience) that I always try to keep in check against people who can be considered “Salafi” or have such leanings. I thought some were too over-protective of their beliefs and have the tendency to be judgmental and narrow minded. I still do think this to some extent. But you know what? At least these people have a sense of identity and self-respect. They don’t celebrate when someone recognizes them as human beings that deserve to be respected. When someone apologizes to them for smearing feces on their faces, they actually care about the satisfaction of not being subjected to the act as opposed to just being told.

These people are quick on a trigger when it comes to asking questions and criticizing? Well, it’s way better than being satisfied (correction: having an orgasm) with mere words and not caring about getting stabbed in the back. Welcome to the real world. For us it is a matter of "rhetoric" versus "action". For people overseas, it is a matter of "life" and "death". Show a little more care. Have a little dignity and self-respect.

I'm sorry that patience is not one of my best feature, but if it's of any consolation, I really hate stupid people.

In the spirit of resistance,
Critical Mood