Written
May 19, 2010
Mulling over the
Everybody Draws Muhammad Day, Boobquake, the Quebec Niqab
Ban and issues relating to national security/War On Terror,
I have attempted to sketch out the different types of actors
one will come across when faced with these issues. It can be
a delicate balancing act, but it helps to be aware of all of
them.
RevolutionMuslim.com
& Lex Luthor Muslims
This is the
stereotypical anti-social Muslims that make the lives of the
majority Muslims so much harder than it should be due to
their inability to engage the world around them, socially
and politically. They are the types who threaten people with
violence if they feel that they have been offended. They
talk like they have just been ripped off the pages of a
comic book by talking like Lex Luthor. They utilize
strategies of reproach that often backfire. When the first
Danish cartoons came out and were ignored by most Muslims
and the rest of the world in general, they are the Muslims
that decided to make it a worldwide phenomenon by rioting.
Flower Power-Opportunistic Muslims
These Muslims
are often unaware of the political landscape. They react to
the actions of the previous group with further ignorance by welcoming the sloppy
theories and politically correct Islamophobia that have been
imposed upon them by societal pressures (ie. “Where are the
Muslims who are speaking against terrorism? Where are the
moderates?”). In other words, they become preoccupied with
presenting themselves in a positive light by sacrificing
accuracy and fairness so that their lives become easier at
the expense of others. They speak of love and peace while
being stingy on any specifics due to an underlying agenda.
Included in this
category are Muslims who jump at the chance of attacking who
they perceive as their ideological enemies. In order to do
so, they utilize the more media friendly punchlines that
they possess so that they may garner support. For example,
we have seen campaign after campaign of “moderate Muslims”
seeking to destroy the influences of “Wahhabi and Salafi
Islam” (whatever these mean) by getting into bed with
questionable allies.
Shallow
"Enlightened" Non-Muslims/Muslims
In this
category, I include people who attempt to impose what they
feel to be “acceptable” Islam on the rest of the Muslim
community. They are found in campaigns such as ‘Everybody
Draws Muhammad Day’ or ‘Boobquake’ (a response to a Muslim
cleric who decided to utilize a logical fallacy by claiming
that scandalous women cause earthquakes). They are the ones
who seek to lend support to individuals such as Irshad Manji
or Tarek Fatah because they represent “progressive Islam” –
a euphemism for “the type of Islam we like”. Sometime’s
these people find allies within the
previous group by taking
advantage of their political ineptness. The common enemy
being the first group.
Security/Intelligence Services
They are the FBI
and CSIS. If history teaches us anything, or if the things
they say in public at the present moment are of any
indication, they take advantage of the three groups above.
They justify oppressive and invasive policies through the
stupidity of the first group. They gain access into the
community by aligning themselves with the second and third
group – the former acting as the “true representative of
Muslims – the moderate voice” while the other acts as the
lighting rod for the politically correct/incorrect
Islamophobes. In the end, what you have is a witch hunt
revolving around the preconceived notions of what a
“radical/extremist” is to the FBI and CSIS. A tale that
involves the use of moles/spies to police the community of
individuals that falls under its very broad definition of
“terrorism”. A definition that can include acts of violence,
civil disobedience or just simple thought crimes.
The
Well-Balanced Muslims
They know of and
can speak about their religion with effectiveness while
still being fully aware of the political landscape. In
particular, how the previous four groups interact with each
other and being critical of all of them. It’s important to
point out though that one does not necessarily need to be
fully aware politically, nor are they needed to even drop
commentaries, to be placed under this category. People can
choose to take a step back, live their lives, and do more
subtle/indirect things to help out within the political
arena (ie. Donate money to activist
organizations/charities). It’s just a fact of life, not
everyone can be a political activist or become comfortable
enough to make commentaries. Nevertheless, it’s important
that they do not function as a hindrance to the balancing
act that must be achieved between the previous four groups
which require delving into political discourse. It is wrong
to think that achieving “peace among Muslims” is to ignore
the contentious relationship between these groups as if it
does not exist. The well-balanced Muslim should be able to
address that effectively.
Conclusion
Beyond these
generalities, we turn to specifics and judge issues on a
case by case basis. Most importantly, we should all work to
constantly improve our knowledge of Islam. I know I do. We
can take advantage of this climate of fearmongering by
handling it correctly. The
converts/reverts to Islam spiked after 9-11 because people
became curious as to what all the fuss is about. Here's
another opportunity to introduce the world to the beauty of
Islam.
