Tag Archives: Islamophobia

Change Perceptions: Make ‘The Strangers’ Yours

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Anyone can be Muslim

The picture you see is my family celebrating an Eid camping trip after Ramadan in 1998. The red, curly haired, very Caucasian peanut just secured his driver’s license today, and he is a towering 6 foot, 2 inch (183 cm) tall Muslim.

When people see him with brown skinned kids at school, they are very surprised to learn that he is indeed Muslim because most people think of Muslims as ‘Other,’ meaning other than ‘Us.’

Typically, the image that comes to American’s minds is that a Muslim is Arab or perhaps Asian, although a large proportion of Muslims are in fact from African descent.

I believe this is significant to how we tend to value the lives of Others, and in particular to the political perspectives and policies toward the Middle East and Central Asia in general.
What should be known is that anyone can be Muslim. It is not an ethnic or nationalistic reference; rather it is simply a comprehensive religion on the continuum antecedent from Judaism and Christianity that guides the lives and identity of about 1.6 billion people (23% of the world’s population), according to a 2012 Global Religious Landscape report from the Pew Research Center.

Most disconcerting though is a more recent Pew Research Study referencing How Americans Feel About Religious Groups. The study was conducted May 30-June 30, 2014, and cites feelings towards religious groups on a scale of 0 as cold to 100 as warm. A 50 would reflect no particular positive or negative feeling about a religious group. In this report, prior to the Gaza spectacle, Muslims were dead last compared to all other groups, including Atheists. Forty-One percent of respondents placed scores of 33 or below for Muslims, which I find pretty sad and perhaps not representative of where I live.

Fortunately for my family, we live in a relatively affluent suburban Chicago setting with an abundance of educational institutions, houses of worship for many religions, and a fairly large non-segregated population of Muslims. Many of them hold advanced degrees and professional employment.

In retrospect, I noted that when the U.S. economy took a hard pullback a few years ago, it seemed that store clerks were friendlier than they’d been in the past. Looking around the malls, I found a greater percentage of Muslim patrons making purchases than other shoppers. Maybe the cashiers were the first ones to realize the value of Muslim purchasing power.

Even yesterday, I was acknowledged with a smile and friendly “Hi there!” initiated by non-Muslim women in two separate incidents while walking through parking lots at the local community college and at Whole Foods Market. I felt hopeful that the gloomy implications informed by the Pew reports were not representative of every part of the United States.Strangers

With this data though, I am asking everyone to help make ‘The Strangers’ documentary a reality. My friends, Abdalhamid Evans and Salama Evans, who are also on the founding team of the American Halal Association, have been working on a film project which is critical to changing erroneous perceptions about Muslims. Their story about a misfit group of hippies who stumbled upon Islam, converted, and created a community about 40 years ago in the town of Norwich, UK, is a story which needs to be told. salama-profiledownload group-copy-300x175 Please read about their amazing story and see them in the film trailer. Then give a bit of help to this project and share with your friends. It could make a positive move toward reigniting compassion, illuminate hearts, and dispel the ignorance out there. At least get a T-shirt and warm things up for the next Pew report. knees-300x174 http://halalfocus.net/the-strangers-documentary-essential-viewing/

The Trials

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220px-Kent_State_massacre The Trials
Ramadan typically entails much reflection about one’s life and deeds, and this one has focus, sadness, and frustration over the increasingly dangerous situation in the Middle East.
From my memories of living under occupation in the West Bank of Palestine in segmented episodes over the 80s and 90s, recollections on the uprising in Tahrir Square and subsequent coup in Egypt, the massacres of civilians in Syria and Iraq, famine in Sudan, and smoldering discontent of citizens in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, there is a heaviness to this Ramadan like none other.

Fasting seventeen hours a day has not been as fearsome as anticipated, but neither has it been very productive. Mercifully, the cooler than normal temperatures are interpreted as a favor. I have many tasks to do, but I am not burdened with the worry of deadlines. My days typically start at 11 a.m. and end at 5 a.m., with an hour nap sometime between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. The disruption in normal working schedule gives me the night to attend taraweeh prayers at the mosque where I hear the recitation of Qur’an, and I have the chance to read, put time into my social media assignments, and write.

Listening to Qur’an is like putting salve on the heart’s wounds, and making supplication for the ease of people’s suffering may seem shallow in power. Yet, I am reminded of the Qur’anic ayah, “…Allah is the best of planners…” (8:30).

Though the situation may at times seem hopeless, I am also reminded that God gives the hateful people ample opportunity to rectify their deeds. When they eschew choosing compassion and are blinded by base desires, they set judgment against their souls.

A range of criticisms and areas of misunderstanding about Islam are explained quite well by a blogger I reference here. I hope it is useful.

Meanwhile, I highly recommend an hour long panel session from the Aspen Ideas conference, titled “What Will The Map of the Middle East Look Like?” In it, one of the experts cited our collective angst when our own government sanctioned the murder of 4, only 4, Kent State demonstrators. Think how people in other countries feel when whole groups of innocents are murdered by armed authorities?

When will people realize that we are one human family? Compassion is the weapon against hatred, and it is slipping from society.

It strikes me that the only solution is to stop the financing of war machines and mediate grassroots parties into a semblance of democracy or shurah, which is recognized Islamically as dialogue and collective decision making between relevant parties. Even the historic Iroquois League set the example of this model’s value, and the forefathers of our Constitution saw its utility.

This is my humble contribution to suggest that violence and military intervention are ill advised, but a framework of society building could best resolve the mess.

In tandem with this understanding, I learned of the death of one of my elder cousins. Over the years, he’d been what could be described as down and out, and he became typically inebriated and had failing health. Not many of the relatives cared to maintain contact, and he quietly lived out his days downstate until he peacefully passed away in his sleep.

What I consider his greatest achievement was that he patiently endured his problems and maintained a heart of gold. In spite of the cynics around him, through our occasional conversations I could tell that he stayed compassionate; and he leaves an adult daughter with the same quality.

Success has many definitions, but I think the greatest success is when one leaves this life Pure. Ultimately, the rites of Islam aim to purify us, and a soft heart is a good reflection of the quality of purity in a person.

May our hearts stay soft, our supplications answered, and may we endure our trials with dignity and with steadfast faith. Amen.

Rout Out Islamophobia!

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Emir Abd el-Kader’s seal

Once again the media broadcast another alarming headline about an American community protesting the construction of a mosque based on a fear of “creeping shariah.” With many people not even believing in God, one would think it more productive to work on the large percentage of people that do not even believe in God Almighty. …ditto for the guy who passed me a scrappy note from a Bible institute about “What Every Muslim Should Know” while shopping for window treatments in JCPenney! Dude, I already know about Jesus and the miracle of the virgin birth. That is Islam too.

Over the years I have witnessed episodes that really did not register consternation over Islamophobia, but I suppose the cumulative effect IS stirring up my concern because of the uptick in incidents leading toward the presidential election. In fact, according to a presentation made at the ISNA Education Forum last Spring by Purdue University students Amina Shareef and Adrien Chauvet, titled Disrupting Islamophobia, it is specifically political situations that have historically and consistently been correlated to the fear or discrimination that characterizes Islamophobia. Furthermore, it is perpetrated by mis-education and historical amnesia. There are organizations who benefit from casting Muslims as “the other,” and they are heavily backed with finance and influential connections.  Even the mainstream Republican party is served by fortifying the “us versus them” stance, in spite of the fact that ideologically many business minded Muslims identify with being Republican (click on the hyperlinks for some interesting perspectives).

Yet, Muslims have an obligation to stand up and not be complacent. That is why I’m writing this, because we have to let people know the truth and stand up for what is right. Shareef and Chauvet quoted that 44% of Americans polled would support government curtailment of Muslim civil liberties, according to research quoted by CAIR and Cornell University (2011), but that may be because 60% of Americans have never met a Muslim (Care2Causes Editors). In this vacuum of experience, people tend to buy in to what authoritative figures and organizations purport, and it is exactly those well financed, highly organized entities who have been so deviously deceptive and influential that anti-shariah laws exist in 23 states. This is laughable, as shariah has never posed any threat to civil law, and even in Islamic societies, it is civil law that prevails.

To counter the supposed threat and hopefully put to rest the allegation that “to be a good Muslim, you have to hate,” I encourage foremost that critics actually read and study the Holy Qur’an. Be mindful that the original is in Arabic, a language still extant and very rich in meaning; but since most Americans are not versed in any foreign language, they need to rely on translations. Not all translations are necessarily true too, as there are those with malevolent intentions. My best advice is to use several, and preferably ones who have translated and given some interpretive footnotes (tafseer) by a Muslim. There have been several Islamophobes who take verses out of context and fail to relate the relevant circumstances which transpired at the time of some of the revelations.

To clarify, the Holy Qur’an is originally a series, not chronologically arranged, of recitations that were transmuted into a corpus. The verses often came to address specific events that gave guidance to the recipients at that time, around 1400 years ago. However, much of the guidance is still relevant today to those seeking and choosing to follow, and anyone who believes can be considered a Muslim. It is not based on race, nationality, just acceptance that God is god, and that Mohammad is a prophet of God, as was Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Noah, Lot, and many others, including Adam.

Muslims have, like most groups, some virtuous members and some who give a bad image due to misdeeds and variances in interpretations. That can be said for many other religious, political, and ethnic members, but Islam purports noble values that are in alignment with the upbringing I always had as an American. These held the importance of respect for parents and authority, honesty, cleanliness, hard work, charity, scholarship, family obligations and neighborliness, as well as honor and humility before God and man. Sadly, our country is losing the preservation and recognition of the importance of these attributes, but there is still hope. I’m pleased to note that my sons’ high school advocates the motto: Respect, Responsibility, and Engagement. This overarching theme encourages them to make the best of the education and opportunities for growth offered. Traditionally, Muslims have held values in high esteem, similar to values we in America have assimilated from democracy and the concept of a republic. The lack of democracy in Muslim lands today is derived from colonialism, but as we see from the Arab Spring, times are changing.

John W. Kiser immortalized and shared the rich history of Emir Abd el-Kader, who has a town named in Iowa in respect for him http://www.truejihad.com/. I just love what one student wrote after reading Kiser’s book, “Abdelkader’s life embodied the words of the Qur’an 5:7, ‘Let not your hatred of other men turn you away from Justice. Be just…that is closer to piety.’ — Madi Johansen, Decorah Iowa.” There are many families in Iowa who have long standing roots in America, and they are Muslim of Arab descent. There is also evidence that some African Americans who were brought to this land as slaves were Muslim and forcibly made to adopt Christianity in order to live.

The current issue of Islamic Horizons features “What Happened to Islamophobia” by Meha Ahmad that cites that Muslims want just what every other American wants. What was interesting was what was NOT chosen as high priorities for Muslim Americans, namely Islamophobia. It wasn’t even on the list, but Foreign policy was #6 and Religious freedom was #9. Immigration reform, economy, and the environment were priorities, and these are similar areas of concern for Latinos and other ethnic groups as well. Americans stand united on many issues, but these do nothing for the agenda of the Islamophobes. Their power comes from divisiveness, the trumping up of a fabricated threat. It serves a purpose to help close ranks and give status to those who want to keep Muslims from becoming enfranchised, trusted, and becoming a force to influence just regard for those everyday folks.

The wool has been pulled over the eyes of many people, and they have no way of knowing anything different until more Americans and Muslim Americans become better educated, more willing to open up to participate and work together within our society, and to simply give more effort to correct misconceptions gently, patiently, and consistently.

Shareef and Chauvet offered the following resources which you may find useful:

A. History of Muslim-Christian Encounters.

1. Geaves, R., Gabriel, T., Haddad, Y. and Smith, J. (eds.) Islam and the West Post 9/11. : Ashgate, 2004.
2. Haddad, Y., Smith, J. I., and Moore, K. (eds.) Muslim Women in America, Gender, Islam, and Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
3. Haddad, Y. and Haddad, W. Z. (eds.) Christian-Muslim Encounters. Gainsville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1995.
4. Watt, W. M. Muslim-Christian Encounters: Perceptions and Misperceptions. London: Routledge, 1991.
5. Watt, W. M. The Majesty That Was Islam: The Islamic World, 661-1100. New York: Praeger, 1974.
6. Esposito, J. L. The Islamic World: Past and Present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

B. Understanding Islamophobia.

1. Abrahamian, E. (2003). The US media, Huntington and September 11. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 24, (3), 529-544.
2. Esposito, J. & Kalin, I. (2011), Islamophobia: The challenge of pluralism in the 21st Century. New York: Oxford University Press.
3. Al-Saji, A. (2010). The radicalization of Muslim veils: A philosophical analysis. Philosophy of Social Criticism, 36 (8) 875-902.
4. Cole, M. Maisuria, A. (2007). ‘Shut the f***up’, ‘you have no rights here’: Critical race theory and racialisation in post-7/7 racist Britain. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies. 5 (1).
5. Dossa, S. (2008). Lethal Muslims: White-trashing Islam and the Arabs. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 28(2), 225-236.
6. Elgamri, E. (2008) Islam in the British broadsheets: How historically-conditioned Orientalist discourses inform representations of Islam as a militant monolithic entity. Reading, UK: Ithaca Press.
7. Fernandez, S. (2009). The crusade over the bodies of women. Patterns of Prejudice, 4(3) 269-286.
8. Ho, C. (2007). Muslim women’s new defenders: Women’s rights, nationalism and Islamophobia in contemporary Australia. Women’s Studies International Forum, 30, 290-298.
9. Razack, S. (2005). Geopolitics, culture clash, and gender after September 11. Social Justice, 32 (4). 11-31.
10. Brinson, M. E. (2010). Muslims in the media: Social and identity consequences for Muslims in America. (Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Doctoral Dissertations and Theses. (3427827).
11. Council for American Islamic Relation (CAIR): http://www.cair.com/AmericanMuslims/ReportsandSurveys.aspx

C. Interventions Against Islamophobia.

1. Jackson, E. J. (2009). Teaching about controversial groups in public schools: Critical multiculturalism and the case of Muslims since September 11. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses. (3392076).
2. Jackson, L. (2010). “Images of Islam in US media and their educational implications” Educational Studies, 46, 3-24.
3. Phelps, S. (2010) Critical literacy: Using nonfiction to learn about Islam. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(3), 190-198.
4. Niyozov, S. (2010). Teachers and teaching Islam and Muslims in pluralistic societies: Claims, misunderstandings, and responses. Int. Migration & Integration, 11, 23-40.

D. General Interest.

1. Shaheen, J. G., and Greider, W. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. New York: Olive Branch Press, 2001.
2. Gottschalk, P., and Greenberg, G. Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008.
3. Herman, E. S., and Chomsky, N. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books, 2002.
4. Kincheloe, J. L., Steinberg, S. R., and Stonebanks, C. D. Teaching against Islamophobia. New York: Peter Lang, 2010.
5. Esposito, J. L., and Mogahed, D. Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. New York, NY: Gallup Press, 2007.

Some additional titles (that are on my “to read” list), which you may wish to check out are:

1. Shryock, A. Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the politics of enemy and friend. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010.

2. Lean, N. The Islamophobia Industry: How the right manufactures fear of Muslims. London, UK: Pluto Press, 2012.

3. Sheikh, Z. U. Islam: Silencing the Critics: A candid analysis of the most discussed faith in today’s world. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012.

As Education is the key to understanding, it is also the means to thwart ignorance and hatred. Please visit my website at Genius School to learn more about how I may serve your needs. Your comments, sharing, and feedback are always welcome.