Madina Archives

Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
se7en
07/11/01 at 03:26:28
Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims [i]by Gavin Esler (g.w.esler@talk.21.com)[/i] from [url=http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/searchresults.cfm?id=87091&keyword=islam]the Scotsman[/url] MUSLIMS are the new Jews. The statement will probably outrage just about everyone, especially adherents of these two great and ancient religions who have settled into a path of timeless emnity in the Middle East. But in Western Europe and the United States, Muslims in one sense are indeed the new Jews. They have become a people whose culture and beliefs are fashionably denigrated. As a Muslim friend put it to me this week: "Muslims are the only people left whom it is acceptable to discriminate against." Just as through the centuries anti-Semitism blighted Western society, so today Islamaphobia, an irrational fear of or hatred towards the Islamic religion, risks blighting the way we in the West view the world. In the past week, I was lucky enough to chair a discussion on Islamaphobia produced in Glasgow as part of a series called Four Corners for BBC Radio Four. What emerged was a pattern of dislike, misunderstanding and confusion towards Islam and the one billion people in the world who practise the Muslim faith. The anti-Muslim world as seen by some of the contributors to the programme was utterly sobering. In Greece, I was told, the authorities refuse to allow the building of even a single mosque in the capital, Athens. In France, the wearing of the headscarf, the hijab, by Muslim schoolgirls has been outlawed. In Italy, a prominent conservative Catholic cardinal has called for Muslim immigration to be banned. In the United States, the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building was at first assumed to be the work of Islamic terrorists. The image of Islam is often very negative. It is of adulterous women being stoned to death or thieves having their hands chopped off under Sharia law. That image was reinforced a few days ago by the story reported in the British press of an Arab man who divorced his wife by sending her a text message on her mobile telephone. Islam is technically modern yet ethically medieval, we Westerners sigh in all our great superiority. Then, confirming yet another Western stereotype, there is currently the story of an Arab intellectual from Egypt who - a religious court decreed - had proved by her writings that she was an unbeliever. Therefore she had to be divorced from her husband of 37 years against her will. Ourageous? Yes. Cruel? Yes. But are these stories accurate and true? Well, only up to a point. What we hear about Islam in Britain is rarely a complete distortion. The Taleban in Afghanistan are indeed thoroughly inhumane. Sharia law as practised in some areas of the world does seem medieval. But these stories are only a tiny part of the far greater truth about the religion of Islam. The cartoon version we see in Britain is rather like pretending all British Christians agree with the Rev Ian Paisley, or all Americans are supporters of the Waco cult of David Koresh. Across the world we repeatedly confuse the Islamic religion - which is famous for its hospitality and also for its tolerance - with specific regimes. So let us try to gain a little perspective and balance on a few of the worst stereotypes. The Egyptian intellectual’s divorce simply will not happen. A higher court overruled the lower one, though that was not much reported here. Then there is the question of the treatment of women. Some regimes - including Saudi Arabia - choose to treat women as second-class citizens. In Saudi Arabia, women are not even supposed to drive. But in the country next door, Oman, women now make up a majority of graduates from Sultan Qaboos university. They are allowed to work as taxi drivers and they also are in positions of political leadership. In Pakistan, Shaheen Ali, a highly articulate minister in the Pakistani government who also teaches law at a British university, told me how demeaning she finds Western attitudes to Islamic women who choose to wear a traditional headscarf. In a Western culture dominated by images of stick-thin heroin-chic models, it is interesting to debate which views of women are more damaging. Would your daughter be more oppressed in a headscarf or as an emaciated catwalk anorexic? The simple fact about Islam is that it provides a value system as coherent as that of Christianity or Judaism, but that it does so in an Islamic world which is changing rapidly. Iran - another notorious Western stereotype of mad mullahs and fanatical religious police - is struggling to throw off the most oppressive parts of the conservative regime and embrace a new future. In Malaysia and Indonesia, thinking Muslims strongly differentiate themselves from those parts of Islamic thinking which are rooted in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. In Britain and Western countries, modern Muslims are trying to adapt their ancient faith to a very different kind of culture amid a great deal of misunderstanding. As my Muslim friend reminded me, even liberal British intellectuals are guilty of stereotyping Islam, as the religion of the fatwa or death sentence against Salman Rushdie. It is worth repeating that the fatwa from Iran tells us much more about the struggle within the Iranian regime for political power than it does about a billion people spread all across the earth. There is plenty to dispute and to criticise in Islam, just as there is in Christianity or Judaism. But we do not think of all Christians as being American tele-evangelists or uncompromising John Knox figures. So why do we so often stereotype all Muslims as being religious extremists? It is wrong, and it is shameful. [i]Gavin Esler is a presenter on BBC News 24. [/i]
NS

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
Saleema
07/11/01 at 03:48:49
[slm] What a dumb article. [wlm] Saleema

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
eleanor
07/11/01 at 06:58:35
slm [quote] What a dumb article. [/quote] In what respect? I thought the article was okay! I usually tend to read these articles from a kuffar point of view and it's a big plus that a non-Muslim has written anything positive about Islam. wasalaam eleanor

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
Mona
07/11/01 at 13:52:56
Assalamu alaikum, I think the article is fine, if a little simplistic.  It certanily tries to convey that not all Muslims are alike and that they have much diversity among them.  It is flawed at many points (e.g. describing Taleban as "thoroughly inhumane" just defeats his own purpose that preaches to stop stereotyping based on Western media reports.) I actually agree with him using the term 'regime' in describing the so-called Muslim politcal systems.  Most of them are just that - a regime.   Thanks for posting it se7en :) Wassalam

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
Anik
07/11/01 at 19:07:11
asalaamu alaikum, all i have to say is, the way we portray ourselves is the way people see us. everytime we act we validate who we are. pretty simple isn't it? i would actually agree with a lot of the criticism muslim communities get and as well, now consider this carefully, I would agree with the negatrive criticism Islam gets. i agree. why? because I understand that when seen from a different perspective, i'm not talking just a grossly biased or racist perspective, but even from a really open-minded and fair perspective, there are a lot of criticisms. Islam, I think, when looked at from a loose, Western prespective, is not as positive unless certain moral understanding backs up the viewer. Muslims often generalize on the Jews, right? anyways, whatever. asalaamu alaikum. abdullah,.
NS

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
Sara
07/11/01 at 22:07:09
[quote] MUSLIMS are the new Jews.[/quote] So very true....

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
Saleema
07/12/01 at 01:11:43
Islam is technically modern yet ethically medieval, we Westerners sigh in all our great superiority. Therefore she had to be divorced from her husband of 37 years against her will. Ourageous? Yes. Cruel? Yes. If the Egyptian court has decided otherwise that she had done something unislamic and indeed she had done it, then he would have considered it outrageous and cruel. Sharia law as practised in some areas of the world does seem medieval. Punishing adulterous men and women is medieval.  Right there in that sentence he has killed the heart of Islam by saying that shariah law as practiced does seem medieval. I do not wish to be “accepted” or “praised” by the non-Muslims.  All I wish for is for them to not interfere with our politics, religion, and our social institutions.  We don’t mess with theirs, why are they messing with ours? Now some of you may say that how can then we learn about each other? Intellectual debate. They do that with other religions, they can keep that with us too. There are a lot more ways to reach to the non-Muslim masses. In Malaysia and Indonesia, thinking Muslims strongly differentiate themselves from those parts of Islamic thinking which are rooted in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. As a journalist I see this part of his article as very irresponsible. In fact, his whole article is too simplistic and does not provide detail. It was better that he should not have written it at all. What does he mean by that? He should have specified. He needs to go back and read the ethical guidelines for journalists.  What Islamic thinking and what is rooted in the deserts of Saudi Arabia that he does not like? In Britain and Western countries, modern Muslims are trying to adapt their ancient faith to a very different kind of culture amid a great deal of misunderstanding. I see it as revitalizing the religion, reviving the Islam asleep in the hearts of Muslims rather than adapting.  A Christian or a Jew reading that would probably think that we are trying to adapt as they have adapted and keep on doing so.  An example being, some of them accepting things in their religions that did not exist only a few decades ago.  One example being, gay bishops, and priests, rabbis. There is plenty to dispute and to criticise in Islam, Oh really? And that being…??  Again he has left his readers confused.  Isn’t that our problem with them in the first place?  That they tell us we need to change, stop thinking that we are still living in medieval times, jihad is wrong, covering your body is wrong and old-fashioned, etc. etc. Seems to me that the things that irk us the most, he has not said anything positive about that.  Well, except maybe the hijab thing. I would agree with the negatrive criticism Islam gets. What do you mean by that Abdullah, (Anik)? By which name should I address you? [wlm] Saleema

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
Anik
07/12/01 at 14:58:17
asalaamu alaikum sister, Abdullah is the name I prefer... sister I meant to say that the actions of us all are speaking.... I should've made the distinction between religion and the people, Astag'ferlah... I guess I was just feeling a little confused and I guess frustrtaed... you know, I went to India recently and I was dismayed by how muslims are sometimes and the opinions people have of them... so I am sorry if I might say some rash things... asalaamu alaikum. abdullah,.

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
BrKhalid
07/13/01 at 06:02:25
Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) Whatever your views on the article I just want to add that Gavin Esler is a senior correspondent at the BBC. He used to be Chief North American correspondant for BBC News. The fact that he sees the injustice and is willing to talk about it is a step in the right direction to me.

Re: Shameful to blame it all on the Muslims
taueeya
07/15/01 at 07:01:21
Assalamu Alaikum,   [quote]There is plenty to dispute and to criticise in Islam, just as there is in Christianity or Judaism[/quote]          This is their( the non-believers')belief/thinking and [bold]not ours( The Believers'/Muslims')[/bold] that there is plenty to dispute and criticise in Islam. We are to remain firm in our faith, InshaAllah.    [quote]So why do we so often stereotype all Muslims as being religious extremists? It is wrong, and it is shameful.[/quote]           That's the only positive part of the article for me, that they are not generalizing the Muslims as extremists. They(Non-muslims) originated this term "Extremist" for Muslims and its good that they themselves are recognizing that they shall not generalize this term. We shall appreciate it.   Wassalam.
Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author. The rest © Jannah.Org