A MUSLIM, A MIGRANT WESTERN MUSLIM, A BORN WESTERN MUSLIM AND AMERICA, THE SURPER POWE

A MUSLIM, A MIGRANT WESTERN MUSLIM, A BORN WESTERN MUSLIM
AND
AMERICA, THE SURPER POWER

I have a gut feeling that most of my brothers and sisters if not all will not agree with most if not all of what I am going to say. Why am I, then wasting your valuable time and taxing my declining breath. Here is why. If I am right and this is a gigantic “if” then the contrary opinions have  a great potential to gravely hurt the future generations of Muslims in America and Europe. The stake being so high, an ongoing dialogue is called for but

NOT in the heat of confrontation an argumentation but in the cool shade of the lofty principle enunciated by one of our four great Imams: 

 “I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.”  Imam Shafa’i 

 Driven and fueled by the repeated Divine injunction to “Promote virtue and Prohibit vice” 

And lastly NOT to score points “down here” but as many as possible “up there”. So, here I go.

Most of us have a juvenile fascination for the ever elusive “Ummah”  (except during the lifetime of our beloved Prophet and another nineteen years after he left us). On the ground and over the past millennium Muslims have been constantly fractious, divisive, violent and mutually destructive, as any other people. However in our arm chair discussions we have carved out a “tribe of Muslims” with strong tribal attachments and tribal values. All of us are emotionally charged with this noble dream of ours. No problem with that for now. Here comes my suggestion on the floor for discussion, digestion and assimilation. In our interaction with our fellow citizens, we as Muslim Americans should not feel and act as members of the “the tribe of Muslims” but as members of “the Deen of Islam”. This changes the play field suddenly and dramatically. It sets a high bar for us as we have to follow the grand Islamic principles for human interaction. First and foremost, enters Taqwaa. Yes, you read it right; I mean God Consciousness. We have to be very clear in our minds that our words and actions with them will be as much a part of our Account (a’maal naama) in the Hereafter as our dash to Chicago for the MAS convention or listening to a long story of Prophet Moses by Nomaan Ali Khan or our remarkable presentation on “soul” or meaning of “Rahmaan and Raheem” at our Halaqua. Islam demands a high standard of personal honesty and character in human dealings; what comes out of our lips is what we harbor in our hearts. There is no room for mental reservations or expediency. Halal meat is an intense priority with many of us. Pol0 sweets are haraam as we see and smell pork in it. However pure or even major speculation is made haram for us in our Shari’ah; it is hardly mentioned, let alone practiced. It is wajib on us to do justice to our enemies; not to do so is again haram. Once again, one hardly hears about it. All sorts of stories are floating around on the basis of Hadith. What about this hadith: Our Holy Prophet labels any person a liar who transmits a news he has heard to others without first confirming it. These are some of the laudable principles of Islam which tend to be ignored in our dealings with our non-Muslim fellow citizens as our tribal attachment and values take precedence. 

I would like to discuss three situations to illustrate my point of view.

The day Malala was shot in the head by Talibaan, I was attending a marriage ceremony. I asked the brother sitting next to me “Did you hear about Malala?” “Why don’t they stop their drone attacks” was the immediate, sharp and wry reply. I was stunned (are you) and speechless; I remained disturbed for some time. How can a respectable, sincere practicing Muslim with a penchant for  interfaith meetings be so callous, I wondered.  I am sorry but I do feel this brother of mine is missing out on some core and fundamental values of our beautiful Deen. His soft corner/sympathy/support for Talibaan is intense enough to ignore/sympathize/upheld an act which is a horrible crime and major sin in our Shari’ah. I am aware that many among us will agree with him on the basis of tribal attachment and values. I would certainly like to know if this support is approved by our Shari’ah. Religion apart, do realise that this is why Donald Trump wants the temporary ban on entry of Muslims. “We do not know what is happening. Who are they? What do they want?” he has blurted out. He may now ask “do we want people in our country who would like their daughter to be shot dead (Allah Ta'aala Subhaanahoo saved her) just because she had the laudable courage and mettle to stand up to brutal and murderous Talibaan in defense of female education”?

During the Gulf War, I had an intense discussion with one of my colleagues in the Staff Lounge of Aga Khan University Hospital. I maintained that Saddam was the real villain and he argued that US was the real culprit. Few days later I learnt that he has decided to move back to US. When confronted, he came out with a simple and honest answer “Dr. Mitha, I think I have a love and hate relationship with America.” Surely he is here in US as a successful Physician. He has a lovely personality. I really and truly admire him. It is a fair and calculated presumption that there is a large number of Muslims in US with similar attitude. They love US because it has provided them, with its state of the art living standards, liberal society and firm rule of law the best place to live with their family compared to anywhere in the world; better than their home country; certainly better than any majority Muslim country. At the same time they hate US because of its persistent and pervasive hostility —perceived or real — to the Muslim “Ummah”. I do not intend to challenge this position right now but would like to point out that this attitude gives full credence to the statement of Ben Carson disqualifying a Muslim from the post of Presidency. One capable of hating a country, you also will agree cannot be allowed to run for the President of that country.

During my discussions with friends on different occasions, onTwitter and Facebook, listening to interviews on TV etc. I have come across some of the following statements and attitudes:

1] Talibaan are not as bad as the media is making them up; they have done good work also

2] The real problem is not ISIS but it is the West and America; if the latter had not manufactured armaments and sold them in the market ISIS could not have done any damage

  3] “They” i.e. West and US are supplying arms to ISIS

4] “Do you want me to believe that planes just went through concrete and steel like knife through butter. You are insulting us. I am sure there was something inside the building” said Morsy about 9/11 before he became the President.

5] Complete refusal to involve Al-Qaeeda for 9/11 

6] Paris and San Bernardino attacks are justified as a retribution for the havoc in Iraq by US

7]  Jubilation expressed at the death of eight Americans in the attack on the US embassy in Kenya by a good practicing Muslim whose children and grand children themselves are Americans. When reminded 240 Kenyans were killed in the same attack, the topic was changed.

8] Another good practicing Muslim was very happy that American economy was going down (this is some time back) even though his children were living and working in US

9] At the interview of a focus group of Muslims on CBS News

1] A lady said that she was more scared of the government than ISIS

2] Another lady donned in a very fashionable designer headscarf complained very strongly that she had to keep his son from the TV because of Donald Trump

3] The whole tone and tenor at the interviews was that “real victims’ of Paris and California were Muslims of America.

10] If ISIS has done 2% good, it should be noted

Once again I do not intend to comment on these views. I am aware that these are pretty popular opinions among us. The message I would like to convey is that, as in Physics so in Human interaction “action and reaction are equal and opposite.” It will be unwise to deny this fact. The negative attitudes that I have enumerated in the three situations will naturally have their equal and opposite reaction and thus most likely help to increase the support for Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz trio. Their call to “Islamophobia” on the fringes just now may become mainstream in the next decade. This will create real and great hardship for my grand children followed by yours. Please let your children alone. They are born Americans, bound to and protected by American constitution, saluting the American flag and singing the American national anthem. Their “mother” tongue is English, their favorite food is American and their choice music is American. They are in fact part of “the American satan” despised by 65% to 85% of the people depending on which Muslim majority country you are polling. Indeed they are in the driving seat judging the Ummah from the American angle as Americans. As they are good Muslims with great potential I am sure they will follow the Jewish model and Insha Allah one day will have enough power and clout to modify American policy towards the Muslim “ummah”. Please do not teach them to find “2% good” in ISIS or some good work of the Talibaan. Let them agree — I hope they do — with their Secretary of State John Kerry when he branded ISIS as “psychopathic monsters” as each and every non-Muslim American would readily agree, as three fourth of humanity will agree and as millions of Muslims (out of 1.6 billion) will agree.  I certainly agree. Do you? You and I have grown up outside US and therefore were at the receiving end of acts of American domination and thus developed a certain type of attitude and bias against America. Ideally and honestly these must drastically change once we have crossed into America. If we cannot do that, let us not transplant these prejudices on to my grand children and later passed on to your grand children. Let us teach them to be good members of “the deen of Islam” and I am sure they will develop a robust and healthy relationship with the members of “the tribe of Muslims” aka the “ummah”.