Pakistanis are a poetic people, our literature replete with the fanciful. And from the groundswell of the noble and heroic, the tragic and the blissful emerges a yearning for our own revolution.
The Egyptian revolution is up there with 9/11 for having “changed everything”. With the uprising in Tunisia it caused the domino-effect across Libya, Bahrain, Oman as well as Saudi Arabia. Something in it struck as being magically achievable, for seeing the mass of humanity in Tahrir Square day after day without significant bloodshed resonated across the world to smaller causes and communities. To, of all places, America.
Over the last few years America has seen a crippling recession. Unemployment hit record highs and with the subprime mortgage lending scandal precipitated the home foreclosure crisis. But no street protests occurred. The government bailed out Wall Street and the Detroit auto industry in face of incongruent executive bonuses and personal jets, but aside from media derision, the public let it go.
Over the last two weeks however, protestors in the thousands are camping out in capitol buildings in Wisconsin, Missouri and Ohio protesting the restriction of collective bargaining rights of union workers. The protest of 100,000 in Madison Wisconsin may be the largest since the Vietnam War. Joel DeSpain, spokesman for the Madison Police Dept. said that he had not seen anything like it for the 50 years that he has been in Madison.
It is difficult to prove that these protests draw inspiration from Tahrir Square. But America has seen a lot worse in recent memory, with a nary a peep from the public, so one must wonder.
In Pakistan though we love the tall talk all the way from the media to the politicians. Gilani and his PPP coterie are indignant at the suggestion of an uprising in Pakistan for we have “democratic institutions”. It is true that repression in the Arab world was protracted and heavy and Pakistan does have a democratic government, a legislative and a judiciary, but in essentially all of them there seem to be an infinite variety of foxes guarding henhouses.
With a barely 40% literacy rate, probably less than 5% classifying as the intelligentsia and less than 1% holding the destiny of the nation in their corrupt death-grip; one can’t blame talk show hosts for clamoring for a cleansing.
Yet Pakistan is a land of rent-a-crowd power. With a battered economy and millions below the poverty line, a couple thousand rupees can buy you all kinds of noise. The stakes rise significantly when the mullahs add their blinded bigotry to the chest-thumping and incite to not just protest but kill.
We compare with Egypt in our stark lack of a charismatic leader. But there the comparison ends. The uprising in Egypt was galvanized over a single issue-the overthrow of Mubarak. In Pakistan our causes are as profuse as our colorful culture. “Each man for himself” is the only tenet that can be recognized across all boundaries of ethnicity and education. This translates into the self-before-state premise and defines our patriotism to the passionate singing of the national anthem. And even as the anthem’s notes end we’re planning our next pillage of Pakistan.
In a nation with a collapsing economy, high unemployment, rampant disease and runaway population our protests are shutter-down-strikes. With a poor work ethic that is now embedded in our genes and the default line of “aap kal aajaye” (please come tomorrow) who do we think we are hurting by these shutter-down-strikes? Not the President who is plum with French chateaus and Dubai deposits or a Prime Minister that has divvyed up lucrative contracts to his immediate family. Not a parliament or politicians that would shame US physicians in their net worth. Nor a judiciary that was delivered with difficulty but now sits with typical Pakistani grandiosity but sub-par performance.
It’s suddenly fashionable to out American agents what with the arrest of Raymond Davis and now Mark Dehaven. The death of four innocent Pakistanis is an egregious assault on our national sensibilities and we seem caught in the crossfire of CIA and ISI machinations. The blame though does not just lie with American hubris; mainly with the governmental clowns that we have handed our fate to. Irresponsible elements are already inciting the public to riot if our “honor” is not salvaged by the Lahore High Court decision. What happens to our honor concerns when the elite plunder Pakistan? What happens to our honor when we celebrate murderers like Mumtaz Qadri and shower him with rose-petals for killing an innocent Salman Taseer?
The solution is fixing our mindset, a thought revolution if you will; rearranging priorities, marginalizing bigotry, changing the work-ethic and eliminating corruption from an individual to the community and thereafter the national level.
Till we place state before self we will be dreamily romancing a revolution. Till then in the reality of the cacophonic talk-show hosts and the myriad assaults of life we’ll actually just be swearing, sweating and jogging on the spot.
Mahjabeen Islam is an addictionist, family physician and columnist. mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Misplaced fury and odd expectations
In our traditional national egocentricity we wonder if Pakistan could catch the virus of the Egyptian revolution. Perhaps it is the enormity of our problems that has crushed our reason for clearly this is wishful thinking.
The essential ingredient in any revolution is deep anger. But the only anger that galvanizes Pakistanis, or so it seems, is any murmuring against the Blasphemy Law. Rabid mullahs spewing venom and distorted representations of the Quran and Hadith convince youth to rampage and kill. All to protect the name of that most magnificent of all men, Muhammad (PBUH) who would have been horrified to witness madness and mayhem in his name.
It is highly unfortunate that only the least promising student or the orphaned become mullahs. But Islam is premised on individual responsibility and there is no shunting of personal issues to the confession booth or consulting mullahs for the basics that a Muslim must know. The Quran summarily prohibits murder and likens the killing of one to killing the whole of mankind (Quran 5:32). Pakistan’s mullahs classify anyone that dare criticize the Blasphemy Law as a blasphemer themselves. The tarring of Islam at the hands of these fanatics is a travesty on two counts. First on the basis of “there is no compulsion in religion” (Quran 2:256) and similar verses, and second on the fact that no one was killed for alleged blasphemy in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad or the four caliphs. These death fatwas are actually the true blasphemy.
The heinous murder of Governor Salman Taseer will forever be another chapter in our treasure-trove of national injustices. For it was not the work of one crazed youth but an event orchestrated by a group of semi-literate extremists.
The latest in this series of mullah-inspired disconnectedness is the manhandling of police by protestors at a police station in Punjab where the protestors wished to file a case against Pope Benedict for criticizing the Blasphemy Law. They wish to stifle speech but Islam promotes freedom of speech for a woman questioned Hazrat Umar, the second caliph of Islam, about why he got two sheets and others got one. And she got a respectful reply, not an “off with her head” verdict.
In their blinkered state the mullahs have forgotten that Muhammad (PBUH) was a very gentle human being, who forgave repeatedly despite grievous insult and injury inflicted upon him. And we are exhorted to model our lives after his. And the refrain in the Quran on many issues is that it is always better to forgive than exact revenge.
Protecting their power and fearful of the Taseer fate the government has capitulated completely. Sherry Rehman has been persuaded to withdraw her bill to amend the Blasphemy Law. One wonders whether the fatwa hounding her will be withdrawn as well.
Pakistan’s problems are myriad; poverty, starvation, illiteracy, high unemployment, disease, flood ravages, target killings, honor killings, terrorism and an ever-increasing divide between rich and poor. Islam is not a religion alone but a way of life. Why then have the custodians of our faith taken the Blasphemy Law as the only issue that confronts Pakistan? Does it go back to the fact that the most promising become doctors, lawyers, architects and accountants and the failing, poor or orphaned become mullahs?
And if the situation were not dire with the custodians of our faith, the custodians of justice seem out to trump them. That lawyers would shower rose-petals on a brutal murderer and offer to defend him pro-bono is a part of our national conversation that we should be deeply ashamed of.
The Egyptian revolution is galvanized under a single flag and a sole cause. Egyptians were unified in wanting to make every sacrifice to topple Mubarak. But in Pakistan our causes are many and our divisions even more. The culture of corruption has permeated the fabric of Pakistani society wherein it is now second-nature.
Mohammad Malick’s aamri jamhooriat (dictatorial democracy) and jamhoori aamriyat (democratic dictatorship) are phenomenal representations of what has become of Pakistan. Prime Minister Gilani was asked about the Egyptian revolution and its possibility in Pakistan and he summarily dismissed it saying that we had a “functioning democracy” and therefore the chance of a revolution here was nil.
One can only agree with the second part of his assessment. His reasoning is faulty; we actually have a democratic dictatorship soaked in corruption. And the ranks of our society are sick with venom and bigotry, intrigue and revenge and our national motto remains “each man for himself”. We are held hostage by a squeaky minority of rabid mullahs who will have our heads should they desire and a majority that nods assent in order that it may live. History, and I daresay the Day of Judgment, will indict us for copping out and handing our destiny to the bigoted on a platter.
When popular unrest is rudderless and leaderless it is called anarchy. Pakistan now embodies it.
Mahjabeen Islam is an addictionist, family physician and columnist. Email: mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com ###
The essential ingredient in any revolution is deep anger. But the only anger that galvanizes Pakistanis, or so it seems, is any murmuring against the Blasphemy Law. Rabid mullahs spewing venom and distorted representations of the Quran and Hadith convince youth to rampage and kill. All to protect the name of that most magnificent of all men, Muhammad (PBUH) who would have been horrified to witness madness and mayhem in his name.
It is highly unfortunate that only the least promising student or the orphaned become mullahs. But Islam is premised on individual responsibility and there is no shunting of personal issues to the confession booth or consulting mullahs for the basics that a Muslim must know. The Quran summarily prohibits murder and likens the killing of one to killing the whole of mankind (Quran 5:32). Pakistan’s mullahs classify anyone that dare criticize the Blasphemy Law as a blasphemer themselves. The tarring of Islam at the hands of these fanatics is a travesty on two counts. First on the basis of “there is no compulsion in religion” (Quran 2:256) and similar verses, and second on the fact that no one was killed for alleged blasphemy in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad or the four caliphs. These death fatwas are actually the true blasphemy.
The heinous murder of Governor Salman Taseer will forever be another chapter in our treasure-trove of national injustices. For it was not the work of one crazed youth but an event orchestrated by a group of semi-literate extremists.
The latest in this series of mullah-inspired disconnectedness is the manhandling of police by protestors at a police station in Punjab where the protestors wished to file a case against Pope Benedict for criticizing the Blasphemy Law. They wish to stifle speech but Islam promotes freedom of speech for a woman questioned Hazrat Umar, the second caliph of Islam, about why he got two sheets and others got one. And she got a respectful reply, not an “off with her head” verdict.
In their blinkered state the mullahs have forgotten that Muhammad (PBUH) was a very gentle human being, who forgave repeatedly despite grievous insult and injury inflicted upon him. And we are exhorted to model our lives after his. And the refrain in the Quran on many issues is that it is always better to forgive than exact revenge.
Protecting their power and fearful of the Taseer fate the government has capitulated completely. Sherry Rehman has been persuaded to withdraw her bill to amend the Blasphemy Law. One wonders whether the fatwa hounding her will be withdrawn as well.
Pakistan’s problems are myriad; poverty, starvation, illiteracy, high unemployment, disease, flood ravages, target killings, honor killings, terrorism and an ever-increasing divide between rich and poor. Islam is not a religion alone but a way of life. Why then have the custodians of our faith taken the Blasphemy Law as the only issue that confronts Pakistan? Does it go back to the fact that the most promising become doctors, lawyers, architects and accountants and the failing, poor or orphaned become mullahs?
And if the situation were not dire with the custodians of our faith, the custodians of justice seem out to trump them. That lawyers would shower rose-petals on a brutal murderer and offer to defend him pro-bono is a part of our national conversation that we should be deeply ashamed of.
The Egyptian revolution is galvanized under a single flag and a sole cause. Egyptians were unified in wanting to make every sacrifice to topple Mubarak. But in Pakistan our causes are many and our divisions even more. The culture of corruption has permeated the fabric of Pakistani society wherein it is now second-nature.
Mohammad Malick’s aamri jamhooriat (dictatorial democracy) and jamhoori aamriyat (democratic dictatorship) are phenomenal representations of what has become of Pakistan. Prime Minister Gilani was asked about the Egyptian revolution and its possibility in Pakistan and he summarily dismissed it saying that we had a “functioning democracy” and therefore the chance of a revolution here was nil.
One can only agree with the second part of his assessment. His reasoning is faulty; we actually have a democratic dictatorship soaked in corruption. And the ranks of our society are sick with venom and bigotry, intrigue and revenge and our national motto remains “each man for himself”. We are held hostage by a squeaky minority of rabid mullahs who will have our heads should they desire and a majority that nods assent in order that it may live. History, and I daresay the Day of Judgment, will indict us for copping out and handing our destiny to the bigoted on a platter.
When popular unrest is rudderless and leaderless it is called anarchy. Pakistan now embodies it.
Mahjabeen Islam is an addictionist, family physician and columnist. Email: mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com ###
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Mighty dichotomy
Indecisiveness at a personal level can have serious consequences, but waffling on the world stage only serves to expose the dichotomy that the United States has consistently employed in its management of foreign affairs.
Stunned by Raymond Davis’ brazen killing of two Pakistanis in Lahore last week, the State Department spokesman expressed condolences and full cooperation with the Pakistan government in the investigation of the tragedy. And yet in the space of twenty-four hours repeated demands were made to hand over Davis to the US with the claim that he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. And the bravado that Pakistan was violating the Vienna Convention detailing diplomatic immunity.
Raymond Davis it appears does not have a diplomatic passport; he is just a contractor employed with Hyperion a Florida company. The other individual that raced to his rescue and killed an innocent pedestrian has not been named or prosecuted. Even if Davis was an employee of the US consulate and enjoyed diplomatic immunity he must be prosecuted for murder under Pakistan’s law. The Vienna Convention assumes diplomats going to represent their nations not running Rambo style, armed and dangerous in other countries. It thus does not address murderous inclinations of supposed diplomats.
The hubris of the sole super-power of the world presents itself in what has now become a nauseating display of “we make the rules and break them at will”. The Vienna Convention specifically mentions diplomatic immunity from baggage and personal search. Indian ambassador Meera Shankar traveling in Mississippi in December 2010 did not even trip the metal detector but was singled out for a pat-down, probably due to her wearing a sari. She mentioned her diplomatic immunity and presented her passport to the airport employee who seemed amused at her claim of diplomatic immunity. This usurpation of immunity is not new for diplomats visiting the United States and the fig-leaf of the war on terror is used for this illegality.
The situation gets murkier when US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter telephones Nawaz Sharif about the Davis situation. Is the US dangling the proverbial carrot to him? What the Pakistan government does with the Davis situation will set the tone for the future. If he is handed over to the US, the message is loud and clear: do come and kill our people whenever and for whatever.
This same curious indecisiveness was on display in the early days of the Egyptian crisis. President Obama and his cabinet while watching the rapidly changing situation unfold sent out sitting-on-the-fence generic messages. Despite 9/11 the average American is still not conversant with global issues; they are more bogged down with the day to day, the foreclosures, high unemployment and the health care crisis with pressure to make both ends meet, ends that have become more and more inelastic.
White House spokesmen talked of being “on the right side of history”. One wonders where principle went. This “right side of history” in the early days of the crisis was uncertain, there were government spokesmen who spoke of “managed change” in Egypt and an “evolution rather than a revolution”. Mubarak they thought might still stay.
There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but America’s military might was unleashed on Iraq with the additional rationalization of exporting democracy to it. So why so circumspect now that Egypt’s people want democracy? Dictators are so easy to manipulate-no messy parliaments and representation of the people, just a single tart phone call and the question “are you with us or against us” and the job is done.
Sen. John Kerry was the only legislator that urged Hosni Mubarak to resign in the early days of the crisis. Even Sen. John McCain was surprising in wanting the US to back the will of the people rather than their puppet Mubarak. He was concerned that the revolt might acquire the tones of the Tiananmen massacre. All his murmurings seemed wonderful and committed, unlike the US government at that point, until the interviewer asked him his greatest concern. The regular person would be concerned with the loss of life and the hope that it be minimized, but McCain’s concern was of Islamists getting power in Egypt, even though it is very evident that this is a secular revolt and the Muslim Brotherhood though part of the conversation does not have a majority. He also used the absurd “we must be on the right side of history” statement.
Now that the situation has acquired a no-turning-back quality in Egypt with Mubarak’s resignation as the main demand has Secretary of State Hillary Clinton come out with more Egyptian-people oriented statements.
America’s posturing is evident in the Raymond Davis/Pakistan situation and the revolt in Egypt. Egyptians do not want any part of America interfering in their affairs and will arrange an interim government, rewrite the constitution and hold elections. We, on the other hand had no hesitation in joining the war on terror in one 3 a.m. phone call, opening our skies to let the drones rain down, allow foreigners to drive darkened SUVs and resist searches, and now let Americans terrorise and murder our people with impunity. The Egyptians will control their destiny. Pakistan’s was gifted to America ten years ago.
Mahjabeen Islam is a family physician, addictionist and columnist. Email: mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com
Stunned by Raymond Davis’ brazen killing of two Pakistanis in Lahore last week, the State Department spokesman expressed condolences and full cooperation with the Pakistan government in the investigation of the tragedy. And yet in the space of twenty-four hours repeated demands were made to hand over Davis to the US with the claim that he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. And the bravado that Pakistan was violating the Vienna Convention detailing diplomatic immunity.
Raymond Davis it appears does not have a diplomatic passport; he is just a contractor employed with Hyperion a Florida company. The other individual that raced to his rescue and killed an innocent pedestrian has not been named or prosecuted. Even if Davis was an employee of the US consulate and enjoyed diplomatic immunity he must be prosecuted for murder under Pakistan’s law. The Vienna Convention assumes diplomats going to represent their nations not running Rambo style, armed and dangerous in other countries. It thus does not address murderous inclinations of supposed diplomats.
The hubris of the sole super-power of the world presents itself in what has now become a nauseating display of “we make the rules and break them at will”. The Vienna Convention specifically mentions diplomatic immunity from baggage and personal search. Indian ambassador Meera Shankar traveling in Mississippi in December 2010 did not even trip the metal detector but was singled out for a pat-down, probably due to her wearing a sari. She mentioned her diplomatic immunity and presented her passport to the airport employee who seemed amused at her claim of diplomatic immunity. This usurpation of immunity is not new for diplomats visiting the United States and the fig-leaf of the war on terror is used for this illegality.
The situation gets murkier when US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter telephones Nawaz Sharif about the Davis situation. Is the US dangling the proverbial carrot to him? What the Pakistan government does with the Davis situation will set the tone for the future. If he is handed over to the US, the message is loud and clear: do come and kill our people whenever and for whatever.
This same curious indecisiveness was on display in the early days of the Egyptian crisis. President Obama and his cabinet while watching the rapidly changing situation unfold sent out sitting-on-the-fence generic messages. Despite 9/11 the average American is still not conversant with global issues; they are more bogged down with the day to day, the foreclosures, high unemployment and the health care crisis with pressure to make both ends meet, ends that have become more and more inelastic.
White House spokesmen talked of being “on the right side of history”. One wonders where principle went. This “right side of history” in the early days of the crisis was uncertain, there were government spokesmen who spoke of “managed change” in Egypt and an “evolution rather than a revolution”. Mubarak they thought might still stay.
There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but America’s military might was unleashed on Iraq with the additional rationalization of exporting democracy to it. So why so circumspect now that Egypt’s people want democracy? Dictators are so easy to manipulate-no messy parliaments and representation of the people, just a single tart phone call and the question “are you with us or against us” and the job is done.
Sen. John Kerry was the only legislator that urged Hosni Mubarak to resign in the early days of the crisis. Even Sen. John McCain was surprising in wanting the US to back the will of the people rather than their puppet Mubarak. He was concerned that the revolt might acquire the tones of the Tiananmen massacre. All his murmurings seemed wonderful and committed, unlike the US government at that point, until the interviewer asked him his greatest concern. The regular person would be concerned with the loss of life and the hope that it be minimized, but McCain’s concern was of Islamists getting power in Egypt, even though it is very evident that this is a secular revolt and the Muslim Brotherhood though part of the conversation does not have a majority. He also used the absurd “we must be on the right side of history” statement.
Now that the situation has acquired a no-turning-back quality in Egypt with Mubarak’s resignation as the main demand has Secretary of State Hillary Clinton come out with more Egyptian-people oriented statements.
America’s posturing is evident in the Raymond Davis/Pakistan situation and the revolt in Egypt. Egyptians do not want any part of America interfering in their affairs and will arrange an interim government, rewrite the constitution and hold elections. We, on the other hand had no hesitation in joining the war on terror in one 3 a.m. phone call, opening our skies to let the drones rain down, allow foreigners to drive darkened SUVs and resist searches, and now let Americans terrorise and murder our people with impunity. The Egyptians will control their destiny. Pakistan’s was gifted to America ten years ago.
Mahjabeen Islam is a family physician, addictionist and columnist. Email: mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Dying for the truth
Published in the Daily Times on January 7, 2011
Quietly, in the recesses of your mind ask yourself who really represents Islam.
Is it that intrepid man who paid the ultimate price for “stand out firmly for justice even if it goes against yourselves your parents or your relatives” (Quran 4:135)? Or is it the bearded, turbaned, self-appointed custodians of Islam who celebrate murder and conspire to kill more, and who are thus going against the oft repeated, “If anyone kills one person, it is as though they have killed all of mankind” (Quran 5:32)?
When the Danish cartoons were published, the West was painstakingly made to understand that for Muslims the hierarchy of love, devotion and respect is God, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and parents. Whenever a Muslim takes the shahadah (bear witness) in sincerity, a bond is born with God and the Prophet (PBUH), but this is not one for exhibition, examination or critical display. Unless a person actually physically renounces Islam, he is not a blasphemer. And even if he does, on the basis of “there is no compulsion in religion” (Quran 2:256), the punishment is not to kill him. This fanatical face of Islam and the greatest disservice to it has been done by the ayatollahs, imams and sheikhs who need a reason to exist.
One of the great tragedies for current day Muslims is lack of a central religious authority like the Vatican where scholars with defined expertise could render judgment on contemporary issues. Al-Azhar in Egypt that comes somewhat close to that has unequivocally ruled on both murtads (renouncers of Islam) as well as suicide bombers. Death is not prescribed for one who renounces Islam. And suicide bombing is haram (forbidden). Simple.
Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab died in harness, did not at anytime renounce Islam, nor disrespect the Prophet (PBUH). Islam is an evidence-based religion. And it is a benign, kind faith. It inclines toward forgiveness and second chances. It recognises the Satan that anger is and extols calmness: “The righteous are those that control their anger and forgive other people” (Quran 3:134).
We have a dual responsibility: as practitioners of the faith we will be called to account on the Day of Judgment for why we misrepresented it so and made it look so violent, hate-filled, vengeful and dinosaurian; and as Pakistanis we must rapidly rid our society of fanatical thought. For before too long there will be more and more hate-inspired killings and the fear that people have now of going out of their homes will seem minuscule. Anyone that veers from the line decided in some mullah’s mind is wajib-ul-qatl (worthy of murder) and the ease and frequency of such murders make it seem that we are at the verge of hordes of lunatics running rabid throughout the land wiping out anyone that dissents with their point of view.
In their great fervour, the mullahs of Pakistan have perhaps forgotten the concept of individual and collective sin. We will have to account for our sins individually but our religious leaders will have to pay/receive two times. If they inspire their congregations to do good deeds, they get a reward as well, but if they promote murder and mayhem, and especially if they do it in the name of Prophet Muhammad, “the one that was sent as a mercy to all mankind” (Quran 21:07), they might find themselves invoking God’s wrath rather than His grace.
It is a travesty that minorities and now ‘liberals’ receive and suffer death pronouncements in the name of a man (PBUH) who was the epitome of tolerance and manners. Historians (Sahih Bukhari, Tradition Number 1,311) report that as a funeral of a Jew passed before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as a sign of respect he stood up. In doing this, he showed respect and shared in the feeling of sorrow with the Jewish family and community. “Why did you stand up for a Jewish funeral?” he was asked. The Prophet replied: “Is it not a human soul?”
Salmaan Taseer stood beside a helpless Pakistani-Christian woman and appealed for her forgiveness and repeal of Pakistan’s archaic blasphemy laws that are used for personal and political gain. Salmaan Taseer saw Islam as inclusive and maternal — after all the word rahman comes from the root word rahm, which means womb in Arabic. He wanted the state to be forgiving, nurturing and maternal the way that God is. As an educated and enlightened man, he was able to see things in the larger perspective rather than getting all fired up over a villager’s alleged disrespect.
Islam promotes dialogue and is actually one of the few religions that stand up to harsh inquiry. But mullahs insist on blind faith and no questions. There is no evidence in the Prophet’s (PBUH) life or during the reign of the four caliphs that any action was taken against anyone regarding blasphemy. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was mistreated by a woman that threw garbage at him but he went to visit her when she was sick. Contrast this to the Facebook followers and the lawyers who praised and showered rose-petals on Mumtaz Quadri for murdering Salmaan Taseer.
They pelted stones at Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Taif and Gabriel said that God could wipe them out if Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wanted. But the most magnificent of all men declined. Contrast this to the Jamat-e-Islami’s Asadullah Bhutto who declared that “the one who has killed Taseer is a pious man and will go to the Seventh Heaven”. And here I thought prophethood and revelation had stopped with Muhammad (PBUH).
Naseeruddin Shah brilliantly acted in ‘Khuda key liye’ and the line “with haram money in their pockets, they run all over town looking for zabiha [sacrifice] meat” is so pointedly representative of the mullah mindset that has taken over Pakistan, and is bent on razing it to the ground.
A few days before his death when questioned about his security detail and its insufficiency, Salmaan Taseer said: “Aaj bazaar main pa bajolan chalo/Rakhte Dil bandh lo Dil fagaro chalo/Phir hamen qatl ho ayen yaro chalo” (Today, let us walk through bazaar with feet in chains/ Pick up the burden of heart, let us go, heartbroken ones/ Let us offer ourselves, once again, for execution).
Few in Pakistan’s history were as frank and fearless as Salmaan Taseer, ready and willing to die for the truth. If we do not stand up as a nation to the flames of fanaticism, bigotry and hatred, Pakistan will self-destruct. In the foreseeable future.
Quietly, in the recesses of your mind ask yourself who really represents Islam.
Is it that intrepid man who paid the ultimate price for “stand out firmly for justice even if it goes against yourselves your parents or your relatives” (Quran 4:135)? Or is it the bearded, turbaned, self-appointed custodians of Islam who celebrate murder and conspire to kill more, and who are thus going against the oft repeated, “If anyone kills one person, it is as though they have killed all of mankind” (Quran 5:32)?
When the Danish cartoons were published, the West was painstakingly made to understand that for Muslims the hierarchy of love, devotion and respect is God, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and parents. Whenever a Muslim takes the shahadah (bear witness) in sincerity, a bond is born with God and the Prophet (PBUH), but this is not one for exhibition, examination or critical display. Unless a person actually physically renounces Islam, he is not a blasphemer. And even if he does, on the basis of “there is no compulsion in religion” (Quran 2:256), the punishment is not to kill him. This fanatical face of Islam and the greatest disservice to it has been done by the ayatollahs, imams and sheikhs who need a reason to exist.
One of the great tragedies for current day Muslims is lack of a central religious authority like the Vatican where scholars with defined expertise could render judgment on contemporary issues. Al-Azhar in Egypt that comes somewhat close to that has unequivocally ruled on both murtads (renouncers of Islam) as well as suicide bombers. Death is not prescribed for one who renounces Islam. And suicide bombing is haram (forbidden). Simple.
Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab died in harness, did not at anytime renounce Islam, nor disrespect the Prophet (PBUH). Islam is an evidence-based religion. And it is a benign, kind faith. It inclines toward forgiveness and second chances. It recognises the Satan that anger is and extols calmness: “The righteous are those that control their anger and forgive other people” (Quran 3:134).
We have a dual responsibility: as practitioners of the faith we will be called to account on the Day of Judgment for why we misrepresented it so and made it look so violent, hate-filled, vengeful and dinosaurian; and as Pakistanis we must rapidly rid our society of fanatical thought. For before too long there will be more and more hate-inspired killings and the fear that people have now of going out of their homes will seem minuscule. Anyone that veers from the line decided in some mullah’s mind is wajib-ul-qatl (worthy of murder) and the ease and frequency of such murders make it seem that we are at the verge of hordes of lunatics running rabid throughout the land wiping out anyone that dissents with their point of view.
In their great fervour, the mullahs of Pakistan have perhaps forgotten the concept of individual and collective sin. We will have to account for our sins individually but our religious leaders will have to pay/receive two times. If they inspire their congregations to do good deeds, they get a reward as well, but if they promote murder and mayhem, and especially if they do it in the name of Prophet Muhammad, “the one that was sent as a mercy to all mankind” (Quran 21:07), they might find themselves invoking God’s wrath rather than His grace.
It is a travesty that minorities and now ‘liberals’ receive and suffer death pronouncements in the name of a man (PBUH) who was the epitome of tolerance and manners. Historians (Sahih Bukhari, Tradition Number 1,311) report that as a funeral of a Jew passed before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as a sign of respect he stood up. In doing this, he showed respect and shared in the feeling of sorrow with the Jewish family and community. “Why did you stand up for a Jewish funeral?” he was asked. The Prophet replied: “Is it not a human soul?”
Salmaan Taseer stood beside a helpless Pakistani-Christian woman and appealed for her forgiveness and repeal of Pakistan’s archaic blasphemy laws that are used for personal and political gain. Salmaan Taseer saw Islam as inclusive and maternal — after all the word rahman comes from the root word rahm, which means womb in Arabic. He wanted the state to be forgiving, nurturing and maternal the way that God is. As an educated and enlightened man, he was able to see things in the larger perspective rather than getting all fired up over a villager’s alleged disrespect.
Islam promotes dialogue and is actually one of the few religions that stand up to harsh inquiry. But mullahs insist on blind faith and no questions. There is no evidence in the Prophet’s (PBUH) life or during the reign of the four caliphs that any action was taken against anyone regarding blasphemy. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was mistreated by a woman that threw garbage at him but he went to visit her when she was sick. Contrast this to the Facebook followers and the lawyers who praised and showered rose-petals on Mumtaz Quadri for murdering Salmaan Taseer.
They pelted stones at Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Taif and Gabriel said that God could wipe them out if Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wanted. But the most magnificent of all men declined. Contrast this to the Jamat-e-Islami’s Asadullah Bhutto who declared that “the one who has killed Taseer is a pious man and will go to the Seventh Heaven”. And here I thought prophethood and revelation had stopped with Muhammad (PBUH).
Naseeruddin Shah brilliantly acted in ‘Khuda key liye’ and the line “with haram money in their pockets, they run all over town looking for zabiha [sacrifice] meat” is so pointedly representative of the mullah mindset that has taken over Pakistan, and is bent on razing it to the ground.
A few days before his death when questioned about his security detail and its insufficiency, Salmaan Taseer said: “Aaj bazaar main pa bajolan chalo/Rakhte Dil bandh lo Dil fagaro chalo/Phir hamen qatl ho ayen yaro chalo” (Today, let us walk through bazaar with feet in chains/ Pick up the burden of heart, let us go, heartbroken ones/ Let us offer ourselves, once again, for execution).
Few in Pakistan’s history were as frank and fearless as Salmaan Taseer, ready and willing to die for the truth. If we do not stand up as a nation to the flames of fanaticism, bigotry and hatred, Pakistan will self-destruct. In the foreseeable future.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The true blasphemers
One wonders what Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would have thought of the clamor in the Muslim world to force respect for him, especially when it involves killing and brazen persecution of minorities. Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad was sent “as a mercy to all mankind” (Quran 21:07), and we are enjoined to study his life and model our character after him for he is described such: “you O Muhammad are of most sublime and exalted character” (Quran 68:4)
Would Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have looked kindly at the Blasphemy Law enacted during the tenure of Pakistani dictator Zia-ul-Haq? The infamous Blasphemy Law has been used to advance political agendas, continually endanger minorities and even make Muslims more Muslim.
Lower court judges, frequently fearful for their own safety have pronounced death sentences on alleged blasphemers but higher courts have revoked them. Hopefully this will be the case for Aasia Bibi, a 45- year old Christian mother of five, whose situation now represents the madness that has become Pakistan. While working in her village she allegedly offered water to her Muslim co-workers who refused to accept it on the basis of her being “unclean”. Reports vary but the one used to pronounce her death sentence claims sworn statements by the other women that Aasia Bibi was disrespectful to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). She was arrested the next day and is in jail awaiting a decision by the Lahore High Court.
The flames of fanaticism have put out a reward of $5000 for anyone that is able to kill her while she is in jail! A few years ago two Christian men were acquitted by a higher court on blasphemy charges but killed as they left the court. The disconnect between the spirit of Islam and this insanity leaves non-rabid Muslims incredulous and pained. “Let there be no compulsion in religion” says the Quran (2:256). So why do Muslims feel they can force conversion or pressurize the observance of respect when none is felt?
Islam literally means submission to the will of God and the Quran states clearly that He directs those to the Light that He wills (26:35). Not only have Pakistanis become judge and jury, they have taken on the mantle of being God and The Prophet!
Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) life was characterized by gentleness and forgiveness. He repeatedly suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of individuals and groups, but his response was not militancy but clemency. Muslims know the Taif incident in which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was jeered at and injured with rocks and the angel Gabriel came to him and said that if Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wanted, the people of Taif could be destroyed. But Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) prayed for his own relationship with the Almighty rather than death-wishes for the people of Taif.
Another current day ludicrous event is the arrest of Dr. Naushad Valiyani again on charges of blasphemy, this time for throwing the business card of a pharmaceutical representative named Muhammad Faizan in the trash can. Dr. Valiyani is an Ismaili, another minority Shia community in Pakistan. If this perverse logic is to be extrapolated, no one with the name of Muhammad, which happens to be the most common in the world, should be punished, reprimanded or questioned for it would activate the Blasphemy Law again.
During the rule of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Ahmadis a small community in Pakistan were classified as being non-Muslim, with mention of this status on their passports. As though this travesty were not enough, Ahmadis are killed on a regular basis at the instigation of well-known, so called “scholars” of Islam.
Pakistan is 96% Muslim, unlike secular Turkey which is 99% so. Pakistan’s constitution protects minorities and the white strip at the edge of its flag represents minorities while the larger green area represents Muslims.
In Pakistan’s educational system, the best and the brightest become doctors and lawyers. The orphaned and the disinterested become imams, mullahs and sheikhs. And they get captive audiences during the Friday sermon and prayer. There is a personal, national and international agenda at work with these blinkered mullahs and giving out of context hate-filled sermons is now national fare.
It is not Aasia Bibi that deserves to die or Dr. Valiyani that merits persecution; not only should there be repeal of the Blasphemy Law, Pakistan needs an ultra-rapid detoxification from its rabid mullahs that have hijacked Islam and misrepresented the Prophet. They are the true blasphemers.
Would Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have looked kindly at the Blasphemy Law enacted during the tenure of Pakistani dictator Zia-ul-Haq? The infamous Blasphemy Law has been used to advance political agendas, continually endanger minorities and even make Muslims more Muslim.
Lower court judges, frequently fearful for their own safety have pronounced death sentences on alleged blasphemers but higher courts have revoked them. Hopefully this will be the case for Aasia Bibi, a 45- year old Christian mother of five, whose situation now represents the madness that has become Pakistan. While working in her village she allegedly offered water to her Muslim co-workers who refused to accept it on the basis of her being “unclean”. Reports vary but the one used to pronounce her death sentence claims sworn statements by the other women that Aasia Bibi was disrespectful to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). She was arrested the next day and is in jail awaiting a decision by the Lahore High Court.
The flames of fanaticism have put out a reward of $5000 for anyone that is able to kill her while she is in jail! A few years ago two Christian men were acquitted by a higher court on blasphemy charges but killed as they left the court. The disconnect between the spirit of Islam and this insanity leaves non-rabid Muslims incredulous and pained. “Let there be no compulsion in religion” says the Quran (2:256). So why do Muslims feel they can force conversion or pressurize the observance of respect when none is felt?
Islam literally means submission to the will of God and the Quran states clearly that He directs those to the Light that He wills (26:35). Not only have Pakistanis become judge and jury, they have taken on the mantle of being God and The Prophet!
Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) life was characterized by gentleness and forgiveness. He repeatedly suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of individuals and groups, but his response was not militancy but clemency. Muslims know the Taif incident in which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was jeered at and injured with rocks and the angel Gabriel came to him and said that if Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wanted, the people of Taif could be destroyed. But Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) prayed for his own relationship with the Almighty rather than death-wishes for the people of Taif.
Another current day ludicrous event is the arrest of Dr. Naushad Valiyani again on charges of blasphemy, this time for throwing the business card of a pharmaceutical representative named Muhammad Faizan in the trash can. Dr. Valiyani is an Ismaili, another minority Shia community in Pakistan. If this perverse logic is to be extrapolated, no one with the name of Muhammad, which happens to be the most common in the world, should be punished, reprimanded or questioned for it would activate the Blasphemy Law again.
During the rule of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Ahmadis a small community in Pakistan were classified as being non-Muslim, with mention of this status on their passports. As though this travesty were not enough, Ahmadis are killed on a regular basis at the instigation of well-known, so called “scholars” of Islam.
Pakistan is 96% Muslim, unlike secular Turkey which is 99% so. Pakistan’s constitution protects minorities and the white strip at the edge of its flag represents minorities while the larger green area represents Muslims.
In Pakistan’s educational system, the best and the brightest become doctors and lawyers. The orphaned and the disinterested become imams, mullahs and sheikhs. And they get captive audiences during the Friday sermon and prayer. There is a personal, national and international agenda at work with these blinkered mullahs and giving out of context hate-filled sermons is now national fare.
It is not Aasia Bibi that deserves to die or Dr. Valiyani that merits persecution; not only should there be repeal of the Blasphemy Law, Pakistan needs an ultra-rapid detoxification from its rabid mullahs that have hijacked Islam and misrepresented the Prophet. They are the true blasphemers.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Washington Post article: Jesus ant uproar and the equal opportunity offenders Published December 8, 2010
The Smithsonian's ant-covered crucifix video is not a matter of censorship, only a commentary on our state of desensitized rudeness.
The Smithsonian Institution in its National Portrait Gallery Hide/Seek exhibit featured a video by artist David Wojnarowicz who died of AIDS in 1992. The video has a segment showing ants crawling on a crucifix and was said to be a commentary on the AIDS epidemic. Parts of the video are pornographic and bloody and the whole left me nauseated, unable to connect the parts, primarily the claimed connection to AIDS.
The video was heavily criticized by the Catholic League's Bill Donohue and House Speaker-in waiting Rep. John Boehner (OH) and House Majority Whip-to be Rep. Eric Cantor (VA). And now the Smithsonian is being soaked in criticism for bowing under the pressure of censorship.
The Smithsonian's facilities are federally funded but the exhibits are supported by various private foundations. Bill Donohue's statement that "our tax dollars cannot be used to promote religion and they should not be used to assault religion either" is well taken. Donohue and others also said that the fear of Muslims and Jews prevents a similar depiction of Muhammad or Moses.
The veneration accorded the Torah by the Jews is similar to the respect with which Muslims treat the Quran, taking the verse "which none shall touch but those who are clean" (Quran 56:79) very seriously. Believing in all the revealed books including the Torah and the Bible, a Muslim household will have them in a high place on a bookshelf.
Muslims must believe in the unity of God, all the prophets, all the revealed books, angels, the Day of Judgment and fate and predestination. In the hierarchy of love and respect come God (Allah), Muhammad and then parents. Desecration of Muhammad hits at the core of Muslims, true. But Muslims adore Moses and Jesus and many precepts of Islam are illustrated by their lives in the Quran.
The Satanic Verses and the Danish cartoons caused an uproar and death threats to the authors. While the agony and protest are justified, the Quran and Hadith (sayings of Muhammad) do not condone violence. Muslims must vociferously protest the desecration of all religious figures, especially our beloved Christ.
Recently, along with a bunch of Christmas cards and address labels from the many organizations that now send you unsolicited stationery, came a crucifix locket on a chain. Respect for religious symbols is so much a part of the Muslim genome that I could not bear to throw it away; I gave it to someone who'd wear it.
Muslims are perpetually blamed for not condemning enough and not doing enough; what Pakistanis lovingly call the "do more" push by the West. A dispassionate examination of ignored journalism will show that hate speech against non-Muslim figures is protested by individual Muslims and Muslim organizations.
The burning of churches and the mistreatment of minorities in Muslim countries is a highly condemnable act and in stark contrast to the fact that Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam, was invited to pray in a church in Jerusalem in 637, but chose not to so that it would not be used as an excuse to take a church over by future Muslims.
My un-artsy eye cannot see the good in the ant-covered crucifix video, all I see is sensationalism. Are we going to sacrifice all-respect, values, basic decency-over that high and holy god called freedom of speech?
Mahjabeen Islam is a family physician, addictionist and columnist.By Mahjabeen Islam | December 8, 2010; 7:31 PM ET
The Smithsonian Institution in its National Portrait Gallery Hide/Seek exhibit featured a video by artist David Wojnarowicz who died of AIDS in 1992. The video has a segment showing ants crawling on a crucifix and was said to be a commentary on the AIDS epidemic. Parts of the video are pornographic and bloody and the whole left me nauseated, unable to connect the parts, primarily the claimed connection to AIDS.
The video was heavily criticized by the Catholic League's Bill Donohue and House Speaker-in waiting Rep. John Boehner (OH) and House Majority Whip-to be Rep. Eric Cantor (VA). And now the Smithsonian is being soaked in criticism for bowing under the pressure of censorship.
The Smithsonian's facilities are federally funded but the exhibits are supported by various private foundations. Bill Donohue's statement that "our tax dollars cannot be used to promote religion and they should not be used to assault religion either" is well taken. Donohue and others also said that the fear of Muslims and Jews prevents a similar depiction of Muhammad or Moses.
The veneration accorded the Torah by the Jews is similar to the respect with which Muslims treat the Quran, taking the verse "which none shall touch but those who are clean" (Quran 56:79) very seriously. Believing in all the revealed books including the Torah and the Bible, a Muslim household will have them in a high place on a bookshelf.
Muslims must believe in the unity of God, all the prophets, all the revealed books, angels, the Day of Judgment and fate and predestination. In the hierarchy of love and respect come God (Allah), Muhammad and then parents. Desecration of Muhammad hits at the core of Muslims, true. But Muslims adore Moses and Jesus and many precepts of Islam are illustrated by their lives in the Quran.
The Satanic Verses and the Danish cartoons caused an uproar and death threats to the authors. While the agony and protest are justified, the Quran and Hadith (sayings of Muhammad) do not condone violence. Muslims must vociferously protest the desecration of all religious figures, especially our beloved Christ.
Recently, along with a bunch of Christmas cards and address labels from the many organizations that now send you unsolicited stationery, came a crucifix locket on a chain. Respect for religious symbols is so much a part of the Muslim genome that I could not bear to throw it away; I gave it to someone who'd wear it.
Muslims are perpetually blamed for not condemning enough and not doing enough; what Pakistanis lovingly call the "do more" push by the West. A dispassionate examination of ignored journalism will show that hate speech against non-Muslim figures is protested by individual Muslims and Muslim organizations.
The burning of churches and the mistreatment of minorities in Muslim countries is a highly condemnable act and in stark contrast to the fact that Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam, was invited to pray in a church in Jerusalem in 637, but chose not to so that it would not be used as an excuse to take a church over by future Muslims.
My un-artsy eye cannot see the good in the ant-covered crucifix video, all I see is sensationalism. Are we going to sacrifice all-respect, values, basic decency-over that high and holy god called freedom of speech?
Mahjabeen Islam is a family physician, addictionist and columnist.By Mahjabeen Islam | December 8, 2010; 7:31 PM ET
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Maligning Muslims: the new chic-article in the Toledo Blade
Article published November 02, 2010
Maligning Muslims: The new chic
By MAHJABEEN ISLAM
Flying while Muslim used to be a personal ordeal. But when Juan Williams, the former National Public Radio analyst, talked about the “Muslim dilemma” with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News, he thrust it to national attention — and added insult to injury.
Mr. Williams confessed to feeling nervous when he saw people in “Muslim garb” boarding planes. After he made those remarks, NPR fired him, saying his views “were inconsistent with NPR’s editorial standards and ... undermined his credibility as an analyst for NPR.” But he wasn’t unemployed long; Fox gave him a $2 million contract.
It’s a given that “Muslim garb” types, male or female, go through extra security. But my 23 and 24-year-old daughters, clad in jeans, were both pulled aside for checks before separate flights from the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., airport. Everyone picked for these “random” checks was brown or black.
Reports of men hauled off planes because their fellow passengers felt threatened are now common. Muslims are religiously mandated to pray five times a day; prayer on time earns you brownie points.
During travel, prayers are shortened to three times a day, and you can pray in your seat. But I wouldn’t dream of doing so on a flight, for fear of landing in jail.
Six imams sued after they were arrested in 2006 for praying in a public area. Although the flying imams won, and the judge in the case offered a scathing judgment of how the 15 security employees managed the situation, Muslim-Americans have taken heed.
My style now is cramped in all dimensions: spiritual, aesthetic, and intellectual. My hair products can travel only in itsy-bitsy bottles. I cannot read Arabic or Urdu script on a flight.
Nor can I read The Clash of Fundamentalisms, a book by Tariq Ali, because its cover features an image of George W. Bush in a turban and beard and Osama bin Laden in a suit.
My brownness, my accent, my books, plus vigilante passengers — voila! The case is made and I might land in the arms of FBI agents.
Yet the issue is not just the profiling of Muslim passengers. Maligning Muslims everywhere is the new chic. When Mr. Williams tried to make it acceptable in national discourse, Republicans Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee were up in arms about the clipping of his free speech.
During the heated election campaign, national Tea Party leader Judson Phillips said Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) should be defeated as “the only Muslim member of Congress.” A Jewish or Mormon member of Congress could not be attacked with such impunity.
Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., summarized freedom of speech wonderfully: “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”
A black friend tried to be empathetic: “Sorry, but thank you for being the bad guys everyone loves to bash and laugh at now.”
Our nation must stay true to the vision of our Founding Fathers. We must protect our values and practice our principles. Maligning 7 million people — repeatedly — for the crimes of a handful endangers us even more.
What is classified as protected speech under the First Amendment? What conversation will shatter the already thin ice of our national calm? That is a debate we must have quickly and constructively.
We should not tolerate people who indulge in polarizing, maligning, and endangering speech and then offer excuses of various hues. The power of broadcast communication is beyond encapsulation, and the damage it can do is similarly exponential.
My co-religionists have damaged us the most. Depending on the viewer’s lens, we are perpetrators or victims. I’ve squashed my style and changed my ways, and I live in fearful anticipation.
And I see how the O’Reillys and Williamses promise to polarize America further.
Mahjabeen Islam is a family physician and addictionist.mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com
http://toledoblade.com/article/20101102/OPINION04/101109974
Maligning Muslims: The new chic
By MAHJABEEN ISLAM
Flying while Muslim used to be a personal ordeal. But when Juan Williams, the former National Public Radio analyst, talked about the “Muslim dilemma” with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News, he thrust it to national attention — and added insult to injury.
Mr. Williams confessed to feeling nervous when he saw people in “Muslim garb” boarding planes. After he made those remarks, NPR fired him, saying his views “were inconsistent with NPR’s editorial standards and ... undermined his credibility as an analyst for NPR.” But he wasn’t unemployed long; Fox gave him a $2 million contract.
It’s a given that “Muslim garb” types, male or female, go through extra security. But my 23 and 24-year-old daughters, clad in jeans, were both pulled aside for checks before separate flights from the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., airport. Everyone picked for these “random” checks was brown or black.
Reports of men hauled off planes because their fellow passengers felt threatened are now common. Muslims are religiously mandated to pray five times a day; prayer on time earns you brownie points.
During travel, prayers are shortened to three times a day, and you can pray in your seat. But I wouldn’t dream of doing so on a flight, for fear of landing in jail.
Six imams sued after they were arrested in 2006 for praying in a public area. Although the flying imams won, and the judge in the case offered a scathing judgment of how the 15 security employees managed the situation, Muslim-Americans have taken heed.
My style now is cramped in all dimensions: spiritual, aesthetic, and intellectual. My hair products can travel only in itsy-bitsy bottles. I cannot read Arabic or Urdu script on a flight.
Nor can I read The Clash of Fundamentalisms, a book by Tariq Ali, because its cover features an image of George W. Bush in a turban and beard and Osama bin Laden in a suit.
My brownness, my accent, my books, plus vigilante passengers — voila! The case is made and I might land in the arms of FBI agents.
Yet the issue is not just the profiling of Muslim passengers. Maligning Muslims everywhere is the new chic. When Mr. Williams tried to make it acceptable in national discourse, Republicans Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee were up in arms about the clipping of his free speech.
During the heated election campaign, national Tea Party leader Judson Phillips said Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) should be defeated as “the only Muslim member of Congress.” A Jewish or Mormon member of Congress could not be attacked with such impunity.
Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., summarized freedom of speech wonderfully: “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”
A black friend tried to be empathetic: “Sorry, but thank you for being the bad guys everyone loves to bash and laugh at now.”
Our nation must stay true to the vision of our Founding Fathers. We must protect our values and practice our principles. Maligning 7 million people — repeatedly — for the crimes of a handful endangers us even more.
What is classified as protected speech under the First Amendment? What conversation will shatter the already thin ice of our national calm? That is a debate we must have quickly and constructively.
We should not tolerate people who indulge in polarizing, maligning, and endangering speech and then offer excuses of various hues. The power of broadcast communication is beyond encapsulation, and the damage it can do is similarly exponential.
My co-religionists have damaged us the most. Depending on the viewer’s lens, we are perpetrators or victims. I’ve squashed my style and changed my ways, and I live in fearful anticipation.
And I see how the O’Reillys and Williamses promise to polarize America further.
Mahjabeen Islam is a family physician and addictionist.mahjabeen.islam@gmail.com
http://toledoblade.com/article/20101102/OPINION04/101109974
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