Toronto
Star
December 8, 2003
We must speak out
against hatred and those who preach it
The recent
raids in Britain that resulted in the arrests of nine men of
Pakistani heritage and the subsequent raid at the home of a
Canadian in Ottawa, are cause for grave concern. Concern not
just about the credibility of the RCMP (after their bungling
over the arrest of 19 Pakistanis where no terrorism charges were
proven), but concern about the future of Muslims in Canada.
As
a Muslim Canadian, my work within and outside my community has
suddenly become an enormous challenge.
Wednesday
I was invited to address a church group in Etobicoke as part of
my inter-faith outreach. The topic, naturally, was Islam. The
audience was familiar with the basics of Islam. They were more
interested in knowing how I, as a Canadian Muslim, experience
religion in my life and how Islam relates to other faiths.
I
spoke about the Islam that I love and respect — the Islam that
I learned and practiced in Pakistan and now in Canada; the Islam
of the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad that instilled respect for
all humanity; that is a moral and ethical code and, above all,
values justice. I also talked about my children who are caring,
believing Canadian Muslims.
Afterwards,
people asked me about diversity within Islam. I said there are
various paths that lead to God — the same God of the Jews and
Christians whom we call Allah.
One
person asked me how difficult it is to practice Islam in Canada.
I told her that as a Muslim woman I can practice my faith more
easily in Canada than I can in many Muslim countries where
extremism and a warped ideology have taken over the norms of
respect and tolerance. I pointed out that I'm a Sunni married to
a Shia and noted that my kids are fondly called
"Sushis."
At
the end of my presentation, a perturbed looking woman, a
teacher, asked to speak to me privately. She explained that she
has many Muslim students so she decided to learn about Islam by
attending classes at a Toronto mosque.
"Everything
they told me at the mosque is at odds with what you are saying
here today ... you talk about similarities between Muslims and
`people of the book'; they said there is no point of reference
for Muslims and non-Muslims. When I asked about the different
sects — because my students are from diverse denominations —
they said that Shias, Ismailis and Ahmedis are not Muslims. You
talk about finding liberation and freedom as a woman within
Islam, but at the mosque the women weren't even allowed to
speak.
"You've
blown my mind. Why isn't a narrative like yours being heard all
over Canada?"
I
replied that my views are those of the silent majority who
unfortunately are just that — silent. But after the spiraling
events of Madrid, Britain and now Ottawa, we can no longer
remain silent.
So,
my concern and my question to the Canadian Muslim community is,
"Why is the narrative of extremism taking precedent over
voices of sanity and sense? How is the culture of extremism
being kept alive in Canada and what are we going to do about
it?"
Let's
step back for a moment. Never in the history of the world as I
know it, has
there been such extensive dissection, dialogue and discussion
about a faith as Islam post-Sept. 11, 2001.
Overnight,
anyone who could say "Muslim" became an expert on
Islam. Muslims were stripped naked by the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Oriana
Fallaci. Some local Muslims
made a name for themselves by pointing out the trouble with
Islam.
In
this atmosphere rampant with distrust and fear, people became
confused. As a Muslim involved in doing "damage
control," it was time to go back to the books and read,
which is the first message of the Qur'an.
In
the immediate aftermath of 9/11, many Muslim scholars and
intellectuals spoke out and we were exposed to books and
writings by leading-edge thinkers such as Khaled Abou el Fadl,
Dr. Abdul Aziz Sachedina and Canadian professor Amir Hussain.
More
importantly for me, women's voices were being heard, such as
Amina Wadud.
It
was prime time for interfaith outreach and the United Church of
Canada took the lead in Muslim-Christian solidarity by working
on a document called That We May Know Each Other. We started to
build bridges of understanding and fellow Canadians realized
that it's not about Islam and the West but Muslims in the West.
These Muslims are under massive pressure since 9/11 and have
faced a severe backlash.
But
other communities have reached out and vice-versa. Recently,
when the Jewish community was victimized, Muslims stood by them
and supported them in their cause. There was hope on the
horizon.
That
hope is dashed every time a Muslim is allowed to indulge in hate
propaganda and polemics. There is a problem when my
university-going son asks why Muslim student associations spout
venom against non-Muslims. There is cause for concern when
anti-American rhetoric becomes the flavour of the month and
justifies a different kind of polemic.
All
this has to stop. But how?
The
Muslim Council of Britain has taken the unprecedented step of
writing to every British mosque, urging people to help in the
fight against terror. A Rand report published last week says
that Americans must give precedent to progressive and moderate
Muslim voices.
In
Canada we have to do the same. But this effort must come from
both sides. Officials dealing with terrorism have to ensure that
they have the evidence and that due judicial processes are
followed. They have to build alliances with Muslims and create
credibility.
At
the same time it's imperative for Muslims to speak out against
human rights violations and take urgent action to see that
terrorism, extremism and anti-Western propaganda are eliminated.
In
Canada, we must take back the mosques to ensure that the voices
of reasonable Muslim men and women are heard over the stringent
calls for a physical jihad.
Our
jihad is to ensure that Canada remains a safe and peaceful
environment for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
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