Nahraf
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America?s Schizophrenic Muslim Policy - Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam
Americas Schizophrenic Muslim Policy - Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam
By Amra Tareen send a private message
San Francisco : CA : USA | Aug 05, 2010
A year ago this past June, President Obama gave a speech in Cairo signaling Americas intent to improve relations with the Muslim world. The effort is a major goal for the Obama administration, and the President has dedicated himself to winning the hearts and minds of Muslims across the globe. Dr. Akbar Ahmed, a renowned Islamic Scholar, in his latest book Journey into America clearly outlines that its not the heart and minds of the global Muslim world Obama needs to win, but the hearts and minds of American Muslims.
Homegrown terrorism is the most worrisome phenomena in the United States today, he writes. And thats true; recent events have demonstrated the most pervasive and serious threats to the country are coming from within, rather than outside of our borders. America and the American leadership must first demonstrate to the rest of the world the respect America holds for its Muslims and the high regard in which it holds Islam. Being successful in these endeavors at home will change the perception Muslims have of us around the world.
Maybe Muslims have to do a bit of PR for themselves as well. For instance, it may not be well known to American non-Muslims that Muslims all over the world aspire to Americas founding vision of justice, freedom, compassion and equality for all. This is what America represents to American Muslims and the Muslim world! However, since 9/11 American Muslims have found themselves more and more besieged by anti-Islamic sentiment. So much so that by December, 2009 Muslim frustration had driven the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to plead with President Obama to address the alarming level of Anti-Islam hate.
In his book Dr. Akbar Ahmed shares some of the frustrating and at times, terrifying experiences American Muslims from all walks of life have experienced since 9/11. Every cultural sub-set is represented, too; from Arab Americans to Pakistani Americans, Somalian Americans, Iranian Americans, Shia, Sunnis and Salafis, all of whom are experiencing a hostile environment in America. The stories range from desecration of Mosques, to taunts from strangers of terrorist go home and All Muslims are terrorists, to the pulling of Hijab garments from the heads of Muslim women, and rampant racial profiling at airports and interrogation by police as terror suspects. The fear is so real that many Muslims are convinced that in the event of another major attack within United States resulting in fatalities, Americans will round them up and send them to internment camps similar to those Japanese-Americans endured during World War Two. Some Muslims interviewed for the book even live in fear of being lynched.
People may argue that this is rite of passage for American Muslims; that they must prove themselves patriots until they are fully integrated into the American society. This is similar to what happened to blacks, Catholics, Jews, Japanese and Italians throughout American historythey all had to prove some perceived worthiness to overcome prejudice and be fully integrated into the American identity.
But not everyone is up to that challenge. As we all know, animal behavior (and people are not exempt from this rule of nature) dictates a fight or flight response to threats. American Muslims, faced with the stress of the past ten years are experiencing this now. Those who have decided to fight become disenchanted, home grown terrorists like Army Major Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter. Or they become isolated and stop even trying to be integrated into American society. Dr. Akbar Ahmed describes these people as literalists and gives in his book the example of Darul-Uloom Al Madania School, a school for Muslim religious leaders. When Dr Akbar Ahmed asked the school staff how its students cope with the outside world, one teacher replied curtly We teach them religion only. Improving relations between Muslims and other Americans is really not our line of work. Dr. Akbar Ahmeds message implores both American Muslims and the American government to work together to solve this problem.
Dr. Akbar Ahmed points out that America is at crossroads. Will it continue down the path it has taken since 9/11 or alter its course? Will it be able to resolve its internal contradictions and tensions? Americans embrace both the principles of Darwin and Jesus, and both heavily influence the countrys course. Darwins notion of survival of the fittest and Jesus teaching of compassion and equality forces Americans to oscillate between two perpetual primary emotions, fear and anger. Americans remain fearful of potential threats to their security and blame Muslims directly or indirectly for much of their anxiety. They are not sure how to proceed with Muslims and the Muslim world, which is why Americans appear to be giving generously with one hand and slapping with the other.
America must show the Muslim world its true heart by demonstrating how it treats American Muslims with justice, respect, commitment and with the vision of its founding fathers. America can regain Muslim Americas trust by resisting the urge to suspend human rights (the U.S. reputation has been tarnished by its treatment of prisoners), compromising the civil liberties of Muslims with laws like the Patriot Act, and by showing that America stands for higher humanist ideals: justice, freedom, civil liberties and basic human rights. With the right messaging Americas leaders and the media can quickly spread this message and stump the cultivation of homegrown terrorists.
As an American Muslim woman, I found Akbars book enlightening and a wonderful explanation of the contradictions in American behavior. I personally have the same contradictions: compassion as well as no tolerance when it comes to being taken advantage of in business and life. Treating every human of every race or religion justly and equally is very important to me.
I have witnessed the American spirit in action; I love Americas optimismthe can do attitude, persistence and the ability to think you can change the world. Unfortunately, I mourn our inability to take care of the homeless, the needy, and our inability to solve our educational crisis. And I cringe at our policies toward the Muslim world. We should start anew, and pull all our troops out of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Somalia.
Americas Schizophrenic Muslim Policy - Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam
By Amra Tareen send a private message
San Francisco : CA : USA | Aug 05, 2010
A year ago this past June, President Obama gave a speech in Cairo signaling Americas intent to improve relations with the Muslim world. The effort is a major goal for the Obama administration, and the President has dedicated himself to winning the hearts and minds of Muslims across the globe. Dr. Akbar Ahmed, a renowned Islamic Scholar, in his latest book Journey into America clearly outlines that its not the heart and minds of the global Muslim world Obama needs to win, but the hearts and minds of American Muslims.
Homegrown terrorism is the most worrisome phenomena in the United States today, he writes. And thats true; recent events have demonstrated the most pervasive and serious threats to the country are coming from within, rather than outside of our borders. America and the American leadership must first demonstrate to the rest of the world the respect America holds for its Muslims and the high regard in which it holds Islam. Being successful in these endeavors at home will change the perception Muslims have of us around the world.
Maybe Muslims have to do a bit of PR for themselves as well. For instance, it may not be well known to American non-Muslims that Muslims all over the world aspire to Americas founding vision of justice, freedom, compassion and equality for all. This is what America represents to American Muslims and the Muslim world! However, since 9/11 American Muslims have found themselves more and more besieged by anti-Islamic sentiment. So much so that by December, 2009 Muslim frustration had driven the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to plead with President Obama to address the alarming level of Anti-Islam hate.
In his book Dr. Akbar Ahmed shares some of the frustrating and at times, terrifying experiences American Muslims from all walks of life have experienced since 9/11. Every cultural sub-set is represented, too; from Arab Americans to Pakistani Americans, Somalian Americans, Iranian Americans, Shia, Sunnis and Salafis, all of whom are experiencing a hostile environment in America. The stories range from desecration of Mosques, to taunts from strangers of terrorist go home and All Muslims are terrorists, to the pulling of Hijab garments from the heads of Muslim women, and rampant racial profiling at airports and interrogation by police as terror suspects. The fear is so real that many Muslims are convinced that in the event of another major attack within United States resulting in fatalities, Americans will round them up and send them to internment camps similar to those Japanese-Americans endured during World War Two. Some Muslims interviewed for the book even live in fear of being lynched.
People may argue that this is rite of passage for American Muslims; that they must prove themselves patriots until they are fully integrated into the American society. This is similar to what happened to blacks, Catholics, Jews, Japanese and Italians throughout American historythey all had to prove some perceived worthiness to overcome prejudice and be fully integrated into the American identity.
But not everyone is up to that challenge. As we all know, animal behavior (and people are not exempt from this rule of nature) dictates a fight or flight response to threats. American Muslims, faced with the stress of the past ten years are experiencing this now. Those who have decided to fight become disenchanted, home grown terrorists like Army Major Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter. Or they become isolated and stop even trying to be integrated into American society. Dr. Akbar Ahmed describes these people as literalists and gives in his book the example of Darul-Uloom Al Madania School, a school for Muslim religious leaders. When Dr Akbar Ahmed asked the school staff how its students cope with the outside world, one teacher replied curtly We teach them religion only. Improving relations between Muslims and other Americans is really not our line of work. Dr. Akbar Ahmeds message implores both American Muslims and the American government to work together to solve this problem.
Dr. Akbar Ahmed points out that America is at crossroads. Will it continue down the path it has taken since 9/11 or alter its course? Will it be able to resolve its internal contradictions and tensions? Americans embrace both the principles of Darwin and Jesus, and both heavily influence the countrys course. Darwins notion of survival of the fittest and Jesus teaching of compassion and equality forces Americans to oscillate between two perpetual primary emotions, fear and anger. Americans remain fearful of potential threats to their security and blame Muslims directly or indirectly for much of their anxiety. They are not sure how to proceed with Muslims and the Muslim world, which is why Americans appear to be giving generously with one hand and slapping with the other.
America must show the Muslim world its true heart by demonstrating how it treats American Muslims with justice, respect, commitment and with the vision of its founding fathers. America can regain Muslim Americas trust by resisting the urge to suspend human rights (the U.S. reputation has been tarnished by its treatment of prisoners), compromising the civil liberties of Muslims with laws like the Patriot Act, and by showing that America stands for higher humanist ideals: justice, freedom, civil liberties and basic human rights. With the right messaging Americas leaders and the media can quickly spread this message and stump the cultivation of homegrown terrorists.
As an American Muslim woman, I found Akbars book enlightening and a wonderful explanation of the contradictions in American behavior. I personally have the same contradictions: compassion as well as no tolerance when it comes to being taken advantage of in business and life. Treating every human of every race or religion justly and equally is very important to me.
I have witnessed the American spirit in action; I love Americas optimismthe can do attitude, persistence and the ability to think you can change the world. Unfortunately, I mourn our inability to take care of the homeless, the needy, and our inability to solve our educational crisis. And I cringe at our policies toward the Muslim world. We should start anew, and pull all our troops out of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Somalia.
