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The 9/11 tragedy and bigotry against Islam
By Mufti A. Hassan
Today is the third anniversary of the 9/11, the tragedy and the loss of innocent people, including Muslims, which was overwhelmingly condemned by all the peace living people around the world. The Muslim leaders, as always, condemned the act of terrorism and described the perpetrators of these crimes as enemies of Islam. The condemnation was spontaneous, unanimous and sincere and no one appeared to be trying to use this tragedy for political gains.
Scholars, both Muslims and non-Muslims took it was a wake up call and tried to put their thoughts together to find ways and means to combat this growing wave of violence. Almost every Muslim leader and Muslim organization expressed its deepest concern over these criminal acts perpetrated in the name of Islam.
They were actively trying to distance the Muslims as a whole from what they described as the cult of terrorism. The philosophy of peaceful coexistence practiced by the Muslims throughout history was highlighted to contradict and condemn those who used religion to achieve their own ends and distort the peaceful image of Islam.
There are people in every religion and every part of the world who make religious hatred and ideological controversies as their profession. America is no exception.
Incidentally, at a time, when an all out effort to contain religious hatred were launched by Muslim organizations and Muslim intellectuals and wave of Islamic moderation was about to gain momentum, a group of neocons and some misguided ideologues came forward and soured the whole atmosphere.
Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin tried to provoke an ideological war between Islam and Christianity last year. When describing his battle with a Somali Muslim warlord, General Boykin (in military uniform) said to a group of Evangelical Christians, "I knew that my God was bigger than his God. I knew that my god was a real God and his was an idol." Boykin has also made several statements indicating that America's enemy was "a spiritual enemy...called Satan," and that "radical Muslims" hate the United States, "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and roots are Judeo-Christian and the enemy is a guy named Satan." He described a dark section of a photograph of the Somali capital as the "evil" that is the real enemy. "It is not Osama bin Laden, it is the principalities of darkness. It is a spiritual enemy that will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus and pray for this nation and for our leaders."
Amid persistent attacks by US religious and political leaders as well as media against Islam and Muslims, in March this year, the Rand Corporation in its report - Civil Democratic Islam: partners, resources and strategies, - called for changing the basic structure of Islam. It regarded Islamic principles as appropriate for the 7th century society and not valid today. The report held Islam responsible for the underdevelopment of the Muslims. Cheryl Benard, the author of the report, questioned the authenticity of the Qu’ran itself. According to her, the Quran is a legend and some verses (suras) may have been falsely or inaccurately recorded in the Quran. “The daunting and complex task of religion-building (or revamping Islam) will include the necessity to depart from, modify, and selectively ignore elements of the original religious doctrine of Islam”, Benard suggested.
Then came the attack on Iraq for which a real justification has yet to be found. All this and similar acts of bigotry brought an abrupt end to a strong and powerful positive movement which was aimed at eliminating religious hatred and promoting peaceful co-existence. Most Muslim scholars and intellectuals distanced themselves for the acts of politicizing the 9/11 tragedy. They chose to maintain an unfortunate and deep silence.
Sept. 11, 2004
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