Muslim of Faith looks at War and Peace *

by Dr. Abdul Cader Asmal

Posted May 5, 2007      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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MUSLIM OF FAITH LOOKS AT WAR AND PEACE *

by Dr. Abdul Cader Asmal
(from a speech given at President Bush’s alma mater, Phillips Academy, Boston)

I would like to emphasize that I am no expert on Islam, but just a concerned parent, initially driven to take up a stand against the high level of misunderstanding about my religion, a misunderstanding that threatened to undercut all the values I was trying to instill into my children.

If I outline for you a picture of the basic beliefs of Islam it will almost certainly be totally different from the one etched in your mind from historic misconceptions, recent misrepresentations and disturbing current misinformation.  Historically, Islam has been described as ‘Mohammedanism” so as to relegate it to some alien cult, distinct from Abrahamic faith; its spread has been attributed to the sword despite the Qur’anic injunction that there can be no compulsion in religion; the status of women has been exploited as inferior, a position incompatible with the complementary role assigned to the sexes; and it has been described as anti-progress and atavistic, a view that wishes to deny the Islamic contribution to Judaeo-Christian civilization.

With respect to the recent misrepresentations of Islam, codewords such as terrorists, fanatics, and fundamentalists have, at least in the eyes of the media, become the virtual prerogatives of Muslims. Regardless if he is indulging in thievery, thuggery, religious zealotry or nationalistic politics he can rest assured that his efforts will be rewarded by the adjective “Muslim’! As a case in point, many of you may recall three separate acts of terrorism which took place in a single week last July. In that single week the world was shaken by: 1) an attempted coup in Trinidad, 2) a car bomb murder of a British politician in London, and 3) the massacre of 200 women and children inside a church in Liberia. One act was labeled as caused by ‘Muslim rebels’ whereas those by other religious groups were not identified through their respective religious affiliations.

Misrepresentation can be excused as a reflection of media insensitivity; the same cannot be said about disinformation. Disinformation is a more subtle and iniquitous process that depends on the use of half-truths, innuendoes and sophistry, and it is more lethal because it is directed to the intellect rather than to the emotions. Thus, as an example, when a distinguished Orientalist delivers a lecture on Islam, which the Associated Press immediately labels as “Why Muslims Hate America”, this gesture offers a far greater legitimacy to anti-Islamic propaganda than any of the shrill cries of the media.
Similarly, when the same academician responds to his critics in the ATLANTIC magazine, which parenthetically fails to publish our rebuttal, by now declaring ‘Why Americans Hate Muslims’, it becomes painfully clear to us that those who call the shots can perpetuate both sides of the same myth, i.e. Why Muslims Hate America and Why Americans Hate Muslims!
Even as recently as last month, the Boston Globe published an analytical article entitled “Despots and Democracy”. The crucial question the author raised was “Is it in America’s interest to have an anti- Western political movement gain power by political means?” His response was “I don’t think we really know how to deal with that question”.

When faced with an imponderable dilemma what easier way to find a solution than by reaching into one’s hat and bringing out the Islamic Bogeyman? The author’s initial observation is true and I quote, “Fundamentalism flourishes in grounds of frustration and despair”. Reactions other than “fundamentalism” are provoked by frustration and despair, a clear testimony to which is the course of history charted by our founding fathers. Granted that Fundamentalists may have an agenda that extends beyond the eradication of the roots of frustration and despair, the allegation that they literally “seek to turn back the clock” displays a naivete that cannot be reconciled with the immediately juxtaposed sentence, “Islam and Modernity are opposing forces. Which means that Islam and the West are opposing forces.” This is not only disinformation but bigotry of the worst kind.

With this background it is not difficult to appreciate why Muslims felt that we had been placed in such an inimical position during the recent crisis and war. We were frustrated in finding ourselves in a highly defensive posture. We were expected to explain the “Islamic rationale” for some quirks of a Muslim member of the coalition whose actions might indeed have been at total variance with Islam. Our silence under such circumstances would perpetuate the misrepresentation of Islam. And yet our attempt to clarify Islamic principles might promote the impression that we were defending an action that was merely serving its regime in the name of Islam.

It was indeed ironic that Muslims had to go to great lengths to explain that a Jihad could only be undertaken by Muslims when their right of free religious expression was suppressed, yet in fact it had been the American Muslims who from the very onset of the conflict had argued for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. You cannot at the same time be for peace and Jihad. However, for American Muslims the irony showed up in more ways than one. Notwithstanding that at least five Muslim countries made up the coalition, all had been involved in active combat and that two had pledged to underwrite 50% of the cost of the war, the Muslim contribution was scarcely projected in a positive light in the media.
Mercifully, the war has ended. With the tremendous relief comes a deep sense of sadness. A sadness for all those families who have lost loved ones. But as tragic as their losses are, their tragedy would pale into insignificance if we failed to capture the moment to strive for lasting peace, not only in the Middle East but globally.

I would like to ask you to reflect on three ideas:
Firstly, as long as there is ignorance, lack of communication and disinformation, there will be distrust on the one hand and prejudice on the other. We have to break down these barriers and promote better understanding, mutual respect, and tolerance. Without this, peace will be a pipe dream.
Secondly, as long as there is social inequity, injustice, and exploitation, the roots of conflict will not be eradicated, and we will never be able to attain true peace. These are highly complex issues that we may not be able to solve today, but which we cannot ignore tomorrow. Finally, as long as one half of the world lives in poverty, famine and disease, and 40,000 children under the age of 5 die every day in the Third World countries, we may exist in a state of non-war, but we can never be at peace - at peace with ourselves, with our fellow beings, our environment and our Maker.

Originally published in the July/August 1991 print edition of

The American Muslim

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