Islam and the Sins of Muslims
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Published Thursday November 15, 2001
By Hesham Hassaballa
Since the September 11 attacks, Muslims
the world over have joined in an almost unanimous condemnation of terrorism. They
decry such acts in the name of Islam as a gross perversion of a peaceful
religion. This is absolutely true. However, there are some who have gone on
record saying that the notion of Islam as a religion of peace is an apalling falsehood.
Samuel P. Huntington in his book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order, wrote: "Some Westerners,
including President Bill Clinton, have argued that the West does not
have problems with Islam but only with violent Islamist extremists. Fourteen hundred
years of history demonstrate otherwise." Statements such as these
demonstrate not only a profound ignorance of Islam, but a fallacious logic;
that the sins of Muslims define what Islam is.
For example, columnist Rod Dreher wrote in the National
Review, "Anyway, if one grants, for the sake of argument...that the
Koran doesn't endorse honor killings [of women], so what? Clearly very many
Muslims believe honor killings are Islamic doctrine, and act on those
beliefs..." Therefore Islam endorses the murder of women? Hogwash. The Koran condemned the practice of female
infanticide in no uncertain terms: "When
the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned for what crime she
was killed." (81:8-9) Furthermore, the Koran doles out the severest
of punishments for murder (25:68-69). He went on further to say, "Queen Rania [of Jordan]'s dismissal of Muslim behavior that
brings discredit upon Islam as un-Islamic brings to mind the bankrupt apologies leftists made during
the Cold War for Communism." Thus, Islam is what Muslims do. How
illogical. The Ku Klux Klan claims to be devoutly Christian. Can I then claim
that Christianity is a racist religion? Of course not.
Later on in his commentary, Mr. Dreher listed numerous examples where Muslims
had killed non-Muslims all over the world such as in Sudan, Philippines, Egypt, Nigeria, Palestine. He then goes on to say, "it is
unarguable that very many Muslims and their leaders despise non-Muslims, attack
us rhetorically in religious terms, and wish to see us die for our infidelity
to Allah." This is because, he implies, Islam teaches so. Never mind that,
in many of the same conflicts he mentioned, Christians
also had killed Muslims. Never mind that, to this day, the keys
of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is in Muslim hands. Never mind that,
under the Constitution of Medina, Jews were given full rights, protections, and
religious freedoms as citizens by the Prophet Muhammad. My saying that the sins of Muslims do
not reflect true Islam is akin to apologizing for the sins of Communism. Again, fallacious thinking.
"Handsome is as handsome did it..." said Claggart in Herman Melville's Billy
Budd. Those who try to define Islam by the
actions of some Muslims try to apply this same logic. Islam is, has been, and
always will be innocent of the sins committed in its name. Every religion has
its violent extremists. However, only Islam gets defined by those extremists.
Why? Is it because these extremists are so loud? Perhaps.
Or, is it that the peaceful majority of Muslims are not so newsworthy. For
example, all Americans, including Muslims, were shocked at the footage of
Palestinians celebrating the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. This footage was shown
time and time again on CNN and other news broadcasts. However, the footage of
Palestinian children lighting candles in Jerusalem for the victims of the attacks
was barely shown to the American people. Few, if
any, American newspapers reported of the 12 inch-high stack
of condolences from Palestinians faxed to the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem. This unbalanced coverage helps to further the
stereotypical image of Islam as hateful and intolerant. It is wrong and does
all Americans a grave disservice.
On September 13, Jerry Falwell appeared on Pat Robertson's "700 Club" and seemed to
suggest that America deserved what happened to it. He also
said, "I really believe that the Pagans, and the abortionists, and the
feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that
an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way--all of them
who have tried to secularize America--I point the finger in their face and say,
'You helped this happen.'" He later apologized for his remarks. Yet, no
one claimed that Christianity stands for what Mr. Falwell said. No one used Mr. Falwell's remarks as proof of Christianity's
intolerance. Similarly, Judaism is never defined by its extremists. It is high
time Islam is accorded this same courtesy.
Hesham
A. Hassaballa is a syndicated columnist with the Independent Writers Syndicate. He
is also a physician and resides in Chicago.
