Talk Islam

Andrea Useem

• 07:55:03 am on May 1, 2008 | # | |
  Tags: Fitna, Islam, religion, Terrorism, war on terror

  Okay, not sure if all will like it, but here’s what I have to say about “Fitna:”

  http://tinyurl.com/4vtnyo

   

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Comments

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  Willow 8:59 am on May 1, 2008 | #

  Thanks for this, Andrea–I thought it was thoughtful and well-reasoned.

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  aziz 12:09 pm on May 1, 2008 | #

  Well done, indeed! Overall you’ve solidly critiqued Fitna on the merits. It’s basically terrorism porn for the diehard Jihadwatchers.

  However I think I do quibble on some of the minor points. For example,

  “I think what non-Muslims want most of all is to see Muslims chanting in the street to protest radical Islamic ideology–and of course no self-respecting Muslim would do that in response to demands from the likes of Wilders.”

  I don’t think that such an action would be necessary nor obligatory from muslims even in teh absence of Wilders and his ilk. Chanting in protest in the street is good theatrics but still at some level implies that ordinary muslims are in some sense relevant and linked in some indefinable way to the specific form of terrorism that Wilders glorifies. The fact that the vast majority of muslims simply live quiet lives as good neighbors and citizens goes unremarked - but that in itself is a far more powerful expression of rejection of the jihadists’ creed. We, as muslims, have no reason to actively protest (or, in more familiar vernacular, “reject and denounce”) something as alien to us as it is to other citizens who are non-muslims.

  And even suppose we were to do so, a million-strong marching in the streets of new york and london and Baghdad against the terror masters. Would it even make an iota of tangible difference in reducing terrorism or convincing one hardened evil heart to put aside their jihad? In fact Shahed had written an essay at altmuslim about the very topic, entitled “what would marches against extremism achieve?” :

  http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/2631/

  The other point I took some issue with was whether Wilders deserves engagement at all:

  “It is easy to make this comparison and argue that Wilders is an extremist in his own right. But any use of that word must be balanced: Muslim terrorists and Western Islamophobes are not mirror images of each other. For all the ugliness of his views, Wilders has not been violent or called for violence, and that is a key distinction.”

  I don’t think it’s as key a distinction as we think. What Wilders is doing is fostering an atmosphere of vilification and phobia against all muslims, and against Islam as a faith overall. In Europe, we have seen this before, and where it leads. What Wilders does is capitalize on the worst instincts of men, and damages his society in a way that a violent terrorist attack never can (in fact, with the latter, the response is more unity, not less). Wilders’ threat is not violent, but that makes it no less dangerous to society and civilization. Violence is not the sole criterion by which evil is judged.

  (as an aside, Andrea - I replaced the tiny.cc url with a tinyurl from tinyurl.com. That way it’s a direct link to your blog rather than an intermediate ad-filled splash page. I highly recommend the tinyurl extension for Firefox )

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  Willow 12:28 pm on May 1, 2008 | #

  I agree with Aziz…I was looking for a way to put words to it but he did it much better than I could. I’m not entirely sure protests have much meaning. The protests against the Iraq war were some of the biggest in American history and our ‘free and fair’ media barely covered them.

  Plus, we have to remember that most Muslims don’t enjoy the right of free assembly at all. We can’t expect people living under autocrats to behave as though they don’t.

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  Andrea Useem 8:03 am on May 2, 2008 | #

  Thanks to you both, very thoughtful, and in many ways I completely agree. What I intended to express what simply what non-Muslims WANT to see. And, for the record, I am more furious at Osama bin Laden than Geert Wilders….

  Thanks for the tiny URL advice… i need to check that out. BTW, Willow, you might be interested in my review of “War on Error” at religionwriter.com

  http://tinyurl.com/4a9q8n

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  Willow 11:42 am on May 2, 2008 | #

  Thanks for the link Andrea, it was interesting reading. I think many of the observations both you and Umar make are probably true, but I can’t help noticing that the ‘traditionalist’ (I’m not sure that’s an accurate description but we’ll go with it) critique of books like Melody’s adhere to as many problematic tropes as the books themselves. Foremost, the idea that a Real Practicing Muslim cannot possibly pass as “normal” in western societies, which is, forgive me, total nonsense. I think the elephant in the room is the fact that the hardline and to some extent the traditionalist Muslim communities in the West are composed of people who view themselves first and foremost as outcasts–either of the societies they left to come to the West or the American societies in which they grew up. So the meme that “not fitting in is good” is intensely cultivated to justify the fact that a lot of these people have plain old social dysfunctions completely unrelated to religion. You can see it in the basic lack of adab, sensitivity and social grace that is endemic to their public forums.

  I pray, fast, give zakat, observe modest dress, keep the khulwah (ie avoid being alone in private with men who are not my mahrams), refrain from pork and alcohol, and never speak ill of the prophets. And aside from the occasional moment of unease that passes through my guests at dinner parties when I announce there won’t be any wine, I’ve never felt or been made to feel like I can’t be both a ‘normal’ American and a practicing Muslim. Not all Americans go clubbing all night and wake up covered in vomit on the bathroom floor–you don’t have to engage in this kind of thing to be considered normal.

  This doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of nasty prejudice and discrimination (and worse) facing Muslims in the west, particularly Muslim men. Being married to an Arab man I’ve been shocked by how bad it is. But I don’t think cultivating ghettoization and outcast-status is the answer.

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  Willow 11:43 am on May 2, 2008 | #

  = gets the award for longest and most rambling comment ever.

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