CNN has posted this op-ed piece on ‘flying while Muslim’ by Nafees A. Syed, currently an editor at the Harvard Crimson and at the Harvard-MIT journal on Islam and society, Ascent. She is also chairwoman of the Harvard Institute of Politics Policy Group on Racial Profiling. The article is mostly addressed to a non-Muslim audience, but she does speak to Muslims at one part:
And Muslims, here’s something to think about: If your knowledge of Islam came from common stereotypes, wouldn’t you also be misinformed about the faith and its followers? The Quran says, “[God has] made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another (49:13).” So get to know your fellow Americans.
There are some Americans who think Muslims are terrorists and some Muslims who think that other Americans are willfully ignorant. Neither group deserves such a label. Psychologist Henri Tajfel, who was a Holocaust survivor, explained how we isolate ourselves into an “in-group” and facilitate discrimination of an “out-group.”
It probably wouldn’t have been appropriate for a CNN article, but I would have liked to hear her reconcile this advice with the concept of al-wala’ wa al-bara’ (doctrine of loyalty and disassociation). I know we’ve discussed this before, but here’s a refresher on the concept from this source:
Abd al Wahhab argued that it was imperative for Muslims not to befriend, ally themselves with, or imitate non-Muslims or heretical Muslims. Furthermore, this enmity and hostility of Muslims toward non-Muslims and heretical Muslims had to be visible and unequivocal. For example, it was forbidden for a Muslim to be the first to greet a non-Muslim; and even if a Muslim returned a greeting, a Muslim should never wish a non-Muslim peace. Likewise, Muslims could convey their condolences to non-Muslims, but they should never pray that God have mercy upon them or ask God to forgive their sins. Muslims were only allowed to say “May God guide you to the right path” or “May God compensate you for your loss.”
If a Muslim violated any of these rules, he or she was to be treated as an apostate. The same dire consequences would follow if a Muslim referred to a non-Muslim as “brother” or “sister.”
