HANEEF Sahabdeen is a radiation safety officer at the University of Massachusetts. His father and mother had immigrated to United States from Sri Lanka a decade-and-a-half ago. In his parent's lavish house, he told me that although Muslims had greatly suffered from the consequences of the tragic events of 9/11, United States would continue to praise and admire its revolutionary Constitution that enabled people to worship freely without the interference of the State. Although United States is a nation of believers, as recently revealed by a nation-wide survey, the Constitution is clearly separating Church as a symbol of religious authority from the State. Under such circumstances, terms such as religious tolerance and coexistence between different faiths are cheerfully encouraged. However, not all Americans are equally tolerant as far as Islam is concerned. Anne F. Broadbridge is a history professor at the University of Massachusetts with an academic interest in the study of Islam. She told us in a panel discussion on Islam's image in the West after 9/11 she was keen on getting a feedback from her students on what Islam means to them. Islam, as confessed by most of the students, was inherently hostile, culturally exclusive and theologically intolerant. Muslims, therefore, were ‘Jihadists,' barbaric, terrorists and, to some modest measurements, awash of oil money and wealth. These sentiments are not unusual. Years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the perceived image of Islam is reflected in numerous movies in which Muslims are depicted as nasty terrorists who are willing to eliminate the entire Western Civilization. The 70s and 80s image of the evil-intentioned communists who had been pursuing to destroy the democratic and civilized West is now replaced by Bin Landen-minded terrorists who are determined to confront democracy and liberty incarnated by the Western civilization. Even on the level of politics, Islam has been staunchly brought into the heart of the presidential race to the White House. The circulation of a picture of Barrack Obama, the democratic nominee for presidential elections, wearing Muslim clothes during his visit to Kenya in 2006 has caused a stir that ultimately drove Obama's camp to assert that he was born Christian and has been so ever since. In another incident, Obama declined to appear in a photo with two Muslim women wearing the headscarf. The message of both Obama's opponents was unmistakable: to tarnish his image by associating him to Islam. Unlike other religious streams such as Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and the like, Islam is widely seen as a threat to the democratic and liberal values of the West. Islamophobia, a term that is heavily used after the attacks on New York and Washington, is increasingly rising, particularly after the Muslims' reactions to the publications of the offensive cartoons by a Danish newspaper and the French controversial law which banned the wearing of the headscarf in universities and government agencies. However, the question is: for how long this is going to continue? It is unquestionably true that the image of Islam and Muslims has been badly tainted. This is not because Islam is inherently violent or intolerant but mainly because it is always associated with the deeds of its followers who, out of ignorance or other personal or political purposes, may conduct unjustifiably wrong mistakes. However and throughout the history, innocent people have been slaughtered in irrationally long wars and struggles with no gesture to the religious ideology of the warlords under which these wars were directed. No one is raising a question on the theological background of notorious dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Stalin who, throughout a short history, had brutally caused the death of millions of people. Historically speaking, major world's religions have coexisted in the heart of the Islamic world. In Andalusia as well as in Baghdad and Damascus, schools of thought and philosophy had flourished. This is reflected in the rich heritage of Muslims, Jews and Christians whose contributions are still republished with admiration to an era of open and sweeping flaws of ideas. In today's terms, this could not take place without a deep religious tolerance, whereas Europe, at that time, was under the thumb of stifling theological dictatorship. The Islamic presence in America is not as influential as the Jewish, particularly on the political front. The Jewish vote, for example, is eagerly sought in the American politics. America has not witnessed an influx of Muslim emigrants, nor has it, in a historical sense, been a geographical place for acculturation between the Islamic civilization and that of the West. Regardless of the fact that Muslims have not become a determining force in the American politics, a new age of moderate Muslims is emerging. Keith Ellison, a United States congressman, has become the first Muslim American to be elected in the Congress. During his oath reenactment, he expressed his intent to swear using a copy of the Holy Qur'an, a decision that angered right wing Conservatives who have increasingly become intolerant of Islam as a faith in a country that, as its founding fathers had declared in the constitution two centuries ago, stresses a strict separation between church and state. It is undeniably true that on both camps there are numerous agents of intolerance who do not want people of different faiths to live in peace. Thankfully, those rare and lone voices are the exception. – Abdullah A. Al-Asmary hyperlink “mailto:[email protected]” __
