by Dr. Ali Shehata
A Special Note on 9/11
Few people will doubt that the world changed for the worse on the fateful morning of September 11, 2001. It should also come as no surprise that Muslims don't feel any different about this statement than non-Muslims do. This brief aside gives me the unique opportunity to pass along their messages to you, as well as providing a platform to discuss a few very important matters related to this grave subject.
Firstly, Muslims worldwide share with non-Muslims a great deal of shock over these despicable and depraved acts. In fact, Muslims in both Muslim countries and the West, are deeply distressed over their religion essentially being hijacked by terrorists. To support this, a 2013 Pew Research Center poll asked Muslims across the globe whether attacks on civilians were justified. World-wide, 72% of Muslims said violence against civilians is “never justified,” and in the US, 81% of Muslims were against such violence. (https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2013/0501/How-US-Muslimsare-different-Pew-poll-sheds-light-on-global-contrasts). Moreover, a 2010 Zogby poll reported that 69% of American Muslims supported stronger laws to fight terrorism. (Zogby, J. (2010, Aug 26). American Muslims Have Mainstream Values. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/2010/08/26/muslims-pollsmosque-opinions-columnists-john-zogby.html#581c10e6648f). Many Muslims reached out to help the victims of 9/11 and the later London bombings through charitable donations, night vigils and even donating their blood at Red Cross centers.( Yeomans, M. (2015, Oct 11). Arlington Muslim Community Donates Blood for 9/11 Victims. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Arlington-Muslim-CommunityDonates-Blood-For-911-Victims-331945041.html)
The Muslims worldwide want non-Muslims to know that they too are struggling with the same evil of terrorism in their own lands and in their own lives. In fact, a 2005 Pew Research study that involved over 17,000 people in 17 countries showed a growing belief among Muslims that Islamic extremism represents a threat to their own countries. (http://www.pewglobal.org/2005/07/14/islamic-extremism-commonconcern-for-muslim-and-western-publics/). Extremists who falsely use this noble religion to support their wicked and criminal acts are unfortunately a very vocal and very well covered (from a media perspective) minority. They have caused death and spread corruption even in various places like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan, Indonesia Morocco and Egypt—making sincere and devout adherents to Islam look suspect even in their own countries.
It is important to remember that over four million Muslims live in the US with nearly three million living in the UK, where it is the second largest religion. The overwhelming majority of these people are peaceful, respectable and decent individuals who contribute to society in all fields, and try their best to make their towns and countries better places to live. The author of this book is himself a physician who has devoted over twelve years of his life to university and postgraduate training in medicine to help give hope and healing to sick patients, most of which are not Muslim.
All of these Muslims want you to know that they are deeply sorry for all of the horrors and grief that all people in America, the UK, Paris, or elsewhere in the world have experienced secondary to the acts of those who would claim to be Muslims practicing their religion. This is most assuredly a difficult time for all people of the world regardless of their religion, and negative, insulting generalizations about Muslims, that are often promoted on certain news stations, only do more to create hatred in society than to contribute towards healing. Even more than a decade after the attacks, Muslims are still greatly affected.( Garrigan, M. (2011, Sep 11). Area Muslims ‘deeply affected by attacks.’ Retrieved from: https://rapidcityjournal.com/area-muslims-deeply-affectedby-attacks/article_cf102b70-dc2f-11e0-8414-001cc4c002e0.html) It is thus hoped that this brief message will bridge the gap that may have been created between us, and be a starting point for understanding and working together to solve this problem that affects all people regardless of their religion.
Are Muslims Not Speaking Out Enough Against Terror?
This is a strange fallacy that seems to have been repeated often in certain news networks over the past few years. The question that should be asked though is, what is considered speaking out enough? Unfortunately, there seems to be no clear standard, though Muslims around the world have certainly not been silent in voicing their outrage and condemnation of various terror attacks that have occurred in the world from 9/11 onward.
After 9/11, here is a sample of what Muslims said:
For the record, the inhuman attacks of September 11 were condemned in the strongest terms by virtually all Islamic leaders, organizations, and countries. The Chairman of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council summarized that, "Islam rejects such acts, since it forbids killing of civilians even during times of war, especially if they are not part of the fighting. A religion that views people of the world in such a way cannot in any sense condone such criminal acts, which require that their perpetrators and those who support them are held accountable. As a human community we have to be vigilant and careful to preempt these evils." (Dodge, C.H. (2017, Mar 17). Muslim Condemnations of 9/11. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/muslim-condemnations-of-911-2003741)
After the July 7, 2005 London bombings, here is a sample of what Muslims said: A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today condemned this morning's bomb attacks in London as "barbaric crimes." In its statement, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said: "We join Americans of all faiths, and all people of conscience worldwide, in condemning these barbaric crimes that can never be justified or excused. American Muslims offer their sincere condolences to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured in today's attacks and call for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators." (https://www.cair.com/cair_condemns_barbaric_london_terror_attacks )
The Muslim Council of Britain and other British Islamic groups issued similar condemnations of the attacks and urged Muslims to help in the recovery effort. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4660411.stm)
After the 2015 Paris attacks, here is a sample of what Muslims said:
On Saturday, a coalition of eight leading national and local American Muslim groups, held a press conference in Washington, D.C., to condemn the carnage … “Terrorists are not a representative of Islam in any way whatsoever,” Saba Ahmed, president and founder of the Republican Muslim Coalition, told MSNBC. “ISIS should go back to the basic teachings of Islam. They are misusing the teachings of Islam to carry out horrifying atrocities. That’s completely un-Islamic, and they have hijacked our religion. The Muslim community strongly condemns [the attacks].” (Atkinson, K. (2015, Nov 14). Muslim groups strongly condemn terror attacks in Paris. Retrieved from: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/muslimgroups-strongly-condemn-terror-attacks-paris)
Furthermore, if we review recent polls that assessed how Muslims feel about terror groups like ISIS, we find the following results, as taken from a 2015 poll:
Pew Research Center collected in 11 countries with significant Muslim populations, people from Nigeria to Jordan to Indonesia overwhelmingly expressed negative views of ISIS. (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/17/in-nations-withsignificant-muslim-populations-much-disdain-for-isis/)
Yet, despite their condemnation of acts of terror and their participation in acts of rebuilding, most Western Muslims today find themselves in a rather precarious position. This was most profoundly documented in a 2018 Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) poll of 2481 Americans, American Muslim Poll 2018: Pride and Prejudice, that documented the following:
Three quarters (76 percent) of U.S. Muslims overwhelmingly reject violence against civilians, compared to 59 percent of the general public. When it comes to targeting and killing civilians, only 12 percent of Muslims say such actions “can ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ be justified” (for the general public, those numbers are at 14 percent).
At the same time, Muslims disproportionately report religious discrimination, with 61 percent of respondents saying they had encountered Islamophobia. Sixty-two percent of Muslims either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement “most people associate negative stereotypes with my faith identity.” Muslim women were particularly vulnerable: 75 percent said they had experienced religious bias, compared with 40 percent of women overall. (Crunden, E.A. (2018, May 2). Muslims reject violence more than other Americans, but are increasingly targets of discrimination. Retrieved from: https://thinkprogress.org/muslims-reject-violence-according-to-poll421bda06027e/)
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