By Ismail Ibrahim
(Reading time without references: 45 minutes)
The Islamic faith requires Muslims to believe in and practice five pillars. In our day and age, condemning terrorism committed by extremists seems to have become the sixth pillar.[1]
There is an online video of a Muslim commentator on Australian television giving an interview to a national news station. In spite of the terrorism committed in the name of Islam, his firm stance in building a progressive case for the role of Muslims in western societies was captivating. He could have spoken from a weak, defensive, apologetic stance that is adopted by some commentators speaking on behalf of Muslims.
One thing he said was particularly striking:
If you ask me do I condemn the attack, I would say no, not because I condone it or I justify it, but because I reject this discourse which puts the focus on disempowered individuals and let's those in powerful institutions get away scot free. The entire Muslim community is [made out to be] responsible [by] asking them to condemn and apologize and distance [themselves] and ignores the greater injustice. I reject the discourse. It's not the act that I justify, it's not, but it's the focus that is unfair and unjustified.[2]
I contrasted this with what transpired a few weeks back. In the aftermath of the assassination of UK parliamentarian Jo Cox, some conservative Muslim organizations local to her Batley[1] constituency went out of their way to condemn the act.[2] It was as if they were forcing themselves to take ownership of the crime and then disassociating themselves from it. Though everybody else in society had expressed their outrage, I found this wording strange given that nobody else had issued such a statement of condemnation. The Muslims organizations could have taken advantage of this opportunity to call it what it was: right-wing extremism culminating in terrorism. But they did not possess the foresight to highlight this.[3]
I believe this was an inadvertent spillover from what can be described as the 'condemnation culture' of Muslims against the terrorism that is done in their name. It is a trend that has burdened Muslims for 15 years, ever since the 9/11 attacks, in which Muslims genuinely felt Islam's name could have been tarnished by not speaking out. Now, it is a phenomenon that Muslims – especially in the West – have allowed themselves to be consumed by, either willingly or unsuspectingly.
The Jo Cox affair was not the first issuance of a condemnation by a Muslim organization. Following the Paris attacks late last year, the Muslim Council of Britain purchased ad space in The Daily Telegraph and Mail Online to publish a condemnation.[6] Additionally, online fatwas with multiple signatories from global Muslim leaders have appeared on numerous occasions, all to the same effect.
Even then, the right-wing press condemned Muslim organizations for not condemning vociferously or quickly enough.
It now seems that Muslim organizations feel the need to raise the ante of apologies anytime there is a terrorist attack committed by a Muslim, lest the denunciations do not register with non-Muslims. Nowadays, whenever there is a Muslim attack, you can count on some Muslims to condemn it, even prematurely before the full facts are established[7], and in progressively stronger language.
But we, as Muslims, need to change the script, and I would offer as follows: First, until we find out more, I urge all Muslims not to rush to “defend”, or send press releases or blog posts that dish the same, scripted narrative of insecurity: “We Muslims condemn terror.” These kinds of comments play to our (supposed) collective insecurity and it's not clear to me they have any real impact. Fight the urge to write anything at all that says anything about “condemning terrorism”, “Islam is a religion of peace”, or the like.[8]
Video:Muslims Are Victims of Terrorism
Condemnation Dealers
It is almost like the Muslims have become 'condemnation dealers', dispensing the opium of Muslim condemnation to western politicians and media, who have been made so addicted to it they need to have a higher dosage anytime there is a terrorist attack. It is time the Muslims grew a backbone, stopped condemning terrorist, and put the right-wing media through cold turkey. There is no need – in fact it is counterproductive – to pander to governments' security crackdowns and the media's sensationalist news headlines. Enough is enough.
This bend-over-backwards approach to condemning Muslim terrorists is at odds with the approach adopted in aforementioned Australian Muslim commentator's quote. Of course, only one of these two approaches can be the correct route: to condemn or not to condemn. As Muslims need to have a strong, united voice on this, only one should be promoted and considered worthy for adoption; the other must be discarded.
To this end, Muslim organizations, leaders and activists should take an honest assessment on whether the race to condemning almost every act of terrorism in the past decade and a half has yielded any fruitful results for the western and global Muslim communities.
I was already firm in my conviction that Muslims must stop condemning terrorism. As I researched this matter, this belief was made absolute; instead, they should focus on making positive cases for the role and place of Muslims in the West. The unhealthy obsession of Muslim organizations and leaders with condemnations has snowballed into a type of self-flagellation.
But how much longer are we to continue doing this? How can we live as a healthy community if we become overwhelmed with guilt and fear every time a lunatic decides to commit a barbaric crime? How much longer should we pander to the unfair expectations laid out for us to meet?[9]
Analyzing what both Muslim and non-Muslim commentators have said thus far in rejection of the condemnation culture, I have collated those insights in one piece, so it may be consulted whenever Muslims are inevitably be put in the spotlight and are called to condemn Muslim terrorists. Whereas some items in the following list are of my own observations, I hereby give credit to the many political analysts on various platforms who have shared their thoughts on this pertinent subject, all of whom have been referenced.[10] This piece has also been designed to be as comprehensive as possible, casting the widest net possible in the acquisition of the best and most distinctive insights supporting the theme of this piece.
The Muslim community should not condemn terrorist crimes by Muslims, not because Muslims condone or justify the act of crime[11], but because of the disproportionate focus on their disempowered community at the expense of those in power who have the same, similar or even greater crimes to their name, which go either unreported or underreported.[12]
Condemnations cannot be a healthy entry point into the ideological fight against terrorism and the discussion on its causes, which is where the focus of the debate should be.[13]
Condemning implies Muslims are in need to lift themselves as a faith community from sub-human barbarism to humanness – a negative by-product of the being in a state of perpetual condemnation.
The killing of innocent civilians is a monstrosity. To be suspected of condoning something as monstrous and being asked or expected to disassociate oneself from it, simply because of one's faith, is grossly unfair. Muslims are bearing the brunt of this.
Peoples of other religions and no religion are assumed to be innocent and outraged when one of their affiliates perpetrates acts of crime and terrorism. Until the same presumption of innocence is not afforded to Muslims, there would be no reason for Muslims to persist in condemnations when they could clearly be futile – the very assumption of guilt leveled at Muslims is destructive.[14]
Click here to view the embedded video.
Condemnations are not proven to shield the Muslim community and its prominent figures from accusations of extremism. BBC presenter Andrew Neil, the UK's ex-Prime Minister David Cameron and the UK defense secretary Michael Fallon all grotesquely implicated a prominent imam in the UK, Suliman Gani, with extremism and supporting ISIS and put his family in danger by doing so, even though this imam is on the record of rejecting ISIS, terrorism, extremism and violence.[15]
As per the prophetic tradition, Muslims believe in assisting Muslim criminals out of their criminality, not disassociating themselves from them or disowning them.[16]
The corpus of Qur'an and prophetic tradition is sufficient in condemning all acts of criminality and terrorist atrocities. This is immutable and will remain unchanged from crime to crime. The Qur'an and prophetic tradition do not have a shelf life, nor do they expire or are in need of being refreshed or updated. Muslims must refuse to be trapped in the condemnation cycle on behalf of their faith. Most non-Muslims would have probably memorized the relevant passages from the Qur'an and prophetic tradition in this regard.
Habitual condemnation against Muslim terrorist outfits has resulted in Muslims criminals being anathematized from Islam altogether[17], which in itself is a grave matter from the Islamic perspective[18], especially given that perpetrators are many a time said to be suffering from mental and psychological problems and cannot even be properly declared as deviants. Furthermore, condemnations oftentimes accompany salvific supplications (e.g. “RIP” or “May God rest their souls”) for non-Muslim victims of terrorism[19], which from the theological perspective are impermissible.[20]
Pushing entire groups of people outside the fold of Islam – in other words doing exactly what it is that forms the basis of the ideologies we want to reject – is not a productive foundation on which we can heal our faith and build ourselves. It is not how we deal with the problems we've yet to even diagnose despite their tangible presence. Aside from the legal conditions necessary to declare someone outside the fold of Islam – sorry, President Barack Obama does not suffice – we cannot deny that groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda are part of Islam. Islam beyond just a religion, that is. They may not be representative of the faith, its principles and creed but they are working within the framework of Islam as they understand it and interact with it. And they are also part of a long tradition of similar groups, ideologies and individuals who ultimately were met with defeat because they just were not sustainable because they were not representative of the principles, beliefs and spirit of Islam.[21]
Muslims should not fall into the trap of become mouthpiece and tool of western governments, their agencies and right-wing ideologues that possess ulterior anti-Muslim motives through the medium of Muslims issuing such condemnations.[22] Those who have these ulterior motives tend to brandish words like 'Islamism'[23] in response to Muslim terrorism. Just as anti-Zionism is sometimes used to disguise Judeophobia[24], attacks on 'Islamism' are used as a front to attack Islam itself, and by extension the Muslims. Condemnations perpetuate the exploitation of these ulterior motives.
imam Zaid Shakir on the importance of living Islam for Islam and the media silence on domestic terrorism
Muslims protest at how people of other ethnicities, religions and orientations are not implicated, or are asked to condemn crimes, when one of their affiliates perpetrates an act of criminality or terrorism. Nay, those acts are actively shielded by media many outlets and politicians from the label of terrorism, demonstrating the West's selective application of the terrorism label, or the bar of terrorism being lowered in the case of Muslims. The case of the Chapel Hill shootings is an example of this[25], which can be contrasted with Francois Hollande's hasty judgement on the Nice event as an act of terrorism even before investigations had started on the killer and his motives.[26]
Click here to view the embedded video.
In my job in the communications department at the Chicago office of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), I have witnessed the public reaction to many horrific crimes involving Muslims around the world. After the murders at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, public demand forced CAIR representatives to make media appearances and release statements explaining that the criminals that murdered the 12 staffers were not representative of Islam.
We live in an unfortunate media climate where this has become expected. Muslim leaders condemn terrorism only to be labeled apologists or spin doctors, yet still western dialog demands this ritual of condemnation each and every time some nutjob, who just so happens to be Muslim, commits a violent act.
On Tuesday night it was Muslims who were killed by a white male atheist. I am white and male and my spiritual beliefs float somewhere between atheist and agnostic. When I woke up Wednesday morning, after the Chapel Hill story broke, my phone didn't ring. CNN didn't call asking me to explain how not all white atheists are murderers. Richard Dawkins didn't have to draft a press release condemning atheist extremism and no one gives me nervous glances when they try to find parking near my house.- Renner Larson -CAIR Chicago [27]
Extant Muslim condemnations, as well as western media coverage of terrorist attacks across the world, are lopsided. Terrorism in Bangladesh, Burma, Central African Republic, Indian-administered Kashmir, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Saudi Arabia etc., in which tens or even hundreds of people die at once, do not attract the same condemnations or media coverage as a police shooting incident in the United States, an airport attack in Western Europe or a hostage situation in Australia would do.[28] Even al-Azhar, the GCC, Egypt, the Arab League[29] and Turkey[30] publish their condemnations, most recently for the Nice attack. The level of condemnations from Muslim organizations, not only in the West but across the world, seems only to mirror the level media coverage in the western media for terrorism that occurs in the West, which – according to John Simpson of the BBC – is 'grotesquely selective.'[31] The selective expression of outrage is antithetical to Muslim values, especially given that the first victims of terrorism are Muslims in Muslim countries; and many a time, Muslims have endangered their own lives in trying to stop terrorist acts in their tracks, but this does not as much coverage as the spilled blood of Americans and Europeans does.[32]
Live from the @islamophobia16 ex FM Jack Straw sinking in a lake of ignorance. still asking “Muslims to be more loud in condemning 9/11”
— Yasser Louati (@yasserlouati) June 24, 2016
Condemnations only work when facts remain the cornerstone of the media and society, when society is not bound by the shackles of despondence and fear. When facts no longer remain relevant and are substituted by irrational anti-Muslim bigotry, issuing condemnations is a luxury that Muslims – with their backs against the wall – can no longer afford, as there would be more immediate priorities than insisting on issuing condemnations whenever a terrorist crime is committed.[33]
The media disproportionately focuses on the vocal fringe that claims to represent Islam. It does not give fair coverage to Muslims who are opposed to that fringe. This breeds the unfair accusation that Muslims have not been vocal enough.[34] As the western media has been relatively uninterested, or already satisfied, with the condemnations of mainstream Muslims, there is not much point in further condemning anytime a crime by a Muslim is committed. The little coverage that Muslims have gained in opposing the fringe should be considered sufficient and Muslims should fall back on that instead of wasting more of their time and resources in issuing denunciations.
There is a perception that those wanting Muslims to condemn are indirectly subjugating Muslims into accepting the particular values or lifestyles of victims that may run contrary to Islamic values. The attack on the LGBT community in Orlando is an example, having triggered an intense discussion on Islam's stance on homosexuality, even though Islam's position on homosexuality was irrelevant to the crime committed.[35] Another example was free speech and Charlie Hebdo: Muslims make no apologies for opposing for what the paper stands for and profoundly disagree with its xenophobic material that results in the demonization of entire Muslim underclass of France (and elsewhere) – and this is at a time when Muslims in the crosshairs of the corporate media and are the main victims of the western war on terror. Muslims do not have to agree with Charlie Hebdo's material in order to be trusted when they say that a crime was perpetrated against its offices.
There is a bizarre phenomenon of non-conservative Muslims demanding from conservative Muslim leaders to condemn terrorism, yet still blame them for the terrorism that the conservatives would have condemned. In other words, liberals hold their very conservatism responsible as the basis for the crime. It has reached the point where Muslims are expected to condemn their own sources of faith. It is disturbing that the culture of condemnation is now being used to attack Islam itself. It is even more concerning that gullible Muslims are falling into this trap or questioning the tenets of their faith.[36]
16. Given that every single major Muslim leader and organization in the West has repeatedly denounced terrorism – which is now demonstrably insufficient for governments and the media as they crave for more from Muslims – it is evident that this is less to do with terrorism and more to do with the position of the Muslims themselves. The Muslim community is in effect being told to accept responsibility for a problem that has been of the western governments' own creation.
Answering the call to condemn is akin to answering the subliminally-posed question on the allegiances of Muslims in the countries they are citizens of.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Non-mainstream Muslims such as liberalists[37] and Ahmadis[38] – but also a number of mainstream non-Ahmadi Muslims – who wholeheartedly remain enslaved in the condemnation ritual tend to reflex towards the attempt to craft some universally acceptable version of Islam. This may buy time, but it is highly unlikely to translate into credibility in the long term.[39]
Muslims need to be a transformative group that imbibes courage, commitment to justice both internal to themselves and externally with non-Muslims, character and principle, not for some positive publicity, self-interest, or to deflect some negative press. Making up for the present credibility deficit is key for Muslims in the West as that is the only way to enlist the respect and trust of non-Muslims, many of whom want to genuinely work with and help Muslims but feel there are barriers of the Muslims' own making. If Muslims show they are being affected by Islamophobia by constantly condemning terrorism, the perception of Islam will have been further damaged in the eyes of non-Muslims who have to endure both Muslim terrorism and Muslims condemning. Islamophobia doubly affects them as it affects Muslims. There can be no real coalition building without respect and mutual trust. The condemnation ritual is a form of a subconsciously self-imposed colonialism in the post-colonial era, which strips Muslims of credibility and erodes trust.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Contentious fringe sects like the Ahmadis at the forefront of the condemnation game, and have in fact gone as far as dictating to mainstream Muslims to unite with them in condemning Muslim terrorists. Mainstream Muslims should refuse to do so and must not acknowledge leadership for them on anything pertaining to religio-politics.[40] It is rich that they ask mainstream Muslims to join them, but when mainstream traditional Muslims issue a statement of their own with hundreds of signatories, no Ahmadi leader signs it.[41]
Muslim criminals generally are not dealt with in a manner that non-Muslim criminals and terrorists are. Whereas the latter are afforded a light-touch mention after careful deliberation of their right-wing tendencies, or a sympathetic inquisition into their mental health, the former are heavily scrutinized and almost solely investigated for their religion, political motivation and Muslim ideology. The global media's attention falls on their background, origins, and local Muslim community. The right-wing Britain First murderer of the British parliamentarian Jo Cox is a case in point, in which the mass media made brazen its hypocrisy by failing to label its perpetrator as a terrorist, even though the right-wing political motives and affiliation of her murderer, Thomas Mair, were evident. Neutral analysts have agreed that that the media discourse would have been radically different had the murderer been a Muslim, with the entire Batley Muslim community subject to intense global media scrutiny had the killer been a Muslim.[42] Other obvious examples are Dylan Roof, Robert Dear and Anders Breivik.[43] According to US statistics, between (and excluding) 9/11 and the June 2016 Orlando shooting, there were more incidents and deaths caused by right-wing extremists than by 'violent jihadists.'[44]
But terrorism experts caution that because the Islamic State seems to have broad appeal to the mentally unbalanced, the displaced and others on the fringes of society, there are limits to how much any military campaign in Syria and Iraq can reduce violence carried out in other countries on the group's behalf. [45]
Islam does not subscribe to the West's notion of guilt by association or collective punishment; philosophy and international law is on their side of this argument.[46] Muslims, by their moral code and ethics, do not consider themselves responsible or accountable for unjustified acts of violence done in their name, as their faith itself rejects it. When Muslims do honestly condemn, it still comes off as somewhat unnatural due to this precise reason. Whereas clarifications on Islam's stance on terrorism and crime are welcome, the condemnation game is inherently alien to the Islamic tradition. The western media, however, routinely concocts false links and connections that are simply non-existent, based on some views shared between mainstream Muslims and Muslim terrorists.[47] Regarding the Orlando killer, one respected news reporter and journalist in the UK, Jon Snow of Channel 4 News, tweeted that Omar Mateen visited Saudi Arabia twice, from which he inferred that this had an influence on his criminality, and in turn implicated the entirety of Saudi Arabia in the process. Saudi Arabia happens to be visited by millions of Muslims annually from across the world and there was no justification for such a tweet.
Orlando mass murderer Omar Mateen, visited Saudi Arabia (home base of radical Wahhabism) in 2011,2012 (Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman)
— Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) June 14, 2016
The Islamophobic segments of western society will never accept Muslim condemnations[48], and even falsely accuse Muslims as liars, apologists and spin doctors when they condemn.[49] They are now so sophisticated and deeply advanced in their Islamophobia they now use Arabic terms like Taqiyyah as a slur.[50]
Condemnations have become reflex actions that seek to distance Muslims from negative press. Instead of achieving this goal, the opposite seems to be taking place: Keeping Muslims in the limelight through the medium of condemnation is effectively bad press. Routinely issuing condemnations does not make any Muslims safer than before. In fact, they make them more vulnerable to Islamophobia.
Constantly condemning leads to the immunization of non-Muslims from empathizing with Muslims, which in turn normalizes bigotry against Muslims. Normalized, systemic, institutionalized bigotry is worse than sporadic violence. The UK Conservative peer Baroness Warsi stated that prejudice against Muslims is so normal that it has now “passed the dinner-table test.”[51] Keeping Muslims in the spotlight through the medium of condemnation is partly responsible for this.
To be absolutely clear, it is evident that Islamophobia has become the accepted form of racist xenophobic bigotry in America today. Unlike Anti-Semitism or homophobia, which are roundly (and rightfully) condemned by every corner of American society, we are seeing increasing levels of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric growing around the country… [52]
Constant condemnations against Muslim terrorists contribute to the climate manufactured by Islamophobic zealots and feral anti-Muslim think tanks such as Quilliam[53] and neoconservative think tank The Henry Jackson Society[54], among others, who thrive off and profiteer from fear-mongering and hate generated by demonizing the entire Muslim faith community.
There is an imposition of unrealistic demands on the Muslims community to be more vocal in its condemnations. One UK newspaper, browbeating Muslims, proposed that Muslims denounce ISIS by marching through London in massive numbers with placards saying 'not in our name', arguing that Muslims had “done too little in public to express solidarity with the victims in Paris and the civilised, tolerant democracies in which they live and which IS want to destroy.” Right-wing media outlets frequently complain that Muslims are not vocal enough when condemning, or do not speak out altogether.[55] This is proof that the condemnation panacea has failed. The acceptance of the right-wing media should not be considered the standard for the acceptable level of noise required to condemn terrorism. It is highly likely that Muslims shout out their condemnations from the hilltops and the media will still not consider this adequate.
Despite this avalanche of condemnations, it's clearly not reaching—or not persuading—many of my fellow Americans. In fact, a Zogby poll released just last month found alarmingly that the favorability ratings for Muslims in the United States had fallen from 36 percent in 2010 to 27 percent.[56]
There is no empirical evidence that condemning or government-sanctioned programs like Prevent has had any impact on the ground with Muslim criminals who are already radicalized or Muslims who would potentially be radicalized.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=796876027083651&id=100002837839941
Islam encourages pre-emptive education, and high standards in general in which honesty and integrity and vital. Condemnations by nature are PR stunts, not education, and represent a very low standard that does not assist in building integrity. Radicalized or potential radical Muslims are not foolish to pay heed to condemnations. Condemning is not a card that saves the Muslim from radicalization.[57]
Condemnations are part of the 'politics of respectability', whereby minorities try to show they are compatible with the existing order of things. The problem with this is it places the focus on the minority, rather than the conditions which create the imbalance and unfairness in society.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Terrorists do not pay any heed to statements of condemnation. To the contrary, they thrive off denunciations and would not hesitate in branding those who condemn them as sellouts, Uncle Toms, hypocrites and apostates who themselves deserve to be killed. The kill-list of prominent Muslim scholars and activists published by ISIS confirms this.[58]
https://www.facebook.com/yasir.qadhi/photos/a.10150091939643300.277936.19667888299/10154014083508300/?type=3&theater
Condemnations tend to be issued by Muslims in authority. Radicals are by nature rebellious to such authorities. Statements of condemnation are bound to exacerbate their radicalism further than quell it. In essence, those condemning are in effect preaching to the choir.
No number of condemnations can prevent terrorism that is rooted in alienation caused by governments, such as the cases of Jihadi John[59] and structural Islamophobia in France causing radicalization in the local Muslim population. Muslims believe that radicalization rooted in unjust foreign policy[60], acts of political expediency and double standards of governments has not been sufficiently addressed in media discourse, or by Muslims perpetually condemning terrorist acts for that matter.[61] Condemnations of these terrorists are merely a distraction from the real debate that needs to take place.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Part of the distraction that the condemnation culture brings is the lack of discussion on the erosion of civil liberties, not only against Muslims (who are disproportionately affected), but all of society. Muslims should use the attention to highlight this, instead of wasting the opportunity by condemning acts they are not responsible for and making scapegoats out of themselves.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Condemning has become a synonym for apology. Denunciation of terrorism is a form of apology – for Islam itself and for being Muslim. Muslims must refuse to apologize for the crimes of others, even though they may be their co-religionists who are associated with them through shared, universally-recognized aspects of the faith. Muslims have apologized far too often for a cancer they are victims of. Muslims do not need to disavow or apologize for what is killing them.[62]
Being constantly on the defensive by pretending to accept one's status as a pilloried and psychologically battered community turns away Muslim prospects, which is against one of the objectives of the faith. Condemnations by nature are not statements of positivity. If condemnations are going to be face of Islam, then it is the faith that will invariably be associated with the very crime of terrorism that Islam has disassociated itself from. Not every truth needs spelling out. There is a reason why believers in God do not say “God is the creator of apes, dogs and pigs.” There is a reason why Islam's laws on capital punishment are not the first thing presented to persons interested in Islam but happen to disagree with the concept of capital punishment. There is a reason why Muslim dietary laws on meat, game and slaughter are not the first items that are presented to a vegetarian interested in the religion.
In zones of conflict, more Muslims have died than anybody else at both the hands of Muslim terrorist organizations and the military/sanction interventions of western governments in Muslim countries, which have destabilized an entire region. Likewise, Muslims in the West are bearing the brunt of anti-Muslim rhetoric of politicians, draconian legislation disproportionately targeted at them, and a security apparatus in which Muslims are considered guilty before proven innocent.
[63]
It therefore makes no sense for Muslims to condemn global terrorism when they are the primary target of terrorism – both vigilante and state-backed. Examples of 'collateral damage' – a euphemism for state-backed acts of violence and terrorism, which in turn breed vigilante terrorism – are too numerous to mention.
This anxiety has varying sources and manifests itself in different ways. From Muslims feeling compelled to apologise for crimes they neither condone or have any part in, to being publically compelled to condemn such attacks. The anxiety is exasperated when Muslims witness the hypocrisy in such calls and take a principled stand in order to avoid political exploitation. Muslims are witnesses to similar atrocities against people of other faiths, geography and race, yet privileged elite in Parliament are not seen to issue a condemnation against such regular terrorism – as a matter of principle, why should public and vocal condemnation be forcibly extracted on certain violence as the state eye is rendered blind when the violence is born from Western policy? I am yet to see mass condemnatory statements for Palestinian babies being burned to death by Jewish settler terrorism, or Palestinian civilians shot to death “intentionally and unlawfully” by IDF terrorists (who also happen to run over two year old toddlers), from the Cameron government or the various state-authorized counter extremism organizations for that matter. And indeed, I do not see the Jewish community being asked to condemn or apologize. This suggests such calls are ideologically and politically driven rather than rooted in humanity. Only white/Westernized power-structures are worthy of solidarity. –The Coolness of Hind [64]
Being expected to condemn constitutes othering, which Muslims in the West must reject for themselves. Muslims are being increasingly treated in a similar way as European Jews were in the early-to-mid-20th century, and how Bosnian Muslims were treated in the run up to the war and genocide there during the 1990s. Expecting disenfranchised segments of the population to condemn criminal acts carried out by a few individuals in their midst is no doubt based on the rejection of Muslims being citizens of western nations equal to their non-Muslim neighbors.
We are told that Muslims are equal citizens in this country but the reality is something very different. If we say we don't drink, we are labelled anti-social or not willing to integrate, if we drink we are labelled moderate, if a Muslim wears a hijab, she is oppressed, if she doesn't she is liberated, if we express an opinion outside of the mainstream narrative, we are angry, if we join a mainstream political party we are passionate, if we sing the praises of the British establishment we are liberals, if we object to foreign policy we are extremists or Islamists.- Assed Baig [65]
Muslims as a faith community do not believe in faith-based ideology being the only factor in radicalization and extremism. There are mental health issues[66], societal alienation, economic difficulties, grievances based on unethical foreign policy and political motivations at play as well. These factors must always be properly and satisfactorily explored and investigated before the Muslims community is singled out and expected to continue issuing statements of condemnation ad nauseum.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Condemnations of terrorism are only a result of the authorities' failure of establishing pragmatic and practical intelligence measures, and of government promoting community cohesion and economic prosperity in the underclass that is lacking in these aspects, especially in Europe. The condemnation culture in effect covers up those failures by diverting attention to the Muslim community to own up to the crime and condemn the ideological drivers behind the terrorist. In the aftermath of the November 2015 bombings in Paris, CNN anchors interviewing French activist Yasser Louati effectively demanded French Muslims to assume the responsibility of spy agencies, and blamed French Muslims for not doing anything about the attacks.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Muslims must refuse to condemn because they should not allow extremists to define the Muslim mainstream. That caricature of Muslims is the description unjustly painted by extremism think tanks and western corporate right-wing media, like in a recent alarmist poll that suggested one in five British Muslims sympathized with ISIS.[67]
Condemnations are a form of self-imposed indignation, and a self-deprecation that perpetuates the psychology of guilt in Muslims. Western Muslims must demonstrate a sincere drive – similar to that of the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself – for a dignified and permanent existence in lands they are citizens of, no matter what difficulties may lie ahead. The condemnation fetish is an indignity that detaches Muslims from their responsibilities as citizens of their respective countries.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Malcolm X hit a turning point when he stopped seeing himself as a member of a maligned minority. He took his dignity into his own hands and refused to be at the mercy of the opinion of others – 'ni–er' became a slur too small and meaningless for him. Western Muslims need to collectively do the same. We need to get over our insecurities, stop pandering to the double standards others have constructed for us and demand our place as full-fledged citizens of this society.[68]
We have to be very, very careful about being psychologically bullied into this position where we feel that all we can do as Muslims is apologise, is adjust, is accept our status as a 'problem people' – a 'problem people' is people about whom it is said – and I know little a bit about being considered a 'problem people', I know a little bit about that – a 'problem people' about whom it is said, “Something is wrong with you, and if you would just change that something everything would be alright.” And you know what happens, typically? That something is changed, and then what happens? The goalpost moves. And what you end up as is a modern slave. You end up dominated. You have had your story taken away from you, and you have been given a supporting role in somebody else's story. And yet you turn around and say, “This is my country.” If this is my country, then I have a right to my story, and let our stories come together, and let us produce a symphony, let us produce some harmony, not a single voice, many voices, but mine a certainly identifiable part…
One of the services that we can render to American society is, instead of constantly trying to appease bigotry and prejudice, to hold up to America's psyche so it can see what it is doing in terms of another chapter in trying to create a problem people…
Back in 1963… James Baldwin, a famous African American writer, made a very poignant, pungent statement… Baldwin said this: “I am not a nigger, and America needs to figure out why it needs me to be a nigger. Does that make it easier for you to act on your prejudice? Does that make it easier for you to have a higher dignified raised sense of self? Does that make it easier for you to carry out acts of indiscriminate violence? Does that make it easier for you to do that?” And what we have to do as Muslims is say, “We are not those people who you say we are, and what you have to figure out is why you need us to be that. Why do you need us to be terrorists? Why do you need us to be security threats?” And we have to help America by helping America see that, and when we're constantly trying to appease those prejudices, all we do ultimately is strengthen them. This is not service to American society. This is not the type of service that American society needs… because if we allow these prejudices to run rampant, they will know no end, and it can happen. –Dr Sherman Jackson [69]
Condemnations tend to be on platforms not in control of the Muslims. In essence, Muslim condemnations are at the mercy of how they are spun by the corporate media. Muslims (and other minorities) need to come together to establish their own media platforms to provide a comprehensive narrative about the role of Islam and Muslims in the West, instead of giving the right-wing media the attention it demands only when it is to put already beleaguered and embattled Muslim community in a weaker position.[70]
But my experiences lead me to believe that the key is the media. It possesses the power to both humanize and demonize minority groups. Plus, it enables smaller minority groups to share their own story on their own terms with millions of people across the country.[71]
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Being asked to apologize for and condemn violence that has orphaned and victimized a generation of Muslims has the perverse effect of re-victimizing Muslims by dehumanizing them and stripping them of their own experiences and history.[72] The dehumanization process renders the human condemnations an aberration. Every patronizing demand for a fresh condemnation is equal to a demand to prove humanness.[73] Until Muslims do not feel they are worthy of being treated as fully human by all institutional segments of society, it will give rise to a generation of Muslims harboring a siege mentality, which will be totally apathetic to all but themselves.[74]
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If I condemn ISIS, I am – in essence – condemning myself: I am condemning myself and my communities to the continuation of the never-ending onslaught of suspicion, dehumanization and interrogation that is far from unique to us (especially when living as minorities) but is the most public. – Sana Saeed [75]
Never-ending condemnations validate the dangerous trend and false notion that unless Muslims do not publicly condemn every event perpetrated by a co-religionist, the default assumption should be that they must endorse it, and that any silence from Muslims automatically denotes support and agreement.[76] When that is assumed to be the default, the condemnation is assumed to be the exception to what may be construed as the Muslim evil standard.[77]
It is inherently Islamophobic to be expected to condemn only when a Muslim commits a crime. Muslims appearing on the media are never asked when a non-Muslim commits an act of violence. An example of blatant Islamophobic questioning was on CNN, when Don Lemon asked American Muslim human rights lawyer Arsalan Iftikhar whether he supports ISIS.[78] Another example of an atrociously Islamophobic interview was Kay Burley speaking to human rights campaigner Cerie Bullivant on Sky News.
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The condemnation game has been wholly unproductive in the sense that it has not yielded the desired effect of taking heat off Muslim communities.
Short of branding all newborn Muslims with an “I condemn all past, present and future violent acts committed by Muslims” tattoo at birth, there is not much else Muslims can offer. –Faisal Kutty [79]
The negative image of Muslims whipped up by politicians and mass media effectively drowns out the Muslim voice, even when they are condemning. Muslims should stop wasting their time, breath and ink in the pursuit of condemnations.
Condemnations against terrorism and disclaimers such as “Islam is a religion of peace” to prove Muslims' commitment to non-violence are puerile. The right-wing corporate media tends to give a disproportionate amount of airtime and coverage to so-called 'moderate' Muslim voices that have zero grassroots support among observant Muslims[80], Islamophobes[81], and extremists are on the fringes of extremism[82] – all of which ostracize the already suffocated mainstream Muslim community. In doing so, the media unnecessarily prolongs the fight of combating the destructive hype surrounding the overwhelming majority of Muslims.
Because no one asks where the moderates of anything else are but I need to constantly provide a Rolodex of names in a futile attempt to satiate not a sincere curiosity but, often, just a rhetorical question with a poor point. Sana Saeed [83]
An additional tendency of the media, which fuels the myth that Muslims do not condemn terrorism, is to focus on Islamophobes as spokespersons on issues. That means individuals who have made a career out of spreading hate and outright misinformation about Islam and Muslims are given ample air time to share their hateful views. This is akin to giving large amounts of air time to former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke to spout his hatred of Jews. In the case of Muslims, hate-mongers like David [should be Robert] Spencer and Pamela Geller are featured prominently in news items about Islam and Muslims without being challenged or another view being presented for balance. –Samana Siddiqui (SoundVision) [84]
Of course, some will still say they don't hear these condemnations. I don't doubt those people. The mainstream media is about ratings, meaning that bloodshed will be covered 24/7 while denunciations by Muslims will get little to no press. Dean Obeidullah [85]
First, media outlets are not interested in reporting the Muslim side of a breaking news story. It is neither in their own interest, nor do they feel that their audience will care what Muslims have to say about a crime committed in their name. This is why most of the time, journalists and their editors will not include a quote or statement from the many that Muslim individuals and organizations immediately send out. Second, it is the nature of the news media to report on that which is an aberration, not the norm. In practical terms, that means they will never show the law-abiding, tax-paying Muslim. They will hone in on the exception. Such bias is nothing new. In the past, this same prejudice was exercised against other minority communities by the American media, from African-Americans to Jews to Japanese-Americans. Muslims are the current scapegoat being singled out for such unethical journalistic treatment. Samana Siddiqui (SoundVision) [86]
Now comes the hard part: How to convince media outlets to be more inclusive when it comes to Muslim-Americans? Some already have been very embracing, especially online media publications that have made it a priority to present diverse voices because it yields content that's both more nuanced and distinctive. But on TV news, both network and cable, there are few Muslims who are a regular part of that media landscape. Take a moment and count the Muslim anchors or Muslim network contributors you've seen. (That shouldn't take long.) Dean Obeidullah [87]
Muslims believe the bar of scrutiny is set artificially high for them, and the bar for accusing a Muslim with extremism is set low. Furthermore, the margin of error for Muslims appearing on the media to defend their community is very thin, where any error or problematic statement is single out to highlight the problematic nature of Muslims. In this climate, highlighting and exposing the causes that incubate radicalism in disenfranchised Muslims, rather than merely staying safe by disassociating oneself from Muslim terrorism, is a discussion only the brave will be willing to undertake. As the saying goes: “It is better to die on one's feet than live on one's knees”; or, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The best form of Jihad is a word of truth in front of a tyrannical ruler.”[88]
Muslims do not need to demonstrate their law-abidingness via condemnations, nor should they feel that patriotic flag-waving or nationalistic loyalty is a manner in which a Muslim should behave. Muslims should not need to prove they can condemn in the sternest language possible.[89]
A downside to the condemnation ritual is that it becomes a cliché, losing value over time and is drowned in its own banality, so when the exceptional case of a condemnation is required, it does not sound as effective. Oft-repeated condemnations thus become inadequate to showcase the Muslims' abhorrence with terrorism.[90]
Condemnations, and being asked to condemn terrorism, ignore the many condemnations Muslims have already issued. In the age of the