FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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This Ramadan What happened to peaceful Islam?

This Ramadan What happened to peaceful Islam?

This Ramadan I'm praying for a miracle. During Islam's holy month, millions of Muslims everywhere are fasting, reflecting and asking God to answer prayers. Like millions of American Muslims, I will be thinking about the cycle of violence that appears to h

The so-called Arab Spring was thought to be a new beginning; but the wave of change did not bring freedom and prosperity to the region. Instead, two years into this new chapter, people everywhere are fighting one another. In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood-led administration was overthrown last week, leaving at least 50 people dead. In Iraq and in Lebanon, Sunnis and Shi’ites trade bombs and insults. In Syria, the Sunni majority is caught in a bloody battle with the minority Alawites. And Shi’ites are attacked in such faraway places as Pakistan and Indonesia.
What happened to the faith? The answers are complicated, but many religious leaders encourage their followers to shun those different from them. Al Jazeera TV’s Sheik Yousuf al-Qardawi calls Shi’ites “heretics”, clearing the way for Sunnis to harm or even kill them. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denies minorities their rights and reportedly prevented the building of a Sunni mosque in Tehran.
Some argue that secularism is better than religion. But the secularists are seen as unbelievers by the political Islamists, and the secularists themselves look down upon the Islamists. The military rulers in several countries, including Egypt, were secular. Those governments coloured the impression of Muslims by mistreating the population and imprisoning and torturing anyone who disagreed with them.
Naturally the dictators don’t represent everyone. Plenty of secularists observe the faith but believe in the separation of mosque and state, but political Muslims don’t see it that way.
Another problem is the Western press calls the Muslim Brotherhood “moderates”, for some unknown reason, when Egypt’s first elected leader Muhammad Morsi’s year in power illustrates little moderation. Traditionally the Brotherhood looked the other way when other groups, such as the less-tolerant Salafists, were jailed and tortured. And under the Brotherhood’s rule, violence against women, already a problem in Egypt, became commonplace.
Where is that pleasant Islam I knew when I was growing up? Religious observances were warm and neighbourly when I lived in Baghdad as a child of a Sunni mother and a Shi’ite father. I remember marking religious occasions with traditional exchanges of pastries. Our Christian neighbours sent a plate of cookies, and we sent one over to celebrate an occasion. That was how it had been for years and years. Where are those people who respected each other’s beliefs? Today I hear about claims that Iran is trying to convert everyone to its Shi’ite sect. And others tell me that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are trying to destroy Shi’ites. And still others tell me the secularists are godless creatures headed for hellfire.
I know ordinary Muslims are being pushed aside by political forces fighting for the mainstream. It’s those very forces that frighten me. Egypt is accusing Iran of interfering in its affairs. The Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates despise Shi’ite Iran and reportedly finance Sunni political movements that are intolerant. The Gulf Cooperation Council just agreed to expel members of the Shi’ite community, and Qatar started by kicking out 18 Shi’ite Lebanese workers. For their part, the Shi’ites, backed by Iran, wreak havoc in Iraq and Lebanon – not to mention Syria. Political leaders on both sides promote intolerance of the two sects of Islam and of Christians and other minorities. And the saddest thing is that many Muslims accept and follow these ideas blindly.
Certainly it’s easy to call all ignorant and argue that the solution is education. Never mind that it will take years before those who throw children to their deaths from the roofs of buildings understand tolerance and respect. How can we stop the killing?
Critics say Muslims have to deal with it on their own. What does that require of the average Muslim? March in the streets? Egyptians and Bahrainis did. Rise up? Check. Demand rights? Check. Clearly non-political Muslims need help.
While political Muslims demonise each other’s groups, the United States has adopted a wait-and-see approach. I am not sure what we are supposed to make of this, but I worry it means more civilians will die before things get better.
That’s why I’m praying for a miracle. And I’m not the only one. As we sit down each evening this month to break our fast on traditional lentil soup, many will ask God for answers. Some are afraid of what that answer will be. Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar, announced he will go into seclusion until the violence is over. I never thought I’d say this, but I know how he feels.
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