Mary Paulet
Since the horrific events of 9/11, much public interest has been generated on the subject of Islam. Sadly most of this has been negative and generated by fear born out of a lack of understanding of this major world religion. This prejudice was made evident by the public reaction to President Barack Obama's acknowledgment of the contributions of Islamic Americans and stating the positive impact that Islam has had on our society during a White House dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The sad truth is that if it had been any other religion that Obama had done the same with, such a statement would not even have been an issue. White House celebrations of Jewish and Christian holidays are accepted as commonplace and non-contentious affairs.
Eight years after 9/11, public sentiment regarding Islam is becoming more negative. Nearly half of those polled stated that Islam is more likely than other religions to incite violence; two years ago only 36 percent felt this way, according to USA Today. These numbers are alarming and show a deep misunderstanding of Islam, a religion which nearly one billion people worldwide practice.
According to Truthnet.com, to be Islamic is to abide by the five pillars of the faith. The first of these is the declaration of, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet." The second pillar is the Salat (praying five times a day facing Mecca). The third is the giving of alms. The fourth is fasting during Ramadan, the Islamic Holy Month. The fifth and final pillar is the making a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Nowhere in these tenets is the demand or even suggestion of violence.
The most contentious belief is that of the jihad, or holy war. This is widely seen as a spiritual war within a person's soul. This can also relate to Islam when it is threatened. However, this is not very different from the crusades when Christians took up arms to protect their communities. When Osama bin Laden declared Jihad against the West, he referred to Christians as "crusaders" occupying Muslim lands, according to the Journal of Foreign Affairs - to him, this was a continuation of the crusades of the Middle Ages.
Throughout most of the Cold War the main combatants, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, did retain troops in Muslim lands such as Afghanistan. The U.S. originally trained many Muslim fighters including Bin Laden to wage war against the former Soviet Union.
Looking at the current situation through the lens of recent history, it is understandable why radical Islamists continue to distrust the West.
Another reason decriers of Islam give for their disdain is its treatment of women. While it is true that in certain Muslim areas women do live lives of separation and discrimination, the same can be said for non-Muslim areas.
Historically Islam has also helped to guarantee the status of women. Before Islam, female infanticide was common in the Middle East. Islam forbade this. Also, women are guaranteed a share in inheriting land and property.
Just as some fundamentalist Christians still believe that a woman is the purveyor of sin and inferior, there are also fundamentalist Muslims who commit human rights abuses against women in the name of Islam. It is important to judge a religion as a whole, not based on what radical fundamentalist groups do in the name of religion.
Indeed when such indiscriminate labeling of a religion is committed, it is the first step on the slippery slope of
bigotry and hate. History shows us that the last time a fear-based bigotry of a religion was promoted, the architect was Hitler, and the Jewish concentration camps ensued.
Posted September 21, 2009, The Telescope
