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Why Some Muslims Won’t Condemn ISIL
10-08-2014
A growing numbers of Muslims around the world have shown repugnance to what they see as "apologetic tone" adopted by some Muslims whenever a crime is wrongly committed in the name of Islam, in contrast to non-Muslim communities that never apologize for attacks committed by non-Muslims
"It sounded like they were apologizing for something they haven't done, like they were running for cover," Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, a prominent imam from Northern Virginia, said in an interview with The Huffington Post.
"Dr. King said we are all caught up in a network of mutuality -- whatever affects one directly will indirectly affect the other," Abdul-Malik said.
"If I speak up against ISIS, it's because I'm a human being, not because I'm a Muslim," he added, using another acronym for the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
In his speech before the UN, Obama called on the world to take a stand against religious extremism, calling on the world's Muslims to "explicitly, forcefully and consistently reject" the Islamic State.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry recently said that Muslims need to "reclaim Islam."
In response to Obama’s calls, a number of Muslim leaders around the world have overtly condemned the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) issuing strong-worded statements to deny any relation between Islam and the militant group.
One of the strongest-worded condemnations came when Muslim leaders gathered by Washington's National Press Club last month to release a 17-page letter to IS that distanced mainstream Muslims from the militant group's actions.
This "apologetic tone" was criticized by Imam Abdul-Malik who has frequently spoken against ISIL in his Friday sermons.
"I talk about it because I want to tell our community to keep their heads up," he said.
"I talk about it so young people don't get caught up in any false theology."
Abdul-Malik’s views were shared by some Muslims around the world who turned to humor to battle rising Islamophobia spawning the hashtag #MuslimApologies after finding themselves in the spotlight for the offenses of a violent minority they have nothing to do with.
No Apologies
The ongoing debates surrounding ISIL have put Muslims in the defensive, a situation lots of Muslims have rejected.
"When you ask Muslims to condemn or denounce heinous actions, ideologies or groups what you’re saying is that you don’t trust any Muslim," Sana Saeed, a San Francisco-based producer at the digital Al Jazeera channel AJ+, wrote in a recent blog post, "Why I Won't Condemn ISIS.
"[Y]ou're saying that I can’t be trusted until and unless I vocalize dissent against an individual, an action, an ideology or a group that claims to do something in the name of a shared identity."
Saeed said she was "tired of people in my communities constantly partaking in and creating public campaigns to put up a good face of our religion."
She added that she "can’t blame them for trying to show how they practice, envision and know Islam."
Similar opinion was shared by Maha Hilal, a 32-year-old Muslim activist and post-doctoral researcher in Arlington, Virginia, who said that Muslims at large should not feel compelled to defend Islam.
"When I am watching TV and I see pictures of ISIS fighters, I don't feel any relation to them, I don't feel any connection to their theology," said Hilal, who serves as the Director of Outreach and Member Engagement at the Peace and Collaborative Development Network.
"I want Muslims to get to the point where we see an act of terror and don't have to think, 'How will I get blamed?'"
Yet, in a society with increasing negative views of Islam, other American Muslims found themselves compelled to promote the true face of their religion.
"There's a fine line between apologizing for ISIS and proactively contradicting false narratives about Islam," Amanda Quraishi, a 40-year-old technical consultant and interfaith activist in Austin, Texas, said.
"We are at a point in time where we have to bear the burden of wide-scale fear and misinformation about our faith and the cultures of many of the people who practice it … I quite literally view it as our jihad," Quraishi, who serves on the board of directors at several faith-based organizations, added.
Imam Shafayat Mohamed, who leads the Darul Uloom mosque in Pembroke Pines, Florida, says it is an obligation for Muslims to condemn extremism.
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said the entire [Muslim world] is one human body. If one does something bad, it affects everyone. That's why it's our duty to speak out," he said. "It's not optional."
"We won't be punished on the Day of Judgment for others' crimes, but we will be questioned about whether or not we tried to stop people from committing them."
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