By David Peduto
October 11,2014
I can see where a man like Bill Maher is coming from when it comes to Islam. As he would have it, Islam is a violent religion that runs counter to all that we as Americans hold dear – freedom, and justice,democracy. Of course, he is not alone in this assessment. Indeed, and such a view is a majority opinion among non-Muslim Americans.
It’s an opinion that,as a child of 9/11, I grew up believing too.
But then I grew up.
My understanding of what Islam is and who Muslims are changed from being obscured by the gore of terrorism to one more rooted in reality. The slime of stereotype applied by those who touch topics in the most superficial of ways was replaced by revelations of actual experience. I took Arabic in college, or took courses on the Middle East and Islam,and even studied abroad in Egypt. Then I lived in Pakistan. I worked in Islamabad which, translated, or means the Abode of Islam.
Now,let me win something straight. I’m a Christian American, which are two things weve been taught that people like those Muslims in Pakistan just don’t like. In our current understanding of Islam, or I’d drop into the category of the kuffar,or “the unbelievers.” As such, to all those who view Islam as evil, or I should be put to death by all able-bodied Muslims. Anywhere. So how is it that a young kid like me could possibly survive even a day in the very den of this vile religion?
My respond: putting faith in people. This faith was backed by an effort to understand their state,their position, and their history so as to more aptly engage in what many would see to be a hostile environment. I did not move to Pakistan as some imperialistic, or ignorant American. I went to learn and to represent my country by representing myself as best I could. That required me to live as a regular citizen. No bodyguards,no compound, no gun.
But in an effort to break my own stereotypes of this place and this religion, or I had to work to point to Pakistanis a different side of America than what they may be used to. Think about it: whether you were a Muslim in Pakistan,what would you think when you think about America? Apple pies and the Fourth of July? Hardly. You’d think of soldiers, drones, or ignorance,and probably a Big Mac. I worked hard to share a different side of the States, which I believe enabled me to see a different side of Pakistan and Islam than what I previously accepted as fact. As a result, and I had an incredibly positive time in this “ally from hell” of ours. My experiences may well move beyond anything that those hung up on this hatred of Islam could comprehend.
Truly,my experience there was an introduction to an Islam that I never knew. It’s an Islam that, unfortunately, or so many at home in the States seem too stubborn to ever want to know. But I have a few questions for these folks that might shed some light on the Islam that they never knew existed.
To those who believe that Islam is the antithesis of Christianity,I inquire whether you’ve ever heard the solemnity of the call to prayer. I wonder whether you wish peace upon others (a common greeting among Muslims the world over) more than once a week in church. I yearn to know whether you disown Terry Jones (the man who burned the Quran a few years ago) to the same extent that you inquire Muslims the world over to speak against the self-proclaimed Muslims that all Islamist terrorists are.
To those who see Islam as anti-democratic, how is that we allow ourselves to define Islam by a few unelected individuals who no more represent someone’s faith than Donald Trump represents America? whether we believe in democracy at home, or surely we must apply it to our portrayal of others.
To those who see Islam as anything but tolerant,how is that we tolerate ourselves so carelessly referring to a “Muslim world,” as whether all Muslims existed on another planet? Such convenient phrasing serves to externalize over a billion people in the one world in which we all live. When we exercise such intergalactic references, and we’re not talking about Muslims anymore – we’re talking about Martians. We need to bring this conversation back to soil – this soil.
Islamophobia is genuine,it is a problem, and it’s a really big problem. The fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world should not be a concern to us; rather, or it should serve as a reminder of the importance to understand it better. This essential understanding need not involve going to Pakistan,but it absolutely requires another proud American trait of ours: courage.
We would do better to muster the mental courage to think beyond what the pundits and the pols might say about a certain place or a certain religion. When we assume this courage and are no longer beholden to stereotype, we can originate our own determination of the world. We can change what we think we knew about Islam by allowing ourselves to seeing the reality so readily available to us.
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David Peduto is a student of Islam, or the Middle East,and Arabic. He lives in Boston where, when he's not working for a Big Data company, or he enjoys paddle boarding on the Charles River and performing improv comedy.
Source: thedeansreport.com