Long-term
Problems Require Long-term Efforts
By Saleem Akhtar
Chicago, Illinois
The Great Chinese philosopher
Confucius was once asked what he would do first
if he were given the reigns of a country. “It
would certainly be to correct language”.
But it has nothing to do with governance, his
disciples argued.
Confucius replied: “If language is not correct
then what is said is not what is meant. If what
is said is not what is meant, then what ought
to be done remains undone; if this remains undone
then morals and art will deteriorate; if morals
and art deteriorate, justice will go astray; if
justice goes astray, people will stand about in
helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness
in what is said. This matters above everything.”
Today, most of what is being said among American
Muslims is motivated by pain, frustration, anger
and anguish, but not by much reflection and planning
to solve existing and emerging problems.
We have been overwhelmed by the contemporary culture
of instant gratification that has shaped our approach
to everything including politics. Action span
is becoming short like attention span. We are
developing a collective temperament for immediacy
of interest, action, and results. Any effort that
does not yield immediate success is immediately
abandoned.
We are losing the capacity to think and act long-term.
Consequently we are measuring long-term problems
with short-term yardsticks. We are asking marathon
runners for the speed of sprinters. We are, also,
failing to recognize that the journey of thousand
miles begins with a small step.
Features of long-term struggle include objective
assessment, realistic expectations, perpetual
commitment, careful planning, organized and ongoing
struggle, constant refinement of goals and strategies,
and systematic outreach to increase the number
of friends and reduce the number of foes.
Without patience and perseverance there can be
no long-term struggle.
The community must develop realistic assessments
and expectations in view of the ground realities.
To give the impression that a minority community
that is less than 2 percent of the total population
can change the overall policies of the United
States overnight to turn the rising conservative
tide of history is to engage in self-delusion
and public deception.
It can be done, and most likely will be done,
but not in a short span of time and not by Muslims
alone.
Even if American Muslims were to limit themselves
to four goals, namely, equality (civil liberties
and human rights), inclusion, end of war against
Iraq and Afghanistan, and improvement of US relations
with the Muslim world, it will take us at least
five to ten years, maybe even longer, to accomplish
these goals.
Even if every one of the seven million American
Muslims were to become a perfect activist, still
we will not be able to solve the present crisis
in the short run. It took blacks 330 years to
gain the modicum of equality and freedom in this
country. But like blacks and every other oppressed
community we shall overcome. But first we must
understand the gravity of the present state of
adversity.
We are having difficulty in recognizing that as
a “two percent” minority, no matter
how well we are organized, we cannot change the
course of history when at least 53 percent of
the rest of the country is determined to move
in the other direction. Any change will only occur
when the present tide of history has run its course.
Certain quarters are using this unwillingness
to face facts to confuse and divide. Consistent
with the recommendations made in the viciously
anti-Muslim Rand Report about various ways of
controlling Muslims, hyped hopes and unrealistic
expectations are being used to subvert thoughtful,
planned and organized Muslim participation.
We must prepare ourselves to understand and accept
that we may not succeed in solving one or more
problems for a long-time, and we may face severe
setbacks and reversals. We should also be ready
for greater hostility from various quarters. History
of struggle for civil and human rights is known
to follow a “two steps forward, one step
back” pattern.
The American Muslims must recognize that our problems
have a long-term aspect to them and they cannot
be solved without a long-term effort. The role
of the Muslim intelligentsia and the Muslim media
in creating this awareness and inculcating a collective
determination to persist cannot be overemphasized.
We must prepare ourselves for legal and moral
efforts that could take ten to twenty years to
succeed. This preparation must be intellectual,
emotional, and, above all, organizational.
National Muslims organizations, the American Muslim
Taskforce (AMT) in particular, deserve full credit
for their determination to plan and act long-term.
By fostering unity of purpose and establishing
a common platform they have laid the foundation
for ten-to-twenty-year civil rights struggle.
Today, the AMT embodies the long-term determination
of the American Muslim community and must be fully
supported.
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