Page 21 - Pakistan Link - July 16, 2021

COMMENTARY JULY 16, 2021 – PAKISTAN LINK – P21

n By Dr S. M. Ghazanfar Islam: As American as Apple Pie - 2
Emeritus Faculty including Sufi-Muslim poetry from Persia” –
University of Idaho Hafiz, Saadi, Rumi, etc. He often agonized that
Moscow, Idaho more Americans were not familiar with those
Islamic traditions, and that it was too provincial
nd moving to some other cultural to ignore them.
connections, there is the Ancient He wasn’t alone; there were others –Walt
AArabic Order of the Nobles of the Whitman, David Thoreau, etc. Further, a
Mystic Shrine, formed as a secret society in ‘google’ search revealed scores of such cultural
1870, identified with the Free Masons, known linkages. I found a 2003 sermon by Rev. Roger
simply as the Shriners. With their bright red Bertschausen, Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist
Moroccon-Turkish fezzes (with an inverted Fellowship, Wisconsin, in which he says, “An-
crescent, topped by a sword), their elabo- other similarity to Unitarian-Universalism is
rate buildings mirror Islamic mosques (now Islam’s view that religion is far more about prac-
called temples) and Arabic inscriptions that tice and deeds than about theology and creeds.
are exact Islamic phrases, the Shriners pres- Islam is a religion primarily of action and works
ent the Arab-Islamic world quite distinctly, – just like UU. How we live in the world is the
though in a perverse fashion. From their very crux of both UU and Muslim spirituality. ....
beginning, they dressed like medieval Mus- So, take the Trinity and divinity of Jesus out of
lim men and pretended to be part of a secret Christianity, get rid of belief in original sin and
society that they traced to Mecca and their the resurrection of Jesus, focus on practice and
gathering places were called ‘mosques,’ with deeds, and you have not just Islam, but Unitar-
names such as Mecca, Medina, Al-Koran, ian Universalism. Ours are truly kindred faiths.”
Al-Malaikah, etc. They printed documents And finally I will conclude with this plea
in Arabic, paraded down streets with camels and wish that someday Muslims and Arabs will
and mechanical elephants, consumed lots of be fully accepted as a vital, integral part of the
alcohol – the group began as an orientalist American culture. From its very beginning,
playground for partying and drinking – the America intersected with the Islamic world,
mainstay of early Shriner events. borrowing from it, admonishing it, fearing it,
And Shriners would mimick Islamic greet- and co-existing with it. And indeed there are
ings, “Salam-o-Alaikum” (peace be upon you). myriad contemporary manifestations of this in-
Their parades around the country continue till termingling.
today. At a 1900 parade in front of the White For our co-existence and survival, we need
House, President McKinley stood attention, as people of various faiths whose vistas are broad
the Shriners Imperial Potentate addressed him and hearts capacious. So many of our boundar-
in Arabic and greeted him with “Assalamo- ies are of our making. If we can’t undo them,
Alaikum.” At another parade in 1921, President we can at least enlarge their scope. By alienating
Harding spoke to the Shriners in Arabic, telling Bridgeport, Conn. Its architectural design and San Antonio do not mean that we should give those who are different, we end up alienating
them “Wa-alaikum-assalam” (peace be upon all related paraphernalia, including some Islam- them Islamic names, but at a basic level, “the ourselves and diminishing our own humanity.
you too). Then in 1923, Harding adorned his ic scriptures, were straight out of Islamic Spain. Islamic past of the French Quarter and of San Indeed, we do need generous heretics.
head with a bright red fez as he watched the This “Oriental Villa,” as Barnum called it, was Antonio’s historic churches demands a reimag-
Shriners parade. destroyed in a fire in 1857, and today the only ining of these cherished American icons” and COVENANTS FROM P11
Until recently, their parades presented the vestiges of Iranistan are in Bridgeport’s Barnum their links to Arab-Islamic culture must be rec- miliar with the Qur’an is a significant revela-
Arabs as distinct “others,” as sword-swinging Museum, located on a street named Iranistan ognized. tion, and credit is due to Denise A. Spellberg
desert nomads, dressed in the Bedouin garbs, Avenue. And finally, there are, of course, deep con- for disseminating it. As she showed in her
with marching camels and scantily-clad ha- There are, of course, numerous other groundbreaking book, Jefferson had both posi-
rem girls, etc.-- all that one is also accustomed structures that distinctly reflect Islamic archi- He wasn’t alone; there were tive and negative views of Islam. Still, despite
to seeing in Hollywood movies. Obviously, tecture – often even in ordinary dwellings all others –Walt Whitman, some misinformation and misgivings, he re-
Shriners’ parades today are not quite different around us, usually identified as “Spanish or mained tolerant and inclusive. In fact, in 1784,
these days, and the former ‘mosques’ are now Moorish design,” really meaning “Islamic.” And David Thoreau, etc. Further, a he shared a radical idea, namely, that “Differ-
called ‘temples.’ Yet considerable nomenclature a rather famous such structure is California’s ‘google’ search revealed scores ence in religion is advantageous in religion”
remains; for example, their governing body is thoroughly ‘Moorish’ Hearst Castle. And there (Spellberg 115). According to Spellberg, Jef-
called the “Imperial Divan.” is Al-Hambra Palace hotel in Chicago, inspired of such cultural linkages. I ferson drew this idea from John Locke. While
What started out as a huge party-club, the by Granada’s Al-Hambra Palace of 13th century found a 2003 sermon by Rev. this might be true it is also true that the first
Shriners later assumed the role of charity and Islamic Spain; and there is the city of Alham- person to profess such a principle was the
volunteerism and this philanthropic spirit le- bra in southern California, as is the same-name Roger Bertschausen, Fox Prophet Muhammad who said that “Difference
gitimized them in the eyes of many Americans, movie house in Evansville, Indiana. And there Valley Unitarian Universalist in opinion [in religious matters], is a mercy for
including our more recent Presidents – Harry is the Alhambra Department Store in Seattle. my community.”
Truman and JFK, both of whom delivered And then there is Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal Fellowship, Wisconsin, in which Thomas Jefferson also “wrote on Muslims,
speeches from the Shriners’ Syria “mosque” in in Atlantic City, NJ, inspired by the Mughal Taj he says, “Another similarity Islamic theology, practice, and history in four
Pittsburgh. Mahal of India. separate series of notes in his Literary and Legal
That mosque looks exactly like a mosque, Perhaps less well-known are places with to Unitarian-Universalism is Commonplace Books” (Spellberg 93). When prac-
with Arabic inscription “La ghalib il-Allah’ Islamic heritage in the South. However, one Islam’s view that religion is far ticing law, he used to draw upon Islamic legal
(‘there is no victor but Allah’) rimming the scholar notes, “Nowhere are the [Arab-Islamic] precedents (96). He also may have drawn upon
building top – and it is often mistaken as a gen- traditions seen more dramatically than in New more about practice and deeds the Qur’an during negotiations with ‘Abd al-
uine mosque by newcomers from the Islamic Orleans and San Antonio, both of which were than about theology and creeds. Rahman, the ambassador of Tripoli (145-156), in
world. But more famous is the Al-Malaikah under Spanish control” before becoming part of Islam is a religion primarily of dealings with Hammuda Bey, the ruler of Tunis,
“mosque” in Los Angeles, which has hosted the United States. Spanish style houses in New and in meetings with ambassador Suleyman Mel-
numerous Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys, and Orleans’ French quarter reflect a fusion of archi- action and works – just like UU. limelli of Tunisia (218-227).
from its architecture and other representations tectural norms (balconies, ironwork with geo- How we live in the world is the Since his views on Islam, the Prophet, the
(e.g., depictions of Muslim men on camels, next metric designs, courtyards, patios, etc.) which Qur’an, and Islamic law stood in such sharp con-
to palm trees, next to mosques with minarets Spain had adopted from centuries of Islamic crux of both UU and Muslim trast to the anti-Islamic views that prevailed at the
and domes, etc.), this “mosque” seems straight influence. spirituality. .... So, take the time, it comes as no surprise that Thomas Jeffer-
out of the Arabian Nights. And in San Antonio, there is the Alamo. son was accused of being a Muslim, a heretic, an
And what comes to me as a huge surprise Aside from its battleground fame, Alamo was Trinity and divinity of Jesus infidel, and an atheist by his opponents (Spellberg
is this. Shriners’ best-known sports facility is originally built in 1924 as a Catholic semi- out of Christianity, get rid of 212-216, 271). In fact, the very fact that he was toler-
the Medinah Country Club near Chicago. The nary in San Antonio. But what is Moorish/Is- ant of other religions was treated as proof that he was
main gate of this club tells visitors as they leave, lamic about Alamo? There is beautifully carved belief in original sin and the no true Christian (213).
“Allah be with you.” And with its Islamic domes, Moorish doorway, with intricate, geometric resurrection of Jesus, focus on Thomas Jefferson believed in One God, reject-
arches, and turbaned statutes, the Club offers floral pattern, and its formal style architecture practice and deeds, and you have ed organized religion, insisted that he worshipped
a lake named after Prophet Mohammed’s first and design includes an Islamic element. “The the same God as the Muslims, and viewed Jesus as
wife, Khadija. archways, featuring alternating red and white not just Islam, but Unitarian a human being who called people to belief in divine
Clearly, the Shriners saw the Arabs/Mus- bands, are exact copies of the archways from unity. As he himself said, “The religion of Jesus is
lims through an “orientalist” prism – a deni- the Aljama Mosque” in Cordoba built in 784 by Universalism. Ours are truly founded on the Unity of God” (Spellberg 229). “No
gration and “commodification” of a people, as Spain’s Islamic rulers. During 300 years of Span- kindred faiths.” historical fact is better established,” Jefferson as-
the late Edward Said would call it, and clearly ish presence in the Americas, Spanish architects serted, “than that the doctrine of one God, pure and
reflecting the “us vs. them” mentality. Yet, for adopted numerous “Moorish ideas into scores uncompounded, was that of the early ages of Chris-
good or bad, Shriners’ history and their vari- of churches, including sites in what are today nections between the Islamic world and the tianity” (229). “Thinking men of all nations,” he pro-
ous manifestations at least helped introduce the Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico” Unitarian-Universalist tradition. The “father claimed, “rallied readily to the doctrine of one only
idea of Arabs/Muslims culture. (p.10, Coriel). And here is a surprise: Columbus of transcendentalism,” “America’s first public god” (229). He faulted Muslim jurists, however, for
And then there are numerous historic and was an admirer of Islamic buildings and during intellectual,” as the dissident pastor of Boston’s their literal adherence to the Qur’an (Spellberg 231).
contemporary architectural wonders in Amer- his first voyage to America, he saw a hill on the Second Church is sometime called, the eminent Conclusions
ica that distinctly reflect Arab-Islamic cultural Cuban coast and he exclaimed, there is “a beau- 19th century Unitarian minister, Ralph Waldo Not only was Thomas Jefferson familiar with
linkages. The very first such wonder was built tiful mosque.” Emerson “embarked on a spiritual odyssey that the Qur’an, he was also familiar with the Covenants
in 1847 by P.T. Barnum, the famous circus- As one scholar notes, the Islamic connec- would see him embrace the literary and reli- of the Prophet Muhammad. That is also
man who built a mansion called “Iranistan” in tions to various structures of New Orleans and gious traditions of the East, including Islam and COVENANTS, P24
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