American Muslims:
Got A Voice? Use It!
By Sarah Badran
University of Southern California
Immediately after 9/11, a fatwa
was issued that Muslim women living in America
and fearing retaliation, could put their hijab
aside in order to protect their own lives. I am
not a religious scholar, but I am a Muslim woman
and I regularly exercise my right to think. A
fatwa is a non-binding religious opinion, subject
to debate, so maybe someone can help me to understand
this one, which has far reaching implications.
The Qur'anic Verse 59 of Surah An-Nur (The Light)
was revealed at a time when Muslim women were
a persecuted minority, similar to our situation
in the USA after 9/11. God, in His Wisdom, did
not tell them to dress like the non-Muslims, and
to try to blend in with the crowd. Rather, He
told them just the opposite; He extolled them
to dress in such a way that would clearly differentiate
them from the others, saying that this would prevent
them from being hurt.
"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters,
and the believing women, that they should cast
their outer garments over their persons (when
abroad): that is most convenient, that they should
be known (as such) and not molested. And God is
Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful" (33:59).
I have been wearing hijab since 9/11, and I have
not been the victim of any hate crimes. Of course,
I do receive some glares on Sunday; the occasional
well-wisher taps me on the shoulder and angrily
tells me, "Jesus loves you!" I have
been told that my name cannot be Sarah because
that is a Jewish name. For the most part, however,
I am either complimented or politely questioned
about the headscarf, thus opening the door to
dialogue and education of the well-meaning average
non-Muslim American. It is not always enough;
some people are shocked that I 'sound American',
and then ask if I am a nun or Amish, but that
is still a door to dialogue.
I wear the hijab instead of wearing a sign that
says "Muslim" on my forehead. People
know that I am proud to be Muslim, and that I
am not a member of a "sleeper cell,"
waiting to jump out of the bushes and attack.
I have thus given the opportunity to my patients
to walk out of my waiting room and find a different
doctor for their children; to my surprise, my
patients from every religious and political persuasion
and every ethnic background have all been accepting
and trusting, expressing gratitude that I am their
child’s doctor.
In "The Light," the Qur'an clearly tells
us to stand out proudly for who we are and what
we believe in, not to hide or try to blend into
the crowd. I am not proposing that all Muslim
women wear hijab, or that all Muslim men wear
traditional Pakistani attire and grow a long beard.
I am proposing that all Muslims in Western countries
must find their own way to stick out and stand
up in any way they can.
For four years now, we have heard incessantly,
" Where is the Muslim voice condemning extremism?"
and "Where are the moderate Muslims?"
Every major American Muslim organization has clearly
and loudly condemned all forms of extremism. They
have condemned extremism directed against Muslims
as well as extremism emanating from Muslims, but
it has never reached the critical threshold at
which it can be clearly heard by average Americans.
The most extreme example of this was the biased
media behavior following the Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC) convention on Saturday, December
18 in Long Beach, California. Over 1,500 Muslims
convened to discuss "Countering Religious
and Political Extremism," and spent the day
discussing peace, tolerance and methods of countering
religious extremism. The media was invited, and
was present, but declined to cover the convention.
There was a plethora of negative coverage in anticipation
of the convention, with MPAC being described as
an "Islamist" organization, and a "front
for the Muslim brotherhood of Egypt." One
particularly sly accusation was that MPAC was
so good at "acting American" that staff
members do not even have an accent. Based on what
I hear on the news, talk shows and fro m colleagues,
a meeting where 1,500 Muslims convene to denounce
religious extremism and terrorism would be important
news to all Americans, but apparently, the media
could find nothing negative to say about MPAC
following the convention, so they chose to say
nothing at all!
The media is biased and is not free in the USA,
and there it is now as clear as day that the media
has a mandate to keep non-Muslim Americans afraid
of their Muslim counterparts. We have a virtually
insurmountable task in attempting to counteract
the media, which has decided that it will only
report Muslim activity if it proves that Islam
is evil and Muslims are terrorists. Contrary to
my prior beliefs, an anti-terrorism rally would
not help to raise our voice; if reported at all,
it would be that "a crowd of Muslims were
holding up traffic, had the potential to become
violent and the crowd was dispersed by tear-gas."
American Muslims must stand up for Islam, heads
held high, during every minute of ev ery day,
and in every encounter, without fear of intimidation
or retaliation. To follow a fatwa that describes
putting aside the hijab or trying to otherwise
dissolve into the crowd is to allow the media
conspiracy to win. "Bad" Muslims will
continue to be prominently featured in the news,
and "good" Muslims will be invisible
in the crowd.
So to all Muslims I say, stand tall, stand proud.
Got a voice? Use it!
(Sarah Badran is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
at the Keck School of Medicine of the University
of Southern California)
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