Should Muslims
Be Allowed to Impose Islam on Americans?
By Dr Muqtedar Khan
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science & International
Relations
University of Delaware
Non-Resident Fellow, Brookings Institution
Many Muslim cab drivers in
Minneapolis are refusing to allow passengers carrying
alcohol in their cabs, saying it is against the
Islamic Shariah [law] to do so. More than half
the taxi drivers on the airport are Muslims, and
as soon as they got a majority, they have resorted
to imposing their beliefs on others.
Imagine if you have just flown in from Baghdad
after a long flight, you can’t wait to get
home, reconnect with your family, and share a
glass of some exotic alcoholic drink that you
purchased on Dubai airport [a Muslim country]
with your wife to celebrate your return home alive
from Iraq. It is 2.00 AM but your reunion is delayed
because cab after cab, driven by Muslims, refuses
to take you home once they spot you carrying alcohol.
Sounds crazy, but sadly it is true. As a Muslim
I am both ashamed and shocked at this strange
conduct of my coreligionists. In principle Islam
does not advocate imposition of Islamic values
on others; there are several injunctions in Islamic
sources which make this clear. To cite only two;
“Let there be no compulsion in religion”
[Qur’an: 2:256] and “To us shall be
accounted our deeds, and to you, your deeds. Let
there be no contention between us and you: God
will bring us all together - for with Him is all
journey’s end" [Qur’an, 42:15].
But when it comes to contemporary Muslims, we
must always remember, there is always an ocean
between what Islam teaches in principle and what
Muslims practice in reality. Most Muslims will
acknowledge this readily. I call it the ocean
of ignorance.
Apparently, the cab drivers have provided the
Metropolitan Airports Commission with a Fatwa
dated June 06, 2006, from the Fatwa department
of the local chapter of the Muslim American Society
[MAS]. The fatwa proclaims that "Islamic
jurisprudence" prohibits taxi drivers from
carrying passengers with alcohol, "because
it involves cooperating in sin according to Islam."
MAS, the organization behind this fitna [Arabic
for contention and strife], is the American extension
of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, a close affiliate
of Islamic Circle of North America. MAS hypocritically
runs a public affairs department called “Freedom
Foundation”. I guess it is seeking the freedom
to infringe on the freedom of others.
To be fair to them, Islamic sources do forbid
alcohol consumption unequivocally [Qur’an
2:219] and Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings
be upon him, also forbid trade in alcohol [Bukhari
34:297, 8:449, 34:429], but all these sources
forbid selling and trading alcohol. Extending
this ban to giving rides to tired travelers carrying
alcohol for personal consumption requires an irrational
and politically motivated leap that smells of
mischief. Moderates and Muslims of goodwill should
not stand for such thinly veiled attempts to sow
discord.
Most Muslim scholars and most Muslims of Minnesota
will tell you that the fatwa is indeed without
merit. And indeed many Muslim voices, yours truly
included, have already condemned and ridiculed
this position. Even in Saudi Arabia, which is
usually the champion when it comes to extremely
narrow, irrational and intolerant interpretations
of Islam, non-Muslims are allowed to consume alcohol,
and even carry them on flights.
The alcohol issue is not really the problem. It
is just a tip of the iceberg. It raises a fundamental
and critical issue: Can Muslims who live in free
and democratic societies, simultaneously demand
freedom and tolerance for Islam while denying
others the same? Can we and should we demand freedom
to practice Islam and then turn around and use
these same freedoms to impose anachronistic understandings
of Islam on others.
What next? Will Muslim doctors working in ER refuse
to administer to patients brought in from an accident
site or with a heart attack because they have
alcohol on their breath? Will Muslim doctors refuse
to serve an HIV positive patient because he or
she is gay? Will Muslim fire fighters refuse to
save people who are caught in a fire in a place
that sells alcohol? Will Muslim cops refuse to
protect women who do not wear Hijab [head scarf]?
Will Muslim teachers refuse to educate children
because their mothers do not wear the veil? All
of the above would entail supporting sin according
to popular Muslim beliefs.
If the cab episode in Minnesota becomes a norm,
and MAS could make it so - it claims that it is
the biggest Muslim grassroots organization in
America - can America then trust Muslims in any
job where it is important to treat all people,
Muslim and non-Muslim, sinner and Imam equally?
Since 98% of Americans are non-Muslims, I am sure
they routinely commit acts which according to
Islam are sins, such as worshipping Jesus. Will
Muslims stop doing business with them?
Can Muslims live with those who do not share their
beliefs?
This is an important debate, especially for Muslim
immigrants, who come to America with their religious
baggage. Are we here to give our families a better
life or are we here to convert America into an
Afghanistan under the Taliban? Do we want to use
American freedoms to learn about Islam and practice
it in an intimidation free environment, or use
it to spread the disease of religious intolerance?
Will Muslim presence in America strengthen it
or subvert it?
American Muslims have the opportunity to demonstrate
that not only is Islam a religion for all times
and all places but it is not a threat or trial
for others. We can prove that Muslims can live
in harmony with non-Muslims and that the thesis
of the clash of civilizations is bogus.
America, in spite of its faults, its limitations
and even its sins and sinners, is easily the best
place to live on earth. If you do not believe
me, then ask the millions of Muslims desperate
to leave their countries, their families, their
societies to come to America.
The thing that is most precious about America
is not its capitalist nature or its wealth, it
is the first amendment. The ideal of freedom of
religion and thought in America has allowed it
to become a society that most people in the world
aspire to emulate and live in. The principle of
freedom of religion allows Muslims to practice
Islam. In essence there can be no faith without
freedom; it must therefore be guarded very jealously.
A vast majority of American Muslims are highly
educated, enlightened and have for decades performed
their jobs with dignity, integrity and excellence.
Unlike the Fatwa department of MAS, they remember
what the Qur’an really teaches:
Where Muslims are allowed to practice their religion
and there is no one trying to drive them away
from their homes, Muslims are required to deal
kindly and justly with all non-Muslims [Qur’an
60:8]. Muslim scholars have a name for places
like America – Dar-ul-Aman [house of peace].
We, and by we I mean all Americans, Muslims and
non-Muslims must not allow, a few rotten apples,
to impose their thoughtless understanding of Islam
on others, subvert free societies, distort Islamic
teachings and undermine the hope for a harmonious
relationship between America and its Muslims.
At 2 AM in the morning, we cannot leave you hanging
in the cold waiting to go home, it would be inhuman.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
