Some have argued that Islam was one of the victims of 9/11, hijacked like those planes on that horrific day a decade ago.
I disagree.
While some Americans mistook al Qaeda's loud religious rhetoric for real domination, in reality Islam was safe on the 11th of September and every day after, quietly inspiring millions of believers to reject violence, serve humanity, and demand their freedom.
From the very first instant, Muslim American first responders tapped into their spiritual tradition for the courage to risk death so that others may live. Others sought comfort in its values as they grieved for their lost loved ones.
For millions more, Islam fueled their moral outrage at the barbaric act of murder and their sympathy for the victims. A recent Abu Dhabi Gallup report on Muslim Americans found it to be the most likely American faith community to unequivocally reject attacks on civilians as 'never justified.' Asked to explain their rejection of 9/11, Gallup global opinion research found that Muslim respondents from Morocco to Malaysia referenced their moral and religious principles.
The faith of a billion shaped what Muslims were for, not just what they were against over the past ten years. The faithful worked to fulfill their religion's injunctions to serve God in serving others by feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and treating the ill.
This longstanding contribution first got national attention in the summer of 2009 when President Obama called all Americans to serve in their community to aid in the nation's economic recovery. Muslim Americans enthusiastically responded.
The community's national and local organizations provided meals, clothing and health supplies to tens of thousands of homeless Americans, continuing or scaling up regular service projects and beginning new ones. Muslim American doctors provided free medical care to uninsured Americans at more than 30 free medical clinics throughout the country. Grass roots organizers educated urban residents about disaster readiness, cleaned parks and built homes for neighbors without, as charities provided new text books to schools on Native American reservations. MuslimServe, a national Muslim American service campaign, counted more than 3000 day long service projects in just the summer of '09, and the effort continues.
This volunteer effort not only served Americans of all faiths, but 90 percent of the projects were themselves interfaith efforts, countering any notion of an insular religious community, and earning the work White House recognition.
Earning the world's recognition and providing the greatest proof of al Qaeda's impotence in capturing Islam were the unarmed faithful millions who took to the streets across the Middle East and North Africa to demand their universal rights. We often forget that Ayman Alzawahri's original target was the Mubarak regime. In Egypt, ordinary people whose peaceful protests often began with prayer, achieved in weeks what al Qaeda's bombs failed to accomplish in decades.
This rising call for dignity defines this era's final year, just as the attacks of 9/11 were its piercing start. The former propelled by the moral conviction of the many, the latter by the fanaticism of a fringe. Though many challenges lie ahead, the historical transformations of the past months signal that it will be the principled actions of the millions not the destructive drives of the few that define the next decade.
Dalia Mogahed is director and senior analysts at the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center and the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. She is co-author with John L. Esposito of "Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think." She writes here in her personal capacity.
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I disagree.
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So do I.
Islam was not hijacked. Its Islamist, jihadist chickens came home to roost.
Centuries of feeding Muslims the belief that Islam's destiny is to politically dominate all other religions, through dawa and jihad produces consequences.
Some Muslims took mainstream jihadist doctrine seriously and acted on it, without much observance of the niceties of protocol.
We assassinated bin Laden with an equal disregard for protocol, law and treaty.
That's what happens in all wars.
the historical transformations of the past months signal that it will be the principled actions of the millions not the destructive drives of the few that define the next decade.
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The ideology of al Qaeda is violent Islamism. It appears to me that non violent Islamism will define the new governments produced by the principled actions of the millions in the Arab Spring.
Would you be unhappy if that turned out to be the case, Ms. Mogahed?
The current Islamophobia here is a combination of acknowledgement and denial of the above hostility, together with the unfolding events of radicalization of the European Muslims and demographic changes in Europe. Islamophobia spreads as far as India and Australia.
These people point back at 9/11, obviously, but that's not all they are saying.
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And the target of The Muslim Brotherhood - in which there is also The Muslim Sisterhood.....
This is an international organization that is banned as a terrorist group in many nations, and which is openly dedicated to the worldwide imposition of Sharia and the destruction of all governments that are constituted according to any other political philosophy -- including Constitutional republics that do not establish a state religion.
On the show with Mogahed were two Hizb-ut-Tahrir who repeatedly attacked "man-made law" and the "lethal cocktail of liberty and capitalism" one encounters in Western societies. They said Sharia should be "the source of legislation." Not "a" source. "The" source.
Mogahed, for her part, offered no contradiction to any of this. Should an adviser to the President of the United States really have given her sanction to such a group? Apparently she has no problem with its goal, since instead of defending the American system of government, she maintained that Sharia was popular among Muslim women
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I post this - out of respect for my country, The United States of America - and all that the US Constitution represents - along w our Bill of Rights.
Are there good reasons for Muslim to be suspicious of the US government, yes. Is there any way to excuse the joy at seeing US civilians killed, no.
All the do-good acts afterward cannot change that fact. Until Muslim clerics address that issue directly instead of just says Islam condemns this, US conservatives will have a field day attacking Islam.
When World War II ended, Christian churches in the West had to deal with the evil anti-Semitism of many Christians that led to massive killing of Jews. Christian clerics could have done what Muslim clerics do and ignore the evils done by people who were members of their flocks. Instead Christianity, post WWII, address anti-Semitism. The result isn't perfect, but at least anti-Semitism has been address directly. Muslims need to do something similar.
Ten years following 9/11, we are engaged in multiple conflicts in the Muslim world and the rift between the Muslim world and the West, are much more profuse than they were in 2001. A reliance of continued foreign military engagement, in multiple Muslim nations, will not solve the broader conflict within those societies, and has resulted in countless civilians being killed. This strategic policy, initiated following 9/11, is counterproductive and has amplified the rift between Muslims and the non-Muslim world. This contemporary reality calls for greater awareness, original thinking and validates a need in establishing new models of engagement--in addressing these negative stereotypes.
A reversal in attitudes--inciting greater cultural understanding through dialogue and awareness and by promoting "religious tolerance" in countering this tumultuous relationship is urgently needed. Subsequently, the first step in reversing this widespread trend, should begin by presenting "Islam" and the "Muslim ethos" in a more positive light.