Sunday's mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin carried a depressing familiarity. Every few weeks in America, people somewhere are shot en masse, a gunman is captured or killed, and the debate over gun control flourishes on opinion pages. But this shooting was different. It posed a question to the core American values: Do we stand up for the safety of our religious minorities with the same vigor as we do for the mainstream population?
The question was valiantly answered by the heroic act of the two police officers who did not hesitate to risk their own lives in order to save the lives of others -- in this case Sikhs, who are often mistaken for Muslims. They stood up to protect a Sikh congregation with the same vigor as was displayed for the victims of previous mass shootings.
For many Americans, embracing diversity of race, gender and religion is second nature. We take it for granted. But as a naturalized Muslim citizen, I wonder if a similar tragedy occurred against a minority in my homeland of Pakistan, would the authorities act so vigorously?
Sadly, I don't have to wonder. On May 28, 2010, four gunmen entered two mosques in Pakistan and started shooting at a slew of worshipers belonging to the members of my community, the Ahmadiyya Muslims, which the Pakistani government classifies as a religious minority. This is where the curves of the Pakistani and American authorities' response begin to diverge.
In Pakistan, the media broadcasted live images of the gunmen shooting at worshipers while the police stood by the sidelines. The pundits partly held the victims responsible for "provoking" the attacks by practicing their faith while reactions from Ahmadiyya Muslims went unreported. The attacks left the nation divided at best and united at worst -- united in disparaging the Ahmadiyya Muslims, that is.
In America, the victims' religion had no impact on the ferocity of the response of law enforcement agencies. The police chief barred the media from broadcasting any of their tactical maneuvers while the officers promptly confronted and killed the attacker, sustaining serious injuries in the process. The media decried the attack without qualification while the Sikh community's reactions flooded the TV channels. And the country is united in expressing condolences to the victims and their families.
The police chief was right. If it was not for the gallant officers' timely intervention, many more would have perished. I believe him. Since such a timely intervention was absent from the scene on May 28, 2010. Not six, but 86 Ahmadiyya Muslims were killed within a couple of hours.
Not all is rosy for American minorities. Some politicians and media personalities are actively engaged in fear mongering, mainly against American Muslims. Because some confuse them with Muslim extremists, the rhetoric has caused more than 1,000 hate crimes, including murders, against the American Sikh community since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. According to a Sikh leader in the Milwaukee area, two taxis owned by Sikh drivers were vandalized, and two Sikh men were assaulted there following 9/11. American Muslims still get to face the brunt of the injury, according to Muslim civil rights organizations, with thousands of complaints filed every year.
What, then, keeps the American minorities so committed to the United States? The answer lies in the wounds of the police officers recuperating in Wisconsin's hospitals. American minorities are cognizant that no matter how much hate the bigots spew and no matter how many bullets the lunatics fire, the institutions and the Constitution of America are on their side.
Go ahead. Change the gun laws. But please, never let anyone change this American trait of standing up for the religious minorities. The story of the police officers who rushed to the temple highlights the hidden triumph in the Wisconsin tragedy.
This article was originally published here.
Dr. Faheem Younus is an adjunct faculty for religion and history at the community colleges of Baltimore County. He blogs at www.muslimerican.com.
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I remember the time when we heard of the terrorist attack on the Ahmadi Mosque in Pakistan and we felt helpless watching our brothers die while the police station just a block away failed to take any action. I know how much people will blame USA that such a thing has happened but there is a great difference: In USA prompt action was taken - sincere condolences were given, and unbiased media coverage. In Pakistan the total opposite happened and the news was buried. I send out my sincere condolences to the Sikh Community. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has condemned this vile act of shooting. http://www.cisionwire.com/ahmadiyya-muslim-community-usa/r/muslims-condemn-shooting-at-sikh-temple,c9289320
I have had many Muslims point out to Me - that if instead of a Christian mans Domestic Terrorist attack on the Sikh Temple - Had it been a Muslim man shooting up a Christian Temple all the TV station would have suspended regular programing and done wall to wall coverage for weeks!
My humble advice is even though I do not know much about both theses Religions so far - Still I can say this, Every Brown Person, especially Muslims should Speak up on the News Media's utter faliure to provide in depth coverage of the Sikh Temple Shootings.
Then to Black America I say, well the Shooter was a White Supremacist, that means his #1 Target is Blacks or People of Color, so the Black Community should stop being silent on this Massacre - there is a self interest to the Black community to speak up! I say that also because Reverend Al Sharp-ton & Jessie Jackson have been Silent, and they normally are very loud when it concerns Black America, so I say it this Sikh Temple shooting does - HE was White Supremacist ok!
As for Rest of America, well your all Adults ask what would Jesus want you to do -Speak up???
Or let Evil
Here are just few examples of their response to this tragedy:
"(Washington, DC - August 6, 2012) The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is deeply saddened by news of a shooting yesterday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who lost their lives and to those who are suffering from critical injuries.
"The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that American Muslims "stand with their Sikh brothers and sisters" following a deadly shooting attack targeting a house of worship of that faith this morning in Wisconsin."
http://www.isna.net/events/Special-Announcement/ISNA-Offers-Condolences-After-Tragic-Shooting-at-Sikh-Temple-in-Wisconsin.aspx
"(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/5/12) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that American Muslims "stand with their Sikh brothers and sisters" following a deadly shooting attack targeting a house of worship of that faith this morning in Wisconsin.'
http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=26968&&name=n&&currPage=1
But we can only establish such a unity by convincing the extremists within Islam who get a high by calling and declaring someone a non-Muslim. We must unequivocally say that anyone who recites the kalima and practices the five pillars of Islam is a Muslim. Lets not create our own, regional and ethnic definitions of who is and is not a Muslim. Thats counterproductive.
If we can't believe someone to be a Muslim in our heart - great. But lets not take pride in campaigning to declare others non-Muslim. What do you think Knocker?
article 260 (3), clause (b):
“non-Muslim” means a person who is not a Muslim and includes a person belonging to the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Parsi community, a person of the Quadiani Group or the Lahori Group who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name or a Bahai, and a person belonging to any of the Scheduled Castes.
BTW, if a country has a clause to declare a Muslim as a non-Muslim, is it ok to let them be slaughtered in broad daylight?
Also, could you please define who IS a Muslim in Pakistan? Because in the Munir commission report, Pakistani Mullah could not agree on a single definition of a Muslim!
http://newageislam.com/books-and-documents/Munir-Commission-Report-into-Anti-Ahmadiya%20Riots%20in%20Pakistan-Contents%20and%20Introduction/d/2553
So please, take care of your own backyard first.
"Go ahead. Change the gun laws. But please, never let anyone change this American trait of standing up for the religious minorities."
Changing gun laws will never prevent what happened from happening; it's not law abiding people who own guns who are running around murdering others. Those people who do, or would, will always find a way to obtain a weapon of some kind or another. Why people think that only guns kill people is bewildering.
And, least we forget, this young man who murdered, was himself a religious minority/diversity.
What made this young man different then other young men? Religion?
What I have noticed over the past few years is that slowly but steadily, Human Rights are being replaced by "Diversity" as the Primary Culture of the USA. Our universities, governments and public pundits all extoll the virtures of "diversity", when in fact "diversity" has no virtues. Diversity is a fact of life, it "is what it is", and it's not a virture, its simply the fossils leftovers.
Human Rights are a virtue. Human Rights by intent and default can embrace diversity whereas diversity by intent and default does not embrace Human Rights, which isn't to say that people of various and diverse cultures don't or can't embrace Human Rights.
And, as this event shows, not all people of all cultures embrace Human Rights.
We need to teach Human Rights, not diversity.
I hope the injured recover soon, and may the souls of the departed rest in peace. As an Ahmadi Muslim citizen of this great country, I am all too aware of the cruelties that religious and racial bigots for centuries have wrought, in many different countries, upon the peace-loving. To add a detail to Dr. Younus’s article, Pakistan’s societal civility has been hijacked so completely by fanatics that a regional minister in that country was publicly condemned for having the gall to call the May 2010 Ahmadi victims “our brothers and sisters”! How very different --- and for this I am moved and deeply grateful --- is U.S. society’s response to these unfortunate mass killings!
May the selfless courage of these principled officers serve as a guiding light for all who follow!
Peace to all!
Say no more.