By Fareeha Molvi, Glamour
Yesterday marked President Obama's first visit to a U.S. mosque. Speaking to a crowd at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, the president condemned anti-Muslim rhetoric, acknowledged the despair and fear Muslim Americans feel in the wake of rising Islamophobia, and reiterated the positive contributions of Muslims to the fabric of American society. Some might call the presidential appearance mere lip service. But I appreciated the glittering soundbites.
Feedback from the rest of the Muslim community has been varied, if not conflicted. On my Twitter feed, some voices have called for "less talk, more action," while others claimed that a visit in the lame-duck period of his presidency is "too little, too late." I, however, found the timing appropriate. Following the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crimes are at an estimated all-time high, even higher than in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. If there was ever a time that the American Muslim community needed the words and symbolism of a sitting president's visit to a mosque, it would be now. That he chose to take the initiative in light of current events, and not in service of a looming reelection campaign, differentiates the gesture from usual political pandering.
As a writer, I huff at the notion that words are just meaningless generalities. If that were true, bigoted yet empty Trumpisms wouldn't sting as much as they do. Even without the possibility of follow-through, words can affect us on a visceral level. Which is precisely why it still matters that someone with a national audience at his disposal said some really positive things about Muslims in a mosque.
Chief among them was the statement that Muslims have been and continue to be a productive part of the American fold. "You're not Muslim or American. You're Muslim and American," the president asserted, addressing the identity issues that many Muslim adolescents are experiencing while coming of age at such a turbulent time. Even for individuals outside of this life stage, the reaffirmation that your faith and nationality are not a mutually exclusive dichotomy is comforting.
But here is where things get problematic. President Obama acknowledged that while the burden on Muslims to routinely condemn the crimes of individuals that happen to share their religious identity is unfair, he said to see it as an opportunity rather than a burden. What followed was a clumsy dance around asking Muslim Americans to do their part to help root out extremism from within their communities while at the same time asserting that Muslim Americans are already doing this. "American Muslims are better positioned than any else to show that it is possible to be faithful to Islam and be part of a pluralistic society," the president said after earlier recognizing the contributions of exemplary Muslim Americans in sports, technology, science and the armed forces.
That he chose to take the initiative in light of current events, and not in service of a looming reelection campaign, differentiates the gesture from usual political pandering.
The ask for Muslims to just "do their part" is frequently trotted out in these types of venues and every time I'm left wondering the same thing: "What am I supposed to be doing on a daily basis to solve extremism?" The fact that I'm Muslim doesn't make me privy to the secret inner workings of ISIS. In fact, regularly congregating at a mosque and being plugged into the greater Muslim community has actually been identified as a deterrent to extremism.
Overall, I join other Muslim Americans in my sincere appreciation of this effort on the president's part. Many of the injustices facing Muslims today were addressed, yet still other policies in the Middle East, the controversial drone program and Guantanamo Bay were untouched. My hope is that this visit becomes a springboard for future action and does not solely remain a gesture.
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