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America
represents ‘true’ Islamic principles
"America may be the most Islamic country in the world. With our Bill of
Rights and our national history, we have struggled to implement the central
Islamic principle which commands pluralism in matters of gender, race, national
origin and religion."
By Tammam Adi and Patricia Adi.
Afghanistan's Taliban government
has outlawed work and education for women in the name of Islam. Is this based on
Islamic scripture? Definitely not.
The prophet of Islam, Muhammad,
was hired by a businesswoman named Khadija. She later proposed to him and they
had a happy marriage which lasted until she died. And Muhammad said,
"Seeking knowledge is a religious duty for every Muslim man and
woman." The Prophet also said, "The best of you is the one who treats
his wife best."
In fact, singing under the balcony
of the beloved, kissing a lady's hand, kneeling before the fiancee and other
European gallantries were inspired by the Islamic treatment of women in the
Middle Ages.
The abuse of women in some Islamic
countries is therefore clearly unIslamic. What the Taliban are doing with women
is merely an authoritarian measure they claim is based on Islam. It has as
little to do with Islam as a burning cross has to do with Jesus.
The Quran states that women have
the same rights as they have duties. Men and women are addressed as equal in
many verses. Spousal disputes are resolved by mediation and although the fathers
are responsible for child support and alimony, the Quran prohibits using
children to harrass divorced fathers or mothers.
Another example is the Shiite
"Islamic revolutionaries" of Iran, who call America "the Great
Satan." In many Muslim countries ruled by more or less undemocratic
governments, there is propaganda against America as an enemy of Islam. Some
American "experts" claim that Islam is hostile to the American way of
life.
But the Islamic scripture, the
Quran, proclaims just the opposite. "O humanity, I have created you all
from one man and one woman and spread you out into races and nations so that you
recognize each other as members of one family. The only difference between you
is the one God will make in the hereafter, based on your faith and
behavior."
In Islamic Spain, Muslims,
Christians and Jews lived as brothers and sisters in one society. Spanish
Muslims implemented another Quranic verse, "There should be no compulsion
in religion" (freedom of religion). This period, from the 8th to the 15th
centuries, is remembered as the Golden Age of religious tolerance.
What we hear today, instead of
religious pluralism, is the polarization of some authoritarian governments,
which use an "us versus them" mentality to rally unhappy people around
an oppressive government.
Fundamentalist and radical
"Islamic" organizations and governments are a result of authoritarian
thinking that has nothing to do with the religion of Islam and its holy books.
The Quran says, "Do not spy
on each other" (protection from illegal search). "Do not pressure
clerks or witnesses" (no coerced testimony, no self-incrimination but also
no subpoenas). The Islamic burden of proof must stand up to many rigorous tests
before a guilty verdict is pronounced. For example, prosecutors must bring good
eyewitnesses or they will be punished. Muslim judges have to encourage the
accused to recant their confessions. These practices, which are aimed at
protecting the innocent and giving the guilty maximum rights, fly in the face of
what we hear about "Islamic justice," with military tribunals, summary
executions, and so on.
Of course, authoritarian
governments and the "Muslim" organizations they foster keep misquoting
the Quran and using it out of context. And you can get away with misquoting and
misusing any holy book if there is no free press and no public discussion.
Authoritarianism has been ruling
Muslim populations for centuries. Colonialism followed during the last two
centuries. The peoples' attempts to be free and democratic have been crushed
over and over. Defeatism and despair are widespread. Poverty and fear are
everywhere. Without help from powerful nations, it is very unlikely that people
will be able to free themselves, as the example of Iraq and Afghanistan shows.
When a friend of ours was visiting
his relatives in Indonesia, he asked a Muslim scholar about the "true
Islam" as opposed to the many misrepresentations of Islam. The scholar
answered, "If you want to know what true Islam is, go back to America and
ask the people there. Americans are the ones who know best what true Islam is
about."
America may be the most Islamic
country in the world. With our Bill of Rights and our national history, we have
struggled to implement the central Islamic principle which commands pluralism in
matters of gender, race, national origin and religion. An American-born Islamic
scholar believes that the visions of some of our founding fathers were inspired
by Islamic history.
It is ironic that in 1492, the
Spanish monarchy not only conquered the last Islamic-pluralistic city-state of
Granada, but also sent Christopher Columbus to discover the New World, where a
second great pluralistic society took root.
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Reprinted with permission.
Copyright 2001, The Register-Guard.
Tammam Adi Ph.D is the
Director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Eugene, Oregon, USA. Originally
from Syria, he is a computational linguist specializing in Arabic.
taadi@earthlink.net
Read other articles by Tammam
Adi here.
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