Muslims must denounce terror like the West does
The terrorist attacks in Paris have sent shockwaves of fear across the world, but the Muslim community fears something different: a backlash.
An arsonist attacked the Masjid Al-Salaam mosque in Peterborough in an apparent hate crime.
A Muslim woman was attacked in Toronto after picking up her children from school.
The assailants hurled racist remarks at her, calling her a terrorist.
A man on Youtube threatening to kill Arabs has been arrested in Quebec.
These are barbarous incidents that no society should tolerate.
However, they are rare and predictable.
Some guilt by association within irrational and bigoted minds is no surprise and authorities have taken appropriate measures to ensure the safety of Muslims.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quick to condemn the arson attack in a show of solidarity with mosque officials.
Toronto Mayor John Tory and local councillor Jon Burnside met with children and parents outside the school where the Muslim mother was attacked in a show of support.
The response of the neighbors of the Peterborough mosque went even further.
Local residents rushed to rally behind the mosque community.
They have already helped to raise funds to repair the massive damage.
Now compare this to the Islamic world’s response to the slaughter in Paris.
Some progressive Muslim groups have denounced the attack forcefully, but in general the condemnations of ISIS have been feeble, compared to the repugnance or rage felt in the West.
Most Muslim groups are more concerned about what they call Islamophobia.
I too have been accused by some Canadian Muslims of stoking Islamophobia.
They tell me I constantly fault them for the woes that plague the Islamic world.
In fact, I am describing the situation as I see it.
There would be far less Islamophobia if Muslims en masse robustly condemned the terrorist threat that a plethora of Islamist murderers pose to the world.
I see instead, justifications on social media, and misplaced outrage in comments like “white lives matter more”, because the West raises no hue and cry when innocents die in terrorist attacks in Muslim countries.
Yet it is often Muslims who perceive people outside their group as “others”, less deserving of sympathy.
To be clear, many individual Muslims have demonstrated genuine solidarity towards the victims of the Paris attacks.
But many Muslim organizations appear more concerned about combatting “Islamophobia” than condemning terrorism.
The first thing these organizations should do is organize rallies against Islamist terrorism, as they do when they protest insults to Islam and the prophet.
They must denounce the jihadist ideologies that lead to terrorism.
Let them show the world they care not just about Muslims, but about all of humanity.
Let them understand why Islamophobia takes root.
As it stands, Islamist terror is followed by rationalization or limp denunciation.
Muslim Canadian Congress President Munir Pervaiz aptly sums it up when he says, “It is time we recognized our common humanity by denouncing Islamist terror everywhere, and also understood that terrorism hurts Muslims more than anyone else.”
Finally, a correction to my column of last week. I said Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef had been assigned the special task of assessing the eligibility of Syrian refugees to Canada. She is in fact one member of a nine-person cabinet committee chaired by Health Minister Jane Philpott which is addressing refugee intake issues. I apologize for the error.
source:: Muslims must denounce terror like the West does | HASSAN | Columnists | Opinion
The terrorist attacks in Paris have sent shockwaves of fear across the world, but the Muslim community fears something different: a backlash.
An arsonist attacked the Masjid Al-Salaam mosque in Peterborough in an apparent hate crime.
A Muslim woman was attacked in Toronto after picking up her children from school.
The assailants hurled racist remarks at her, calling her a terrorist.
A man on Youtube threatening to kill Arabs has been arrested in Quebec.
These are barbarous incidents that no society should tolerate.
However, they are rare and predictable.
Some guilt by association within irrational and bigoted minds is no surprise and authorities have taken appropriate measures to ensure the safety of Muslims.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quick to condemn the arson attack in a show of solidarity with mosque officials.
Toronto Mayor John Tory and local councillor Jon Burnside met with children and parents outside the school where the Muslim mother was attacked in a show of support.
The response of the neighbors of the Peterborough mosque went even further.
Local residents rushed to rally behind the mosque community.
They have already helped to raise funds to repair the massive damage.
Now compare this to the Islamic world’s response to the slaughter in Paris.
Some progressive Muslim groups have denounced the attack forcefully, but in general the condemnations of ISIS have been feeble, compared to the repugnance or rage felt in the West.
Most Muslim groups are more concerned about what they call Islamophobia.
I too have been accused by some Canadian Muslims of stoking Islamophobia.
They tell me I constantly fault them for the woes that plague the Islamic world.
In fact, I am describing the situation as I see it.
There would be far less Islamophobia if Muslims en masse robustly condemned the terrorist threat that a plethora of Islamist murderers pose to the world.
I see instead, justifications on social media, and misplaced outrage in comments like “white lives matter more”, because the West raises no hue and cry when innocents die in terrorist attacks in Muslim countries.
Yet it is often Muslims who perceive people outside their group as “others”, less deserving of sympathy.
To be clear, many individual Muslims have demonstrated genuine solidarity towards the victims of the Paris attacks.
But many Muslim organizations appear more concerned about combatting “Islamophobia” than condemning terrorism.
The first thing these organizations should do is organize rallies against Islamist terrorism, as they do when they protest insults to Islam and the prophet.
They must denounce the jihadist ideologies that lead to terrorism.
Let them show the world they care not just about Muslims, but about all of humanity.
Let them understand why Islamophobia takes root.
As it stands, Islamist terror is followed by rationalization or limp denunciation.
Muslim Canadian Congress President Munir Pervaiz aptly sums it up when he says, “It is time we recognized our common humanity by denouncing Islamist terror everywhere, and also understood that terrorism hurts Muslims more than anyone else.”
Finally, a correction to my column of last week. I said Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef had been assigned the special task of assessing the eligibility of Syrian refugees to Canada. She is in fact one member of a nine-person cabinet committee chaired by Health Minister Jane Philpott which is addressing refugee intake issues. I apologize for the error.
source:: Muslims must denounce terror like the West does | HASSAN | Columnists | Opinion
