I was struck recently by three stories in the news. The first was about a WWII American POW, Roddie Edmonds, a Christian who saved many of his fellow POW’s lives during his period of captivity. When the Nazis attempted to separate the Jewish captives, presumably for execution, he and his men all identified as Jewish, making the Nazi’s task impossible. The second story was about a group of Muslims in northeastern Kenya who recently refused to separate themselves from their Christian co-passengers during an attack on their bus by terrorist group Al Shabaab, apparently saving their lives. Finally, this week there is the story about a Wheaton College political science professor Larycia Hawkins, removed from her job for wearing a hijab, as a gesture of what she calls “embodied solidarity” with Muslims, and for saying that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. These stories seemed to follow a common thread for me, in that the members of one religious group have stood up to protect the members of another group currently being scapegoated. These are all inspirational acts of bravery and should be lauded.
What we are seeing in the West right now is the repeat of an age-old pattern. People are afraid of the unknown, and ignorance is rampant regarding Islam. So it is easy for the demagogue to rise up by claiming to be the protector from a perceived threat from the “other” (those unlike us). By blaming those who are not like us, the demagogue capitalizes on the fear of the unknown, and conveniently shifts all blame for current problems to this “other,” subsequently dehumanizing them. Historically, this kind of dehumanization has been used to vilify just about every race, religion, gender, or creed, since the dawn of humanity, always for political purposes.
The current hysterical spate of Islamophobia in the West is reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials in colonial America, the Japanese Internment (in the U.S. during WWII), as well as the precursors to the Nazi Holocaust or more recent “ethnic cleansing” in countries in the Balkans or in Africa. This is a repeated movement of history that all people of conscience need to resist, regardless of nationality or religion. The news stories mentioned in the first paragraph are so inspirational for exactly this reason. All of them describe people of conscience performing heroic acts at great risk to their selves.
Familiarity Breeds Understanding:
There is a form of cognitive behavior therapy known as “Exposure Therapy” used by psychologists to treat anxiety based on fear of an object or context. It involves controlled and repeated exposure without danger to the thing that is feared, and has been demonstrated as effective by numerous studies. Through greater exposure to the thing that is feared, patients suffering from various forms of anxiety are gradually able to overcome their fears as they see those fears are unfounded. Those in the West who are so afraid of Muslims should make a concerted effort to gain knowledge of them through greater exposure; in this way they will see that Islam is indeed a peaceful religion as practiced by the great majority of adherents. They will come to fully understand that the extremists claiming Islam as their religion are no more representative of Muslims than the abortion clinic shooter claiming to act on Christian morals. Anyone who kills in the name of religion cannot be considered to have true religious feeling. The killers attempt to hide behind the veil of religion in order to justify their misdeeds. In other words, so-called “Islamist extremists” cannot be considered Muslims by any definition. We can make the same claim regardless of whether the killers are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Sikhs, or claim allegiance to any sect or religious order. The history from antiquity informs us that there is no shortage of charlatans willing to pervert and sacrifice the integrity of a faith for political gain.
It is a historical fact that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam evolved as branches of the same tree. Together, they represent the three great monotheistic world religions. All three advocate foremost peace, brotherhood, togetherness, and love of fellow men and women. My goal is not to argue the theological similarities or differences between the religions (that is not my specialty) but rather, to here acquaint the reader with just a few of the great contributions to society and the world made by artists, philosophers, scientists, writers, and architects who happen to be of Islamic faith and culture. If only people in the West would take a little time and effort to learn about these important contributions, and the people behind them, perhaps a greater familiarity and culturally informed understanding might lead to a more tolerant realistic world view on their part, and tamp down the hysteria.
Golden Age:
The Golden Age of Islamic culture and civilization lasted from about 750 to 950, under the Abbassid Dynasty. During this era, science in the Islamic-Arab world undertook significant development along with a flowering of knowledge and intellect that later spread throughout Europe, greatly influencing science, medicine, and education. In these centuries, Islamic culture flourished during a period when classical Greek and Roman learning had been almost forgotten in Europe. Though Islamic learning and culture had originally been based upon the classical Greek and Roman traditions, cultural and scientific activity was then at its lowest point in the western Christian countries. Through contact with Moorish Spain, Saracen Sicily, and the Muslim neighbors of the Crusader states, Europeans were reintroduced to their own cultural past as well as to the intellectual achievements of Islam. The Golden Age of Islam was characterized by great strides in science, technology, architecture, literature and art. Today, ancient Islamic architectural miracles and incredible objects of art can be appreciated in many countries, with some of the best examples in Spain, Turkey, Iran, North Africa, and the Arab countries.
New Era:
The current generations might just be creating a new Golden Age of Islam. At the beginning of the 21st century, there appears to be a new flowering of Islamic culture, especially in science, technology, art, literature, music, and film. Muslims make up over 23% of the world’s population, and with global connectivity now providing universal access to the advanced tools, information, and technology as their counterparts in the West, it makes sense that their contributions would not only keep pace, but would also increase. As of 2015, twelve Nobel Prize winners have been Muslims. More than half of the twelve Muslim Nobel laureates were awarded the prize in this century. Seven of the twelve total winners have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics, Abdus Salam, was a member of the Ahmadiyya community of Pakistan. After Orhan Pamuk, Aziz Sancar is the second Turkish Nobel laureate and the first Muslim to be awarded a Nobel in the field of molecular biology in 2015. All around the globe there are wonderful Muslim musicians, architects, and filmmakers gaining worldwide recognition from their works. Muslim graduate students and researchers in universities worldwide forge ahead with important discoveries, helping to advance every field of science, medicine, and technology. There can be no question that we are seeing major current increases in contributions made to the advancement of every important field by contemporary Muslims.
Leading Contributors:
To make the case for a re-flowering of Islamic Culture in the current era, we should mention some significant names that everyone should know. In literature and art; Muhammad Iqbal – one of the most important figures in Urdu literature, with literary works in both the Urdu and Persian languages; Qaisra Shahraz – novelist, journalist, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a director of Gatehouse Books; Eenasul Fateh (Aladin) – cultural practitioner, magician and live artist, named International Magician of the Year in 1991 and winner of the 1997 Golden Turban Award from the Magic Academy of Bangalore, in India; Kaniz Ali – makeup artist and freelance beauty columnist, winner of Best Make-Up Artist category at the 2011 International Asian Fashion Awards; Rezia Wahid MBE – award-winning textile artist whose work has been exhibited both in the UK and abroad; Ruby Hammer MBE – fashion and beauty makeup artist, and founder of Ruby & Millie cosmetics brand; Ruh al-Alam – Islamic artist, and founder of Islamic calligraphic artwork project Visual Dhikr; Runa Islam – film and photography visual artist, nominated for the Turner Prize 2008; Dr Ghulam Murshid – author, scholar, and journalist, recipient of top literary awards from India and Bangladesh including the Bangla Academy award; Kia Abdullah – novelist and journalist, contributor to The Guardian newspaper, has written two novels: Life, Love and Assimilation and Child’s Play; Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed – author, lecturer, and political scientist specializing in interdisciplinary security studies, and participant of the 9/11 Truth Movement; Roopa Farooki – novelist; Tahmima Anam – author of A Golden Age which was the Best First Book winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize; Mehmet Oz – most well known Turkish American medical doctor; Muhammed Ali – legendary boxer and activist, and so on.
In the music Industry, important figures include; Hesham Watany, also known as Maestrix, Egyptian music producer and film music composer; Ahmad Jamal – legendary jazz pianist; Ahmet Ertegün – songwriter and founder of Atlantic Records; Arif Mardin – 12-time GRAMMY winner, Turkish producer and arranger; Akon – singer, entrepreneur; Ali Shaheed Muhammad – producer, DJ and rapper, formerly of A Tribe Called Quest; Art Blakey – American jazz drummer and bandleader; DJ Khaled – rap artist and DJ; Ice Cube – rapper and producer; Jermaine Jackson – singer, bass guitarist; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Pakistani traditional singer, helped popularize Qawwali singing throughout the non-Muslim world.; Rhymefest – GRAMMY award-winning hip hop artist and co-writer of the single Jesus Walks; Yazzi – rapper and GRAMMY nominated songwriter; Yusef Lateef – jazz musician and GRAMMYAward winner; Zayn Malik – former member of One Direction, and many more.
A Way Forward:
There has lately been much discussion about Islamophobia in America and Europe. Labeling and even banning adherents to Islam is a powerful kind of discrimination that has exponentially increased since the attacks of 9/11. Most media channels (including TV series, political talk channels and social media) portray Islam in a very distinctive way, and from a single viewpoint: that Muslims are violent, dangerous, and especially have radically different (harmful) values from people in the West. This leads to dehumanization and is a way of perpetuating the sense of otherness that is nothing less than a setup for scapegoating. Unfortunately, as Muslims are consistently portrayed as a risk to people in the West, this effects all people who live in, travel to or from, or originate in Islamic countries.
For example, The U.S. House of Representatives recently overwhelmingly passed legislation (407 to 19) that would overhaul the federal visa waiver program and bar those from Iraq, Syria, Iran and the Sudan, or those who have visited those countries in the last five years, from traveling to the United States without a visa. This bill may also affect those with dual citizenship from a Schengen Country. In a likely scenario, the EU would take similar action concerning US citizens wishing to visit Europe. NYPD is accused of profiling and unauthorized surveillance of Muslims through a series of high profile civil rights lawsuits, infringing on their right to freely practice their religion. There has been a vicious backlash in Europe and the U.S. against helpless Muslim refugees fleeing war and brutal regimes. In general, the fears are overblown, as many more people die from gun accidents or car crashes in the U.S. on an annual basis than as a result of terrorist attacks.There is a widespread belief in America that this over-reaction is counter to our fundamental values as Americans, and this is certainly true. The U.S. constitution expressly forbids any religious test for citizenship or the rights attributed to citizens. Muslims, like most law abiding people, want to live their lives in peace while they provide for their families, and contribute to society in a meaningful way. Islam is not a threat to Western Civilization, as some would lead us to believe. Islam and tolerance are not incompatible; the real enemy to tolerance is fundamentalism, regardless of affiliation.
I would like to believe that Humankind has evolved beyond such a state of prejudices, discrimination, and scapegoating behavior, but the daily news tells me otherwise. Fortunately, there are a brave few like Roddie Edmonds, Larycia Hawkins, and those Muslims in Kenya who dare to stand up and say no to these kinds of irrational and destructive behaviors. And hopefully the demagogues preying on fears and promoting these dangerous views will be shown the door at the ballot box in the Western democracies. Sometimes we can only hope and pray that the masses will come to their senses, learn from history, and say no to hate, dehumanization of the other, demagoguery, and scapegoating. It would be in everyone’s best interest if cooler heads were to prevail. We need understanding to counteract the fears. If we can overcome the ignorance, we have a power to beat back the destructive scourge of Islamophobia, or any other irrational bias.
As the phenomenal rise of the 2nd Islamic Golden Age gets the attention it deserves, with recognition of the incredibly important works of a new bright Muslim generation, the evil destructive cycle of fear, prejudice, and hate will be discontinued. It could happen. Nobody knows what the future holds, so theoretically anything is possible. We are all more alike than we differ, and whether we like it or not, we need to learn to share the one planet we have. We can only do this when we stand together. No matter what our religion, race, or beliefs, in the end we are all Muslims.
Note: This article was written together with Utar Artun, Turkish composer, pianist, percussionist, and leader of the band Neotolia.
