Saadia's Column

The Apathy of the Muslim World (September 2003)

"Above all be sensitive in the deepest areas of yourselves, to any injustice committed against whoever it may be anywhere in the world."
- Che Guevara

As part of my job with the National Geographic Magazine’s website, I monitor forum postings from readers on various issues related to the stories in the magazine. Recently, there was a story on India’s Untouchables caste, portraying the inhuman conditions many of them live in, and the unthinkable discrimination they face. The article caused an unprecedented response on the forum board, with people writing in from all around the world, either supporting or denying of the article’s portrayal.

Many of the latter ranted and raved, slamming the respected National Geographic writer and photographer in blind rejection of the very real and serious issue they had so poignantly portrayed. Not only that, but their favorite defense was to start mudslinging all around: screaming about slavery in America, European imperialism, and, of course, terrorism among Muslims.

Too many of these whiners chose to drag Muslims and Islam into this completely unrelated topic, generously labeling the whole lot of us as psychotic, fundamentalist terrorists. In fact in one recent posting a schoolteacher, no less, claimed that Arabs and Muslims around the world are Neanderthals and must either be civilized or slaughtered.

Which brings me to my main point: How many Muslims wrote in defense of Islam or Muslims against such vile postings? The answer: Zip, zero, zilch. Not surprising. Because Muslims win the prize for being the most apathetic, least politically conscious, laziest, most non-proactive group of all.

Recently Daniel Pipes was placed on the board of the U.S. Institute for Peace. For those unfamiliar with Pipes, he has written prolifically in the most derogatory terms about Muslims and Islam. His position on the board of the USIP is a blatant insult to Muslims living in America. Several Muslim groups tried unsuccessfully to prevent this, by rallying people to call and write to the White House, demanding that Pipes’ nomination be retracted. Needless to say, the response was weak and hence Pipes now sits where he does.

These are just two examples, but we want no ghost to tell us how ineffectual and inactive Muslims are everywhere. Everyday we suffer media bias and political offensives in pouting silence. Since our spiral down into the Hades of our current state, we’ve been unable to establish any sort of credibility anywhere.

I haven't been able to figure out why this is so - why this collective defeatism? Does it stem from a negative interpretation of the Islamic concept of submission? Submit to Allah and to fate, come what might? People sit back and shake their heads, saying, "What can we do? Allah will take care of everything," while our political rivals stomp us down the world over. It's all very well to be a stoic, but Islam also lays great emphasis on fighting injustice and oppression. And while Muslims appear very advanced in the whole submission thing (we use it as a euphemism for laziness), we're way behind in standing up for ourselves the way Islam teaches us to.

Even worse, many Muslims who are inflamed with the desire to make change, attempt it by blowing themselves up, along with innocent people. There are no words to describe how evil and misguided they are. Apart from that, their actions are detrimental to Muslims everywhere, not just in terms of the retaliation against Muslims, but also in terms of the disunity, confusion and low morale it creates among us.

On a brighter note, I have an example of how a rational, concerted effort can make a difference. Recently, a guest on a prominent TV show here sneeringly referred to Pakistanis as "pakis." A local Pakistani-American organization went into battle mode, demanding an apology—and they got one. A small victory, but a morale-booster. It can be done. We just have to get off our asses and do it.