I have met Muslims in South East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and North America. My experience is that most Muslims are gentle and hospitable people. Why is it, then, that they appear so different in the media? Why do so many of the world’s images of Muslims show them to be angry and violent? Actually, this question is fairly easy to answer. It is my second question that troubles me more.
First, the reason for the unfortunate presentation of Muslims in the general media is because normal is not news. The extraordinary is news. Normal Muslims are not like what people generally see in the media just like normal Christians are not like what people generally see in the media. It is the exceptional that becomes noteworthy. Many Muslims I have met in other parts of the world have been pleasantly surprised that I was not what they expected based on the reputation of Christians they received from the media. Actually, many Muslim terrorists are reacting to an inaccurate understanding of Christians and the West. But, that is not the point of this blog.
My second question is more unsettling for me. Why does it appear that even though the majority of Muslims does not directly engage in terrorism, it seems to endorse it. Why doesn’t the Muslim world more strongly denounce acts of terror? Isn’t silence or even a muted response an implicit agreement with these horrendous acts?
Let me suggest a possible answer. Many Muslims I have met live in cultures where power is gained and held by intimidation. People are scared. They know that if they step out of line they will be punished. Even the governments are scared. They don’t want to upset their violent subjects. The majority of the people are caught between authoritative and abusive governments and violent or potentially violent rebels. The best this scenario gets is if there is a balance between these two power centers. They keep each other in check and the people fly low in between, trying to not offend either.
When it comes to acts of terror that captures the attention of the global media, usually the governments and the rebels are on opposite sides. If one side condemns the violence the other side will lash out. So, for example, it takes great courage for the leader of Libya to condemn the murder of the US Ambassador. When he does, he is opening himself to retaliation, possibly assassination by his opponents. Regular people are even more vulnerable. Caught between terrorists and dictators, the voice of the the majority is suppressed.
So, the muted condemnation of terrorism by the Muslim world may not be an indication of support of terror, but a fear of the consequences of speaking up.
But the Blasphemy Law in Pakistan has massive public support throughout Pakistan. And those riots across Libya & Egypt in response to Saturday Night Live-style ridicule demonstrate profound intolerance. I would call that popular support for a kind of terrorism. Indonesian Muslims are peace loving as individuals, but the word “run amok” comes from the Indonesian language. There is a lot of violence in the Muslim world that doesn’t capture media attention — particularly Muslim on Muslim violence. Don’t fall into the modern self-deception that all religions are basically the same.
Right. There is a profound difference between the Biblical Gospel and Islam. However, the desires of most Muslims are not that different from the desires of most Christians. They are not violent and hateful people. They would prefer to live peaceful lives. They love their families. They enjoy guests. It is regrettable that so many live under totalitarian governments and among violent opposition groups. Only Christ can bring the change they desire. Thankfully that message is spreading! My hope is that Christians will neither fear Muslims or believe they are all terrorists.
This explanation makes a lot of sense – a plausible answer to why more Muslims don’t speak out.
Greg, I agree with your assessment, but I think a further question has to be squarely faced: Do most Muslims want a society governed by Sharia-type law? Do they want a society where blasphemy laws can prosper, where things run according to honor and shame to such an extent that one cannot criticize others without deep fear of reprisal, where non-Muslims are accorded dhimmitude status, and where women are treated as property? I think there is a lot more explicit, and tacit, support among Muslims for the kind of Sharia-governed society wherein radical, violence-promoting elements of Islam are allowed to flourish. How many average work-a-day people on the European continent in the 1930s promoted notions of anti-semitism? Probably not the majority. Most of them just wanted to live their lives. Yet their tacit approval of regimes that did led to awful consequences. We need NOT brand Muslims as terrorists, but in the West in particular, we also need to stop shying away from the truth that the seeds of repression and violence spring from implementation of Sharia-type governance, grown in the soil of the Koran and Haddiths. When we refuse to do this because we think it will be considered offensive to Muslims, we are exacerbating the problem, and in my view, not treating Muslims with the dignity they deserve, but rather as children who “cannot take it.”
Well said. I agree. However, it appears to me that the predominant perspective in the West is that to be a Muslim is to be a terrorist. That is an unfair and unhelpful characterization. I sympathize with the current predicament of the Muslim majority. They did not choose to be born under authoritarian governments or in the midst of hateful violence. Most feel like victims. They don’t know how to change their circumstances. Most who step forward to make a difference are misguided regarding their enemy. For us to help bring real change, we must identify and relate to their current realities. Punishing them for their ignorance or circumstances out of their control does not help.
I agree, Greg, and I appreciate your thoughts and candor. The issues are complex, and go to the heart of what it means for humans to flourish in every way: economically, socially, politically, emotionally, and most important, spiritually. I sympathize with the Muslim majority as well. When once we know Muslims, our perspectives begin to change. I do often wonder what practical things we can do, in love, once we have identified and related to their current realities, particularly if we are not living in their countries.
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