JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995, Page 21

Issues in Islam

“Criticism” Without Context

By Greg Noakes

The American Muslim community has been in an uproar for weeks about self-described "terrorism expert" Steven Emerson's hour-long documentary "Jihad in America," which aired Nov. 21 on public television. Muslims in this country fear a backlash generated by the negative images, both rhetorical and pictorial, contained within the film, which posits a nationwide network of Islamic radicals bent on waging "holy war" against the United States.

In the wake of the 1992 bombing of the World Trade Center, the subsequent plot to blow up the United Nations and other New York landmarks, and senseless violence directed against innocent civilians around the world, the subject of terrorism in the guise of Islam needs to be addressed. In fact, the estimated five to six million American Muslims have a fundamental interest in addressing the topic, since such violence not only puts them at risk but also perverts and distorts their faith, shared by a fifth of humanity. Still, the notion of "Jihad in America" must be addressed responsibly.

Steven Emerson's documentary failed to place the alleged "terror network" in any kind of context. There were disclaimers that the radicals in the film are only a fringe group, and should not be taken to represent all Muslims, and yet the lack of any substantial alternative images of Islam in America belies this point. The overwhelming majority of American Muslims, who pray, fast and give to charity to meet the obligations of their faith while working, studying and raising families like their non-Muslim neighbors, were nowhere to be found in Mr. Emerson's film. If we accept Emerson's figure of thousands of American Muslims involved in radical activities and assume a high-end total of 5,000 Muslim militants, and a low-end figure of 5 million Muslims living in the U.S., we find that only one in a thousand American Muslims fits Emerson's profile. Were PBS to devote the same proportion of primetime to the rest of the American Muslim community as it lavished on this lunatic fringe, we could look forward to programs on mainstream Islam in America every evening from now until next October.

What the American Muslim community would like to see, and what the American population at large deserves to see, is a true and accurate portrayal of Islam, its teachings and its adherents. As a vibrant religious tradition that boasts practitioners in perhaps every country and continent in the world, Islam is worthy of further attention and discussion. As the fastest growing religion in the world and the U.S., Islam will continue to be of mounting interest to Americans of all backgrounds. Having aired Mr. Emerson's frightening caricature of "Jihad in America," will PBS see fit to pay attention to the other 99.9 percent of our U.S. Muslim community?