Rushdie Furor Seems Aimed at Dividing Christians and Muslims

By Mohammad J. Khan

Salman Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses, has provided another pretext for anti-Islamic frenzy. What we Muslims have learned is that whether the event is the bombing of Libya, the downing of its military aircraft, or even the downing of an Iranian civilian airliner with the loss of 292 innocent lives, the occasion calls for the venting of hatred for Muslims and Islam when the party opposite to the US is a Muslim nation. This time the outpouring reached such an extent that a caller on a popular New York City radio talk show first decried intolerance in Islam, and then suggested rounding up American Muslims and sending them to Iran, regardless of where they were born.

Some say that the best way to handle the situation would have been to ignore it entirely in spite of the character assassination of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him. They point out that the Prophet Mohammed, who was slandered time and again in his lifetime by those afraid of the growth of Islam, handled criticism by ignoring it. These Muslims accuse Khomeini of blowing the whole thing out of proportion by putting a bounty on Rushdie.

Yet other Muslims say such outrage is justified, because Salman Rushdie, a Muslim, knew he was crossing the line in a way sure to invite the wrath of fellow Muslims. They believe the fact that he is a Muslim has converted his irresponsible expressions into treason, and so death is a proper sentence.

Let me, an American Muslim, identify and reply to accusations arising from the present situation. Prominent representatives of the media, the writers' guild, and academia explain that their reasons for supporting Rushdie against the outrage of Muslims is their support of free speech.

Freedom of speech is ideal, but it doesn't exist completely anywhere. In the US, books written against Israel aren't freely distributed, if they find a publisher at all. Speakers who have criticized unquestioning American support of Israel are blacklisted and denied tenure and never forgotten or forgiven. Instead, they are labeled "anti-Semitic," a charge which destroys the career of a journalist, academic, or politician.

It is this private control of "freedom of expression" that explains the nonavailability of books on Islam in such chain bookstores as B. Dalton, Barnes and Noble, and Waldenbooks. Those same bookstores are enjoined by the American literary establishment to champion freedom of expression, but only so long as it is anti-Islamic expression. Many bookstores have been requested by Muslims to stock books on Islam, but they decline. Libraries which buy all kind of novels are suddenly out of funds when it comes to buying books on Islam. Books that are donated to such libraries disappear after a few weeks, never to reappear. Perhaps Muslims should periodically check bookstores in their towns for the availability of objective Islamic books, and then picket bookstores that have none.

Another most common accusation that has surfaced is that Islam is a violent religion. That plays well with the ignorant masses, but those few who are knowledgeable know that Islam has an element of built-in tolerance. It is the only religion that, as an article of faith, accepts the prophets Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, just like the Prophet Mohammed. God says in the Holy Quran that Islam is the religion of Abraham. Neither Judaism nor Christianity have similar tolerance for each other, let alone for Islam.

It is Islam's tolerance that is responsible for its non-violence, as Islam is a religion that rises above race, region, and sex. In the US, people have suffered because of race (African Americans), region (non-Europeans), and sex (females).

Even after more than three centuries, racial tensions in North America run high. Minorities, especially Muslims, have been attacked. Small incidents of individual persecution against Muslims and their children are not uncommon. A society where religious minorities live in constant fear makes a poor champion of human rights the world over. From the historical point of view, those who started World Wars I and II were not Muslims, nor are those who would impose World War III upon the human race.

Of course Islam is different than Judaism and Christianity. It is not only a way of forgiveness of sins, but also a religion of strict discipline. It is a way of life and, frankly speaking, it is this discipline that has preserved Islam as a religion in its original and intact form over 1,400 years.

By contrast, in Judaism, which is virtually closed to outsiders, we see a Rabbi Meir Kahane openly saying that Judaism is racism. Christianity presents an even more confusing picture to Muslims. Whites have a white Jesus, while in black churches, Jesus has colored himself black. To gay priests, God is gay. Perhaps to a majority, God is a patron of secular humanism, not to mention numerous different sects. Nor are the Catholic and Protestant Bibles the same.

Six hundred years younger, and with no missionary work, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and in the United States. Today, all of the religions on Earth except Islam have changed, according to the preferences and conveniences of their influential followers. Why don't people who desire discipline in society desire discipline in religion, mankind's first law-giving institution? Yes, of course, this Islamic discipline levies punishment on transgressors, and that is what Salman Rushdie is!

This sudden episode of high emotions on both sides concerning a novel written by a person born in a Muslim Indian home unleashed a frenzy of hate against Islam in the US and Europe. The first victims, as usual, were the Muslim citizens of Western countries. In the Islamic world it is interpreted as a crusade against Islam. Muslim rulers who appeared timid or pro-American, and thus anti-Islam, lost ground to Khomeini, who seized the moment to divert attention from Iran's internal problems.

With the publication of the Rushdie book, Western opinion, which became particularly critical of Israel in 1988, has already turned against Islam and Muslims. It may ignore further killing of Palestinians. If this scenario becomes reality, then both Christians and Muslims will be the losers, and once again Israel and its supporters will have won another "victory," gaining Israel more breathing space in the short run and more enemies in the long run.

To avert such problems in the future, it behooves all Americans, and American Muslims in particular, to work tirelessly to strengthen Christian Muslim relations. These relations must be firm enough to withstand periodic assaults aimed at tearing apart the very fabric of American society, to which Christians, Jews, and Muslims all have so much to contribute.

Mohammad J Khan, a pharmacist, is a regional representative of the American Educational Trust and is a leader in Muslim educational activities in New Jersey.

SIDEBAR

The Washington Report seeks to reflect a variety of viewpoints on US-Middle East relations in roughly inverse proportion to the frequency with which these views are reflected in mainstream US media. Occasionally, however, we are challenged with a viewpoint which has seldom or never been represented in our pages, but which is derived from an honest examination of existing evidence by an author. Such disturbing or provocative viewpoints are presented in "Dissent Channel."