The Muslim American

The constant drumbeat of tribal resonance continues to beat for conflict. The abject ‘us vs them’ dichotomy has infected daily lives across the world. This must change if the world is to have a brighter and more deliberate future.

An interesting Islamic perspective that is derived from the Sunnah (the way) of the Prophet (s.) is the growth of a community through the strengthening of its individuals. Leading from a point of care and empathy, rather than a mindset of instituting lines of demarcation.

It’s been related from Ibn Annas (r.), who was under the tutelage of the Prophet (s.) for 10 years, that the Prophet (s.) taught him about empathy and ways of living as much as he taught tenets of the faith. For instance, Ibn Annas relates a moment when as a child his friends pet bird had passed away. Seeing his friend in a state of sadness, Ibn Annas went to the Prophet (s.) and told him of the grief his friend was experiencing. Instead of dismissing the sadness of the child, or diminishing the emotions, the Prophet (s.) grabbed Ibn Annas’ hand and told him that they’d go and visit his friend in an act of profound empathy. To hear a story like this today, would be amazing, not to mention 1400 years ago during a time of rampant injustice and apathy. We must not only mirror the Prophet (s.) in religion, but also live it in daily lives as well.

Growing Resentment

Having set the stage with the above context, we shift into the modern day. Palestinians are being forcibly and ethnically cleansed from Gaza. The West Bank and Jerusalem are sure to be next. Though most of the international community is up in arms with the clear indiscriminate and genocidal aims of Israel, the powers that be, namely the USA, UK, Germany, and others, have continued to aid and abet the right wing extremists. The Arab and Muslim countries in the region clearly in the pocket, the purse, and the lap of said powers that be, continue to prove their impotence, and, perhaps more apt, their complicity. It’s clear a global populace movement is needed against the backdrop of clearly racist overtones, economic uncertainties, and the continuing growth disparities that plague political and social life.

A way forward through this malaise feels almost imperceptible. President Biden’s insistence on backing Israel has begun to confound the majority of Democrat voters. Democrat support trends positively for Palestine over the past couple of years, and the current aggression has not done Israel any favors. Israel support lies within Republican hands, along with Democrats insistent on abiding by AIPAC funding.

The growing pro-Palestinian, at least politically speaking, movement has rooted itself in the progressive caucus of the Democratic coalition. The Squad (most notably consisting of Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and now even Tim Kaine, have become voices of an aggrieved and heartbroken contingency of Americans. Encampments have sprung up all over US campuses demanding the divestment from Israeli investment. The pressure is mounting and needs to continue in order to sway and capitalize on the political mood.

American Rights Under Attack

While there are a great many things that need to be addressed in this country, the rights afforded and endowed to its citizens cannot be understated and undefended. However, we’re in a moment in time where those rights are being starkly eroded in favor of a more totalitarian Christo-fascist fundamentalism.

Recent rulings have stripped abortion rights all the way back to 1864 bans. These rulings wont stop at late stage abortions as no exceptions, including for rape or incest, are being made. Furthermore, the Christian theological basis for these rulings will not stop at abortions. Infertility treatments, such as IVF, will be affected if a national ban is instituted, see Alabama for a case in point. Even more abhorrent is the agonizing decision when something goes wrong and a family must choose between the unborn baby or the mother. These bans would force families to endanger the life of the mother and give birth knowing the potential repercussions, something completely antithetical to Islamic principles.

Grossly gerrymandered districts have given rise to the malignant minority voice prevailing in those regions, and in the broader country.

Tax cuts for the rich that allow for continued economic prosperity during an inflationary period that places the remainder of the country in stasis, at best, and extreme hardship.

The Supreme Court has shown its hand as more partisan than we’ve been let on to believe. The judicial system as a whole has begun to groan under the weight of clear exceptions being made for the wealthy and privileged with constant delay tactics the everyman would not be able to employ.

Muslim Leadership

There are other prevailing issues, but the point isn’t to hash out solutions to them all. It’s to highlight the apparent need for Muslim leadership. Leading with a sense and duty of empathy and justice are the hallmarks of what’s made the storied Islamic era renowned. The Muslim community must progress the mantle of justice across the country. There must be better coordination and rallying around forward thinking initiatives focused on the betterment of Muslims in America, the general population, and abroad.

These conversations are difficult and extremely hard to navigate without emotions running high. Muslim men, women, and children are being slaughtered in Gaza, marginalized in India, cleansed in China, displaced in Syria, oppressed in the Caucuses, forgotten in Kashmir, bought in Saudia Arabia, ostracized in the UK, dominated in Egypt, and the list goes on. While the US is in a position to alter the standing of many of these issues, international policy has been to stymy any real progress in the pursuit of American interests for many decades.

This includes Israel, who has had US support since its inception. Israel has had American support due to a strategic shifting of alliance from Russia and the UK towards the up and coming super power at the time. American support for Israel is a monolith that spans both major political parties, see the overwhelming aid support and the raucous calls for nuking Gaza from the GOP, and across most of the older generations. However, public sentiment amongst the younger generation seems to strongly align with Palestine. The Tiktok ban in many estimations has very little to do with public security against China’s spying and a lot to do with pro-Palestinian sentiment, and the sharing of graphic Israeli war crimes, between users, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. In order to appropriately tap into the political strength and will of the upcoming generation, a liberal democracy will still need to be in place. Otherwise, the rights seen as a given today may well be usurped under a theocracy.

While countries have the right to focus on their well-being, a liberal democracy affords the opportunity to adjust the reigns in an attempt to uplift those in need. A concerted effort of political will is needed for future generational change to emerge.

Muslims must not delude themselves in two key areas. The first key area, that Muslims in America are the center of any conflict in the Middle East or abroad. There is no political capital or will strong enough, as of yet, to truly affect the wanted change. This is not to discourage action, on the contrary. Action is needed, activism is needed, but concerted and coordinated political will is also needed in order to appropriately and positively impact American policy. The second key area, that Muslims are a beloved minority, part of any majority, or respected in America. Efforts must be made to empower Muslims to ensure economic, political, and social strength across the country. Creating enclaves of Muslim life will allow for a theocracy to envision to the larger masses an easy target, a bogey man, with little effort. Muslims must ingratiate themselves across the American system while staying true to their religious and cultural heritages, and to never compromise on those ideals.

Muslims Abroad

We can draw an interesting parallel with the current situation in the UK and begin to question the forces and motives at play. The Tories, conservatives in the UK, are expecting a thumping in the upcoming elections. Tories have driven a large portion of the electorate away and have seen calls for Labor to lead for a generation to come. It’s important to note that Tories have stood firmly and squarely with Israel, as has the Labor party currently being led by Keir Starmer. This has been a shift away from the position Jeremy Corbyn held in the years preceding the Labor party’s disastrous 2019 general election that was the culmination of a series of scandals painting him as antisemitic.

The Labor party has seen a strong faction of Muslims vote as part of their coalition over the years. However, with the current genocide in Gaza, it appears Labor has made a calculated decision in siding with Israel, ostracizing the Muslim vote. While most pundits believe Labor will still win the elections handily, Muslims have begun to put the onus and state the Labor party’s complicity in genocide. This has begun for wider calls across the UK for Muslims to shift away Labor and create their own coalitions.

While I support and agree with Muslim anti-Labor rhetoric and for creating their own party, I call into question the disparate narratives being told to Muslims across the pond. There has been a growing never Biden movement since the Gaza onslaught began. Again, a just and noble gesture. However, in the US, the opposition, namely Trump but also the speaker of the house and every Republican in both chambers, has called for even greater ethnic cleansing with a history of anti-Muslim, anti-immigration, and, frankly, xenophobic agenda. How do we not then consider them complicit in much the same way the UK Labor party is currently being viewed? Should we be looking at American hegemony since the 1940s as pro-Israel rather than just those currently in power? If so, then it would never matter who was in power until there was enough political will to enact the change so desperately craved.

Continuing the thread of consciousness, in which environment is best to create such political will and power, a liberal democracy or a Christo-fascist state? To me the choice is clear. The threat of the emergent movement on the rightwing harkens back to a time that threatens to irrevocably alter the status of minorities across the country. What must be done is to continue, build, and progress a national Muslim American voice that speaks, moves, and acts in cohesion towards the policies and laws that enrich lives in America while not undermining the lives of those overseas.

Moving Forward

This article is meant as a flag towards the concerted and coordinated approach mentioned above. The work to this point must continue in earnest. The activism, education, and business acumen in the Muslim community is unmatched and unrivaled. Grabbing that expertise and pushing it forward into a better tomorrow is needed from every Muslim American. American society and the global community is in need of the moral and ethical compass of Islam combined with the ingenuity of the Muslim American.