Call for Muslims to Stand Up to Extremism
The shooting in Tucson was not the only unusual thing that happened early in the new year that provokes unease. On the issue of curbing terrorism and Islamic extremism, New York Republican Congressman Peter King's appointment as the new chairman of Homeland Security is reassuring to some, disquieting to others. In a radio interview with Don Imus, King defended his decision to conduct hearings across the country on the radicalization of young Muslim-Americans. King goes to some lengths to clarify that most Muslims in the U.S. are law-abiding, moderate and loyal, but Muslim leaders and clerics have been negligent in condemning acts of terrorism committed by Muslims. His goal is to persuade leaders and imams in Muslim communities to step forward and join the rest of the civilized world in condemning barbarism and/or terrorism. This hasn't been happening. Too often, Muslim religious leaders say one thing for public consumption, and another thing in the confines of the mosque which tends to make young Muslim-Americans confused and, on occasion, more radical than they otherwise would be. King cites the case of a Michigan colleague -- Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison who is a Muslim convert and with whom King says he has cordial relations and who supports his goals. Then, to others and the media, Ellison attacks King and sings a different tune. To King, this kind of hypocrisy, or double-speak, is common in the Muslim community, and he would like to correct it. Secular Muslim leaders like Tarek Fatah and Farzan Hassan in Toronto, who stand tall and adamant against extremism, are relatively rare. They are the sort who King would like to see more of in the U.S. and elsewhere. The problem is how to encourage their counterparts to speak up. When one relates King's domestic concerns with the assassination in Pakistan of Salman Taseer, the moderate governor of Punjab, one sees the intensity of feelings and beliefs. Taseer was shot some 26 times in that back by one of his police bodyguards. The reason? He was opposed to Pakistan's blasphemy laws that have condemned a Christian woman to death for criticizing the Prophet Mohammed. What's disturbing is not so much the fanaticism of the assassin, but that "moderate (note the word 'moderate') religious leaders refuse to condemn the assassination." Indeed, the accused man, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, was "showered with rose petals," by supporters when he appeared in court. It seems his superior officer had reported the man's "extremist views" and urged he be removed from bodyguard duty as a "security hazard." The advice was ignored. In Pakistan, professors and clerics who oppose Sharia extremism have been murdered. As much as any factor, Sharia law (a man-made interpretation of the Quran) invites barbarism and atrocities in the name of religion. Sharia's victims are Muslims. The New Year's Day's bombing of a Christian Coptic church in Egypt is matched by attacks on Assyrian Christians in Iraq and extremist killings of Christians in Nigeria and India. Intolerance is not only to be expanding, but becoming more violent. Because "moderate" Muslims have reason to fear standing up for moderation, bodes ill for the future. It's a problem that affects Canada as well as the U.S. and elsewhere, and encourages militancy. It is what Rep. Peter King is trying to correct.