I am a graduate student in journalism, often assigned to write articles about current events. The day after the terrorist attacks I headed out to Brooklyn to cover a story about an Islamic school that had been pelted with rocks and bloody pork chops in the hours after the World Trade Center towers collapsed. Whoever committed this act knew enough about Islam to know that pork is forbidden, but apparently little else about Islamic beliefs. “I wish people would stop calling us terrorists,” one sixth grader told me.
When I read about Osama bin Laden or groups like the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, I want to tell them, “You’re giving Islam a bad name!” I want to show people that the religion I know is one that calls for patience, harmony and understanding.
Islam may be the world’s second largest religion, but in the United States, home to about 6 million of its followers, it remains a mystery. Americans seem to believe that backpacking through Europe or keeping up with the news gives them an understanding of everything about the cultures, religions and traditions that differ from their own. While I’m heartened by the sincere curiosity of some, like the stylist who asked me about my beliefs as he trimmed my hair, most people still have a long way to go.
I have yet to meet anyone–who isn’t either especially well read, a religion major or a Muslim–who can accurately describe Islamic beliefs. Many people find it fascinating that I worship Allah without understanding that “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for God. Muslims use the word only because the universal teachings of Islam have been preserved in the Arabic language.
I can recall a Thanksgiving dinner with family friends several years ago when the host offered a small prayer. As we all held hands, he started with the customary thanks for the food, family and friends. Then he proceeded to say, “And thank you to God–or whoever else you choose to worship, may it be Allah…” He meant well, but I remember flinching. He and his family had traveled to the Middle East, taken pictures of Muslims praying, read about the cultures they were visiting, but none of it had led to a clear understanding of Islam.
I’m not surprised when classmates confront me with the charge that Muslims around the world are killing in the name of religion. I’m careful not to mention the many Muslims who have been killed in places like Kosovo, Indonesia and Palestine. I don’t want to respond with that kind of foolish rebuttal because I abhor the senseless murder of all human beings.
The truth is, fanaticism can spring from misguided excess in any religion, and Muslims who kill in the name of their beliefs are not true Muslims. Aggression is not a tenet of our religion, but rather something that is condemned except in self-defense. The Quran states: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but commit no aggression; for Allah loves not transgressors” (al-Baqarah 2:190).
If few people understand that Islam is a peaceful religion, even fewer know how beautiful it can be. When I studied in Cairo during my junior year of college, my grandmother had a religion teacher come to her house every week to teach us the Quran. Hearing him chant the verses was like listening to breathtaking music. There is also an element of poetry in a Muslim’s everyday life. One says “Allah” or “ma sha’a Allah” (“as God wills”) upon seeing something beautiful, like a sunset or a newborn baby. Whenever family members or friends part, one says, “La illah illa Allah” (“there is only one God”) and the other responds, “Muhammad rasoul Allah” (“Muhammad is God’s prophet”).
To me, informing people about these wonderful aspects of Islam is a pleasure, not a burden. There are signs that Americans may be ready to learn. I was moved recently when I saw a woman on the subway reading a book about Islam to her young daughter. She explained that she was teaching herself, as well as her daughter. If more people take that approach, there will come a day when fanaticism is no longer equated with faith, and Muslims aren’t seen as terrorists but as human beings.
