A Muslim Identity

Today, I decided to launch my own personal Jihad. Wait. Before you start running, I just want to share that Jihad means “striving hard” or “struggle”. Western powers have presented an inaccurate view of the word Jihad. This view has promoted the misunderstanding of Islamic culture. Consequently when I tell you I am Muslim, you picture me with a pipe bomb hanging from my wrist instead of a gold bracelet.
How you learn about Muslims and whom you learn it from will affect the accuracy with which you perceive Muslims. Learning about Islam from anyone other than a Muslim can easily twist a reality into a cubic zurconia rendition. Wouldn’t you rather have the real diamond? Western understanding of Islamic culture has been doctored with propaganda and motivated by politics in every facet. For this reason, learning about Muslims from a western perspective can be compared to learning about African-American heritage from a Ku Klux Klan member.
I take every opportunity I can to dispel some of the proliferating stereotypes against Muslims by teaching non-Muslims about who I am and how being Muslim affects my character-- in a good way. I work on illuminating the other perspectives and facts that the mass media conveniently omits.
After arriving to work my co-workers and I may talk about the political climate in the world. “Did you see CBS last night? Another Palestinian suicide bombing happened in Israel.” He says, wondering what my reaction will be. My response is careful because it is complex. I preface my statement with my commitment to peace; that I don’t support acts of violence on either side. Then I slowly introduce facts and viewpoints that have been hidden and underplayed by the American mass media due to political agenda based on imperialistic principles. I start unveiling the apartheid that the Palestinians have been living under for decades.
I tell my friend at work that, although the cameras focused on the destruction caused by the suicide bomber, what he wasn’t shown was as much a part of the equation. I tell him that he wasn’t shown the checkpoints armed by Israeli military that all Palestinians have to pass through in order to gain access to hospitals, other cities and their own jobs. He wasn’t shown the bulldozers that, in some cases have purposefully flattened Palestinian homes with families still inside. Nor was he shown the U.S. made tanks, F-16 planes and Apache helicopters that are used by the Israeli military to practice state terrorism against the Palestinian populations.
Undeniable is the assertion that the American mass media is a workhorse for the goals and aims of American Imperialism. This affiliation between government and media has been exercised throughout history in propaganda campaigns that have been successful at steering public opinion so that the American military force throughout the globe will be unquestioned by the American public. In the book “Manufacturing Consent”, author Noam Chomsky explores the quantitative and qualitative data available to illustrate this affiliation and explores mass media as a marketing tool of the power elite (6). In 1995 author Michael Parenti also expresses the ability of the United Sates to create a profile of itself that reflects more on fantasy than reality (5):

"By portraying itself as a champion against terror, the U.S. national security state deflects attention from its own international terror network, including the ex-Nazis who were sheltered in the United States and enlisted in terror campaigns in Latin America and elsewhere, and the military and paramilitary forces and death squads in dozens of countries--trained, equipped, and funded by the CIA and the Pentagon--that terrorize their own populations on a grand scale. In countries like Guatemala, Mozambique and Haiti they killed more people in one week than Arab, Basque, and Northern Ireland ‘terrorists’ groups killed in ten years.” (Parenti, 1995, p. 94)

The reality can be accessed through alternative media that scratches deeper than the surface, media that takes a look at all of the facts from every angle. Books like those mentioned are a good start. However, while, Chomsky and Parenti have been able to reach large audiences through publication, I must focus more on “grass roots” methods. I take the opportunity of my friend’s ear.
All my friend has to do is look at me after I have spoken, and my defense radar stands at attention. As we stand by the water cooler, I fear that it is because I am Muslim that he may discredit my opinion, that none of the facts I have presented would ever count because non-Muslim westerners expect me to blindly side with Palestinians because the majority of them are Muslim. So I pull the rabbit he wasn’t expecting out of my hat and mention groups like The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B'Tselem) and individuals like Desmond Tutu that speak out against how the Palestinians are being treated. B’Tselem received the Carter-Menil Award for Human Rights in 1989 and has committed itself to address violations (1). Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his work against apartheid in South Africa, has publicly denounced the apartheid in Palestine (2). These groups and individuals add credibility to what has been occurring. I am grateful to them for exposing the violations in Palestine, in contrast to the American media who does not show the half of it.
Why must I address the Israel / Palestine conflict? There are two reasons why I feel the need to address the conflict. First, it is through the unbalanced reporting from the mass media that creates ignorance and prejudice in the American public against Muslims and the religion of Islam (3). Second, even if I weren’t Muslim, I would be compelled to point out that one of the worst human rights violations of our history is being played out (and it is not only Muslims that recognize this) (1).
It is not the religion of Islam that causes people to commit the acts of violence that are being magnified with the exclusion of all else in the American mass media. Recognizing the Israel / Palestine conflict as a political problem and a human rights problem is a much more accurate depiction as opposed to a depiction that is motivated by the American power elite to control the political and economic climate of the Middle East.
A religion must be evaluated for its content and not on the basis of the imperfect human actions of its followers. Should Christianity be judged negatively because of the behaviors of a devoutly Christian Ku Klux Klan, or the actions of David Koresh? Should Catholicism be lessened because of the lifestyle led by the Mafia or the priests who have been charged with crime? Should Judaism be lessened because of the military extremism of the Ariel Sharon administration? The answer to all of these is no. Then, we must hold the judgement of Islam to the same standard.
Today, I am one of those who will use Jihad so that I can embed within you a different understanding of who we are, so that when you see or hear the word Muslim or Islam, your emotions won’t turn to disgust or fear. For the 1 billion Muslims living in the world Jihad is not about war (4). Jihad is not about violence (4). The 7 million Muslims living in the United States should be able to work together to dispel the stereotypes that have been perpetuated by western media powers if we all work together. I have a peaceful Muslim family; quite common worldwide, actually.
So, in conclusion, picture the sun floating high on a clear day. I may be standing over a canyon with you on the other side. We can see each other. I have made a rope ladder, for that is the only thing I have the materials to build, but it is sturdy and well made and quite long enough. I will throw it across. Will you meet me half way?


References

1. B’Tselem. ”The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories” [on-line]. Available from: http://www.btselem.org/ , Accessed September 24, 2002..

2. Desmond Tutu, “Apartheid in the Holy Land”. Global Exchange [on-line]. April 29, 2002. Available from: http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/palestine/2002/guardian042902.html , Accessed September 24, 2002.

3. FAIR, “Action Alert: Palestinian Deaths Aren't Headline Material at New York Times”. Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting [on-line] April 12, 2002. Available from:
http://www.fair.org/activism/nyt-israel-headlines.html. Accessed September 24, 2002

4. The Institute of Islamic Information & Education, “Jihad Explained” Brochure No. 18 [on-line] Available from: http://www.irshad.org/islam/iiie/iiie_18.htm , Accessed September 24, 2002

5. Parenti, Michael. “Against Empire”, City Lights Books, 1995.

6. Herman, Edward S. Chomsky, Noam. “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media”, New York: Pantheon Books. 1988.

* If you are interested in signing an online petition that opposes the U.S. aid that contributes to oppression (and apartheid) of the Palestinian people, please make a difference and visit:
http://www.stop-us-military-aid-to-israel.net/petition/