Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, there has been an upsurge of hate crimes against Muslims in the United States (Khan and Ecklund, 2013). Cases of profiling against Muslims have been on the increase in the country as a result, and they often have to defend their religion against the extremist tag. For Imam Zaid Shakir, this profiling is wrong since it does not reflect the truth of Islam in America. Thus, this paper will reflect on the video NOW episode where Bill Moyers talks to Imam Shakir, and consider the implication of the Imam’s words and what they mean to the Islamic culture in America.
The interview by Bill Moyers featuring Imam Shakir is an eye opener on the harsh realities that Muslims have to deal with in their day to day lives in America. What the Imam talks about in the video is a true reflection of the situation in the country, where hatred for the Islam and the Muslim community has been steadily increasing due to not only the 9/11 attacks, but also on the violence taking place in the Middle East (Khan and Ecklund, 2013). For example, the fact that the Imam was not originally a Muslim, but a Baptist who converted means that this is an open minded person whose view of the occurrences in the current American society are objective.
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One striking statement by the Imam that many of those who practice hatred towards Islam and Muslims seem not to consider is that the actions of terrorists do not reflect the teachings of Islam. Terrorism is not a new phenomenon, but rather, it is as old as war and conflict. This means that terrorism has evolved over the ages, and it does not have or simply reflect a single religion or culture. There are thus many forms of terror, practiced by different religions, races and cultures. Since there are contemporary cases of fanatics from other religions and cultures performing acts of terror, such as the recent cases of school and mall shootings, yet adherents and members of these religions and cultures are not holistically profiled and discriminated, it goes on to show a certain degree of racial injustice towards Muslims. As the Imam states, the Muslim culture, just like all world cultures, simply provides a spiritual and philosophical base on which to build a society, such as hard work and being decent.
Another striking point from the interview is the need to avoid wholesale classification based on religion. As stated by Khan and Ecklund (2013), many Americans perceive Muslims as one monolithic group that shares actions, thinking and behavior, while the truth is that Muslims are racially, ethnically and culturally diverse. Such sort of classification is common in other areas of life as well, such as in other cases of racism where profiling is done against an entire people irrespective of personal stand. It goes to show the nature of discrimination, that it is irrational and destructive since it is almost always based on bias, and leads to divisions where none existed before. Indeed, according to Imam Shakir, Islam has a history in the United States much longer than the country itself, and this line of thinking that ‘it’ (Islam) is invading and changing the way of life of Americans is wrong.
There is one contentious point in the interview nonetheless. This is where the Imam seems to indicate that Islam is incompatible with democracy. Though he does not state this explicitly, he advocates instead for a more socialized society. If indeed the history of Islam in the United States goes beyond the country’s history, then Islam has been observing democratic tenets all through this period, and one cannot thus perceive it to be incompatible with democracy. All in all, what the interview addresses is a major contemporary issue in the country, and it needs to be addressed to ascertain that one community is not discriminated because of the sins of some bad examples. If a culture is to be judged, let it be by its tenets, its founding vision, and let each individual be judged by their actions and not as a community.
References
Khan, M., & Ecklund, K. (2013). Attitudes Toward Muslim Americans Post-9/11. Journal of Muslim Mental Health , 7 (1).
Infobase. (2011). NOW with Bill Moyers: Zaid Shakir on Being Muslim in America . Retrieved from http://fod.infobase.com.db16.linccweb.org/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=32543
