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Islam and Human Rights - Aminullah A. Lucman | Back to list
Islam, from one standpoint, clearly is a religion of peace. Yet given the involvement of Islam in numerous conflicts throughout the world, this view of Islam appears incomprehensible, even inexplicable, to many. There is no easy answer to this contradiction because of a general lack of interest in the matter. The unnecessary media hype about Islam does not contribute positively to understanding either. The events of 9/11 have revealed to many well-meaning Muslims that there is something terribly wrong in the way Islam was interpreted by the attackers. Many Muslims found the attack unbelievable, because Muslims are not supposed to act in this manner. Indeed, people from all walks of life found the 9/11 scenarios inexplicably gory and revolting. For ordinary Muslims, the carnage in America in September 2001 was truly an absolutely shocking experience. We are in the midst of total mayhem, a situation where debating or dissecting human rights while conflagrations threaten humanity may have no relevance at this point in time. How does one explain the death of the thousands that lost their lives at the WTC in New York City, who also included Muslims? How does one explain the indiscriminate firing of Israeli warplanes on civilians killing women and children, which is shown unedited on prime time television? We are at a crossroads, where cold war veterans champion causes while not knowing what to do next. Sophisticated weapons are traded in exchange for opium or heroin in liberated Afghanistan and in military-run Myanmar. These are totally chaotic situations, made more serious by the fact that the players appear to have no interest in answers or solutions. The events of September 11, sadly, will tend to launder war criminals and governments in many conflict zones where Muslims are a minority. Perhaps it will make abusive governments more abusive, thus worsening an already aggravated situation. It will be an excuse to repress Muslim minorities even more -- and all in the name of fighting global terrorism. These are but a few previews of what may be forthcoming for humankind if nothing is done to address the matter. But what can Islam do to help improve the situation? What can we do, as Muslims? Should we just accept things as they are? First, it is worth noting that Islam was adopted by its believers by way of trade and commerce. In Asia, caravans and seafarers started exchanging goods centuries ago and with this exchange religion of Islam grew. In other words, we are supposed to be businessmen, not swordsmen. Can Muslims do business in the midst of brewing conflicts and war? Of course not, and the absence of peace makes life extremely difficult for people like us in the Islamic world. I speak from real life experience. Being Muslim in Mindanao is a situation of desperation: it literally means bending our knees, begging for dear life from trigger-happy, intoxicated soldiers in some desolate military barracks or checkpoint. In this environment, it is impossible to lead a normal life, doing business. The challenge at this precarious time for Muslims is how not to be unduly provoked by the excesses of military force that decimates unarmed civilians in Palestine or the Balkans - the sights shown live on television which leave Muslims disheartened. How does one explain such sights to children who are brainwashed by what they see on cable television, and by the friendly neighborhood Ulama? For advocates of non-violence in the Islamic world, this makes for a difficult situation: how do you convince these susceptible children not to join the Mujaheedin or Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda? The problem also lies in double standards. Saddam Hussein is a despot, a butcher of the innocent who gassed his own people. So is the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, committing the same kinds of crimes. So shouldn't we treat the two in the same manner? Justifying war on one, while making excuses for the other will no doubt be a catalyst for groups to recruit, replenish their ranks with kids, inflamed because of cable television and the internet. This is not just a Muslim problem. It is more and more the problem of all well- meaning people of the world who abhor violence. What should we do? Political immaturity is still very much in evidence all around in the world. How do we proceed from here? Plotting our compass, so to speak, in order to navigate distances will first require us to know how are we to travel -- by air, land, or sea? Unfortunately, we're still squabbling about what mode of transport to take without even knowing why we have to make the trip in the first place! Allow me to partake in the argument as a Filipino Muslim, and a veteran of resisting the infamous despot Marcos of the Philippines for decades. As a Muslim, I had to relearn resistance to oppression. I can travel backwards in time, to perhaps try and understand the current situation. As a Muslim, I find it is very important to understand my place in my country of abode. In the Philippines, the war situation remains the same as it used to during martial law. In the 1970s, every Muslim was a suspect: to be caught out of your home violating the curfew was itself a death warrant. Today, our restored democracy allows a bit of opposition as policy, as a result of the decades-old Muslim resistance. However, because of 9/11, it appears that we have to learn to relive the taunts of being the usual suspects one more time-- this time as potential terrorists, so the prospect of repression and death is the same as in earlier times. In my country, there has been hardly any attempt to engage with the questions: about the upsurge of Islamic militancy that have caused terrible miseries to people everywhere; why would people ram airplanes into buildings in America; why are Muslims becoming suicide bombers. I too cannot grasp these issues. I should, supposedly, have some answers because I am a Muslim. But no, just like you, I have none at all. Relearning resistance has been a necessary tool for a Muslim like myself. I had to because my government wanted to go to war with me, as a Muslim, for its own interests. During the late 1960s, my government massacred part of the secret Muslim army it covertly organized and trained to invade a foreign land my government claims to be theirs, the State of Sabah, Malaysia. We asked for justice for those Muslim victims of summary executions because of the fouled up covert invasions, it didn't happen so we went to war with the government, that simple. And since that time till the present, my government still does not accept this very important historical reason for why there is conflict in Mindanao. The government still covers up the issue, as we speak. Currently, this issue has been overshadowed by the terrible events of 9/11. But should we just ignore this vital issue as if nothing is amiss? As a person so tired of hate, I think that all of us should try to help each other remove ourselves out of the quagmire as Muslims, because there is absolutely no sense in doing nothing. But how should we go about it? Personally, I am compelled to seek like-minded partners to take constructive initiatives to better the situation. Because if we don't, cable television will certainly make one out of every five children in the Islamic world join Al Qaeda. And the internet will accelerate the pace of radicalism in the Islamic world. And you could lose all five sons to radicalism if you're a Muslim. So we have to make the choice, and it is not easy. For example, if you live in the occupied territories in Palestine, the basic condition of life as a Muslim is that your house is certain to be bulldozed. We should convince ourselves about what we can do to be on the side of peace as Muslims- as a Chechen in Russia or as a Bosnian Muslim; as Thai, Cambodian, or Filipino Muslims; as Muslims Aceh in Indonesia, Palestine, and Israeli Muslim communities. We are in difficult situations that require courageous resolutions, but we have to be one in the thought that as Muslims, we should explore all avenues and means for peace, because we know Islam can best progress only under peaceful conditions. Therefore, we should help ourselves in sustaining Islam for the sake of our children and their children. And, I say again, conflict will only destroy or weaken Islam, not develop or strengthen it. But, at the same time, surely and importantly, we need our governments to be our partners in our endeavors. And just as much as we need to move heaven and earth to convince ourselves to be on the side of peace, we would also need the help of the industrialized nations. We need the First World to help the Third World and vice-versa, because we know as Muslims that a protracted conflict will in fact be no less our doom too. Let me return here to the situation in my country and its history, especially the Iberian influence on contemporary Filipino thinking. Today, my government continues to harp on economic means as the only logical resolution to contain the insurgency of Muslims and others. It says that military measures are temporary just to chase away the insurgents. What is actually happening is this: because of the military measures, business and people are dislocated, thereby weakening the possibility for economic opportunities and development. The international community finds the Mindanao conflict merely an object of sociological study despite decades of violence in the region. Yet the conditions are dire. Differences, even trivial, can become a cause of serious and alarming conflict, whether between the cross and the crescent, or between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. The Iberian plunder, particularly in the Americas, is a story of heinous crimes perpetrated against locals and colonized natives who were stripped of dignity and wealth. This loot may be found in places of worship in Spain and elsewhere-- gold, silver, and precious stones used to beautify and dignify churches and palaces. This is the culture the Muslims rejected and resisted for several hundred years, because we refused to be slaves in our own abode. What appears to be extremely alarming and dangerous may be the Iberian concept of economics, the "hacienda" culture of the filthy rich, which is deeply embedded in the Filipino psyche. During colonialism, as a reward, Iberians awarded lands to chosen people. Haciendas sprawled as far as the eye could see, full of the gold and silver plundered from the mass of colonized and enslaved people in the Philippines. This Iberian concept and influence has, more or less, served to become our country's basic policy. And this concept is anti-Muslim in nature, excluding Muslims from economic opportunity. In the view of policy-makers, economic strangulation of Muslims is a necessary strategy; Muslims are easier handled and controlled if they are backward. September 11 will complement policies that are already harshly pointing to our extinction as Muslims. The US has spent large sums of money to publicize the fact that they are not targeting Muslims. However, others in the Philippines will counter this by creating trouble for Muslims with lies and accusations. They will use this as a pretext for getting more American aid. To wade all through the maze of all the issues facing the Islamic world today may be impossibility. What we can possibly do is to allow ideas, initiatives, and measures to contain conflicts by providing the United Nations power to determine what may be best for the nations who seek only peace and cooperation, and to penalize those nations guilty of abuse. History has its lessons. We do need not to fight another global conflict of the magnitude of the previous two World Wars. But this clearly has to be at the initiative of the powerful, industrialized powers. It is up to them - by this I mean their giving up of their veto power at the United Nations Security Council. Or perhaps run the risk of seeing mankind decimated because of terrorism. Top |
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