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Logically Emotional: Malaysia and Egypt Acts of Terrorism

January 15, 2010 Politics
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Last year, Marwa al-Sherbini was given the title of the Martyr of Hijab after she was murdered in a courtroom in Germany, and there were many demonstrations in the Muslim world asking for revenge and justice – rightfully so. On 27th December 2008, Israel began a wave of air strikes on the Gaza Strip in Palestine and the whole Muslim Ummah from the West to the East objected – rightfully so. But when other Muslims act in an illegal, disgraceful, and shameful manner, those same Muslim demonstrators are often no where to be found.

Recently, six Coptic Christians were murdered in a drive-by shooting outside a church in Upper Egypt and a total of five churches were bombed in Malaysia by some Muslims.

The story behind the Egyptian crime according to AlJazeera has to do with a Muslim girl who was allegedly raped in November by a Christian man that has now been arrested and is awaiting trial. The relatives of this Muslim girl did not want to wait for the trial proceedings and decided to take matters in to their own hands. A car pulled up and gunfire was sprayed into the worshipers as they were leaving the church after a midnight mass on Coptic Christmas Eve.. This shooting resulted in the murder of six humans lives, none of whom had anything to do with the initial case of alleged rape.

It is ironic to see the contradictory reactions by Muslims to the inhumane acts perpetrated upon innocent Iraqis at Abu Ghraib in comparison to the reaction of Muslims to the killings of the innocent Coptic Christians as they left their house of worship.

The story in Malaysia is even more outrageous. A Malaysian court overturned a government ban on the use of the word “Allah” by Catholics in their  literature. This decision will allow the Roman Catholic newsletter, the Herald, to use the term “Allah” to refer to the All Mighty in the Malay language. In response to that, Muslim attackers threw Molotov bombs at 5 different churches around the country – according to AlJazeera.

Question: Why in the world would there be a ban on the use of the word “Allah” in the first place? Didn’t the non-Muslims of Arabia before, during, and even after the Prophet’s time use this term? Also, how is it disgraceful for Christians to use this term? As a matter of fact, Arab Christians have been referring to God as Allah for decades now with the silent approval from the most rigid and conservative scholars in that region.

The criminals that carried out these acts claim to do so in order to uphold the integrity of Islam but Allah mentions in Surah Al-Hajj, verse 40:


ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙˆÙ'لَا دَفÙ'عُ اللÙ'َهِ  النÙ'َاسَ   بَعÙ'ضَهُمÙ'  بِبَعÙ'ضٍ  لَهُدÙ'ِمَتÙ'  صَوَامِعُ  وَبِيَعٌ  وَصَلَوَاتٌ  وَمَسَاجِدُ  يُذÙ'كَرُ  فِيهَا اسÙ'مُ  اللÙ'َهِ  كَثِيرًا

….for had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure would surely have been pulled down…

The main point of this article is not to explain the Islamic stance on this issue, rather I am trying to understand why Muslims do not react in the same manner when the perpetrators of an injustice are other Muslims?

This is a question that makes my head spin in an attempt to rationalize why and how is it that some Muslims justify the blood of innocent people and claim to have a religious sanction for such actions. In the past, when Muslim armies fought against non-Muslims in legitimate wars, they were clearly ordered to not be treacherous, nor breach covenants, nor kill either a child or a woman or an old man or a monk in a monastery, nor burn, cut, or pull down any trees.

This post may offend some Muslims, but that’s okay. It is time for us to stop being biased towards Muslims regardless of whether they are right or wrong. Islam orders us to speak out against injustice even when that injustice is committed by Muslims. Allah says in Al-Maeda, verse 8: O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is well acquainted with what you do.

The Prophet narrated that Allah said: “O my slaves, I have forbidden injustice for myself and forbade it also for you.  So avoid being unjust to one another.” (Saheeh Muslim)

I am reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his Letter From a Birmingham Jail when he said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Finally, I cannot help but wonder, if the Muslims of today were to be the world's superpower, would we really be fair to the minorities? Would we regard non-Muslim minorities as legitimate minorities that have rights upon the Muslim majority?

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Haytham

Haytham, an American Egyptian, was born in USA, but grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. He is a well-known Muslim activist in the Houston area, who recently moved to New Mexico to continue his graduate studies. In the past, he has organized the Texas Dawah Convention, was the Ameer of AlMaghrib's Qabeelah Hosna (Houston), and has had leadership roles in Crescent Youth. One of his goals is to reach out to Arabs in America and to address social issues. He recently graduated with a BS in Chemistry, and is now pursuing a Masters Degree in Nano Science and Microsystems. You can follow Haytham on Twitter by clicking here and Facebook.

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  • Joyhamza

    Assalamu ‘Alaikum,

    Brother Haitham thats a very good article mashaAllah.

  • Umm Salma

    I agree. All acts of violence like these should not be tolerated, Muslim or non-Muslim. Especially when it comes to Muslims, we should feel even more anger because their actions do not represent what Islam is at all. We need to speak up for our Muslim brothers and sisters (Gaza, Marwa), but more importantly, for Islam.

  • Osman

    ALLAH- WHAT IN GODS NAME HAVE THE COURTS DONE?
    The High Court of Malaysia’s decision in the Catholic Herald’s fight to use the word Allah is quite clearly provocative, contentious, inflammatory and suspect.

    Read rest here.

  • Pingback: Logically Emotional: Malaysia and Egypt Acts of Terrorism « Islam Checks in

  • Dan

    Mashallah excellent post. This is long overdue bro, because persecution of non-Muslims in Muslim countries is an unfortunate reality that, until now, many Western Muslims were way too reluctant to address.

  • Gohar

    An interesting question, but where’s the analysis and thought? It just seems full of judgement.

    • http://www.muslimmatters.org/author/haytham Haytham

      Yes, I too think its a very interesting question. I left the answer open for you, Gohar and others, to come up with your own analysis and thoughts. This matter isnt only of importance to elite intellectuals of the Muslim Ummah.. rather it is a question that you and I should spend time to comprehend, analyze, and suggest practical solutions.

  • Takbir

    O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to ALLAH, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for ALLAH can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily ALLAH is well-acquainted with all that ye do. [4:135]

  • Haroon

    Of course these actions should not be tolerated but there is a difference between that and going out on the streets and protesting that Muslims shouldn’t do these things. Muslims sort out their problems internally, study the seerah and you will see that the Prophet pbuh would rebuke and distance himself from certain actions that were done by certain sahabah but he would not go to the mushrikeen and apologise or have any form of public outcry. These situations aren’t always black and white and there maybe certain circumstances that we are not aware of which could inflame situations even more.

    As Gohar mentioned above more analysis is needed than judgement but your article is not bad, keep trying.

    • http://muslimbestlife.com/blog Siraaj Muhammad

      Actually, the Prophet would take it a step further and pay the blood money for the mistakes of Muslims when nonMuslims had a treaty with him. Would you suggest we pay blood money instead? If not, then at least those with some sense of ethics and education on these matters needs to call them out for what they are.

      Siraaj

      • Haroon

        I think you answered your own question, when there was a treaty between a group and the Prophet then blood money would be paid. The whole Muslim Ummah today certainly does not have a treaty with every group/country/society so why should the whole Muslim Ummah feel they need to go out and protest every terrible act by Muslims? Yes if there is a clear treaty between the Muslims (whole ummah or part) and another group and the Muslims break this treaty then of course blood money or the modern day equivalent should be paid. We are people of honour and we uphold our promises.

        In the situation of the blood money that needed to be paid because of ‘Amr bin Omaiyahs actions then there was a clear treaty but yet still there was no outcry or public apology, what had to be done was done. Remember a Muslim who commits a terrible act, even murder as in the case of ‘Amr, is still a Muslim.

        Also when talking about any treaty this is a very complicated matter. We have to see if the treaty has been broken already by one party or another. Such a complex matter certainly is not for the general public to discuss.

        Lastly we have to “fight” clever with the Media. If the Muslims come out everytime to condemn acts done by certain Muslims do you think this would benefit the Ummah or do you think FOX news would have more footage to put a nice spin on and show how terrible the Muslims are and publicise the negative side.

  • Yahya Ibrahim

    Kuala Lumpur, a city I love and visit often is named after the muddy confluence of the Klang river. Indeed it is a mix of people of various ethnicities, faiths and histories. Hearing that churches were burned to the ground alarmed me. That is not the Islam the Malay people are famous for. Humility, accord and gentleness have always been the hallmark of KL and the Malay Muslim.

    Nevertheless, there are real issues that are a lot more intricate than what is presented above. The spirit of the article is undoubtly genuine insha Allah.

    To an Arabic speaking Christian the word Allah is followed by al-Abb – The Father attached to it so as to avoid any confusion. Allah al-Abb was instituted by the Christian communities in hope of distinction and identification.

    The Malaysian Roman Catholic Herald newspaper, criticised the release of a new Bible, which uses the Hebrew word “Elohim” instead of “Allah” for God.

    To a Malay – who by definition of Law in Malaysia can only be a Muslim – Allah is synomous with Tawheed. Not “God.”

    With the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
    “Say (O Muhammad), He is Allah, the One.
    He is Allah the Everlasting Self-sufficient Refuge
    He begets not, nor was He begotten.
    And there is none that is co-equal or comparable to Him.”

    The definition of the word and belief in Allah negates association of anything that can be joined in worship with Him.

    By definition the Lafz (articulation) and scripting of the word Allah is ‘Ibadah and each letter singularly and as a statement is a source of reward for a Believer.

    The matter is not simply who can utilise the Lafzul Jalala (Articulation of Majesty), rather it is why?

    So why so much interest in using an Arabic word in a Malay translation when other words have customarily been used? Tuhan for instance.

    I am saddened and deeply troubleded to hear about criminal violence created and perpetrated in the name of Islam. I have many Malaysian friends – Muslim and Chrisitian and Hindu and Buddhist.

    I do not have the time now to address other issues related to this discussion…on a train at the moment.

    y I

    • http://www.muslimmatters.org/author/haytham Haytham

      Assalamu Alaykom Shaykh,

      Jazakom Allahu Khayran for the information.

      You said,

      To a Malay – who by definition of Law in Malaysia can only be a Muslim – Allah is synomous with Tawheed. Not “God.”

      I just wanted to confirm my understanding of that point….. are you saying that the perception of the people of Malaysia of Lafz AlJalaalah is a symbol of Tawheed ….. or are you saying that Lafz AlJalaalah is a symbol of Tawheed therefore Catholics can’t use it?

      As for the Arab Christians, yes… they follow the word Allah by al-Abb…. but does that mean that the Lafz AlJalaalah is only to be used by Muslims?

      I know you are a busy man, may Allah put barakah in your time… but I would love to read your reply to decrease my confusion.

  • B

    You got the Coptic shooting story very wrong, the family of the raped girl denied any involvement, the family resides in a totally different village. A lot of the fingers are now being pointed at the government, because the shooters were close to a city governor. On another note, there has been clashes between the Muslims and Coptics for over a year now.

    Your article is oversimplified.

    • http://www.muslimmatters.org/author/haytham Haytham

      I dont believe my article is oversimplified.. but I respect your opinion.

      As for the news that is now surfacing, as I mentioned in my article, the information above was according to AlJazeera.

  • Juli

    assalamualaikum

    While I agree with the points raised, I also agree with Gohar’s comments. I do not condone the burning of the churches, but it would also be fair to hear why the courts did what they did, not to justify it, but just to understand the issue further before condemning, regardless of who it is.
    The Muslim ummah have been divided for years and throughout the years, even among the Muslims, we do not really understand each other’s cultures and the dynamics of Muslim life in each respective country.
    What may seem straightforward to muslims from one country may not be so for muslims in another cultural setting. So we should also try to understand what it’s like for the Muslims in another setting, take into account the language, dynamics, etc.

    Here is an article explaining it from Malaysian perspective:
    http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1262372345642&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout&ref=body

    When Khalid Ibn Walid ordered the killing of Banu Khazeemah, he made a mistake. To Khalid, what he did was justified, but it turned that it was a tragic mistake. If the prophet saw didn’t try to understand it from Khalid’s point of view, Khalid would have probably been barred from other expeditions. After this, the prophet saw kept sending him out for dawah missions, and he (saw) advised him on one occasion to not be hasty, because he (saw) knew how Khalid was.
    The point here is that we should always try to look at it from another perspective.

    On the other hand, I really seriously more Islamic education is just needed for the Muslim ummah as a whole. That’s what we’re lacking.

  • abu zayd

    I think there are several major misunderstandings which even the Malaysian Islamic youth movements are not able to properly address. I watched the poor performace of one of them trying to defend the government’s court appeal. So I am going to do them a favour and highlight the points which have not been fully touched upon:

    1. Allah is an Arabic word and therefore should not be used in Malay translations of the Bible or other Christian literature. The Malay word for God is ‘Tuhan’ and therefore more appropriate for the context. It is true that it has been used by non Muslim Arabs for centuries; this is because Islam as a verb (i.e. submitting ones self to the will of his/her Creator) has existed since the time of Adam. All Prophets and Messengers were Muslim in the sense of the verb. Therefore it is normal to find claimants of the “Abrahamic” faiths to use this word as it denotes the One true God.

    2. The word for God in Genesis is ‘Elohim’ or ‘Eloh’ – from Hebrew it was translated into Arabic as ‘Allah’ as found in Arabic Bibles. We also know what Jesus called God in his Aramaic language. In actual fact, the ancient Semitic names for God are actually similar.This link will make for an interesting read: tinyurl.com/yesv5f8

    3. In the Malaysian context, this issue takes on a whole new meaning that involves national security, racial stability and social harmony as well as good relations among the country’s citizens. The socio-religious-ethnic make-up of Malaysia is not like Indonesia nor the Middle Eastern countries and this has to be understood.

    4. Islam is the official religion while all other religions have freedom to practise their faith without restrictions. Therefore the controvesy comes under the purview of the judiciary to decide if the word that is considered ‘Islamic’ and ‘Muslim’ should be allowed to be used by non-Muslims.

    5. Christians in Malaysia may have used the word ‘Allah’ for decades prior to the current contention, but the geo-social demographics of Malaysia have changed since then. The confusion that is likely to arise from non-Muslims’ use of the word is more prominant now than before. Especially when considering that proselytizing (converting) activities are not allowed.

    6. The whole issue surrounding the usage of a word is less about choice but one of necessity; the necessity to safeguard the safety and stability of a whole nation. The judiciary is not the best place to solve these types of emotive matters.

    Knowledge is the cure for all types of ignorance. It is my sincere hope that Muslims and non-Muslims alike will embark on a path of knowledge, coupled with reconciliation for the sake of their beautiful nation.

  • Leila

    Regardless of the Court’s decision in using the word “Allah” or the history of violence between muslims and copts, we should condemn violence and injustice anywhere. There was a public outcry about the unfortunate death of Marwa, if Egyptian Muslims took to the streets against the recent killings i dont see it as an apology to the “mushrikeen” but an action against sectarian violence.

  • Gehad

    JazakAllahkhair Haytham good article

    I think many of us are missing the point as many individuals are giving a breakdown of the history and purpose of the ruling. Haytham’s point is not why such rulings were made nor was it for or against such rulings. His point was that regardless of the ruling or the actions that were performed there is no justification to commit acts of violence on Muslims or nonMuslims, that is his point. That regardless of the reasons of such actions we should not be burning down houses of worship, hurting people, etc but on the contrary we should be the FIRST to condemn such actions. Just as if the opposite was true and acts of evil were perpetrated on the Muslims we would and SHOULD be the first to protest them. Allah Subhan Watala says in Surah Imran

    “Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining Al-Ma’ruf and forbidding Al-Munkar . And it is they who are the successful.” (3:104)

    Are we really forbidding the Munkar? The ayat does not say forbid the munkar performed to the muslims, No, it says just to forbid the Munkar and THOSE are the ones that will be successful.

    More so,

    Umar ibn `Abdul `Aziz said, “It used to be that Allah the Most High does not punish the common people for the sins of the elite; but when the evil is done openly, and they do not repudiate it, they all become deserving of His punishment.”

    We easily defend our Muslim brothers even if they are blatantly wrong but we are the first to attack when its the contrary, sometimes knowing nothing at all about the act. We really have a double standard we need to address, understand, and combat if we really want to be inducive of establishing a culture of morally conscious minded individuals. We should be forbidding the evil, regardless of who perpetrated it and regardless who its perpetrated too.

    Don’t get me wrong, no doubt a Muslim is more beloved to me than a nonMuslim. That i love a Muslim unconditionally. But that does not mean i love their all their actions (ex: evil, improper, profane, etc) nor does it mean that i shelter them from justice. If a muslim had hurt my family, i would be the first to report them to the police, muslim or not. Why is it though then that when they hurt a nonMuslim we make a hundred excuses and blame it on the policies, actions, etc of the nonMuslims. Even sometimes to the extent as if they almost deserve it.

    Again im not talking about any specific actions nor im i interested in the politics behind them. I just think we should be the first to denounce acts of injustice that are performed Muslims or nonMuslims, not the last.

  • Mazen Ramadan

    The reality is many Muslims DO speak out against these acts of violence! They are simply often not heard and they do not get the media coverage they deserve! This is an important point to pay attention to!

    Many good points are made in this article. However, it’s also important to note that while all of the above acts of violence mentioned are wrong, it’s not practical or possible for every individual Muslim or organization to speak out against everything wrong. We need groups dedicated to doing this, because world affairs are so many & acts of violence are so many. We need institutions dedicated towards condemning acts of wrongful violence and they need media coverage.

    Furthermore, there is a large double standard that exists today. Muslims are accountable by the public in the western world for having to speak out against every act of violence, but Christians and Jews are not?

    Yes, Allah commands that we do speak out against everything that is wrong and to command the good. Yes, I commented on a previous post saying that we have to speak out against all unjust actions of violence and not just the ones related to the Muslims.

    However, it is not practical for many to expect every Islamic organization, Mosque, Imam and individual to speak out against every action of violence. Not every single Christian Organization, Priest, Minister and Church speak out against every act of violence, so how can we be expected to speak out against all unjust actions of violence committed? Christians and Americans don’t take offense to Christians not speaking out because their faith is not perceived to be violent in today’s world.

    Secondly, the reaction from Muslims to acts of violence committed by rogue groups or individuals cannot and should not be of the same proportion to acts of violence committed by governments or by respected members in society.

    Some people need to wake up and smell the hummus!
    What happened in Abu Ghraib by U.S. Government Officials under U.S. Supervision to people in U.S. Government Custody is not the same as independent people taking matters into their own hands involving the rape of their daughter. One is highly premeditated and repetitive, while the other one is a crime of passion and ignorance.

    Similarly, The Government of Israel ruthlessly bombing innocent civilians using illegal weapons with disregard for international law and peace keeping facilities is not the same as someone who tried to terrorize people on an airplane by sewing a firecracker into his underpants!

    Don’t get me wrong… all of the above are very wrong and unjust, but logically – some do warrant more protest than others. This is because some actions are more unjust than others. The greater the injustice, the greater the protest.

    Practically, we live in a world with limited resources. While there is a huge number of Muslims on earth, the number of committed, educated, empowered and media savvy Muslims are few. That’s just some food for thought.

    • Mansoor Ansari

      Awesome post Mazen.

  • Abdullah Brown

    Assalamu alaykum.

    Excellent article; great points. They will need calm, firm repetition for years to come.

    There are good points, too, in some of the more analytical commentary, but there is also apologia and polemic that will strike an all-too-familiar discordant tone in the ears of many, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

    Right is right, wrong is wrong. Let’s just acknowledge and seek to overcome injustice wherever it occurs.

  • http://www.farazomar.com Faraz Omar

    Allah says in the Qur’an to verify news when it reaches you.

    In Malaysia, there was just ONE church that was burnt, that too only the administrative section. Not the prayer area itself. Other churches “burnt” as being falsely reported in the media were nothing more than incidents where some bottles and other things were thrown inside compounds of churches.

    Moreover a fair number of NGOs (logically Muslims) of Malaysia came forward to protect and safeguard the churches. The Prime Minister, Najib Razak, visited the affectedchurch and has ordered immediate repair and rebuilding of it. Read tomorrow’s Saudi Gazette for his interview.

    The vast majority of Muslims in Malaysia condemn these acts. These are mobs, and mobs are not religious.

    Why is this article missing these things? This article is only affirming the allegations against Muslims and confirming the stereotype. Subhan Allah… because we’ve been reading so much of their material, we are bound to fall into their traps.

    Malaysian Muslims are tolerant. So are Muslims all around the world. Non-Muslims in Muslim countries are not at all mistreated. period.

    There may be few incidents, clashes, and some skirmishes. That’s normal in every multiethnic society. But their rights are protected by the state.

    They are not rounded up and put behind bars for their faith. In today’s politicized society, when there’s so much going on against Muslims, that there’s no backlash against non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries, Alhamdulillah, speaks volumes about Muslims. But I realize there are politically motivated groups who would love to see such things happening and are doing all they can to destabilize Muslim countries by even sponsoring clashes.

    The way brother Dan puts it .. “persecution of non-Muslims in Muslim lands”… subhan Allah as if this is the order of the day. Hellooo? Even the Taliban didn’t persecute the Sikhs and the Hindus in their country under their rule.

    I don’t accuse you lovely brothers for anything intentionally wrong… but this is how it is. We are bound to depend on stories that are purely sensational, far-fetched and unreal. It would be better if Western Muslims did a little more research, got in touch with local populace, and find out what’s happening on the ground. Lets not jump the bandwagon and accuse other Muslims just because we want to be politically correct.

    Why don’t Muslim Matters’ writers contact ISlamic centers in Malaysia, political leaders in Malaysia and get their views and do a little reporting as well? It would give a lot of credibility to your articles and stories.

    • http://www.muslimmatters.org/author/haytham Haytham

      Jazakom Allahu Khayran for your feedback and advice. May Allah reward you for that.

      Just to address some of your points:

      The news that came to me personally (via AlJazeera, BBC, CNN and other few major media outlet) confirmed the number of churches that were attacked. That is why I wrote that number and cited where I received this information from.

      As for the NGOs that came to safeguard the churches….that is what is expected from a moderate Muslim and I applaud such effort. I ask Allah to reward them for doing so…

      No doubt that the vast majority of Muslims are tolerant and condemn such acts regardless of where it takes place. The state that we need to head towards is… to evolve from saying “O this is just wrong” to take the proactive means to stop such acts from taking place again. Talk is usually a lot easier than actions my brother….

      Why is this article missing these things? This article is only affirming the allegations against Muslims and confirming the stereotype. Subhan Allah… because we’ve been reading so much of their material, we are bound to fall into their traps.

      That is not true. I was not affirming the allegation against Muslims and confirming the stereotypes. I lived in Egypt and know and understand the dynamics of the relationship between the Muslims and the Coptic Christians (I am not saying that the Coptics are always right btw… as I said, I lived there and understand the dynamics to a great degree) …Rather, I am trying to brush off the unconditional bias towards Muslims regardless of their acts.

      To make my stand clear…. if I know of a Muslim drug dealer or a rapist, I will definitely stand against him/her and make sure that he/she get the punishment that deserve. That is because we, the Muslims, are people of justice and fairness. On the other hand, you will never come accuse me of being a “sellout” of calling the authorities to report such a criminal……. does that make sense?

      • http://www.farazomar.com Faraz Omar

        Baarak Allahu feek brother. I agree that when *a Muslim* does a crime, *he* must not be supported in that and we must stand out for justice.

        What I was talking about is the Muslim community as a whole. Alhamdulillah when u agree that the vast majority of Muslims are tolerant and do not oppress non-Muslims the world over, the questions with which you end the article are moot :)

      • Dan

        Haytham, I do agree that Coptic Christians sometimes greatly exaggerate their plight in order to score points with a sympathetic audience in the West. A lot of them are incredibly ignorant of their own history as they ignore how they were ruthlessly persecuted by their fellow Christians under Byzantine rule because they rejected the Council of Chalcedon. They were so oppressed that they welcomed the Arab Muslim invaders as liberators for their plight. Do I admit that life was not always rosy for Copts over the past hundreds of years under various empires? Yes, but they also benefited immensely as well. They rose to the upper levels under the Fatimids, for example. And under Muhammad Ali Pasha, they were the main beneficiaries of Pasha’s industrial reforms which sought to modernize Egypt. And in the 1919 Revolution, both Egyptian Muslim and Copts stood side by side to stand up to the British. Heck, Egypt even had a Coptic head of state 100 years before America even had a black President! You mention these points to a Coptic extremist based out here in America, they run away in embarrassment or they try to call you a liar. Coptic extremists are as bad as Maronite Catholics who support the LebaneseForces when it comes to historical revisionism to make it appear that they suffered unanimously since Islam descended upon Egypt. And of course, I love it when they claim to be proud descendants of the Pharaohs, when they ignore the fact that they had no problem destroying vestiges of ancient Egypt and considered the tombs heretical. Historical amnesia is commonplace for many of them.

        But of course, with the disillusionment of Arab nationalism envisioned by Nasser, things went downhill for the Copts, which was made worse in the 1990′s by Salafi missionaries and the rise of Salafism in Egypt. I think these events gave way to this historical revisionism that I was referring to earlier.

    • Dan

      “The way brother Dan puts it .. “persecution of non-Muslims in Muslim lands”… subhan Allah as if this is the order of the day. Hellooo? Even the Taliban didn’t persecute the Sikhs and the Hindus in their country under their rule.”

      Really? I guess you forgot about the Sikhs in Orakzai, where they had their homes razed by the Taliban when they were unable to pay their jizya.

      Not only that, the Taliban did butcher tens of thousands of Shi’a Hazaras because they saw them clearly as heretics. The evidence is there for you to see. Maybe if you stop looking at so-called Islamic governments through rose tinted glasses and see them for the oppressive hypocritical scum that they are, maybe we could get somewhere. Stop assuming they are great just because they claim to uphold the message of the Almighty. That’s the problem with Muslims who cry about Muslim suffering in Chechnya, XInjiang, Palestine, etc., but look the other way and endorse oppression as long as their demented version of Shariah is established.

      And I do remember, very well, when these Indonesian Muslim militants who obviously get their inspiration from the Taliban and al-Qaeda’s brand of Islam, where they kidnapped and beheaded 3 Indonesian Christian girls in Poso, and then dumped their severed heads in bags to showcase them as “Ramadan trophies”. What happened to the killers? They were set free amidst the support by Abu Bakr Bashir and the rest of his fanatical students. That’s not the Islam I know of, and I’m sure many will agree with me on here.

      • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

        Here we go again… the repetition of the same talking points over and over again are becoming quite annoying. And they have been answered before in other posts.

  • Umm Bilqis

    The basic premise of the article is sound and Muslims have been commanded by Allah to be for justice even if against oneself. Having said that I was quite taken by surprise by the last statement in this article.
    Haytham says:
    Finally, I cannot help but wonder, if the Muslims of today were to be the world’s superpower, would we really be fair to the minorities? Would we regard non-Muslim minorities as legitimate minorities that have rights upon the Muslim majority?
    My response:
    This sentiment is unfair! History has proven that Muslims have protected minorities under Islamic rule perhaps you need to hear it from another source.
    Rabbi Weiss in this video explains:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9OIqy6md9w&feature=related

    • http://www.muslimmatters.org amad

      I agree… while this is an awesome post and I applaud Haytham for it, the concluding sentence feeds an Islamophobic stereotype. It belies history.

      Rather, I would have worded it differently and asserted the following instead of questioning a situation which HAS occurred in history:

      “I cannot help but wonder if the Musilms were the superpower of the world with a leader like Umar (RD), would we even have such actions against minorities, would we have this sort of injustice against minorities? History would say no, and until we have leaders like Umar(RD), we are left to deal with the fallout from such injustices.”

      Even while we should not be opposed to airing our “dirty laundry” for “cleaning it up”, it is important to be careful about wording and how the bigots can misconstrue them.

      • Dan

        Amad, you should worry less about what the bigots think. No matter what, you can’t convince a fat Melkite blogger or a botox queen of any less. It is important to be balanced, because like it or not, we are constantly seen as whining about the rights of Muslims yet say nothing about the plight of non-Muslims in Muslim countries. And I have to apologize in advance, but the record is pretty atrocious at best. You should know how Pakistani Christians are treated since you’re also from Pakistan as well. Not only that, Iraqi Christians are forced to leave their homes and flee their ancestral homeland thanks to the ridiculous US invasion that enabled extremists to harass these peaceful communities.

        • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

          What are you talking about? Did you even read what I wrote?

          It was referring to the way the sentence was worded about a HYPOTHETICAL situation where Muslims were to be a super-power (which “amazingly” has occurred in the past so it is not like we can’t take lessons from it). Stop your reactionary listening, and your desire to plug in your 3-4 talking-points at EVERY opportunity possible.

      • http://www.muslimmatters.org/author/haytham Haytham

        Amad….. when I wrote that last question…. i truly meant it.

        Yes, of course in our history as a Muslim nation we have lots and lots of example of justice…. but I am not living in the past… I am living in the time where the governments of the so-called-muslim countries are the full of corruption, injustices, and even some war crimes….

        I wrote this question, regardless of some bigots or idiots will say about it… this article wasnt made for them…. this article was for people like you and I … to ponder, reflect, and come up with our own conclusions.

        • http://muslimmatters.org/author/amad/ Amad

          When you post an article, you can’t make it for one group or the other. It is open to all. Always assume that ANYONE will read it and use your words FOR or AGAINST you.

          Muslims were indeed superpowers before. They are not there because they don’t deserve it. They will deserve it when they fix themselves up. And at that point, they will be the just nation that they were in history. Your question doesn’t agree with history or prophesies of our future.

  • Sarah S

    I think this is a great article masha’Allah. It is necessary and very overdue.

    Although many views were reflected in the comments here, the sentiments and purpose of this article were on point masha’Allah. As Muslims, we all try to exert efforts everyday to give Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) the justice He deserves. And in doing so, we try our best to also give His creations the rights they deserve- may Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) reward us all for our efforts. This article is further encouragement to proclaim justice and in doing so, we are obeying and pleasing Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).

    One point that many people have mentioned is that education is necessary and still lacking in much of the Muslim ummah. Islaamic education as well as knowledge of other people, their beliefs and cultures is imperative. If we, as a people, begin to understand more about those who are different from us, we will better be able to understand their perspectives and will be able to circumvent many of the misunderstandings that have resulted in so much tragedy. I know that this is a very idealistic and simplistic view and I know that it is impossible to resolve all of these issues by gaining knowledge but it would certainly be a step in the right direction. WAllahu ta’ala ‘alam.

    • Umm Bilqis

      Good point Sister Sarah,
      May I also add that non Muslims who have been deceived by what Islam stands for should also be given an education about Islam, then perhaps they would be as outraged by the human rights abuses perpetrated by the western coalitions of mass injustice.
      Perhaps they would realize that Muslim blood is not cheaper than their blood.
      Perhaps they would realize that the mass murder of Muslims and the mass incarceration, and rape of muslims in addition to the desecration of the Quraan should stop?

  • http://muslimology.wordpress.com Dawud Israel
  • firoz

    Salams brother Haytham.

    Nice article and an important one may i add.

    Although i agree with a much of what you have to say , i must say you have overlooked certain aspects of use of the term ‘Allah’ .

    Ofcourse this term is used widely my many non muslim arabs but i think we must look at it in the context if it were to be used in the bible . If you were to employ the word ‘Allah’ in such a statement as ‘God the father ,God the son , and God the holy spirit’ then its a whole theological issue and not just an issue of who can use it and who cant . Furthermore , i do not see why the malaysian christian society insist on the use of the ARABIC word ALLAH for its MALAY translation espescially when there is already a malay word available.

    By this do I in no way justify the reaction of the mobs that attacked the churches.I think that was an utterly stupid and ignorant reaction which sadly seems to be very common in our muslim community these days.Those responsible should be given just punishment.

    May i also post a question to any christian arabs reading this , is the word ‘ila’ not the word used for God in arabic bibles ?

    • http://durkadurkistan.wordpress.com/ Durkadurkistan

      Christians in Indonesia, which speak basically the same language, use Allah in their translation of the bible. I have a Christian Indonesian friend, for example, who says “insha’Allah”.

      Even if we disagree from a theologically point of view, it is completely against Islam to ban someone from using the word.

      If you want to understand why I say that, read this:

      http://durkadurkistan.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/malaysias-allah-fiasco-what-does-the-quran-say/

  • Muhammad Sheikh

    I don’t understand why people are saying “great article,” or “long overdue.”

    Excuse me for being frank, and no offense to the author, but I’ve lately been overwhelmed with the actions of Muslims throughout the world as of late.

    Our religion has been hijacked, and while I don’t feel like these articles, or me writing this serves, any purpose, consider it a vent if anything.

    I don’t know how much longer I can cope with constantly hearing about Muslims committing despicable crimes in the name of my religion. I mean yeah, obviously there is an agenda to the American media, yes this is true. But we are lying to ourselves if we refuse to understand and most importantly ADDRESS the issues we have in our predominantly Muslim countries. There has to be something wrong, and because we (majority of readers) understand that it cannot be our religion, then what is it?

    The vast majority of the crimes committed are by impoverished people, right? So what do they have, their homes, families, land, and their religion. They don’t have a constant bombardment of mind control that we have here, but I guess it’s a possibility they are more susceptible to being swayed by a radical. We (in the West) may have became numb to these kind of influences, I donno like I said this is just a stream of consciousness thing. I looked at it before and saw a correlation with the literacy rates. I mean, Afghanistan is around the 30s, Pakistan is hovering around 50. Poor Iraq is taking a nosedive, showing things aren’t getting any better. Then you have ridiculous corruption of the Arab countries who refuse to spend any money on schools, but rather everything else.

    Education altogether is probably a bigger reason than anything, and not specifically Islamic education either. Maybe it’s just being smarter in general. Us Pakis are marrying within the family too much I guess.

    My rant isn’t to strictly condemn the Muslim world and the acts of Muslims who do dumb stuff. But unfortunately, as a Muslim you are under a damn microscope, so don’t you take that into consideration? I mean, when discussing people who did ridiculous stuff in the Western world. You have to be a real a** to kill someone when your name is Abdul or something, knowing your names will be plastered all over the newspapers the next day. It’s bizarre. Where is the logic?

    While I respect the intentions of the author, and of the posters here, there is something we simply are not dealing with. Muslims continue to “shoot themselves in the foot.” And it occurred to me the first time when the Fort Hood shooting went down, and on one article in Forbes about how any Muslim might to “Jihad” any second, there were loads of comments. There was what anyone would expect, Muslims defending their religion, and people blasting it, but there were a few comments which caught my eye. They were along the lines of:
    -”Has it ever occurred to you that we are trying to believe your religion is a peaceful one, but it’s becoming more and more difficult?”

    We’re starting to turn the understanding and tolerant people against us, and I don’t think enough people are taking the issue seriously enough.

    -Edited. Pls mind your language.

  • Dawoud

    Salaam aleykum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu,

    I can only speak about the UK. There seems to be an environment being created where Muslims are feeling pressure to apologise for other people’s mistakes. Islam prevents injustice when implemented as intended period. People make mistakes. Muslims are being separated from mainstream society and being asked to make concessions no other section would dream of. I don’t expect a single Jew to apologise to me for each and every crime committed by Israel, much less that any Jew should apologise for the act of another Jew. I don’t see why Muslim’s are falling over themselves to apologise left, right and centre for the acts of a minority within our community. This is a slippery slope, it has lead to the further weakening of the Ummah(through further division) and is used by politicians to bring in draconian “anti-terror” legislation focused at resurgent political Islam (and no I don’t mean that in the al-Qaeda sense, I mean that in the sense of Muslims wanting to rule by Sharia in the Muslim land without the interference of Western government).

    • Alia

      Assalmu Alaykum,
      I definatly agree with you on a few points here, but dont u think tht since Islam and Muslims are under scrutiny tht we (as a collective) should even go well and beyond our respective duties to prove tht we are not what ‘they’ say we are.

      Ppl will always create a division if they feel tht their opinions (or actions in this case) are not well recieved, and frankly I’d rather not be associated with a bunch of radicals who commit heinous acts in the name Islam.

      Since the minorities commit these acts, they are the ones who r goin to be our ‘reprasentatives’ on our news networks…..my question is WHY SHOULD WE LET THEM???

      Of course we shouldnt expect every Jew, American, and European to apologize to us on behalf of the acts of the Isreali government, but realize tht they arent in the same positions Muslims are. The media is completly biased and might I point, on their side. And so we must do everything we can to not fall into their image of a Muslim.

  • http://dinsmann.com/natural-remedies Shariff Fudin

    As a muslim Malaysian I reaffirmed Faraz Omar view. Your reportting of the article, quoting western media, Al-Jazeera included, without verification from the original sources of events, may further alienated the muslims from the west.

  • http://durkadurkistan.wordpress.com/ Durkadurkistan

    As-salaamu alaykum.

    I wrote about the “Allah” ban in Malaysia, and why it is completely wrong according to the Qur’an:

    “Malaysia’s “Allah” Fiasco: What does the Qur’an say?”

    http://durkadurkistan.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/malaysias-allah-fiasco-what-does-the-quran-say/

    Do have a look. I swear, it seems a lot of Muslims do not even read the Qur’an these days…

  • HaleemTastesGood

    We don’t live in the time of the Prophet. The luxuries available than aren’t available now. For 1400 years, Allah has been more and more associated with Islam. Everyone else can get their own deity name. We, Muslim, have copyright on Allah in essense.

  • http://takemon.wordpress.com/ Gopal Raj Kumar

    There is always a temptation where issues as emotive and illogical (from a human perspective) as those issues that have a religious component at its core emerge with bloody and inhumane consequences.

    The murder of a woman in Germany, the murder of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the torching of Churches in Malaysia, the murder by official sanction of 2000 Indians of Muslim faith by th state of Gujarat in India or the continued attempts to annhialate all Palestinians by the Jews all have one thing in common. Absent an official decree like a Fatwah, they are not religious wars or crimes or ‘hate crimes’ the new buzz word for such crimes but simply crimes and crimes against humanity.

    Mehmet Ali Agca the Turkish would be assassin who when asked by the media who he really was replied in perfect Italian “Io sono Jesu Christo”. In English “I am Jesus Christ”. Now the point is this. If he did claim to be Jesuss Christ, why do we not blame all Christians for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II? Should we not be consistent here and accept the claims of an individual like Ali Agca?

    Likewise just because a mob of people claiming the sanction of god or their particular prophet go out and kill in their names, they surely cannot be the reasson the religion they use as their cover, has to be tainted with their crimes. It would not be logical.

    Essays on topics such as this one ought to look for balance or to provide balance where it is not available in arguments.

    http://takemon.wordpress.com/

    Go to the GRK Blog and read out the arguments on the many essays that arise from thesetopics and please comment to your hearts content.

    Gopal

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