[This three-part article is a summary of some of my thoughts about the current state of the Western Muslim community – inspired by Jonathan Haidt’s book, the Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions & Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. Read Part 1 and Part 2]

Lastly, we come to an ancient problem in the Muslim world but exacerbated by our social and political circumstances. I remember when I used to naively believe that we Muslims in the West had moved beyond the sectarian squabbles of the majority of ummah back home, but truth be told, I believe we’ve made it much worse here.

Identity Politics

We have all the typical sectarian and movement-based differences. We have the Sufi, Salafi, Ash’ari, Taymiyyi, Ikhwani, Tahriri, Deobandi, Barelwi, etc. issues. But then we have added an entirely new layer unique to our milieu, such as liberal, conservative, feminist, red pill, Republican, Democrat, pro-voting, anti-voting, male, female, etc.

The problem is not that these differences exist. It is normal for us to disagree. The problem is that these differences have become tribal and a form of identity politics. We don’t just ‘agree’ with Salafi or Liberal viewpoints, we identify as being part of a community where only that is correct, where we will only ever listen to members of that community, and we will not sit with the others and try to understand their point of view with a blank slate.

We become overly suspicious, angry, skeptical, and cynical about the motives and actions of those we disagree with and oppose, interpreting their words and actions in the worst possible way. Our mindset becomes: that our problems as an ummah or Western Muslim community are the fault of the other, not myself or my group.

For example: The celebrity shaykhs are all wrong if I’m on the side of the da’wah brothers on Twitter; OR: The da’wah brothers are all wrong if I’m on the side of the celebrity Shaykhs. What if we’re both wrong and we just need to be communicating better?

Likely the worst of these divisions is the male/female tribalism that has started, as that is not even an intellectual or theological construct, but a very biological and human one. You can live your entire life normally without Sufis or Salafis, but you can’t without a conciliatory perspective towards the opposite gender.

The Need to Re-Center the Ummah

What is the result of this? Instead of identifying as one ummah around a uniting factor like Allah His Messenger , the Qur’an, and Sunnah, the fuqaha & scholars, Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah (as understood by scholars, NOT random preachers on the internet), we instead unite on our opposition to a particular group. If we unite in our opposition to x cluster of ideas, what will end up happening then, is that we will abandon, censor, or cancel anyone who advocates for or even expresses some sympathy for x.

Allah says in the Qur’an, “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided.” [Surah ‘Ali-Imran: 3;103] Note the language: the rope of Allah , not the rope of the enemies of those you don’t like. If we unite around the Sunnah instead, we will appreciate more that people will differ in their interpretations and methods, and that if they go too far, the solution is NOT to oppose them, but to help them re-center and come back.

It is curious how the Sunnah alludes to this ‘coddling’ as well. The Prophet said, “Let me not find any of your reclining on his bed, and a command or prohibition of mine comes to him, and he says, ‘I don’t know about this, whatever I found in the Qur’an I will follow [only].’”

All of this is well-intentioned of course. It is all couched in religious language, scholarly terminology, and the quoting of texts. People with this type of thinking (often young people) legitimately think that they are on the truth, as their experiences with ideas and people are limited to whoever they started off with, and the zeal and emotion of youth can prevent them from branching off and speaking to others and sharing their points of view. The older ones doing all this are usually hardened by the harm they have received – whether in the form of losing their job or being slandered etc. – from others into becoming more stubborn in their antagonism.

The identity-politics environment of the West further fuels this chaotic division. Social media adds to it by reducing the people we disagree with to a picutre and text on a screen, not a real, living, breathing person. Worst of all, is that this fixation on the problems of the other, and the mistakes of those we oppose blind us and mask us from our own problems and mistakes.

The more we are focused on the mistakes of others, the less we are on our own.

Solutions:

1. We must unite around principles instead of opposition to a particular idea or group. Unite around Islam, around the love of Allah , around the Qur’an and Sunnah, etc.
2. We must be willing to sit and discuss with those whose views we disagree with to understand their point of view, and if possible reconcile with them. This means we have to get off the internet and actually meet people who we disagree with to see the ‘human-ness’ of our opponents first.
3. Keep in mind that there are some viewpoints that do not deserve reconciliation and understanding, such as those that violate scholarly consensus and what is known in the religion by necessity.
4. Knowledge once again is important in this issue. The more you learn about Islam, and the diversity of scholarly views in Islamic history, the more tolerant you will become of differences of opinion with the ummah, especially when you understand the process of ikhtilaf and how it occurs in the first place.

Conclusion

Most of these problems are byproducts of the local culture, gender wars, and political division affecting us too. It is difficult to see how we could en-mass disassociate from such attitudes. But I think a lot of it also stems from problems unique to the Western Muslim community.

At times I feel despair, in that the only way this will resolve is if some calamitous event(s) shake us so hard that we realize how badly we need each other. Sadly, this seems to have happened already with the genocide in Gaza. Allah will continue to rectify this ummah until the sun rises from East, even if it refuses to do it itself.

But should we need to be shaken and tossed around like this to wake up? Should we suffer to learn that we are too self-centered, that Islam is going to need much more from us than emotional placation, or that our deep divisions work against us? No. We can do better inshaAllah.

[[This article was first published here]

Related:

– Challenges of Identity & Conviction: The Need to Construct an Islamic Worldview

– Are Western Muslims Becoming Right-Wing? The Emergence Of A Politically Mature Community With Agency