Author: Daniel Pipes
Publication: FrontPageMagazine.com
Date: April 30, 2004
URL: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13209
URL: http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1775
When the American Islamic Forum
for Democracy organized "A Rally against Terror" on April 25 in Phoenix,
its head, an Arizona physician named Zuhdi Jasser, said his goal was to
give Muslim moderates "an opportunity to speak out publicly." And Jasser
presented the rally as a robust response to the many criticisms that American
Muslims had not produced a "groundswell of condemnation" against terrorism.
In fact, he asserted,
The killing of innocent people out
of revenge, out of hate or out of retribution is against the absolute laws
of Islam. Suicide is against the absolute laws of Islam. People can justify
their actions all day long, but we as Muslims are here to say clearly their
actions are against everything we believe.
Jasser wrote an oped in the Arizona
Republic where, as a Muslim, he took responsibility for the mistrust directed
toward American Muslims, rather than merely blow this off as prejudice:
It is impossible as an American
not to feel the growing palpable distrust toward the Muslim community.
With attacks targeting innocent civilians across the globe, it has sadly
at this time gone far beyond the initial prideful question of "Why are
Muslims being singled out?" It is time now only to rally and provide an
unmistakable resounding reply.
With this in mind, he set out two
goals for the rally:
We want to reassure the American
public that the great majority of Muslims condemn the targeting of innocents
by virtue of the tenets of our faith. We also want to give hope and inspiration
to faithful Muslims all over the country that this type of rally is possible.
Jasser found support for his efforts
as close as the Arizona Republic, which correctly judged this event to
be "the nation's first Muslim rally against terrorism," and as far away
as the country's capital, where a Washington Times editorial ended with,
"We salute Dr. Jasser, American patriot."
The Muslim community of Phoenix
is estimated at 50,000 persons; Jasser worked strenuously to reach out
to the Valley Council of Imams, Valley mosques and major Valley Islamic
organizations; and the Arizona Republic, the leading newspaper of Phoenix,
gave the rally its full-fledged support. A head of steam behind him, Jasser
optimistically predicted that 500 to 1,000 people would attend the event.
But then the event was held (an
audio of the 50-minute long event can be heard online) and reality set
in. Estimates vary. The Arizona Republic counted 250 in attendance, the
police 400. The number of Muslims, I heard, was between 30 and 100
persons. Most participants were not Muslim but (the Arizona Republic recounts)
"people like Michael Fischer, 18, of Glendale, who wanted to denounce the
stereotyping of Muslims; and Grace Clark of Apache Junction, who wanted
to promote peace." One correspondent of mine judged the event "a total
disaster."
But that is too severe. It was a
humble beginning that can grow into something large and strong. Jasser
points out to me that "The beginnings of every great movement in our great
nation's history of freedom began in a small way." He notes also that American
Muslims, being predominantly first-generation immigrants, are still getting
grounded. With time, he expects, "the vast majority of American Muslims
will listen to the message of our rally and find complete agreement with
its statement of faith."
Until then, however, there is the
stark reality that very few Muslims did show up. And those who did held
up "peace" and "anti-war" signs, not anti-terror or anti- Islamist signs.
Two factors help explain this disappointing result.
First, the message of the event
did not fit the thinking of most Muslims. Unfortunately, the mood in this
community is a radical one, and not inclined to stand up and condemn terrorism.
Second, Zuhdi did not pander to
the Islamist establishment - such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations
- in planning the event. These extremists no doubt could have brought out
a larger crowd - but to rail against Israel or U.S. policy.
The Phoenix rally points to the
current reality of American Muslim opinion. This problem needs to be dealt
with. If not, I can imagine the United States will hear the same overt
calls for jihad and Islamic rule that Western Europe is now experiencing.
Daniel Pipes (www.DanielPipes.org)
is director of the Middle East Forum and author of Miniatures (Transaction
Publishers).
