The IDES of MARCH HAD STILL NOT COME, BUT THE MESSAGE from DR. WAFA  SULTAN, came loud and clear to all MUSLIMS. She had lumped all Muslims into  one group, extremists. Reading this article would lead one to believe that out  of the one point three billion Muslims around this world, none were pleasant,  artistic or involved in thought provoking ideas. Under the title

"For  Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats"
>By JOHN M.  BRODER, an article in,
>
>LOS ANGELES, on March 10 2006.  

This is a direct paraphrase from the article:

— Three weeks ago, Dr. Wafa Sultan was a largely unknown Syrian-American  psychiatrist living outside Los Angeles nursing a deep anger and despair about  her fellow Muslims.

>Today, thanks to an unusually blunt and  provocative interview on Al Jazeera television Feb. 21st, she is an  international sensation, hailed as a fresh voice of reason by some, and by  others as a heretic and infidel who deserves to die.

>In the  interview, which has been viewed on the Internet more than a million times and  has reached the e-mail of hundreds of thousands around the world, Dr. Sultan  bitterly criticized the Muslim clerics, holy warriors, and political leaders  who she believes have distorted the teachings of Muhammad and the Koran for 14  centuries.

>She said the world's Muslims, whom she compares  unfavorably with the Jews, have descended into a vortex of self-pity and  violence.

>Dr. Sultan said the world was not witnessing a clash of  religions or cultures, but a battle between modernity and barbarism, a battle  that the forces of violent, reactionary Islam are destined to  lose.

>In response, clerics throughout the Muslim world have  condemned her, and her telephone answering machine has filled with dark  threats. But Islamic reformers have praised her for saying out loud, in Arabic  and on the most widely seen television network in the Arab world, what few  Muslims dare to say even in private.

>"I believe our people are  hostages to our own beliefs and teachings," she said in an interview this week  in her home in a Los Angeles suburb.
>
>Dr. Sultan, who is 47,  wears a prim sweater and skirt, with fleece-lined slippers and heavy  stockings. Her eyes and hair are jet black and her modest manner belies her  intense words: "Knowledge has released me from this backward thinking.  Somebody has to help free the Muslim people from these wrong  beliefs."

>Perhaps her most provocative words on Al Jazeera were  those comparing how the Jews and Muslims have reacted to adversity. Speaking  of the Holocaust, she said, "The Jews have come from the tragedy and forced  the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror; with  their work, not with their crying and yelling."

>She went on, "We  have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not  seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by  killing people."

>She concluded, "Only the Muslims defend their  beliefs by burning down churches, killing people and destroying embassies.  This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what  they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect  them."

The rest of the article you can read in the LA TIMES.

Having read this article, I decided to turn to SALMAN AHMAD, who has  become a master at this subject of ISLAM and MODERNITY. SALMAN'S two  documentaries: THE MULLAH AND THE ROCK STAR, and IT'S  MY COUNTRY TOO, have dealt with this subject and have been shown all over  the world by the BBC. SALMAN had just flown back from a concert in  DUBAI.

Following is the direct the statement made by SALMAN to me:



"Although I admire her courage for speaking from her mind and her  heart, I can't help but feel that she too is confusing the issues...
 

The war within Islam is not about modernity and the middle  ages/barbarism OR religious vs secular Islam.The current Muslim disconnect  stems from Islamic countries and their leaders forgetting the culture of  pluralism and critical thinking that made Islam a progressive and dynamic  faith during the European middle ages, and allowing the religion to be  hijacked by political and religious opportunists. Islam from the 7th to the  14th century was a religion which gave Muslims knowledge, inspiration, and  spawned a culture which despite having a spiritual foundation (belief in One  God) embraced seeking knowledge and truth as a central ethos for society. For  example, if you google "Muslim Spain" (9th 13th century) you'll see a Muslim  empire in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims worked together in harmony and  where great art, architecture, and discoveries in science and medicine  were spearheaded by "believing" Muslims....My experience of living in the  west and in Pakistan and knowing the cultural, religious, and political  realities of both worlds makes me think that the more effective debate  within Islam has to be initiated by Muslims who are secure about their  modern Muslim identity, and don't feel the need to renounce their faith  in order to reform it...Dr .Sultan's courage will get her a lot of attention  in the media but unfortunately the wider Muslim world may not sign up to  her style of reform when it hints at submerging or  subordinating their Muslim identities just to conform to what the west  expects of them."
 

SALMAN is thinking of future projects, which may discuss  some of these questions.

While I strongly believe that ISLAM does not need modernity - ISLAM is perfect, and therefore does not need to be changed. [I apologize to MUSLIMS for even mentioning about change.] What needs to change are the Muslims. Muslims NEED MODERNITY. Not all Muslims, but some. These Muslims live in backward, tribal areas of the world. They lack education.They believe what other people have told them about ISLAM. They hold their women back. Whatever they do stems from tribal culture, not ISLAM.

ISLAM was born in 720 AD, while these tribal cultures have been around since 700 BC. In fact PROPHET MUHAMMAD, PBUH, was asked by God to spread ISLAM in order to counter these tribal customs. The enemies of ISLAM only know one scripture, the KORAN and ISLAM need to change.

"NA-OWS-BILLA" [I apologize for saying this] If they really want to change hearts and minds, and if they really want to be friends to Muslims, I would suggest putting your money where your mouth is. Time to make sure the dictatorial governments around the world put more money into education than weapons. Time to make sure the aid from the west first goes to start education projects, not buy more weapons. Time to help, not create more distances by practicing ad homonym attacks. Time to be the solution, not contribute to the problem.

 

Seeme Hasan
March 2006