After having followed YouTube religiously for quite some time,
I can safely say that what ails the relationship between the Muslim world and
the West is not religion, culture, or heritage but differing opinions on the political
spectrum.
Take for example a pastor in the US who posts something online
which might be considered sacrilegious to Muslims. The direct aftermath is a
series of Fatwas from the Muslim world that would put millions of dollars on
the pastor’s head as bounty. US embassies are raided, scandalized, and attacked
all over the Muslim world. Effigies of US presidents are burned, US products
are boycotted (well except KFC and Coca Cola of course) and the West is tarred
with the same brush as being generally insensitive to the sensitivities of
Muslims. Muslim clerics make sure that people start to believe how EVERYONE in
the US is against Muslims, and how they chant anti Muslim slogans day in and
day out. They would also convince people that everyone in the world (which is
generally the US, and Israel) is against their religion and their country and
therefore they need to be protected.
Meanwhile, when aforementioned events are made public
through television or the internet, people in the US begin actually fearing the
worst. They start to think that maybe ALL Muslims hate the US, and that maybe
ALL of them are crazy nut heads hell bent on destroying effigies, and embassies,
and killing their ambassadors. Subsequently, this becomes impetus for another round of
hatred from both sides. Essentially each side feeds on the anger, and ignorance
of the other. These people are also convinced that they are in danger and in
need of protection.
However, I think most of what we hear in the mainstream
media is the opinion of the right and the centre right. Basically, we are told
what the rightists in the West think about the rightists in the Muslim world and vice
versa, which is almost always ugly. Most people, but rightists in particular in Pakistan
(my country of origin) don’t even know that there are people in the US who are anti
war, anti discrimination, anti immigration prohibition laws, but NOT anti
Muslim. These people stand for liberal values, and generally will not shy away
from criticizing their own country, religion, or political association.
Progressives like Jon Stewart will tell you when they think that Protective
Edge is the Möbius strip of issues.
In the same way, I am sure that there are some people in the
US, mostly working for Fox News, that don’t know that there is a growing, blooming,
and thriving community within the Muslim world which recognizes itself as
liberal and progressive. These people do not hate everything that is
Western, and in some cases may as well cherish Western principles. Agreed, sometimes
it may be difficult for them to speak out openly against their governments for
fear of their lives, but they nevertheless stand for liberal values. Furthermore, these people may just be as
Muslim as all others that we stereo typically consider Muslims and yet these
liberals are included in the generalized statement or even the consideration of
the statement that “All Muslims are terrorists”. This obviously makes no sense
whatsoever.
So what the liberals from both sides need to do is to be
more vocal about their point of views. We don’t want wars, we want intercultural,
interfaith, inter-sex, and inter-race harmony. It might take some time but we
will have it. The best way to do it is speak out more and more often and tell everyone
tell we exist and this is what we stand for. Like I just did.
