July 7th Attacks: In the wake of shame, reject extremism

Last updated on: July 13, 2005 at 1:00 am by Shahed Amanullah

July 7th Attacks: In the wake of shame, reject extremism 2005-07-13T01:00:00-04:00 Shahed Amanullah

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This week will be remembered as a dark one in European Muslim history. At a time when Bosnian Muslims were commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre of 8000 Muslim men and boys � the worst such event in Europe since the Holocaust � two disturbing news items involving young European Muslims threatened to shake the foundations of European-Muslim relations. If not responded to in force by Europe’s 20-million strong Muslim community, Srebrenica may not be a unique occurrence.

First, the news that the London terrorist attacks were carried out by youths of Pakistani descent born in Yorkshire will have profound ramifications for Muslim life in Britain. Even in the days following the London bombings, the general sense among the British was that the danger was from without, and that all Britons, including Muslims, stood shoulder to shoulder against an external threat. The discovery of the homegrown origin of the worst carnage in London since WWII shakes this relationship to the core. A level of trust that existed even through last week’s terrorism is now left in tatters. The universal condemnation of the acts by British Muslim organizations matters little to non-Muslims who see four youth born of Britain and given an opportunity to contribute to British society, yet choosing to wreak havoc on it through a suicide bombing attack likely planned within their community and despite a well documented rise in religious extremism among young Muslims in Britain.

Second, we heard the chilling words of the murderer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who unrepentantly declared in court his resolve to “chop off the head of everyone who insults Allah or the prophet” if given another chance. He confirms the worst fears of secular Europe � that there are some out there that are willing to kill rather than talk in response to criticism of Islam or Muslims. As in the case with the London bombers, here was a Muslim who grew up steeped in European culture, language, and law, and yet chose to impose his own values and judgments on his non-Muslim neighbors through violence.

In both the British and Dutch cases, we have a European Muslim’s worst nightmare � young Muslims who have been born and raised in Europe, yet who reject a peaceful coexistence with their neighbors. They see themselves as outsiders who, for whatever reason, see violence as a means for correcting the actions of their government or of fellow citizens. These people effectively say through their actions, “Submit to my will, or die.” Unfortunately, it does not matter if these five individuals represent an extreme minority within the larger European Muslim community. The fact that they exist at all, and spoke with a collective defiant voice, will haunt their non-Muslim neighbors, make Muslim integration into European society increasingly difficult, and compound the alienation that may lead to extremism in the first place.

Condemnation of such events has become a requisite action, especially for Muslims who are often accused of complicity through silence. But the interesting thing about condemnations is that they both judge the act and distance a community from it. It is too easy for a condemnation to morph into an abdication of responsibility to deal with the problem. Unfortunately, distancing oneself from extremism only allows it to grow unchecked. The time has come � actually, it came several years ago � for a zero-tolerance policy towards violent rhetoric in the Muslim community. It is time for shock and sorrow to give way to introspection and resoluteness. It is not enough to shun these people from our mosques and schools. We need to find them and drown out their rhetoric with our resolve to live an Islam that is an example of justice, coexistence, and compassion. Muslims need to stand against these aberrations with other Europeans � even those who are highly critical of us � and stand for an Islam that can take everything that is thrown at it and still respond with dignity and respect.

This should have been a day where Europeans of all faiths focused upon the thousands of graves of Srebrenica, pledging to never let it happen again. It should have been a day where a murderer in the Netherlands was humbled by justice, abandoned even by his religion. It should have been a day where Muslim cooperation in the seeking of justice for the London attacks illustrated their collective intent to protect their adopted homeland. All the causes that European Muslims work for and hold so dear � the plight of the Palestinians, the continuing occupation of Iraq, and racism at home � will be meaningless if the earth is scorched under their feet because of the treason of the extremists among them.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.

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