Muslims and Darfur: Neglected Responsibilities

S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 29 FLICKR CC/MEANEST INDIAN M yfathertoldmeastoryaboutanattemptedaircrafthijackingthat tookplaceinLucknow,India.Thehijackerwasarmedwithapistol,butnot withagreatdealofsense,ashebeganhisattemptwhiletheaircraftwasstill on the ground. During the long standoff, one woman, with a baby in her arms, finally lost her patience as her child started wailing. Rising from her seat, she declared that the gunman could do as he wished, but she was leaving. As she proceeded to make good on her threat the gunman tried to convince her that he was a dangerous man with a pistol in his hand, but she left anyway. One by one the rest of the passengers followed her out, leaving the frustrated hijacker to be arrested by the police. Hijacking Islam Thisisanamusingstoryofamoreinnocenttimefromacitythathasoftenbeen synonymous with grace and good manners in Northern India, and maybe its lessons are notapplicableincurrenttimes.Nevertheless,itcamebacktomerecentlywhileIwastalkingtoanIndianfriend .Hecomesfromaverylearned familyandiseasilyoneofthebetterinformed authorities on Islam in the world, through his work as a political commentator. He is somebody whose knowledge and accomplishments I deeply respect, but he said something that I disagree with. He used a phrase that I have heard many times about the radicals that we have grown to know (but not necessarily to love), remarking in frustration that, “These madmen have hijacked Islam!” In one form or the other I have heard this phrase used, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom after the attacks on September 11, 2001. As a Muslim foreigner studying and working in international politics in the United Statesatthattime,IfollowedthecommentaryofMuslimspokespeopleveryclosely.Somebody coined the phrase, “These terrorists didn’t just hijack the planes. They hijacked my religion.” In one form or another it caught on and has remained in circulation since then. It fills a number of needs: the need to place the blame on specific individuals for their crimes;theneedtoexplicitlyassertthatreligionisbeingusedtojustifyillegalandimmoral actions; and the need of the literate, liberal elite to express their disgust, frustration, and deep humiliation at their inability to guide people to the true understanding of Islam. And yet, there is a deep failure among those of us who have had the privilege of an excellenteducationinbothpoliticsandIslam.Toacertaindegreewemustsharetheblame Neglected Responsibilities by Omair Ahmad Muslims and Darfur 5.Religion:Politics rev. 8/7/07 10:16 AM Page 29 in allowing Islam to be hijacked in the first place, and not doing anything to get off the plane, or wrest it back into our control. Addressing Darfur In recent weeks a number of groups have protested about the killings in Darfur, the huge number of refugees, the uncounted dead, the raped women, and the starving children. With the fine exception of QNews, a British magazine, I have heard very little from any “Muslim” source on the misery in this predominantly Muslim country, on the poor that will die and be forgotten by the world while we remain counting the “more important” dead. That does not mean that the concern is missing. I raised the subject of Darfur while having coffee with a Sudanese friend in Delhi. A subject that I can do little about in my present capacity, and which I have followed over the last two years through only newspaper reports and the occasional paper by organizations such as the International Crisis Group. He raised his hands and said, “It’s a problem. A big problem, and one I wish we could do something about.” We can at least speak about Darfur, complain, yell, state bluntly that what is happening there is horrible, and that the excuses do not hold any water any more. Yes, the conflict is complicated; yes, many people are guilty and there are no heroes; yes to all of that. But the simpletruthisthatinnocentsarebeingkilledandtheunarmedarebeingterrorised.Thisis unacceptable in any time or place. Speaking for the Oppressed If we do not speak for the marginalized, somebody else will. If we don’t speak for the oppressed, for those that are persecuted for being from the wrong tribe, for being the wrong person in the wrong place, who are killed simply because they are poor and therefore insignificant, then, because of our silence, somebody else...