Being Muslim, Being Human

It has not been easy to be Muslim in America. Although I am not a Muslim, I came of age in a time when Spike Lee’s Malcolm X was part of a renewed Black nationalist consciousness rising up in the Hip Hop community of young Black teens in the 1990s. So I identified with political causes like the Palestinian’s struggle against the Israeli occupation—which I had found very disturbing because I also identified with Jewish people and their struggles. They have been victims of oppression and genocide (the Holocaust during Hitler’s Nazi Germany) and are now, ironically, perpetrators of oppression in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Does Israel have the right to exist at the expense of the Palestinians?

I have the same question about America. The United States, and all of the countries of North and South America today, would not exist as they are now, if the land wasn’t stolen from the indigenous people. Black people wouldn’t be here en mass without the West African slave trade.

Every violent incident involving religious fanatics using Islam as their banner seems to increase the ill feeling towards the religion and it’s followers. After the Boston Marathon bombings, I went on a quest to better understand my Muslim sisters and brothers. I conducted interviews with students at Queensborough Community College in 2013 on what it means to be Muslim. Why does it seem that all Muslims are always blamed for the actions of the few? Why aren’t Christians, Jews or other groups treated the same way?

It seems that most “terrorist” incidents committed by so-called Muslims, are done so against Muslims. This is most evident in Iraq and Pakistan. But it’s virtually ignored in the headlines.

One of my favorite social commentators, the late and great Mr. George Carlin (RIP) always talked about keeping aloof from the “freak show”. He said that the only way to keep sane in this world was to be emotionally detached—not taking sides or being invested in the outcome of any conflict. It has not been easy for me to be as cynical as Mr. Carlin even though the truth of his razor sharp insights cut through the racist crap people try to use to justify hatred against one another.

I am not an atheist, but many religious beliefs about God, and what God wants, don’t make any sense to me. I used to call myself a Buddhist until I saw the news about monks attacking Muslims. And learning about the hatred that exists in Arab countries against dark-skinned Africans (and the history of the Arab slave trade) has turned me off from feeling that I could become Muslim.

Personally I would call myself an agnostic and a humanist; it’s in my nature to be curious about other people around the world and right next door. I love the diversity of New York. That love led me to travel abroad to northeast Asia and the Middle East; and to learn about the incredible debt the world owes to Arab and Islamic Civilization. I hope to continue my explorations throughout my life. Naturally, I abhor intolerance and want to live in a world where people treat each other with compassion and respect. I’m far from perfect, but I have hope for myself and the future of all human beings.