by Syarif Hidayat*
Despite Islamophobia is still prevailing in the Western world, Islam is the fastest growing religion
in the West especially in the United Kingdom and the United States. Nevertheless, the West has
many stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam that are due to: the media,
Prejudice, and Ignorance. Islam is often looked upon as a
"extremist", "terrorist", or "fundamental"
religion. Many people hate Islam and do not want to acknowledge its true
teachings.
In many cases, the
media’s reports about Islam are incorrect due to ignorance. This is one of the
reasons why the West often hates Islam.
In contrast to what many Westerners think of Islam, Islam is a peaceful
religion, which does not promote any injustice or crime. Stereotypes about
Islam are not new to Western culture. Problems can be traced back 1400 years.
At that time, Islam and Christianity were involved in the Crusades in the
1100’s and in the Ottoman and Moorish control in Europe. Islam spread quickly
to the West, and started to threaten the position of the Christian Church and
the ruling class.
The Western elites,
mainly the governments and the churches, then became highly involved in seeing
that negative images were presented about Islam. As a result, not only were
battles fought against Islam, but also a war of words was initiated to make
sure that Islam would not have any converts or sympathizers in the West. These
kinds of actions and feelings that the West had long ago still seem to be the
case in the West today.
Today, the West, with
little or no understanding of Islamic history, has identified a new enemy,
"a new demon that has replaced the Red menace of the Cold war, i.e.,
radical Islam". This "radical Islam", a stereotype common to
Western thought, portrays Muslims as fundamentalists or potential terrorists.
Some of these ideas that the Western people have about Islam are due to the
mass media of the West. Reporters who cover the Muslim world often know very
little details about it. The media then develops a distorted image of Islam
that Western culture adopts.
A major factor which
contributes to Islamic stereotyping in the West is due to the media’s ignorance
of selecting their words that describe Muslims. Some common names heard or seen
in the news about Muslims are "extremist" or "terrorist".
These words are misleading and are mainly anti-Islamic. The media rarely uses more
neutral terms such as "revivalist" or "progressives". The
Western media also creates the idea that Muslims are "returning" to
Islam. This is not true in most cases, because many Muslims have never left
Islam in the first place. Islam has always been a big part of their lives.
"Islamic
Fundamentalism" Misinterpreted
A fundamentalist, in fact,
only represents a normal Muslim who follows his or her religion. Fundamentalism
means an attitude, an effort, or a movement that an ideology, group, or
religion tries to promote in its fundamental beliefs. The
"fundamental" beliefs of a Muslim is to believe in only one God
(Allah) and the Prophet Mohammed is His messenger(PBUH), to pray five times a
day, give alms to the poor, fast the month of Ramadan, and make a pilgrimage to
Mecca.
This means that all
Muslims are fundamentalists if they believe in their own religion’s
fundamentals. Although the media is uncomfortable with religious groups, it
focuses heavily on "Islamic fundamentalism". A majority of the
media’s reports that talk about Islamic fundamentalism usually describes most
Muslims as extremists. This shows how the media is ignorant, because Islam
specifically prohibits any forms of extremism.
The Prophet Muhammad PBUH said, "Those persons who go to extremes (in
practicing their religion) were cursed (by God)". The media most often portrays Muslim
"fundamentalists" prostrating themselves before God in prayer. For
example, in the October 4 issue of Time,
Muslim soldiers were shown performing prayers with guns. The caption on the
bottom of the picture said, "Guns and prayer go together in the
fundamentalist battle". The part that the reporters omitted or failed to
state was that the Muslim soldiers were praying on a battlefield in
Afghanistan.
Common sense of the
situation meant that the soldiers had to remain armed at all times in case of
an ambush at any time. This is a clear example of the media’s biased and
inaccurate reporting.
Another Great Misconception
Al Quran (Muslim Holy Book) says "Fight for the sake of Allah those that
fight against you, but do not attack them first. Allah (God) does not love
aggression".
Jihad literally means "The struggle in the path of God", or
"holy war". However, the Western media often abuses the meaning of
jihad by referring to it as a holy war where Muslims unreasonably kill
non-believers. But the fact is, is that jihad can mean a numbers of things that
a Muslim does for the sake of God.
Rarely has the Western
media used this kind of a definition in their reports. The way the media
represents jihad is wrong. The media often takes the word "jihad" out
of context to propagate negative views on Islam. The association of Islam and
violence is a common misconception that the general Western public has
developed about Islam.
An example of this kind of misconception is that the Western media and some historians often say that Islam was a religion spread by the sword, meaning that Muslims went from one end of the world to the other forcing people to either convert or die. Islam spread by people learning about it and some by holy wars, but they did not force people to convert or die. Since majorities of the American public only get their information about Islam through the media, they believe this wrong idea.
The media’s reports about Arab or "Islamic" events, such as the Gulf War, are often misunderstood. The media usually fails to give background information about these Islamic events that it reports on. The media infrequently distinguishes between the religion Islam and the political affairs that occur in most Islamic countries. For instance, what Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, did in the Gulf War was not Islamic and totally wrong (to attack other people for no reason).
An example of this kind of misconception is that the Western media and some historians often say that Islam was a religion spread by the sword, meaning that Muslims went from one end of the world to the other forcing people to either convert or die. Islam spread by people learning about it and some by holy wars, but they did not force people to convert or die. Since majorities of the American public only get their information about Islam through the media, they believe this wrong idea.
The media’s reports about Arab or "Islamic" events, such as the Gulf War, are often misunderstood. The media usually fails to give background information about these Islamic events that it reports on. The media infrequently distinguishes between the religion Islam and the political affairs that occur in most Islamic countries. For instance, what Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, did in the Gulf War was not Islamic and totally wrong (to attack other people for no reason).
But the media still makes
reports about Islam and how Islam is made of war-crazed people. For example, to
help put things into perspective, Hitler was a person of the Christian faith.
This does not mean that all of his actions were consistent with the Christian
beliefs.
Likewise, Saddam Hussein
is of the Islamic faith, but all of his actions do not necessarily represent
Islam. So you can see that the media’s reports about "war-crazed
Muslims" are incorrect. The notion of associating of Islam and Muslims
with the terms Arabs and Middle East are in fact misleading. Arabs only account
for 18% of the Muslim population across the world.
Study shows Islam growing in
the UK
John
Bingham in his article
titled “Study shows Islam growing, Christianity
declining in the UK” writes a new analysis of the 2011 census shows that a decade of
mass immigration helped mask the scale of decline in Christian affiliation
among the British-born population – while driving a dramatic increase in Islam,
particularly among the young. It suggests that only a minority of people will describe themselves as
Christians within the next decade, for first time.
Meanwhile almost one in 10 under 25s in Britain is now
a Muslim.
The proportion
of young people who describe themselves as even nominal Christians has dropped
below half for the first time.
Initial results from the 2011 census published last
year showed that the total number of people in England and Wales who described
themselves as Christian fell by 4.1 million – a decline of 10 per cent.
But new analysis from the Office for National
Statistics shows that that figure was bolstered by 1.2 million foreign-born
Christians, including Polish Catholics and evangelicals from countries such as
Nigeria.
They disclosed that there were in fact 5.3 million
fewer British-born people describing themselves as Christians, a decline of 15
per cent in just a decade.At the same time the number of Muslims in England and
Wales surged by 75 per cent – boosted by almost 600,000 more foreign born
followers of the Islamic faith.
While almost half of British Muslims are under the age
of 25, almost a quarter of Christians are over 65. The average age of a British Muslim
is just 25, not far off half that of a British Christian.
Younger people also drove a shift away from religion
altogether, with 6.4 million more people describing themselves as having no
faith than 10 years earlier.
Secular campaigners said the new figures showed that
Christianity had now dropped below “critical mass” making the case for
disestablishing the Church of England stronger. But the Church insisted that while
there had been a significant drop in “nominal” Christians, the core of the
Church remained firm.
Prof David Coleman, Professor of
demography at Oxford University, said: “This is a very substantial change – it
is difficult to see whether any other change in the census could have been
remotely as big.
“But I wonder how far it reflects an
overarching change in society where it is more acceptable more normal to say
that you are not religious or are not Christian.”
Dr Fraser Watts, a Cambridge
theologian, said it was “entirely possible” the people identifying themselves
as Christians could become a minority within the next decade on the basis of
the figures.
“It is still pretty striking and it
is a worrying trend and confirms what anyone can observe – that in many
churches the majority of the congregation are over 60,” he said.
Keith Porteous Wood, executive
director of the National Secular Society, said the long-term reduction of
Christianity, particularly among young people, was now “unstoppable”. “In another 20 years there are going
to be more active Muslims than there are churchgoers,” he said.
“The time has now come that institutional Christianity
is no longer justified, the number has dropped below critical mass for which
there is no longer any justification for the established Church, for example,
or the monarch going through a religious ceremony at coronation.
“The expressions of optimism by the church are just
completely misplaced.”
But a spokesman for the Church of England said: “These
figures highlight the diversity of Christianity in this country today,
something which has been increasing for decades and shows the relevance of
Christianity to people from all backgrounds.
“These figures once again confirm that this remains a
faithful nation and that the fall in the numbers identifying themselves as
Christians is a challenge but – as you can see from the stability of Church of
England attendance figures – the committed worshipping centre of the church
remains firm.
Mosque building booming in the US
Angel Jennings* and Teresa
Watanabe* in their article titled "Mosque building booming in the
US" published in LA Times, write the opening this weekend of a new
mosque in Rowland Heights is powerful evidence of a building boom of such
facilities in Southern California and around the nation.
Over the last several years,
new mosques have risen in Mission Viejo, Irvine, Anaheim, Reseda, Rancho
Cucamonga, Rosemead, Diamond Bar and Tustin. Additional mosques are slated for
Temecula, Ontario, Lomita and Corona.
Strikingly, the new mosques
have been funded entirely by local Muslims, who began settling in the region in
the 1960s. Before 2001, new mosques were often funded by foreigners; the Saudis
financed the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, and Libyans helped build Masjid
Omar near USC.
Stricter government scrutiny of
foreign investments from Islamic countries after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, along with reluctance by local Muslims about accepting foreign money,
helped change the practices, according to Shakeel Syed, executive director of
the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California.
Post 9/11, the dynamic
completely changed
“Post 9/11, the dynamic
completely changed,” Syed said. “The Muslim community at large in North America
realized it is better if we develop our own funding, however long it takes.”
Syed said many Muslims have
built successful businesses over the last few decades and are now positioned to
give back. Some did relatively well during the recession, as they were able to
buy undervalued properties while not taking on risky investments or
interest-incurring debt, which is barred in Islam, he said.
The majority of mosques in the
United States are still existing buildings converted to an Islamic prayer
space. But the number of newly built structures — such as the new Islamic
Center of San Gabriel Valley — has doubled in the last decade, to 632 in 2011
from 314 in 2000, according to the American Mosque 2011 study. Among
metropolitan areas, Southern California is home to 120 mosques, second only to
the New
York area, the study found. (Estimates of the Muslim American population vary,
but a 2011 Pew Research Center study placed it at about 2.7 million nationwide
and growing.)
At the new Masjid Qubaa in
Rowland Heights, several members donated $100,000, and a few gave $500,000. The
women held a fashion show, which raised $100,000. Dozens of skilled craftsmen
contributed services and construction materials, which significantly reduced
the structure’s cost.
Syed Rizvi, the center’s
president, reflects the arc of success experienced by some of the community’s
more affluent members. He arrived in the United States from Pakistan in 1975
with a single suitcase and $7,500. But he had a medical degree and eventually
opened several kidney dialysis centers. He donated a six-figure sum to the
project, said Yasmeen Khan, a mosque leader.
“We were professionals, but we
were not rich,” Rizvi said. “America gave that opportunity for us all.”
The mosque construction
attracted no local opposition — unlike projects in Temecula, Lomita and
Ontario. There, neighbors raised concerns about potential problems with noise,
traffic and parking — objections Muslims have successfully addressed, according
to Ameena Mirza Qazi of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Some of
those debates were marked by anti-Islam comments and fears about terrorism
expressed by some opponents.
New Rowland Heights mosque a product of
grass-roots effort
In another article titled "New
Rowland Heights mosque a product of grass-roots effort" published
in Los Angeles Times, Angel Jennings and Teresa Watanabe write
"Construction of the Islamic center was funded by local Muslims rather
than foreign donors, a U.S. trend that began after 9/11. The project includes a
school, mortuary, health clinic and three libraries."
The sand-colored mosque rises
against the San Gabriel Mountains, its blue-tiled dome and six minarets cutting
a striking profile in an industrial area of Rowland Heights.
Inside, lush tapestries from
Pakistan adorn the walls, and ornate chandeliers from Dubai hang over the prayer
rooms. At the head of the men's prayer space, the 99 names of Allah are
engraved in Islamic calligraphy into glass around the Arabic symbol for God.
After four years of
construction and $5.5 million in fundraising, the Islamic Center of San Gabriel
Valley formally opened its soaring new mosque Saturday. For Muslim worshipers,
the transformation of their prayer space from a dilapidated church next to a smelly
chicken farm purchased three decades ago to a 45,000-square-foot structure with
a school, mortuary, health clinic and three libraries marks a coming of age for
their community.
It's also powerful evidence of
a building boom of new mosques in Southern California and around the nation.
A couple from Orange County
gave the mosque an interest-free loan from their pension. And, Syed said, the
Islamic Center of Corona gave the Rowland Heights group a bridge loan of a
couple hundred thousand dollars — a common practice among Southern California
mosques to share their resources.
Qazi said some Islamic centers
have chosen to locate their new projects in industrial areas to avoid protests
by homeowners. But doing so, she said, prevents mosques from serving as
neighborhood centers, a traditional role for many religious institutions.
The San Gabriel Valley
community, however, always located its Islamic center in an industrial area
because the land was cheaper.
The original space, a church
purchased in 1983, could fit only 300 people and was so cramped that worshipers
during the monthlong Ramadan observance had to break their ritual fasts outside
— even when the holiday fell during the chilly winter months. They bought a
chicken farm to expand and rented space at Santa Ana High School, almost 25
miles away, to hold Sunday school. Preparations for burials were held at a
mosque in Garden Grove.
By the late 1990s, members
decided it was time to build a comprehensive facility. But the blueprint
continued to change as the Muslim community grew.
Syed Raza, the architect, said
the first plan drawn up nearly 15 years ago called for a 4,500-square-foot
mosque — about one-tenth the size of the final design. The three-story
structure includes separate entrances and prayer spaces for men and women, who
can watch the imam's sermon through closed-circuit TV on the second floor. Syed
of the Shura Council said that most new mosques include separate prayer spaces
for the comfort of both genders but that all intermingle in other areas of the
center.
Worshipers are especially
excited that the center will now finally house all of their needed facilities
in one space, including the charter school and mortuary.
Non-Muslims are welcome to
visit and use the services, mosque leaders said. Females will not be required
to cover their heads as Muslims do, and young men can wear Bermuda shorts.
Muslim leaders in Southern California say they are trying to be less insular
and reach out more to the non-Muslim community by holding blood drives, food
giveaways, interfaith meetings and other activities.
Last week, thousands of elated
worshipers flocked to the gleaming new mosque for its inaugural Friday prayer
meeting.
"It feels like it's a
whole new world," said 19-year-old Omar Yamak. "You have a sense of
love of the community."
*( angel.jennings@latimes.com and
teresa.watanabe@latimes.com)
(HSH)
Sources:
1. Muslimvillage.com
1. Muslimvillage.com
2. OnIslam.net
4. latimes.com
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