Coincidentally, Muslims around the world this weekend are celebrating the end of the Ramadan fasting month. In keeping with the Idul Fitri message of peace, Muslims would do well not to react to what is clearly an act of provocation. It also may help to understand that the call for an International Burn a Koran Day is not an isolated incident, but is part of the growing anti-Islam vibe we are hearing from the United States of late.

All opinion polls show that the majority of Americans oppose the plan to build an Islamic center near Ground Zero in New York City, saying it would be disrespectful to the feelings of relatives of 9/11 victims, even as they recognize freedom of religion.

One survey found that almost one-fifth of Americans think Barack Obama is Muslim. This is more a reflection of the growing unpopularity of the president than a genuine belief about his faith. For many Americans, “Islam” and “Muslim” are regarded as derogatory terms.

Adding to this has been the vandalism of mosques and harassment many Muslims, a small but growing religious minority in America, are enduring. Today, they rightfully ask about their place in America, as reflected in a New York Times article this week headlined “American Muslims Ask, Will We Ever
Belong?”

The Manhattan mosque controversy has certainly been politicized in the run-up to the November mid-term elections, but it seems the Republican politicians were exploiting a rising anti-Islam sentiment that already exists among the American public. They are not the cause of it.

The United States follows Europe. There, Islamophobia was already growing for some years, from the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist, the ban on the burqa in France and the ban on minarets in Switzerland, to the election victories of European right-wing parties on anti-immigration/Islam platforms.

The 9/11 attacks in 2001 had a lot to do with rising anti-Islam sentiment, although some Muslim scholars would argue that deep-seated fears in Christendom date back to the Spanish inquisition or even since the rise of Islam itself in the seventh century.

Irrespective of the origins of Islamophobia, we can take comfort that Muslims in the United States and Europe are not without friends who come to their defense, thanks to the right to free speech in those societies.

With the exception of the minor vandalism and harassment of Muslims, most of the debate about Islam has been conducted through the exercise of free speech, which works both ways.

Even the burning of the Koran, which most Muslims would consider blasphemy, is seen in the West as an expression of free speech and therefore a right to be protected, as loathsome as the action may be to most people, even non-Muslims.

The Manhattan mosque could not find a stronger supporter than New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the son of a Jewish immigrant, who has defended the right of Muslims to build their house of prayers anywhere they wanted. President Barack Obama also defended the mosque plan on constitutional grounds, although he backpedaled later by questioning the wisdom of planners to choose a site close to Ground Zero.

Democratic societies, where the right to free speech is sacrosanct, have a way of working things out, although this does not always necessarily lead to the desired outcome. Let’s just hope this Islamophobia is a phase the West is going through in the wake of 9/11, and that the issues will be resolved through a healthy and democratic debate.

This is already a lot more than we can say about much of the Muslim world, where free speech is only guaranteed as far as it pleases the powers that be, or the majority.

The Muslim world, including Indonesia, would do well to open up a little more and encourage the exercise of free speech as a way of resolving differences, even on issues such as different interpretations of Islam.

Free speech helps encourage greater tolerance toward differences of opinion (which is actually encouraged in Islam) and prepares Muslims to deal with even the harshest criticisms, including those that may border on hate speech or blasphemy, and respond to them calmly and rationally.

With the world becoming more globalized and interconnected, Muslims around the world must brace themselves for more criticism and attacks — including the symbolic kind such as people burning the Koran — and come up with the right responses.

This is one of those moments when it pays to invoke the old expression “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me”.

As loathsome as the burning of the Koran may seem, bear in mind that it is not the book that is sacred but its content. And in this digital era, the Florida pastor may burn all the Koran he can find, but the message of Islam embraced by more than 1 billion people around the world will remain.

Popular

Indonesia one step from Olympics after beating South Korea

Opposition weakens as rivals pledge support for Prabowo

Golden generation