SEVEN WEEKS after Sept. 11, the Muslim Public Affairs Council finally condemned Osama Bin Laden as a terrorist. Sort of.
About halfway into an Oct. 30 statement expressing alarm over "the killing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan," the council, almost in passing, chided the Taliban for "not ... dismantling the Al Qaeda terrorist network, led by Osama bin Laden."
 Not until seven weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks did any leading American Muslim organization explicitly condemn Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda as terrorists. |
I had contacted the MPAC and other Muslim organizations a week earlier, explained that I couldn't find any statement in which they explicitly labeled bin Laden and Al Qaeda terrorists and renounced them, and I asked if they would do so. I received a reply from Salam al-Marayati, the council's executive director, who said his organization "did condemn bin Laden's terrorism." So why, I asked, did it not do so publicly? A few days later came the statement above. To date, no other prominent US Muslim group, such as the Council on American Islamic Relations or the American Muslim Council, has followed suit.
It is no surprise that these organizations are unwilling to clearly and convincingly condemn terror groups like Al Qaeda. Despite their success at getting quoted in the media or sharing photo opportunities with politicians, these organizations are run by radical Islamists who do not speak for the majority of American Muslims. They do not openly advocate violence themselves, but they share many of the terrorists' goals — which is why they will not condemn the terrorists unreservedly and why they are quick to attack anyone who speaks ill of Islamic extremism.
Fortunately, most Muslims, in America and the world over, do not share the fanatics' views. Appalled that so awful a crime could have been committed by men professing Islam, traditional Muslims are speaking out. Unlike the extremists, who reacted to the attacks in New York and Washington with complaints about harassment and "profiling," moderates have been urging their fellow Muslims to look in the mirror.
Hear what some of them say:
Muqtedar Khan, former managing editor of the Journal of Islamic and Arabic Studies:
"What happened on Sept. 11 will forever remain a horrible scar on the history of Islam and humanity....
"The culture of hate and killing is tearing away at the moral fabric of Muslim society. . . . If bin Laden were an individual, we would have no problem. But unfortunately Bin Laden has become a phenomenon — a cancer eating away at the morality of our youth.... It is time for soul-searching. How can the message of Mohammed, who was sent as mercy to mankind, become a source of horror and fear? How can Islam inspire thousands of youth to dedicate their lives to killing others? We are supposed to invite people to Islam, not murder them."
Amir Taheri, Iranian expatriate and veteran journalist:
"To claim that the attacks had nothing to do with Islam amounts to a whitewash. It is not only disingenuous but also a disservice to Muslims, who need to cast a critical glance at the way their faith is taught, lived, and practiced....
"The Muslim world today is full of bigotry, fanaticism, hypocrisy, and plain ignorance — all of which create a breeding ground for criminals like bin Laden.... The Sept. 11 tragedies should trigger a re-think of the way Muslims live Islam. We should start condemning those attacks without 'ifs' and 'buts.' Sadly, the way we Muslims live Islam today is a far cry from the ... golden age when Islam was a builder of civilization, not a force for repression, terror, and destruction."
Sheik Hisham Kabbani, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of America:
"Peaceful Muslims, moderate Muslims, do not interfere in the politics or foreign policy of the United States.... But the activists are very clever. They use the mosques and Islamic centers to gain credibility for themselves.... In front of the microphones they say the United States is good. Then they rally against the United States, they demonstrate against the United States, they say the wrath of God is coming against the United States."
Two weeks ago I received an e-mail from an Egyptian-American, a Muslim student at Yale who had been wrestling with the meaning of Sept. 11:
"My own feeling," he wrote, "is that only by opening our eyes to the cancer in our midst can we finally begin to set about the great and real task of excising it."
Islam's honest and conscience-stricken moderates are trying to tell us something. We should be paying attention.
Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe.
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