By: IBRAHIM Jaafar
The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has called on non-Muslim countries to ban Islamophobia, following the killing of dozens of people on a deadly attack on two mosques in New Zealand.
The IUMS President Ahmed al-Raisouni said in a statement at the conclusion of a 2-day session held in Istanbul on Friday, 15th March 2018.
At least 49 Muslims were killed and more than 40 wounded when a gunman opened fire on worshipers during the weekly Friday prayers at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand, broadcasting footage of the attack on one of the mosques on Facebook. He also posted a “manifesto” online, which was removed shortly after the attack.
Al-Raisouni called on New Zealander authorities to fulfill their responsibility toward bringing the perpetrators of the criminal attack to justice.
He also called Muslims in New Zealand not to prejudice against the local community and let the issue be settled by law.
During the colonial period, Orientalists became more active and started the negative portrayal of Islam and Muslims, which until now, continues unabated.
In the West, Muslims and Islam are under attack. In Britain, for instance, Muslims are characterised “as a ‘problem community’ in much of the media and through statements made by Government and police officials. These have contributed to a growing anti-Muslim climate in the U.K.” There is a mass of polling data that shows hostility to Muslims in various guises and under many headings.
Hostility towards Islam and Muslims has been a feature of Western societies for centuries. Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet from Florence, had placed Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the circle of hell reserved for heretics. This antithetical relationship was perpetuated by the Crusades. A plethora of popular literature has appeared in justification of the Crusades for the repossession of the Holy Land by Western Christendom from the "militant, fanatic, illegitimate" Muslim occupants. The Muslims were portrayed as the ‘other’ because they believe in the "wrong" religion. Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare depicted the Saracen, Moor and the Turk in less than positive terms.
While on the face of the mess, some may support this stance by IUMS, we must question why these scholars have suddenly united against 'Islamaphobia' but have never called against the state terror carried out by Western governments that have murdered millions of innocent Muslims even in their own countries?
These scholars must not shy away from calling a spade a spade. Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher, Edmund Burke wrote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
The focus on 'Islamaphobia' is a deliberate attempt to absolve Western governments of their crimes against the Ummah which go far beyond the crimes of lone far right terrorists. As depraved as the Christchurch attacks were, we must not allow our emotions to be exploited by the enemies of Allah to entrap us and cause us to lose sight (through their acclaimed solidarity on the attack) of the real terrorists who lead a campaign against Islam on all fronts.