muslims and islam

On Thursday night, the Newshour with Jim Lehrer had a roundtable discussion with "four Muslims of diverse perspectives." In it, Shaker Elsayed, the imam of Dar al Hijrah in Northern Virginia, one of the largest mosques on the East Coast, discussed the problem the media has with regard to distinguishing between Islam and Muslims.

Having an authority would have helped unify the voice, but I see that in the discussion we tend to confuse the name of Islam with Muslims, even in this discussion. We tend to use these words alternatively when we say, for example, "Islam expressing this." Islam is a religion that comes through two primary sources of text: The Koran and the traditions of the prophet. Those are the ones, if we talk about Islam, reforming Islam, for example, we're talking about the text.

But reforming Muslims is something very needed. It is about Muslims not about Islam. Like, you know, when Timothy McVeigh does something, we don't call it Christianity, we don't call it Catholicism, or whatever school of thought he belongs to. We call it Timothy McVeigh. This is Osama bin Laden having a war of ideas. And as Shadi says, a war of ideas is not going to be defeated by, you know, a tank and a weapon and airplane. A war of ideas needs engagement, and this is what we need to encourage our leadership to engage; not with terrorists, but at least with moderate Muslims. But this is not happening. . . . .

When you talk about reforming Islam, Islam is the text, not the interpretation. But if you go through text and religious books and scriptures before that, you will find the talk about the gentiles in the Old Testament. You will find the talk about sell your garment and get me a sword if you can. You will find a lot of things. Religious texts have also carried the stuff that could not really be sorted out in a brief discussion like this.

While I agree with the broader point that radical Christians who break laws are rarely identified by their religions, I disagree with the specific example of Timothy McVeigh. I may be mistaken, but I don't believe that he professed to act in the name of his religion.

While it is certainly not right to condemn Islam for the acts of individual Muslims, it remains incredibly significant that many of those who commit terrorism are able to cloak it so successfully in the rhetoric of this specific religion. To ignore that fact is a fundamental mistake if we ever hope to craft effective policies to counter the tactics of would-be terrorists.