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| CC0 Public Domain #PrayforIstanbul |
The Daesh Death Cult (aka ISIS) has proven once again that it is
as Islamic as Stalinist Russia was, which is not at all. In its recent attacks
in Istanbul, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Baghdad, the DDC proved its true
nature once again as a cult of death and destruction unrelated to any faith or
religion. These attacks killed over three hundred people, nearly all Muslims,
in an affront not only to humanity but, more importantly, in direct violation
of Islam’s own dogma. The further insult, from a Muslim point-of-view is the
timing of the attacks, coming as they did at the end of the holiest month of
the Islamic year.
Did the West, mostly white, mostly Christian world rise up in
solidarity with Istanbul, Bangladesh, Medina, and Baghdad? How long did the
hashtags #PrayforTurkey, #PrayforBangladesh, #PrayforSaudiArabia, #PrayforIraq
trend? Were they ever trending? Did people in North America or Europe put the
flags of any of these countries on their Facebook status and let the people of
those countries know they are not alone in their grief and suffering?
More likely it seems, the people in the predominantly Christian
West saw these attacks by the DDC on Muslim targets as Islamic infighting
rather than an attack by a common enemy against the “civilized” world. In a
piece in THE NEW YORK TIMES, “Muslims
Stung by Indifference to Their Losses in Terror Attacks,” Anne Barnard
reports on the way Muslims are disappointed and concerned by the lack of
sympathy and empathy from the Western Nations over the deaths inflicted on
Muslims in these recent attacks in the Middle East.
As a teacher, how should I explain this attitude toward the
deaths of hundreds of Muslims in these attacks, and the deaths of thousands
more Muslims in Syria, Iraq, and other Arabic countries, at the hands of the
Daesh Death Cult by non-Arabic, non-Muslim nations? Shouldn’t my students learn
that such horrors inflicted on any people anywhere should raise an equal outcry
of condemnation and an equal outpouring of support for those upon whom the
horrors were inflicted?
Muslims are also looked at with suspicion throughout the Western
World and under attack from non-Muslims across the United States. It has
reached such a level that the United Arab Emirates is warning its citizens
traveling in the United States to avoid wearing traditional clothing.[i]
In many places around the country, Muslims have come under physical attack.
In the wake of the Orlando shootings, a 25-year-old Florida man
punched another man in the face outside the mosque attended by the Pulse Night
Club shooter.[ii]
At a Fairfield Inn in Ohio, a man in traditional Arab dress was stopped and searched
after a nervous desk clerk alerted police that she thought he was acting
suspiciously.[iii]
Two Muslim men in Minneapolis were shot on their way to mosque, and the shooter
is still on the loose.[iv]
The truth is, every time a Muslim is attacked, verbally or
physically, the attacker is doing exactly what the Daesh Death Cult wants him
or her to do. The DDC wants non-Muslims to ostracize and turn against Muslims,
leaving the Muslims with nowhere to turn but to the Cult. Even the attacks on other
Muslims are designed to show the Islamic
world that the West doesn’t care about
them.[v]
Sajad Jiyad, an Iraqi researcher, said in the wake of the
Baghdad bombings this week that the DDC is “hoping to incite a reaction and a
spiral into endless violence,” by launching these suicide bomber attacks and
that when people from one group ignore the death and destruction perpetrated
against another it plays into the Cult’s hands.[vi]
While there may be vast cultural differences between people who
follow Islam and Western World, differences that sometimes make co-existing
difficult and strain our relationships, I believe it is important that we not
give into fear and hatred. As I try to teach my students, we must learn to
share this planet peacefully, respecting each other’s culture and beliefs
without trying to force our mores and values on each other.
Is such a state of peace possible without one side of the other
surrendering its core values and beliefs? Perhaps not. But for the sake of our
children and grandchildren and generations yet to come we have to try.
As always, I remain,
The Exhausted Educator
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