Keyboard JihadAttempts to Rectify Misperceptions and Misrepresentations of Islam By Abdul Karim Bangura

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KEYBOARD JIHADATTEMPTS TO RECTIFY MISPERCEPTIONS

AND MISREPRESENTATIONS OF ISLAM

BY ABDUL KARIM BANGURA

Copyright © 2011 by Abdul Karim Bangura. All rights reserved. No part of this pub-lication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfi lming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permission of University Readers, Inc.

First published in the United States of America in 2011 by Cognella, a division of University Readers, Inc.

Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trade-marks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe.

15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-60927-855-7

DEDICATION

To Muslims Everywhere!

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments vii

Chapter 1: General Introduction 1

Chapter 2: Misused and/or Misrepresented Islamic Concepts that Can Impede Peacebuilding and Interfaith Dialogue 7

Chapter 3: Islam and Just War Th eory 19

Chapter 4: Islamic Precepts on Gender Relations: Th e Limitation of Eurocentric Gender Th eories 33

Chapter 5: Compatibility Between Islamic and Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a Means for Peacebuilding 49

Chapter 6: A Qualitative and Quantitative Test of the Islamic Economic Doctrine as a Viable Development Model for Muslim Societies 85

Chapter 7: Islam on the Internet 117

Chapter 8: Tirbyi in the Muslim World, with a Special Focus on Saudi Arabia 143

Chapter 9: HIV/AIDS in Africa: Majority Muslim versus Non-Muslim Societies 163

Chapter 10: What Drives Female Circumcision in Majority Muslim African Socities? African or Islamic Culture? 183

Chapter 11: Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating New MuslimImmigrants into American Society: A Multi-theoretical and Multi-methodological Analysis 207

Chapter 12: Competing Approaches for Shaping the Iraqi Society: Western Democratic Pull versus Islamic Th eocratic Push 267

Chapter 13: Th e Debate on Arab Racism against Africans 281

Bibliography 297

About the Author 323

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I, and hopefully many readers, owe gratitude to:

Allah, for all His blessings; without His guidance, nothing would be possible.

To Diana Kelly, Fatmata Aminata Bangura, and Isatu Ramatu Bangura, for always being there for me.

Th e numerous other Afrikan families to which I belong, for off ering their encourage-ment and prayers.

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

F rom the year 2000 to the present, I have written many books and scholarly articles on a number of Islamic topics that have been published. Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC on

September 11, 2001, I have also written and presented many essays at public fora aimed at rectifying some of the misperceptions and misrepresentations of Islam and Muslims that resulted from the attacks. Th ese essays are presented in this collection.

I would like to make it very clear from the outset that my purpose for putting together these essays is not to defend Islam—a deen, meaning in Arabic a complete way of life, which is more than just a religion. Th ere is no need for me to do so, as Allah (Subuhana Wa Tala, SWT) or God has always defended Islam and will continue to do so forever.

I did spend a lot of time researching for and writing these essays. Th e compilation of these thoughts is by no means a scholarly tome, but rather an attempt to relay some information and ideas that I was fortunate to fi nd that rectify some of the misperceptions and misrepresentations of Islam and Muslims. To some readers, what appears in this col-lection may seem very basic; and to others, it may seem off ensive and unfounded.

Since each time I noticed that a misperception or misrepresentation of Islam and Muslims had been done I took to my computer keyboard to write a rectifi cation, I have titled this compilation accordingly as Keyboard Jihad. Th e concept of Jihad, one of the most misperceived and misrepresented Islamic terms (see Chapter 1 for details), simply means “to strive for justice through words and non-violent means and actions.” Th us, for me, writing these essays was my own way “to strive” to rectify the misperceptions and misrepresentations that have been heaped upon Islam and Muslims since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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Rectifying misperceptions and misrepresentations is vital because of the consequences that such phenomena could unleash. Misperceptions involve incorrect or false awareness or understanding, and misrepresentations involve giving false and misleading information usually with the intent to deceive or be unfair. Th ese phenomena have the potential to incite prejudice—i.e. an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual or a group.

Prejudice, in turn, leads to or reinforces racist attitudes. Racism can be defi ned as the nexus (convergence point) of material relations within which societal and discursive prac-tices perpetuate oppressive power relations between populations presumed to be essentially diff erent. In essence, racism has a great deal to do with power and the unequal distribution of that power. In establishing this hierarchical system, be it offi cial or unoffi cial, those with the power have been able to create the “othered” or “out-group” versus the “in-group,” or “us” versus “them” distinctions. Along with these distinctions come images, language, laws and civil actions that further promote discrimination, prejudice and aggression towards these racially “othered” groups. How does all of this relate to the events that took place right after the September 11, 2001, attacks and what eff ects did they have on Arab and South Asian American Muslims, who were specifi cally targeted, as well as the rest of the nation?

Realizing that racism is a social construct that stems mainly from power is key to understanding the rationale behind the actions of those with power and the eff ects these actions have on those without power. Th e powerless are, by default, forced to succumb to the subordinate position in which they are placed by these overarching maintainers of power. Th is situation explains some causes and eff ects of the power structure and struggle embodied in the racism toward Arab and South Asian American Muslims before, during, but most especially after September 11, 2001.

Th e “others” are often betrayed when an act by a few individuals that resemble them causes strife, fear, and continued violence for the entire group. But why are we so quick to hate these people? Why were there so many cases of brutality and aggression against innocent women and children some of who (a) are American citizens and (b) who only resemble the images that are blasted on television and print media in resemblance, not actions?

Since the beginning of immigration from Middle Eastern and South Asian nations to the United States, there has been a great deal of mistrust for these immigrants. Even some African Americans, victims of prejudice and racism themselves, believe that there is just cause for the mistrust of these people because they “stick with themselves” and their own communities and are “anti-sociable.” Th ese African Americans, who brought their children up to believe that everyone should have a chance, no matter their skin color, are not alone in their rationale of the mistrust of Arab and South Asian Americans or foreign-ers in general. Many of the American misconceptions, prejudice and discriminatory acts are born from the dangerous and unconscious “outsider racialization.”

General Introduction | 3

Th ere is a defi nite concern about trying to retain that “foreign” culture, making groups such as Arab and South Asian American Muslims appear less like Americans and more like a threat, banding together to form an insurgence upon the United States. A case where the United States specifi cally targeted members of a minority group on the basis that they could not assimilate because of their own inability to do so and their loyalty to their former countries shows hypocrisy. Th e most striking message of this hypocrisy is that immigrants who have now tried to settle in the United States are having a diffi cult time in trying to assimilate within a culture that is unwilling to accept them as “Americans” and when they try to maintain their own cultural values and unity, they are cast down further in the chain of acceptance.

Along with this idea of “foreigner racialization” of the Arab and South Asian American Muslims come the means by which this racialization is further promoted. Th ose with the power to control racism and to continue its proliferation can aff ect those “othered” groups in various seemingly harmless, everyday understandings in society. Racist pride and privilege, however, can manifest themselves in various forms, including images, language, and laws.

Th e news media’s images have often presented Arab and South Asian Muslims as ter-rorists or “evil doers.” When any type of terrorist attack occurs within our United States borders, the fi rst people that are pointed to are those of Arab and South Asian decent and who practice the Islamic faith. Mosques are bombed and burned, and American citizens are terrorized for being Arab or South Asian, even just resembling them. Some experts refer to this process of defi ning the “other” as evil as “Demonization.” In Demonization, the humanity of a group of people is completely denied, thereby making it easier to brutal-ize members of this group, or support an unjust war against them. Little wonder that as soon as I heard about someone having shot dozens of people, killing 32 and himself, at Virginia Tech University on April 16, 2007, the fi rst thing I did was to pray to Allah (SWT) for the culprit not to be a Muslim, for I could only imagine how diff erent the public’s reaction would be if it were a Muslim. It turned out that the culprit was Seung-Hui Cho, a South Korean Christian immigrant. I later noticed when looking at the list of the victims that at least four of the people massacred were Muslims: (1) Reema Samaha, age 18, from Centreville in Virginia, a Th eatre major and freshman; (2) Ross Abdallah Alameddine, age 20, from Saugus in Massachusetts, an English major and sophomore; (3) Partahi Lombartouran, age 34, from Indonesia, Civil Engineering doctoral student; and (4) Waleed Shaalan, age 32, from Zagazig in Egypt, Civil Engineering doctoral student. Also, several of those wounded were Muslims. But to this day, no reference has been made of these facts in the news media.

Dehumanization has occurred throughout history; and, as much as some would like to believe that it does not, it continues to this day. During slavery and post–Civil War era America, African Americans were depicted as gorillas, pickneys, helpless children who were often in peril, or clown-like buff oons. Th ey were never seen as average human

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beings with valid thoughts or emotions to be considered. Th is was the excuse for their victimization by those who held the power to keep them in a feeble position. Th e same thing applies to Native Americans, Chinese, Irish, Japanese, Jews, and so many other groups who struggled to be part of this country’s dominant culture. Th is ability to see the “othered” group as animalistic, inherently evil, and a threat to national security unfolded a host of governmental policies that made it socially acceptable to discriminate. Th ese policies include racial profi ling and targeting minorities simply because of the perception that they just might be “evil.” An example is a Muslim man from California who was arrested and held in custody for 35 days without trial. Th is man was eventually brought up on criminal charges for not returning his rental car on time—something he could not do because he was held in prison.

In regards to the discrimination against Arab and South Asian American Muslims, I recall that on and shortly after September 11, 2001, the news was splattered with pictures of brown skinned men in turbans. Repetitive images led audiences to have preconceived notions of danger. Th ese images made Arab and South Asian American Muslims less American to the bulk of the United States population and allowed for violence and terror upon them. It allowed some people to lump all Middle Eastern and South Asian people together and associate them as evil, and that they must all be in some kind of “evil terrorist network.”

In addition to the horrible images that incite fear, prejudice and brutality within our American communities is the use of language. Whenever the mention of “alleged terror-ists” occurs, it is usually followed by a picture of a person of color. Due to the strong ideol-ogy embedded in language, we are unconscious victims of our own prejudice. Language can be unintentional but revealing. For example, phrases like “smoke them out,” “hunt them down,” and “wanted dead or alive” set up the competition between “civilized versus evildoer.” In “hunting them (meaning Arab and South Asian Muslim terrorists) down,” we are making these people out to be animals that are meant to be hunted for sport.

Stereotyping also plays a signifi cant role in this language usage as a dehumanizing factor. Th is artifi cial intelligence can destroy people. It is a damaging virus that enters the brain and instructs some people to hate or despise others. Stereotyping Arab and South Asian American Muslims as people who do not want to associate with the rest of American society promotes animosity and misguidance of sorts.

So now that we have American minorities targeted through the media in their images and defamation through speech and print, and even the civil defamation that occurs, we can turn the gaze onto the occasional hypocrisy of our American government. Our govern-ment, designed to protect the basic rights and freedoms of all peoples, is often responsible for continuing racial and sexually oriented segregation, inequality, and subordination within our nation.

In its attempt to keep the peace, the United States government has been known to re-strict a variant of civil rights from minorities. Examples include Plessy versus Ferguson, mak-ing segregation legal; the Japanese internment camps during World War II; immigration

General Introduction | 5

acts that banned Asians, Jews, Latinos/Latinas (specifi cally Mexicans); and the detention of Arab and South Asian Aliens after September 11, 2001, and the institution of the USA Patriot Act, which is basically a way to round up young Middle Eastern and South Asian men. Th e only crime these people committed was not being white enough to fi t into society. Indeed, racism and prejudice have fueled racist laws and policies which, in turn, beget more racism and prejudice—a vicious cycle.

Another aspect of prejudicial policies in the USA Patriot Act is that it includes a provi-sion for FBI agents to monitor telephone conversations and Internet usage, and gives them the ability to track people who have accessed sites that appear terroristic in nature, such as an Al-Qaeda Web site. A perceived unpatriotic material, such as slanderous material against the president, could call in a fully warranted inspection of one’s home. For example, a col-lege student who had an anti-Bush poster in her apartment was contacted by FBI agents. Her neighbors had seen the poster and felt that she was a threat to the area. Th e FBI agents told her that she would be wise to remove her “un-American paraphernalia.”

All of these laws and restrictions that are instituted to “maintain peace and stability within our borders” are only serving to alienate communities. Th ey are creating distrust within communities that need to feel like they are part of American society. Th is leads one to question the ability of those in power to overlook those of their own class, race and social structure who are committing the most heinous and terrifying atrocities themselves. Th e power to incriminate those of the “out-group” is also the power to turn a blind eye to those members of the “in-group.”

For a large portion of the world’s history, struggles between the powerful and the powerless have ensued. Colonialist powers undermining an entire people’s authority and sovereignty and the colonized people resisting is an example of these power struggles. Not only did Europeans feel that it was their duty to “save the savages,” who always seemed to have a diff erent skin color, they also felt it necessary to suppress them in every way possible, including enslaving them.

Even after the enslaved Africans were freed in the United States, many whites could not cope with the idea that this nation was built on diff erences and that African Americans had a fundamental right to be included in the status quo of the country. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) sprang up to maintain the “white power, pride and advantage over the black devils.” When we talk about holy books and hooded men and death, why is the KKK never mentioned? Again, this comes back to the idea that because members of the KKK are so easily integrated and assimilated into the typical American system they are deemed trustworthy, giving them the power to do whatever they choose.

We are able to isolate the individual when it comes to a member of white society who commits acts of hatred and unthinkable violence. Th e entire white race or ethnicity is not blamed or henceforth looked upon as evil. It is understood that people are evil and it is not the entire society at fault: for example, the Columbine shooters who were responsible for a massacre within their school. Did anyone blame their entire society for not paying enough attention to them and making sure they were disciplined and able to work through