[Reader-list] Fwd: negative image of Islam

[Lehar ..]

friends 
do send ur fdbk/suggestions on this critical issue..
(fwded by a peace and democracy group in south asia)
peace

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-
I have learned so much from God 
That I can no longer call myself a Christian, a Hindu,
a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew. 
The Truth has shared so much of Itself with me 
That I can no longer call myself a man, a woman, an
angel.. 
Love has befriended me. 
It has turned to ash and freed me 
Of every concept and image my mind has ever known. 

- Hafiz, Persian Sufi 

Organised religion is the prop of a man who has not
found his Self/ God within.
- Shaheed Bhagat Singh







>From:  peace_initiative at yahoogroup
>Subject: Negative image of Muslims
>Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 21:47:29 -0800 (PST)
>
>
>Negative image of Muslims today – the problem and the
panacea
>
>
>
>If the casual bystander were to routinely browse
through the day’s headlines splashed over any form of
the Media, the one common thread discernible
immediately would be the caricature of a world ranged
against a common foe - the Muslim. Regardless of the
date or the type of Media the bystander has access to
– Electronic, print or any other - the overriding
image that would stare him in the face is one where
the vast bulk of the world’s evils are attributed to
the actions of the followers of Islam.
>
>
>
>And with media portrayal being largely representative
of the perceptions at the ground level, it is fair to
conclude that the image of Muslims the world over, is
at its lowest possible level. For all practitioners of
the noble faith of Islam, this negative and
stereotypical portrayal and perception of Muslims is a
huge concern and a major roadblock to our quest for
peaceful coexistence with people of other faiths all
over the world. The time has come when all of us need
to address this critical issue up front, rather than
allow it to linger and devour all of us eventually.
>
>
>
>I think a good starting point would be a tacit
acknowledgement of the fact that there is a genuine
image problem we are confronted with today; much in
the manner that any de-addiction program always starts
with a clear statement from the participants- “I have
a drinking problem”. The facts that stare back at us
are harsh, stark and irrefutable. Be it the gory
images of terror attacks in Bali, Kashmir, Pakistan or
Nigeria, or the messages of hate that routinely flow
from the self styled “custodians” of Islam, the
overriding impression created in the minds of a vast
majority of people is that of a religion (as embodied
by it’s followers) which is intolerant, preaches
hatred and violence, is backward and incompatible with
modern thinking and progress.
>
>
>
>Anyone with even a modicum of true knowledge and
understanding of Islam would know that the above image
couldn’t be further divorced from the truth; that the
eternal Islamic message is humane and based upon the
concept of brotherhood and oneness of all people, and
entirely in sync with the progress of all humanity.
But therein lies the problem. The huge gulf between
perception and reality simply underscores the extent
of the challenge that confronts all Muslims today. The
self righteous and indignant amongst us will proclaim
– with some justification – that there are perfectly
good reasons behind every negative act committed by
our co religionists the world over.
>
>
>
>But any such justification from us – covert or overt
– besides being self defeating and leading to the
endless spiral of violence that the world is caught
in, also strengthens the sense of outrage that exists
in the rest of the world towards the actions of
Muslims. Importantly, it also strengthens our worst
detractors, who then go around proclaiming loudly that
Muslims simply cannot live in peace with the rest of
the world. The end result then, is that the negative
image simply gets reinforced; the fringe elements
amongst the community come to the fore, and the voice
of sanity belonging to the vast majority of Muslims
gets drowned in the cacophony of hate and distrust.
>
>
>
>If one were to then list out the factors that cause
Muslims to be viewed with suspicion the world over,
the list would be fairly long. It may cause a lot of
consternation amongst us, but importantly will help us
work towards evolving a framework and strategy to
counter the negative image, and portray Islam and its
followers for what it truly stands for – universal
brotherhood, justice and progress for all regardless
of faith, creed, sex, national origin, economic status
etc. The most important of these factors leading to
negative perceptions, are:
>
>
>
>-          Association of Muslims with acts of terror
across the world. Though any sane person realizes that
an entire community cannot be held responsible or
accountable for the misguided acts of a few, yet the
subconscious process of association invariably comes
to the fore.
>
>
>
>-          The feeling that Muslims are intolerant
and incapable of peaceful coexistence with members of
other faiths, communities.
>
>
>
>-          The scant understanding of the true
meanings of “Jihad” and “Kafir”. The words are taken
to denote that every Muslim sees as it as his
religious duty to wage war on all “infidels” and/or
non-believers. This image repeatedly gets reinforced
because of the lunatic ranting of the fringe elements.
>
>
>
>-          The feeling that women are discriminated
against and do not enjoy the rights and privileges
that men do under Islam.
>
>
>
>-           The feeling that the ruling elite under
Islam is confined to a few despots who have scant
regard for liberty, freedom and democracy – concepts
and practices which are dear to the vast majority of
the world’s population
>
>
>
>-          The idea that medieval beliefs, practices
and justice system are still held dear by most
Muslims. In a nutshell, the common Muslim is held to
be a supporter of the “Taliban” doctrine and way of
life.
>
>
>
>The above list is by no means exhaustive. Yet it
amply brings out the causes behind the myriad image-
related problems that Islam and its followers are
confronted with today. As I stated earlier in this
article, the vast bulk of these are mere perceptions,
with little or no basis in reality. A true
understanding of the teachings of Islam would
immediately negate these perceptions. But, alas, the
media portrayal of Muslims relies almost exclusively
on the utterances of those who project the above
image, rather than the vast silent majority that
completely disagree with it.
>
>
>
>And, of course, the forces that are inimical to Islam
– be it the Zionists, or nearer home the members and
sympathisers of the Sangh Parivar – latch on to this
image with glee and propagate it with gay abandon, in
an effort to further their own interests. Thus, not
withstanding the fact that the huge bulk of the
world’s Muslims are peace loving and desirous of
living in harmony with all others, a very contrary
image comes to the fore.
>
>
>
>Friends, this image will have to be countered by all
of us working collectively. And believe me, this
cannot be done through a PR effort alone, even if we
had the resources for that. For, at the end of the day
all of us do realize that there is no smoke without a
fire. In other words, there are real life events on a
daily basis that help build and reinforce this
negative image.
>
>
>
>Hence, our approach shall have to be two-pronged. On
the one hand, work shall have to be done within the
community to ensure that the true meaning of the
Islamic message comes through, rather than the warped
meaning that the self-serving “leaders” of the
community (including a section of the clergy) wish to
propagate. This is easier said than done, because the
voice of sanity unfortunately tends to remain confined
with people preferring to discuss amongst themselves
rather than go out and talk to the masses.
>
>
>
>The second part of the strategy is equally important
for us. This involves working outside the community,
talking to and influencing key people and the media.
At the end of the day, the success of the efforts will
be measured by the number of common people outside the
community who understand the true message of
brotherhood that Islam offers, and do not subscribe to
the negative stereotype of Islam and Muslims. We have,
luckily, several allies that can help us in this task,
at least in this country. Not the least of these is
the highly tolerant, peace loving average Hindu, who
believes in the plurality of India and shall strive to
defend it against all forms of vile attack that he is
being currently exposed to. Therein lies hope for all
of us.
>
>
>
>I do hope that this sets in motion a concerted effort
on the part of all of us to correctly portray our
religion for the great, enduring message that it
represents, rather than the distorted one that is
conveyed to the people today. With all of us realizing
the dangers inherent in allowing the status quo to
continue, the work and challenge is truly cut out for
us. At the end of the day, the Islamic message is too
humane, powerful and enduring to be held hostage by
the misguided acts of a select few. By enabling this
message to percolate through in its true colors, we
shall be doing a huge service to this religion, our
nation India and indeed the entire humanity.
>
>
>
>(Amirullah Khan - akhan at vsnl.com )



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