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The truth of the Muslim community

» Breaking apart misconceptions of Islam

Mercedes Deutscher
Staff Writer

 

people—Deah Shaddy
Barakat, 23, Yusor Mohammad
Abu-Salha, 21, and Razan
Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19—

Hill, North Carolina. Craig
Stephen Hicks, their next-door
neighbour, was charged with
their murders. According to the

this tragedy was the result of
an ongoing parking dispute,
although other motives are
being considered. Barakat and
the elder Abu-Salha, Yusor,
were a newlywed couple who
were both pursuing careers

in dentistry. Razan was an
architecture student. All three
of these young people were
Muslim.

I believe there is more to
this story than a simple parking
dispute, and | think there is
a reason the police haven't
yet ruled out religious bias. I

post-9/u, we live in a shroud
of Islamaphobia. We need to
diffuse this fear.

Muslims have not been

: exempt from being profiled

: by the media. It is chilling to

: see that whenever there is an

: incident where a Muslim person :

: is a perpetrator, the incident is

: labelled a terrorist attack and

Q: February 10, three young :
: Meanwhile, if the perpetrator

: is caucasian, they are often

: considered “mentally ill” and

: claims are made that someone

were fatally shot dead in Chapel :

the perpetrator as a terrorist.

I feel that the media

: focusses so much on the

: stain that it misses the entire

: clean sheet around it. Those

: who follow Islam are unjustly

: labelled terror threats far too

: often. It is unfair to stereotype
: an entire religion due to

: the actions of a few radical

: extremists. More often than

: not, Islamic communities

: worldwide speak up and

: condemn those who use Islam
: as an excuse to attack. In

: response to the attacks in

: Ottawa and Quebec last fall,

: Idris Elbakri—president of the
believe that as a Western society :

: what we stand for”
from all over the world have

: the actions of al-Qaida, ISIS,

: Boko Haram, and other terrorist :

: groups, and have condemned

: those involved in terrorist acts,

: suchas the 9/1 attacks, the

: 2005 London underground

: bombings, the 2008 Mumbai

: should have intervened prior to :

: the incident. While Hicks has

: not been labelled mentally ill,

: healso hasn't been labelled a
: terrorist against Muslim people. :

Chapel Hill Police Department, : :

: Hebdo attacks in January. All
: of these communities explain
: that the actions of a few do not

: Islam? It may be surprising to

: many that Islam shares many

: beliefs with other religions of

: the world, such as believing

: only in one Allah (God), angels,
: and prophets (like Jesus and

: Muhammad). There are some

: fascinating devotional practices :
: that are performed as part of

: Islam. Muslims are expected

: to formally pray up to five

: times a day, help those in need
: (called “zakah”), and donate

: 10 per cent of their wealth

: to poor. Every year, Muslims

: partake in “Ramadan” when

: Manitoba Islamic Association— :
: told CBC, “What's happening in :
: terms of violence in the name

: of our religion doesn’t represent
: our faith, doesn’t represent

: control, focus on spirituality,
: and relate with those who
: are impoverished and have

Islamic communities

repeatedly spoken up against

attacks, and the recent Charlie

represent Islam or its values.
What are the true values of

they fast during the daylight
hours in order to practice self-

: little to eat. Muslims are also

: encouraged to visit Mecca

: in Saudi Arabia at least once

: during their lifetime. Prophet
: Muhammad teaches that one

should be mindful, love all

: of those around them, not
: harm anyone, and have good
: intentions for their actions.

While many perceive

: Islam as an oppressive religion
: to women, an Oxford study

: explains that it is not the

: religion that is oppressive of

: women, but rather follows

: patriarchal cultural norms. Ina :
: majority of the Muslim world,
: women wear aheadscarf (or — :
: “hijab”) out of choice. The hijab !
: can represent many things,

: such as modesty, purity, and

: respect. Some women have

: Many reasons to justify why

: they wear a hijab. One reason

is that they wish to be proudly

and openly identified asa

: Muslim. Another reason being
: that they believe it is more

: important for someone to focus !
: on her mind and speech rather
: than her beauty.

There have been several

examples of people who have:
: done terrible things in the name:
: of Islam—yet many forget the  :
: good things that are done in the :
: same name. Malala Yousafzai— :
: who won the 2014 Nobel Peace

Image from Thinkstock

: prize at the age of 17—has

: spent much of her young life

: fighting for gender equality in

: education, while being openly
: Muslim. She has spoken up to

: the radical Taliban about the

: right to education for women

: and children, despite nearly

: being murdered by them in

: 2012. During an interview with
: Jon Stewart on The Daily Show,
: Yousafzai was asked what she

: would do if the Taliban were to
: come after her again. “If you hit
: a Talib with your shoe,” replied

Yousafzai, “then there will be no

: difference between you and the
: Talib. You must not treat others

... with cruelty ... you must

: fight others but through peace,
: through dialogue and through
: education ...”

While there are a small

number of people who identify

: as Muslim and commit horrific

: acts, it is critical that society

: stop labelling all Muslims in

: that manner. Muslim lives are as

valuable as the lives of anyone

else, and the tragedy on Chapel
: Hill has shown that. Muslim

: people can innovate and

: inspire, just as Yousafzai has

shown. Muslim people are as

: worthy of respect and of peace

as non-Muslims are.