Translator: Yuyang Zhao Reviewer: Anaë François
Hey, guys!
So a little while ago we heard a really great talk about how to listen
and the importance of listening, right?
So I think it's time to listen to the perspective of an American Muslim,
talking about a pretty hot button issue
Islamophobia.
Who's ready?
(Laughter)
Yeah, lighthearted topic, right?
So these are the opening lines to Surah Al-Fath,
or in English, a chapter from the Quran entitled 'The Victory.'
Now, Muslims believe that the Quran was revealed to Muhammad
over the span of twenty-three years,
as God's final revelation to mankind.
Islamic scholars believe that this manifest victory here
is referring to the conquest of Mecca, a battle that was won centuries ago.
And so it's pretty common for people of faith to incorporate verses
from the religious texts into their daily prayers
because it's applicable to many aspects of daily life.
For example, I've cited this particular verse
moments before a test that I didn't study for.
(Laughter)
I know there are a lot of students here,
how many of you have prayed for deliverance right before a final exam
that you were not ready for at all?
(Cheering)
There are more hands than that, but you've dislocated your shoulders.
(Laughter)
Yeah, so if there's ever a time to ask God to forgive the faults of your past,
it's right after an ill-timed Netflix binge,
am I right?
(Laughter)
The reason I'm saying this is because when you look at it through this lens,
religion is in large part what followers bring to the table.
So when I think about this first, when I invoke it in prayer,
I'm probably not thinking about a battle won centuries ago.
But at the same time, there are radical terror organizations that are like,
"Oh, manifest victory!
That means I can establish a global caliphate
encompassing all Muslims worldwide!
I'm destined to win, right?"
So I'm going to address the elephant in the room here,
I'm talking about ISIS, a Muslim terror organization,
and Muslims who commit terrorism, according to ISIS doctrine,
are Islamic terrorists.
And as a result, Muslims, such as myself, have to deal with the consequences.
Isn't that nice?
Thanks, ISIS.
(Laughter)
So, Islamophobia has been on the rise recently.
And as a Muslim, I can speak for all of us when I say that we all hold our breath
when we read about a terror attack in the news.
And we hope and pray that a Muslim is not the person behind it,
and then if it turns out a Muslim is, we all kind of feel like
"Okay, great."
Because we know what to expect.
Islamophobia is a problem that has plagued many of us,
since the tragic events of 9/11
and with politicians calling for facist policies like ID badges
or barring Muslims' entry and exit from the country
regardless of citizenship,
a lot of us are targeted just for practicing our religion.
My friends who wear the hijab have told me horror stories
about how after terrorist attacks, they've been followed to their cars,
they get followed to the mosque,
they have survival strategies involving wearing a hoodie to cover the scarf,
it works right now because it's still kind of cold.
Try that in July, it won't fly.
They'll switch out the traditional hijab for a beanie instead, to blend in better.
They travel in groups, they don't go out after night.
So as you all can see, I don't wear the hijab.
But I've suffered islamophobia as well.
When I was in 2nd grade, after 9/11,
some of my classmates expected me to apologize on behalf of the terrorists,
just because they knew I was Muslim.
They would make racist jokes about Middle Easterners and Muslims
and I was expected to not get offended.
I was expected to explain what Islam really was about to classmates
that had islamophobic parents who didn't want to do that for them.
My parents both received bomb threats to their offices
and that stung particularly
because my dad and my uncle were volunteer emergency personnel
after the Murrah bombing.
Our mosque has been shot at and desecrated multiple times,
I get a pat down every time I fly.
That doesn't happen to my sisters though, so that could just be my fault,
I don't know.
(Laughter)
Fortunately, the response from non-Muslims has been very twofold.
A lot of non-Muslims step forward as allies to support us
when hatemongers and bigots try to equate all Muslims with terrorists.
Muslims, however, have a more homogenous response.
I tend to see a lot more social media posts and op-eds,
and they pretty much all say the same thing.
They all defend our faith and distance us from terrorists.
A common defense that I've heard from both Muslims and non-Muslim allies
is that terrorists who commit crime in the name of Islam
are somehow not Muslim.
And I get that because it's a well-intentioned defense.
But unfortunately, it's not entirely true.
So this is the declaration of faith, as we call it in Arabic, the Shahada,
and what this means is if you believe in this and you state it,
you're a Muslim.
And that's what makes this such a tricky issue.
Because yes, that means members of ISIS and Muslim terrorists are Muslim,
even though it's only through self-identification.
And that brings us to a really important point to think about.
You can't cherry-pick people who fit your archetype
of a proper Muslim, Christian, Jew, or whatever.
I want you to recognize that moral and immoral individuals exist
within every faith.
Because once you say that someone is not part of a religious group,
because they don't fit your paradigm of what it is to be in that group,
you're making yourself willfully blind to real problems that exist
in your religious community
and then you aren't able to work towards solutions.
So let's go back to the archetype of religious extremism, ISIS.
In order for ISIS to succeed in creating a caliphate,
a wedge must be driven between non-Muslims and their Muslim countrymen.
So when you think of someone perpetuating this divide,
you probably aren't thinking about a Muslim, right?
Well, it's not that simple.
Muslims are responsible too, albeit in different ways.
I'm talking about Muslims that I know personally
who complained about how Muslims would be targeted following the Paris attacks
before expressing sympathy for the victims.
I'm talking about people who claimed that the San Bernardino shooting
was a conspiracy by the police.
Or even worse, that the shooters were somehow innocent
and it was a framing situation by the FBI.
There are people within the Muslim community
who are quick to point out racism when it happens in a Western country
but are frustratingly silent when it happens in the Middle East
with Muslim-on-Muslim violence.
And they're quick to defend Islam when it's wrongfully maligned
after a terror attack on a Western country.
But are frustratingly silent when that country is Lebanon or Syria,
or most recently Singapore.
So sometimes, watching this and living with this,
I want to tell them to stop trying to shift blame
onto people from other people who actually deserve it
just because they also call themselves Muslim.
I want to tell these deluded Muslim keyboard warriors
because yeah, they exist in every demographic,
to get their heads out of the sand
and that making everything about yourself
and being in denial all the time doesn't help anyone.
It doesn't solve any problems.
Because it's really a combination of bigotry from non-Muslims
and martyr complexes from Muslims, certain Muslims,
that are only helping ISIS further divide America.
We need to have way more difficult discussions about islamophobia
and about this divide in order to move forward.
Because our current PC response to everything just isn't enough.
Yeah, I'm suggesting we deviate from that
"#notmyislam #notallmuslims" approach that we have.
Because pretty much every article that I've read from a Muslim viewpoint -
or even a non-Muslim ally viewpoint -
is just a list, an almost formulaic list of empty platitudes.
And I'm saying we need to do more.
We need to actually have difficult conversations
to better understand and better address the situation that we're in.
That will help us move forward.
And we desperately need to move forward because I think we're all fed up.
I'm tired of being told that I need to apologize
everytime there's a terrorist attack by a Muslim.
What's the point when I have nothing to do with it?
And people committed to hating Islam aren't going to change their mind
because of my apology.
I'm getting tired of seeing Muslims I know from work, school, and the mosque
getting hyper-defensive and reflexively plugging their ears
about an attack by a Muslim.
And most of all, I'm tired of seeing stories like the Thanksgiving Day shooting
just last year of a Muslim cab driver
or the Chapel Hill tragedy from a few years back
getting swept under the rug by the media.
How many of you are hearing about that for the first time?
That proves my point.
So what I'm suggesting is why don't we all step out of our respective echo chambers?
If you're a Muslim, remember that being in denial doesn't help people see
that we are not at fault as a religion
and that we need to be targeting individuals who have harmful practices
and beliefs.
If you're a non-Muslim, stand up when you see islamophobia
and discrimination in action.
Don't expect all Muslims to apologize just because a Muslim
committed a terrorist attack.
But instead, judge people by their actions and not by their faith.
I think by doing this and having more difficult discussions about how both
non-Muslims and Muslims can step up, will put us on the path to progress.
And if it seems difficult, well, I think that we can do it.
I think that the fact that we can have an organization like this
and have events like this
is a testament that we are capable of doing that and moving forward.
And I think we can.
Because I think we've been assured a manifest victory
and we'll be helped by a powerful help.
Thanks.
(Applause)