“Ask
A Muslim” is a new internet video series that “showcases the current face of
Black Islam in America today.” With its light, upbeat tone, its soundtrack of
soulful grooves, and perpetually smiling faces gleaming with professionally
whitened teeth, it’s designed to present an easygoing, non-threatening setting
in which Americans can get the reassuring truth about the Religion of Peace.™
Unfortunately, you won’t find straight answers here. Nor will you find, at
least thus far in the series, enough of the most pointed questions that
Americans who are legitimately alarmed about Islam truly want addressed. What
you will find is a lot of obfuscation and condescension.
Produced by the Black Public Media Network, two episodes of
the series have been released so far (the first is just under seven minutes,
the second just under nine). It uses man-on-the-street-style questions directed
to a recurring handful of black Muslim artists, writers, imams, and “cultural
observers.” Random (presumably) individuals are filmed asking their questions with
the world-famous LOVE sculpture in Philadelphia prominently displayed over the
questioner’s shoulder.
“What do real Muslims think about fake Muslims?” one young
man asks in episode two. Huh? You get a shot at asking a “real Muslim” for the
truth about Islam and that’s your question? In any case, the respondents ramble
vaguely but pleasantly, eventually acknowledging that “fake Muslims make our
religion look bad.” But without a definition of “fake,” this answer is
meaningless. Next question.
“Why do people convert to Islam in jail?” Good question. Most
of the respondents softpedal about people in jail having time for self-reflection
and finding “fulfilling answers” in Islam. A couple of others surprisingly and
correctly note that attaching oneself to the prison Muslim population helps
ensure your protection there. Dr. Khabeer steers her answer toward black
Americans who “find themselves incarcerated unjustly,” which would seem to have
nothing to do with Islam per se. There’s
no mention of the fact that Muslim prisoners now benefit from special dietary
and other privileges, or that there is very purposeful, aggressive Muslim
recruitment going on among violent criminals whose brutal anger can now be
channeled against the infidel society whose illegitimate laws are not Allah’s
laws.
Halfway through episode two, we come to a critical question:
“What is sharia law?” Singer/actress Sumayya
Ali smilingly replies, “Sharia law is a loaded word these days.” No
kidding. Why might that be? Congressman Keith Ellison, a
friend to the Muslim Brotherhood, vaguely suggests that people are scared
unnecessarily because “some Muslims have promoted a false understanding of the
idea.” He doesn’t specify whom or what’s false about it. “The purpose of it is
just to promote human dignity, fairness, and justice.” Sounds great! Except
that Islamic definitions of “human
dignity, fairness, and justice” are not the same as western ones.
What are you infidels so alarmed about, anyway? “People are
so scared of sharia law, it is crazy,” says comedian Regan, who is described as
a “former member of S.O.A.,” a music group he co-founded. The site doesn’t
explain that S.O.A. stands for Slaves of Allah. “I don’t even understand why
you [sic] scared. Sharia law is actually a beautiful thing.” He is wearing a
t-shirt exclaiming “Haram! Haram!” Haram, of course, is anything forbidden
under sharia. Spoken word artist Amir
Sulaiman asserts that “Sharia law is just to protect the sacred things, and the
most sacred thing that God created is the human being, so it’s to protect the
human being’s right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.” He seems to be
confusing sharia with the Declaration of Independence. Islam values none of
those concepts as Americans understand them
.
The “Ask a Muslim” website calls Islam the “most
misunderstood religion on the globe.” They don’t explain why that is: that they
are trying to put a happy face on Islam while global jihad is inconveniently exposing
it for the supremacist political ideology it is. They also don’t address why
Islam is supposedly so dang difficult to understand despite the fact that after the 9/11 attacks,
more non-Muslims than ever before have studied Islam to understand the
religious motives of those who declared war on us. And yet we continue to be
told by condescending apologists, including the speakers in this video series
who treat their viewers like children, that we don’t understand the true Koran
or the complexities of sharia, and that our concerns and criticisms stem from irrational fear. The problem always
seems to lie with us. No other religion seems to be so intellectually
impenetrable – not even Zen Buddhism.
It will be interesting to see what questions arise in subsequent
episodes. But one remark unintentionally speaks volumes already. Dr. Jamillah Karim, assistant professor of
religious studies at Spelman College, says in episode one, “We believe that the
prophet Muhammad was the best human being, so we want to follow his model in
every way.” And therein lies the contradiction: that we are expected to be
reassured about a religion whose role model is a warlord who tortured, enslaved
and slaughtered all who stood in his way, who advocated the genocide of Jews, who
consummated his marriage with a nine-year-old, who ordered the stoning of
adulterers, and who commanded that all must submit to Islam or die. Somehow I
doubt that “Ask a Muslim” will honestly address that topic.
(This article originally appeared here on FrontPage Mag, 8/23/12)
