Nothing Against Muslims, But ...........

I have met Muslims and they seem quite nice.  Nevertheless I'm against unregulated immigration to the U.S. by Muslims.

Muslims differ.  Of course they do.  Muslims from Nigeria have different attitudes than Muslims from Egypt.  The same can be said of Muslims from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, etc.   All Muslims have certain attitudes in common.  For example, they have no particular problem with polygamy.
That is not to say all Muslim men have more than one wife.  But, if they can afford multiple wives, they may well indulge themselves.  (This was once also true of Jews from Islamic countries, but the practice ended with the establishment of the State of Israel.)

Muslim women in Islamic countries who defy the wishes of their father as to whom they may, or may not, marry are in considerable danger of an "honor" killing.  Although family strife can also be found in America, the dangers American women face when they seek to choose their own spouse is nowhere near as great.

Does a women who dresses immodestly rightfully subject herself to the threat of rape?  This might seem like a silly question.  Nevertheless, Scandinavian countries with a large influx of Muslim immigrants have found it helpful  to provide classes designed to teach their Muslim immigrants that a girl seen on the street in a miniskirt is not to raped.

In countries like Germany that have been subjected to waves of Muslim immigrants, we now find that they've permitted the establishment of morality police who go through their Muslim areas not only looking to admonish immodestly dressed women, but also to stifle the playing of music, and to prohibit the consumption of alcohol.

Is that what we want to see here in America?

Islam -- The Elephant That Defies Definition

We all know the story of the blind men who encounter an elephant.  One reaches out and takes hold of the trunk.  "It's a snake," he proclaims.  Another one comes across the tail.  "It's a rope," he shouts.  A third blind man grabs a leg, and says the beast is a tree.

That's Islam, a religion few in the west understand.   What's distressing is that his is one of the world's largest religions.  In America, we think of the Amish as a people who reject the use of zippers on their flies and prefer to stick with buttons.  The Bahai are a peaceful people with a lovely temple in Haifa.  The Bhuddists, are often seen as sitting  under trees, contemplating their place in the universe.  Stereotypes?  No doubt,  but they do relatively little harm.

But, Muslims are another matter.  Are they peace loving?  No doubt many are.  Can they be brutal?  Look at our friends, the Saudis.  They flog.  They decapitate.  They remove hands.  What don't they do?  And, it's not as though they're ignorant people.  Half of them are princes who have been educated at places like Harvard and Oxford.  But, if you know a bit of history, you also know that the Saud family became rulers of Arabia only with the invaluable help of a  Wahhabi imam and his followers.  What's a few floggings and decapitations of fellow Muslims if it keeps the Wahhabis happy and allows you to continue enjoying your oil money?  And, who really cares as long as the Saudis keep it within Arabia?

ISIS has proven itself a lot more ambitious than the Wahhabis.  ISIS wants for the world what the Wahhabis have gotten for themselves in Saudi Arabia; namely, Islamic domination over all faiths and the implementation of Sharia law.  What probably constrains the Wahhabis from embracing ISIS is the threat that the ISIS Sunnis pose to the rule of the Saud family.  That is not to say that the Wahhabis don't dabble a bit in global politics.  They've been extremely supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood.  And, they supply Wahhabi imams to serve in mosques throughout the world -- mosques built with their oil money.   Sermons by these imams are generally not what one would describe as temperate.

Do all Muslims carry this Wahhabi strain of intolerance?  No, but here is where it become even more confusing.  It has been suggested that Iraq be divided between the three major groups; namely, the Kurds, the Sunnis, and the Shia.  And, that's probably a good idea.  But, the Kurds are Sunnis, same as the ISIS people, and same as the Wahhabis.  It's interesting that the ISIS people have been genocidal toward Iraq's Yazidis.  The Kurds, despite also being Sunni,  have protected them.

The Pakistanis are largely Sunnis and have made life difficult for the Christians and moderate Sunnis living in Pakestan.  They object to educating their nation's girls.  In Iran, a country of Shia, we have a relatively well educated Shia youth, who despise the Shia Mullahs who control their lives.

In America, we have a fine moderate Muslim, by the name of Dr. Zuhdi Jasser.  He's a great guy.  He's founded a fine organization, the Islamic Forum for Democracy.  However, it should be noted that he is a member of the Muslim people known as Ahmadiyya.  They are a great people.  But, other Muslims don't recognize them as being Muslim.  They are to Sunnis and Shia what Jews-for-Jesus people are to the Jewish people.  In Pakistan, it is illegal for Ahmadiyyas to refer to themselves as Muslims.

There is one other thing that should be noted about Muslims and it is a phenomena that can be recognized in other religions.  It is that  practitioners of the faith vary in their views from region to region, and from country to country.  In the case of Catholics,  it has been observed that Catholics in Ireland have attitudes rather different than Catholics in Italy and different yet from Catholics in Latin America.  In the matter of birth control, most Catholics disregard the teachings of their church.

It is much the same for Jews.  The gap between Reform Jews and Orthodox Jews, as to how they understand critical matters of Jewish practice, varies enormously.  Jews who managed to escape Iran and come to American have been seen exhibiting clannish attitudes quite different from Jews who have lived here for a generation or more.

Educating Americans on Islam, in general, and the Muslim people, in particular, should be one of the highest priorities of America's Muslim leaders.  In this, they have failed miserably.  Perhaps even more important should be teaching the Muslims of America how to be true to their faith within the context of the American culture.  Organizations like CAIR, by railing against islamophobia are engaging in is a pointless exercise. Sure, there is islamophobia, but it comes out of ignorance.  It's time that CAIR admitted to their own co-relionists that there are indeed  aspects of Islam that are hostile to the American way of life.  However, Islamic  practice does not have to be incompatible with American culture.  Hundreds of thousands of American Muslims have demonstrated in ways large and small that they share the American dream.

America's politicians have often acted like the storied blind men.  But so have many leaders in the American Muslim community.  It's time they accepted an elephant for what it is -- an elephant.

What Makes Islam Different?

In the other religions with which I am familiar; namely, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism, becoming more pious doesn't make you more dangerous to people of other faiths.  A devout Catholic, a devout Protestant, or a devout Orthodox Jew is not dangerous to others.  Rather they show a true generosity of spirit.  They found hospitals.  They give to the poor and they do this regardless of the faith or lack of faith of the recipient of their charity.

Pious Muslims show a similar generosity, but it is intended only for Muslims.  The more devout Muslims are, the more they are troubled by individuals who do not share their faith.  This, at least, was the message of the devout Muslim man and his wife who killed all those people in Bernardino, CA.

When law enforcement authorities ask the Muslim community for their help in spotting Muslims likely to be dangerous, the community gets offended.  Why ask this only of Muslims?  Why not of Christians or Jews?  Must the answer really be spelled out?  Might it be because devout Catholics, Protestants and Jews do not go about killing people of other religions.  True, there have been and no doubt always will be murders by people who are not Muslim.  But, these are not people of piety.  They are not devout.  They are not people who regularly attend a church or a synagogue.  They are Christians or Jews only through the process of elimination.  Yes, my Muslim friends, Islam is different.

The Cloud of Ignorance Surrounding Islam

I listen to various political talk shows among which I especially enjoy Morning Joe.  Okay, so Mika is a bit tough to take.  But Joe Scarborough makes up for her nonsensical comments.  And, while I do not agree with many of his guests, they do represent a wide spectrum of opinion.

But, this morning, in speaking of Muslims, Joe went off the rails.  "We need Muslims in our fight against ISIS.  If we treat them poorly they will not join us in this fight," he said as he railed against Trump's suggestion that we suspend for the moment issuing visas to Muslims.

What Joe seems oblivious to are the many different kinds of Muslims.  First, let me mention some middle eastern people who need our help, but who are not Muslim.  They include the Christians who are abused in virtually every Islamic country.  Why can't we make a special place for them?

Then we have the Kurds.  Again, not a typical Muslim people.  But, they are our allies in the fight against ISIS.  Yet, we have been niggardly when it comes to offering them weapons, let along visas.

Next, we have the Yazidis, a people associated with the Kurds, who have long suffered abuse at the hands of Muslims.

There are other groups, the Circassians and the Druze, who also suffered persecution under the Muslims.  Why shouldn't we treat these people preferentially?  We can forget the Jews, they've already been mostly driven out of Muslim countries where they lived for generations.

The last group deserving mention are the Ahmadiyyas.  They are essentially Muslim, but they believe in an additional prophet who the mainstream Muslims do not acknowledge.  In America, we accept their self identification as Muslims, but in places like Pakistan they are not permitted to do so.  These people also deserve our special protection.

That brings us to the Sunnis and the Shiites.  The Sunnis are the majority in most Muslim counties except for Iran which has an overwhelming Shiite majority.   As to abusing the Sunni community -- that's already been done.  America did it with its woefully misguided policy of thinking all of Iraq should be ruled by Damascus, the capital, where Shiites hold a clear majority.  This incredibly stupid policy was fashioned by the recently deceased Ahmed Chalabi, a Shiite taken under his wing by Donald Rumsfeld.   If you want Sunnis to ally themselves with America, treat them fairly and with respect in the places they call home.  General Petraeus understood this and capitalized on it.  Regrettably, the people above him never got the message.

Do Sunnis want to be admitted to America?  Sure, so do Mexicans, Somalis and most of the rest of the world.  But everyone's wishes can't be met.  And, Muslims do present us with a special problem.  They come from a culture quite different from our own, a culture of inequality for women and an intolerance for the gay community.

America can't do much more to screw the Sunnis than what's already been done to them in Iraq, and what we are apparently about to do to them in Syria.

On another talk show, I hear an American ex-counter intelligence officer explain to the TV audience that ISIS wasn't really Sunni.  He pointed out that an Imam from Saudi Arabia had called an Ulama of Muslim clerics and had pronounced ISIS the enemy of all Muslims, including the Sunnis.  Of course.  But this wasn't a theological debate even if it was described as such.  It was political.  ISIS is as Sunni as the Wahabi form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia even if it is a tad more bloody.

Politically, however, the ISIS people would love to take over Saudi land and Saudi oil.  It's all about money.  And, if the Saudi form of Islam is the one that prevails worldwide, we're in as much trouble as if the ISIS people prevail.  The U.S. has long provided a protective shield over Saudi Arabia.  Whether we give visas to Sunni Muslims, or not, our  relationship with the Sunnis will not change.  We allow the Saudis to build as many mosques in America as they wish.  They have little to complain about, other than that we have not yet accepted Sharia.
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What American Muslims Must Do -- Pronto

American Muslims can not solve the world's problems.  They have little say in the Sunni and Shiite divide we see in many Muslim nations.  But, what they can do and must do is tell themselves and fellow Americans not only what is, but what is not Islam.  It is doubtful as to whether they can do this for Muslims globally, but they must do it for American Muslims.

Here is what must be transmitted.

1. Sharia is a voluntary code of law.  If Muslims wish to deal with one another within the context of Sharia, that's fine, provided they accept it as subordinate to the laws of America.  For example, within Sharia there is no prohibition against having more than one wife.  Under American law there is.  In this instance, Muslims must accept American law.  Within the context of Sharia, the male has a dominance vis a vis the female in terms of to whom children are assigned in cases of divorce that is largely unacceptable within American law.  Here again, American law must prevail.

2. In America, possession of weapons is acceptable, provided it is for legally acceptable hunting, for self protection, and as an item for collection.  However, when collection includes weapons clearly intended for the mass destruction of human life -- when it includes bombs and bomb making equipment -- it is something that is unacceptable.

3. What standards are observed in other parts of the world by Muslims may not be acceptable in America.  There may be instances where the policies of the American government may not be to the liking of American Muslims.  In those instances, Mulims may protest, but only in ways acceptable within American law.

4. Among the ideals of a democratic state is that of free speech.   This should not be trampled upon even if that speech is disagreeable to one or more segments of the American public.  For example, depicting Mohammad in a graphic manner may be repugnant or sacrilegious to Muslims.  Nevertheless, to do so can not be prohibited.  It can be discouraged in legal ways, but it can not be prohibited.

American Muslims may understand their faith to be a peaceful one.  But that carries little weight if individual Muslims act in ways that harm fellow Americans.  Even if acts of violence by Muslims are rare, it is the responsibility of the Muslim community to work with American law enforcement to ferret out Muslims who would do violence.

There is one more feature of Islamic practice that deserves greater attention; namely, the bringing into American mosques Imams educated in Muslim countries.  Religions are an amalgam of theology and culture.  Speak to a Catholic priest from Ireland and then speak to one from Brazil and you will inevitably see differences in cultural references.  That should come as no surprise.  To teach, religious leaders speak to their followers in terms in which their followers can relate.

But, what happens when a religious leader is transferred from a nation of one culture to a nation of another.  Can such a leader, or teacher, relate to his new environment?  Can an Imam  from Saudi Arabia, who's never lived outside of Saudi Arabia. be sent to America and be expected to understand American culture.  Can such a teacher's understanding of Sharia and the teachings of the Quran, the Hadith, and the Sunnah make sense within the context of American culture.  American Muslims must give this matter far more serious thought than it appears they have done to date.

Shalom Aleichem.