This was published in the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog.
I was walking through my hospital one recent morning, and I looked out the window and beheld the American flag billowing in the breeze. It was truly beautiful, stirring my heart with love of country. When I see that flag, waving so proudly over the medical center’s campus, I think of the wondrous nature of my country: its beautiful blue skies, its amber waves of grain, its scenic ocean vistas, and its majestic mountain ranges. I think of the equally beautiful nature of her people - my people - who are kind and gentle, who welcome strangers into their hearts and neighborhoods, and who rally to help each other when in need. I think of the freedom for which that glorious symbol stands: the freedom to be who I want and worship the Lord however I see fit.
What I put out of my mind are the images of those four American Marines urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban fighters, which surfaced on a YouTube video last week; or the picture of an American soldier next to a dead Afghan civilian, showing off his “trophy” kill. More than just because they are repugnant images, I refuse to dwell on such stains on the national character because I know - in my heart - that those pictures and video clips do not represent the truth of America. I know that America is not what those images portray. That flag, which is also printed on the arms of those soldiers, does not symbolize the horrific nature of those sad incidents.
Sadly, however, there are many around the world who do not go through a similar exercise. When they see the very same image of the American flag, they will only think of these horrible videos and pictures. They will only see the bad that our nation has done, never knowing that true nature of our goodness and purity, the one that I see each and every day. And if anyone - following a sick and criminal mindset - were to attack an innocent American anywhere in the world, or right here at home, seeking to “avenge” the terrible images on the video, it would be a horrible travesty, worthy of the strongest condemnation. We Americans are not those Marines in that video. The truth about America is different than what that video portrays.
The same thing goes with American Muslims. The actions of extremists and terrorists, acting in the name of Islam, do not reflect the truth about our faith and our people. Those terrorists are depraved and Satanic criminals, twisting the beautiful and universal principles of our faith to seek a depraved and evil end. Just as we Americans are not responsible for those Marines urinating on those corpses, we American Muslims are not responsible for the actions of criminal extremists who act in our name. Just as it is wrong to attack Americans anywhere in the world in “revenge,” it is equally wrong to attack Muslims, or their houses of worship, in “revenge” for the crimes of extremists, which, sadly, occurs ever too frequently here in America.
If anything good can come out of this terrible incident, it is perhaps that more people can understand that the whole should never be blamed or symbolized by the crimes of the very few. A Muslim woman, who is courageous enough to wear a headscarf in deference to her faith and love for God, does not symbolize terrorism any more than the American flag symbolizes the crimes of those American Marines urinating on those corpses. If more can understand this, we will be all the better, both as a people and as a nation at large.
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o'stephanie
Kerry Lauerman
Joan Walsh
Salon.com
Comments
If we don't want to be associated with these marines, than we shouldn't be at war with Afghanistan.
You've captured the essence of the terrorist in a universal definition, Dr Hassaballa.
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But let's be honest . This urination is fairly trivial compared to Internet beheading videos and murderous riots over newspaper cartoons of Mohammed. So both sides in this conflict are asked to have patience, and to not judge all by the actions of a few.
I have worked along side Muslims, and I have depended on the kindness and generosity of Muslims as a traveler in their lands. So I recognize that Muslims as a whole are peaceful, honest, and sincere.
But I must say that I would attribute courage to the Muslim woman who abandons the hijab out of respect for herself as a human being, rather than those who capitulate to the controlling insecurity in the name of piety on the part of Muslim males.
If the Muslim woman in traditional societies shows her shoulders or legs or hair, the Muslim male will be tempted into impure thoughts, or possibly worse, actions of a sexual nature. Rather than taking responsibility to learn civilized self-control, the Muslim male blames women for his own internal inadequacy. The same goes for Muslim women driving, working, going to school, or simply leaving the house without escort of a male family member. The basic idea or emotion at work here is not devotion to Allah; it is the insecurity and lack of trust that the Muslim male has of himself and the women he loves.
If the Muslim male underwent the same sacrifices out of devotion to religion that he asks of Muslim women, I would be more accepting. But this is not the case.
In defending the hijab, you are not defending Muslim piety and surrender to Allah. You are not defending the five pillars and what is good in Islam. You are defending moldy old hadiths made by male imams centuries ago that were corrupted by contemporary tribalistic patriarchal oppression of women. You are defending the right of coddled pampered insecure Muslim men to perpetuate the patriarchal systematic oppression of women.
So when you defend the hijab, you may as well defend excluding women from school and not allowing them to drive; you may as well be defending barbarities such as honor killings and genital mutilation and treating the testimony of a woman as half that of a man's.
"So both sides in this conflict are asked to have patience"
sides? conflict? Do you mean Christians and Jews versus Muslims? Do you mean Americans versus Iraq and Afghanistan? The author is condemning this exact kind of thinking. That you take issue with the oppression of women is commendable but that is an issue with patriarchy, not Islam. There are many muslim families that are not oppressive. That women are required to wear a hijab is a cultural issue that has been co-opted by the local religion.
If you think that "our" travesties aren't as bad as "their" travesties, then you are condemning all muslims for beheading a guy and for attacking a political cartoonist. Perhaps then all Americans (or Christians?) are responsible for pissing on a corpse. Go ahead, step up and take responsibility for it.
Real estate for sale in Paradise Valley
Simpson, get yourself a plane ticket to Iran. You obviously have no business enjoying the liberty these Marines bought for you.