February 27, 2006

Islam in the Name of Peace

by Sherry Harbert

Oregon ranked 15th for most reported incidents of hate crimes in the nation, according to the latest statistics from the FBI. The report, published last November, is mandated by the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 to monitor hate crime incidents around the nation.

While the national average remained relatively steady over the last few years, Oregon’s incidents statistically showed a significant rise, but are most likely attributed to more state, county and city agencies reporting for the first time. Only the City of Portland participated in last year’s findings.

According to Detective Mary Wheat of the Portland Police Department, the latest participation levels are welcome. Wheat has taken on the daunting task of determining which offenses carry the hate crime designation. Her determinations must filter out emotional aspects of any incident to determine the root cause of the crime. She said all police officers will write “hate crime” at the top of their reports if there is any indication of bias or mixed races involved in the incident. She sorts out the details to determine if there was sufficient evidence that racial, religious, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin or disability bias was the guiding motivation in the crime.

The Hate Crimes Act is intended to reinforce the protection of minorities. It was amended in 1994 to include persons with disabilities and again in 1996 with the inclusion of the Church Arson Prevention Act.

Such reporting points to a greater task of finding and safeguarding minorities against hate crimes in the nation, especially in the wake of September 11th. It is one of the reasons Wheat and Bob Jordan, Special Agent in Charge of the Portland Division of the FBI, participated in a “Living with Islam” forum at Portland State University, Feb. 11. Both reiterated their commitment to protect the community from hate crimes by opening communications with more minority groups in the Portland area.

It is a difficult task. With the investigations and arrests of the “Portland 7” and Brandon Mayfield, a great chasm between the public and Muslims has grown. According to members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community who sponsored the forum, the outward friendship toward them in the community has diminished over the last several years. Harris Zafar, the young man who organizes public forums for the Portland Ahmadi chapter said there is no longer the harmony between the groups that he experienced right after September 11th. It is why he and the Portland chapter sponsored the forum to open communication between the Portland community and all levels of law enforcement.

Mayfield’s case is a reminder of the apparent missteps that can occur when considering race and religion on simplistic terms. It is something all the forum speakers wish to avoid in the future.

“Over the past five years, America has lived in fear,” said Rasheed Reno, President of the Portland Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. “That fear intensified with the infamous Portland 7. It brought into question whether Muslims are loyal to the U.S.”

Reno said that blame for the violence in the Middle East has fallen on Islam, but public fear is due more to the lack of understanding than the overt actions of a few. He told the forum audience of about 100 that the Quran requires its followers to adhere to local laws and support their local government. Reno clarified the misperceptions that the Quran demands authority over the government.

“The only thing the Quran demands is that Muslims are free to practice their religion,” he said. “Otherwise, all other obedience is required. Religious leaders are not given authority over government leaders.”

It is a stark difference to the images of some theocracies in the Middle East that most Americans hold as the only way of Islam. The ongoing protests and violence surrounding the publication of cartoons depicting the image of Mohammed by the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, is the latest example of the singular views the West has about the Muslim world and how Muslims view the West.

While images of chanting crowds denouncing Denmark and the U.S. are marked with burning flags and buildings, little of the vast differences of opinion within the Muslim world are being shown in the Western media. The Ahmadi are one of many Islamic sects voicing their condemnation not only over the cartoons, but the resulting violence from protests around the Middle East and South Asia. Their pleas for calm have been largely drowned out by militant groups seizing on the unrest and the media reaction on both sides. It has become a war of images that segregate the Muslim world and the West.

It is a world the Ahmadi know well. They have long been persecuted throughout the Muslim world for their beliefs.

Persecution of the Ahmadi

The Ahmadi, along with other minority Islamic sects, are systematically outlawed in many parts of the world. And for the Ahmadi, who claim 200 million members in over 180 countries, it means they find little peace, except in their cherished Quran and their community.

The Ahmadi movement was established in 1889 by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in India. The Ahmadi hold to the teachings of the Quran, though believe that Muhammad was not the last prophet. That ideology has brought Ahmadi followers the condemnation of the two major Islamic sects, the Sunni and the Shiite. There are over 150 Islamic sects established around the world, but most are small in comparison to the Sunni branch. Sunnis, considered the traditionalists, comprise over 80 percent of the Muslim world. Shiites count for about 10 percent. Even they have many differences.

Both sects denounce the Ahmadi has heretical and have been the force against the Ahmadi in many parts of the world. The Ahmadi face the most persecution in Pakistan, which basically outlawed the sect in 1974, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Jane’s Strategic Advisory Services out of Britain issued a report in January that warns the persecution of the Ahmadi is likely to continue as the sect grows. But, it makes an interesting point that it may not be for ideological reasons as much as their growth poses a threat to the control of the traditional Sunni and Shiite sects.

Pakistan:

Amnesty International is one of the leading organizations sounding the alarm for the Ahmadi in Pakistan. The most violence centers in the Punjab province, in northern Pakistan. Pakistan considers Ahmadi as non-Muslim and has enacted laws that justify their persecution in the country.

Pakistan established the Second Constitutional Amendment Act in 1974 which labeled all Ahmadi as non-Muslim. That one designation has effectively cut off the Ahmadi from almost all the rights of Muslims in the country. Even the simple act of voter registration is impossible for the Ahmadi, as each voter must take an oath to affirm the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad. Even obtaining a passport requires Pakistanis to affirm the prophethood of Muhammad, declare the Ahmadi as non-Muslims and denounce their leader. Add to that the blasphemy laws in the country and one can see how the Ahmadi are systematically cut off from their own country.

The U.S. has done little to help the situation. The Bush Administration desperately needs Pakistan in its “War on Terror.” So it effectively ignores the plight of the Ahmadi, Christians, Hindus and reformist Muslims in the country. The U.S. Department of State has issued reports on the conditions of the minorities in Pakistan but has come short of designating Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” (CPC). Without the designation, the U.S. is free to continue its relationship with Pakistan without holding them to account for the plight of their minorities.

The U.S. has signed a deal with Pakistan for $3 billion over the next five years, but remains virtually closed when it comes to opening exports. In 2004, Humnayn Akhtar Khan, Pakistan’s commerce minister, complained that the U.S. was failing to provide export opportunities between the countries. A Washington Post article in late 2004 stated that the Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) has helped nations such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but does not cover countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. It is stunning coincidence that they are the three countries most antagonistic toward the Ahmadi.

Indonesia:

The U.S. got a little insight into the political and religious environment of Indonesia from the devastating tsunami that hit the region in December, 2004. But all the coverage did little to convey the deep hatred some Muslims have for the Ahmadi in the country. Recently, Ahmadi leaders have gotten assurances from the Indonesian National Police for protection against violent attacks. It has done little to stem those attacks, but there are some government agencies looking for ways to improve the situation.

Bangladesh:

Bangladesh is fast becoming the most dangerous place on earth for the Ahmadi. Amnesty International issued their concerns two weeks ago over the incendiary actions of the Khatme Nabuwat Movement on the Ahmadi in Dhanikhola. Law enforcement agencies stopped an attempt to attack the Ahmadi Mosque Feb. 10, but the movement threatens to continue attacks. A group of 4,000 Nabuwat followers gathered near the town to hang a sign board that declares March 24 as the date they would overtake the Ahmadi Mosque in Sylhet and others on later dates. Reports from Bangladeshi newspapers state that over 500 police and law enforcement was there to stifle the latest mob attacks.

Again, the violent protests and attacks are aimed at stopping the Ahmadi from worshipping. But the government has done little to calm the uprising.

Other Islamic Voices:

There are about 1.3 billion Muslims around the world, with about 2 million in the U.S. Of the estimated 150 sects, each of the smaller sects outside the mainstream Sunni and Shiite branches are subjected to various levels of discrimination, harassment and violence. It all stems from the interpretation of the Quran and other writings of those in power.

It is the radical sects that are using Islam and their power to eradicate the other sects. But their numbers are small compared to the entire Muslim World. There have been growing attempts in all the sects to come together for peace that is largely overlooked in the West. Last summer Jordan’s King Abdullah hosted over 170 of the world’s leading Muslim scholars in Amman to look for ways to work together for peace. The outcome was a series of pronouncements that included labeling anyone who accepts Islam’s basic beliefs as a Muslim. It sounds very simple, yet it is that very point that has so many sects fighting among themselves.

Another important statement was that the scholars agreed to a “mutual recognition” of Islam’s eight main schools of legal interpretation. The mutual respect for their similarities and differences is a great step towards lessening the harsh rhetoric of some clerics who are using Islam as a weapon. But, there is much more to be done inside the Muslim world, and just as importantly, from the West. Most of the conditions ripe for recruiting young members into the violent reaches of some clerics are as old as the religion itself. Without decent economic and political transparency, little will be accomplished to sway the tide. While the leaders of these movements come from well-educated and financially secure backgrounds, the masses are disenfranchised, under-educated and poor with little hope of a decent future.

It has become all too apparent in the world’s flashpoints in Iraq, Palestine and Iran.

FBI Agent Jordan pointed to the dual focus the West and Muslim World must adapt to coexist peacefully. He noted the role of the FBI is two-fold. “We wear two hats,” he told the Portland forum audience. “Our primary role is to prevent terrorism. The second is to protect civil rights.”

The future will depend on how well he, the FBI and the world adapts to that role.

Suggested links for more information:

U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation:  http://www.fbi.gov

Amnesty International: http://web.amnesty.org