America is not at war with Islam

"We are not at war with Islam. This is a war within Islam. A small minority of violent killers seek to impose their view on the vast majority of Muslims who want the same things all of us want: economic opportunity, education, and the chance to build a better life for themselves and their families." — Sarah Palin (believe it or not!)

Dear readers, I have been reading and answering your comments. I am impressed by your intellect, your eloquence, your politeness, and your kind words of praise. I told my writer friends here in New Jersey — it is such a pleasure writing these letters to the people of Bangladesh. You have so much to teach us Americans about how to live and relate to each other in a good way. Here, the once-civil tone has deteriorated, and bigotry has reared its ugly head.

I am disappointed, but by no means surprised by the level of ignorance that is bound to ramp when the masses glom onto an issue. How quickly we Americans, as a people, can lapse into ignorant prejudice, and once in prejudice mode, how ugly our behaviour can become!

Last Thursday afternoon, I noticed a bumper sticker affixed to a stop sign. The message was: Stop Islam. I stopped the car and peeled off the bumper sticker. Horns honked. Some people were supportive, and some cursed me as they drove past. I didn't care. I had as much right to peel it off as some sicko had to stick it to the sign. Free Speech. Thanks, Founding Fathers!

We Americans may be the only people on earth whose national identity is defined by its founding legislation, especially Article One of The Bill of Rights. How many people outside the US grasp the culturally formative significance of the wording? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

What does this mean? It means we, the people, then as now, are suspicious of big government. The US Constitution was designed to spare Americans from the dictatorship of the majority. Here, ignorant people cannot force legislation that restricts the actions of an unpopular minority. It means we have the right to be prejudiced and spew hate speech as individuals, and even gather in angry, pitchfork-wielding groups, but as Americans we must provide sanctuary for religious freedom and value the right of our opponents to deliver their disagreeable points of view.

Most Americans erroneously think that these values come from Christian European roots.

During the Dark Ages, when the Islamic Moors swept into Europe, they instituted a policy of religious tolerance that was radical by European standards. This fact was admired by our Founding Fathers, especially the Freemasons among them, like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, who credited the Moorish Invasion with igniting the Renaissance, saving scientific thought, and protecting minorities like the Jews from religious persecution. The same year the Moors were driven off the continent, the Inquisition began in Europe, and in some sense, continues to this day. The Founding Fathers, by studying the results of the free exchange of ideas and tolerance, concluded that freedom of speech and religious practice was critical to the creation of the type of society they envisioned: an individualistic paradise where anyone (which, in those days, meant any white male) could go as far as his intellect and work ethic would take him. In a historic sense, we owe the First Amendment to a traditional Islamic value.

Unfortunately, unlike the US, it seems like Europe has learned nothing from the Moors. Horrible religious oppression like a government banning minarets (Switzerland) and the outlawing of burqa (France) make Americans understand how something like Nazism could have risen in Europe, and how easily it could rise there again. Even American bigots would never willingly give their government such power.

The triumph of the Tea Party — Conservative Republicans reacting against President Obama, means that many Americans continue to mistrust big government. Americans do not want their freedoms curtailed, and we all certainly reject being told what to do, but sadly, as a nation, we often will not hesitate to curtail the freedoms of others. Recent examples of this double standard include the wrongful imprisonment of innocent Muslims in the United States without due process, and the torture of Muslim prisoners of war abroad. Most Americans, Liberal and Conservative, are appalled. Wrongdoers in the government and the military are always eventually taken to task by the values expressed in the Constitution.

Today's anti-Islamic climate in this country is disturbingly reminiscent of the anti-Japanese sentiment prevalent after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, or that creepy form of racism practiced against blacks in Boston in the 1970's. By historical standards, anti-Islamic sentiment is not nearly as widespread or onerous as other ugly hate episodes in our past. Historically, we have legislated hatred against Native Americans, Blacks, Mormons, Catholics, Japanese, and Gays. Prejudice is not unexpected. Ignorant people will hate, because hatred is easy. But here, the free expressions of prejudice signal the beginnings of a dialogue that eventually lead to a deeper understanding.

Our Founding Fathers understood that we would cease to grow as a nation when we failed to recognise the lessons other nations and cultures can teach. The good news is that just as every hardship is followed by ease, every period of prejudice in the United States is followed by one of embracing.

As I peeled the sticker off the stop sign, it occurred to me that 60 years ago, similar signs of prejudice were prevalent. Prejudice against Japanese Americans was rampant. Now, we share Japanese culture, eat sushi, watch ridiculous Japanese game shows, listen to Japanese music and watch anime. 40 years ago, most white Americans were anti-black. Now African Americans contribute seamlessly to our politics, music, culture, literature and religion. Current climate notwithstanding, I know that the cultural treasures of Islam, its love of lyricism and poetry, the healthy and respectful way of life, devotion to God, love of family, the intellectual inquiry that Islam inspires, will eventually be appreciated and when they are, they will enter the American mainstream and influence the everyday life of my grandchildren 30 years from now.

My grandchildren will look with reproach on this generation's prejudices and ask us which side we were on. As I balled up the remnants of the sticker and drove away this Thursday, I thought, now I have a story to tell them.

A belated happy Eid to you all.

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Frank Domenico Cipriani writes a weekly column in the Riverside Signal called "You Think What You Think And I'll Think What I Know." He is also the founder and CEO of The Gatherer Institute — a not-for-profit public charity dedicated to promoting respect for the environment and empowering individuals to become self-taught and self-sufficient.