Naeem's Blog

I've felt for quite some time great unease with the apologetic tone that many Muslims have employed over the years, especially when discussing certain touchy subjects such as jihad or concubinage.

And I've said before that its high time we take back the narrative of this discourse and stay true to our faith. I really felt Dr. Sherman Jackson expressed my sentiments perfectly in his response to several questions (on Jihad, Apostasy, and Women's Rights) posed to him at the Newsweek On Faith forum:

"These questions are topical and pointed. They are also, however, hegemonic, in that they proceed on the apparent assumption that Western norms (presumed to be uncontested among Westerners themselves) are both the proper point of reference and the most ideal manifestation of the values under consideration. As I have stated in previous posts, this has the effect of forcing Muslims out of an explanatory posture and into an apologetic one, where the aim shifts from simply speaking about Islam to attempting to assuage Western fears, prejudices and misunderstandings. In such a context, the very fact of a Muslim response can, if we are not careful, serve to dignify such fears and prejudices as legitimate, with the result that Westerners end up subjecting Islam and Muslim apologetics to meticulous critique, while leaving their own fears, prejudices and misunderstandings unchallenged."

Then he continues to explain that the answers given by Muslims are inevitably met with suspicion and distrust due to the idealistic nature of the questions and the practical real-life examples with which they are compared. He accurately points out that such a duplicitous approach would cause reproach if enacted upon Christians or Jews:

"On another level, these questions appear to be asking about ideals, while the credibility of the answers given are likely to measured by reality. Imagine a question like, “How does Christianity reconcile the notion of racial and gender equality with the concept of a white, male divinity?” Or “How does Judaism reconcile the concept of “goyim” with Western notions of tolerance and equality?” Then, imagine how honest, learned, conscientious Jews and Christians would feel if the answers they gave were only met by a list of actions carried out by bigoted, unlearned, and or perhaps barely practicing Jews and Christians as proof of what real Christianity and Judaism teaches."

I strongly suggest you to check out the rest of his article as he addresses the three topics with a balanced approach.

But that is not why I'm posting today.

I wanted to bring up the issue of Muslim Anger. Its something that I believe has been relegated to the dustbin of emotions-not-allowed-in-a-post-9/11-world. Its something we have accepted as a detestable state of being. Images of Pakistanis burning effigies, Syrians attacking Danish embassies, and Palestinians throwing stones have led us to feel embarrassed with our anger, our legitimate anger.

As we have done with our understanding of Jihad and Apostasy, we have done with Muslim Anger. We have denied it a voice at the table, casually laughing it away as irrelevant – like some crazy uncle at a family reunion. We have suppressed its reality and denied its significance. We have tried to exorcise it.

But we can not. We must not.

Anger for the sake of truth and justice is an Islamic responsibility. Anger for the sake of Allah is a personal duty.

I really liked what Sr Aaminah wrote about Muslim Anger in her post quite appropriately titled 'Can Muslims be Happy?':

"You gotta believe I feel that way even more so for my Muslim brothers. That anger is justified. It should not be swallowed. And although we should be patient and forebearing and persevere, although we need to trust in Allah’s Plan and know that these are lessons for us, we also do not need to allow ourselves to be trampled upon. There is a time and a place, a right way and a wrong way, to express our anger. But sometimes it does need to be expressed. And because we are humans, some days we are going to be feeling the anger more than others, some days we are going to wish we could just scream at the world. We have to work through that. We have to get control of our nafs, but this is not done by avoiding them or acting as if the problem does not exist. And we must realize that although we have those days of anger, and valid reasons to feel as we do, we also have much to be thankful for and many days of happiness and enjoyment."

And the manifestation of this anger is conditional upon us fighting our nafsi desires, as she correctly states, 'We have to get control of our nafs'.

The anger that I am referring to is not the blind rage fueled by hatred and bigotry and ignorance. It is not the anger of raising your hand to your wife or children. It is not the anger of 'defending' your honor at the masjid. It is not the anger of hating your 'kafir' neighbor.

It is the anger of Hadhrat Ali (ra) when he pulled back his sword in the midst of a raging battle when the enemy spit on his face.

It is the anger of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (ra) when he responded to his son's remark, “Oh my father, on the day of Badr (when I was a kafir) I was avoiding you so we wouldn’t have to fight” by saying, "as for me, if I met you on that day I would have killed you."

It is the anger of our beloved Prophet (saw) when he rebuked Usama bin Zayd for killing the man who exclaimed the Shahada as Usama raised his sword to him, “Did you kill him after he said it (the Shahadah)!?” Usamah replied, “Oh Messenger of Allah, he only said it out of fear of the sword.” “Did you look into his heart?! Oh Usamah,” replied the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him.

It is a controlled anger. It is a focused, purposeful anger. But it is an anger nonetheless.

I am a proud of my Muslim Anger. Are you?

Let me finish off with this one amazing clip of poet Amir Sulaiman. I've watched it over and over again and each time I swear I get goosebumps and teary-eyed.