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Moderate Muslims Can Bridge Gap

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By FAROOQ MITHA

Published: November 19, 2007

Recently I found myself at lunch with members of the Tampa Bay community, discussing the topic of Islam and the West. As an American and a Muslim, I am in an interesting position to discuss the issue.

The questions posed during the lunch are questions we often hear presented by the media and important figures in our community: Where are the moderate Muslims? And why don't we hear from them?

There is a growing gap between the Western world and the Muslim world that we must bridge. These questions we ask as Westerners are valid. But the reason we don't hear moderate Muslim voices isn't because they don't exist. The Muslim community in America, to its own fault, has generally been an exclusive, self-contained community. It was only after the tragedy of 9/11 that it began to reach out and show the non-Muslim community that Islam is a religion made up of diverse, law-abiding people and not a violent religion as often portrayed.

Moderate Muslims must be proactive in taking the voice of Islam back from the extreme elements with a firm knowledge of their faith and what it really teaches about issues such as terrorism, war and interaction with Christians and Jews. To do this, Muslims need to have a strong understanding of the history and context of their faith, which will allow moderate leaders to think outside the box on controversial issues and realize the importance of getting involved in their local communities. The majority of Muslims are moderates and, for these people, complacency is not an option.

As Americans we must believe it is unacceptable for the majority of our population to know little about Islam and the history, culture and contributions of its societies. Wouldn't it make sense to teach our future leaders about the more than 1 billion Muslims in the world? Shouldn't we hold our media responsible for often failing to report the condemnations of violence by the majority of Muslim leaders or the acts of goodwill carried out by the Muslim community? Do we realize it is our government that supports some of the most active proponents of radical Islam, such as Saudi Arabia, our strongest Arab ally in the Middle East? Not only were 13 of the 19 9/11 hijackers Saudis, but a 2006 study indicated 45 percent of foreign militants targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia.

These are critical issues that should concern both Muslim and non-Muslim communities. There need not be what has been labeled by some as a "clash of civilizations" between Islam and the West. In the United States, we are in a unique environment where the freedom to express thoughts and ideas could go a long way in erasing the ignorance that lies on both sides. It will surely take strong and consistent efforts from Muslims and non-Muslims if we truly wish to bridge the gap and live together in peace, not only in America but in the world at large.

Farooq Mitha is a law student at the University of Florida and conducted research in the Middle East on economic and legal reform.

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