As most Muslims in America know by now, Juan Williams was fired from NPR. His so-called inflammatory comments have made him the poster child of the anti-Islam movement in America. Yea OK, maybe not that far but considering the amount of press his comments have garnered and the amount of buzz on the web and in Muslim circles, I can't help but wonder why are we demonizing Juan?
Juan Williams is an analyst that makes his living providing editorials on political and social subjects. Like all of us, his editorials come from his own personal perspective...which by the way I don't always agree. The comment relating the fear he experiences when on a plane and seeing people in Muslim garb is a bold admission. Particularly, in these days of Islamophobia, (which I also don't agree with but that's another blog) are we to believe his firing to be a result of media outlets being more sensitive and careful in how Islam is paired with terror, radical, anti-American, etc? NOT!
Most analyst, particularly, conservatives speak in languages that create fear in the viewers. This fear isn't coming just from conservative outlets such as Fox but even the liberal outlets do little to separate Islam from the radical. It's heard so much one would think Radical-Islam is a new religion. Juan, I believe spoke not only from his heart but also from the view of many Americans who remember 9/11. He spoke of a trauma that has affected many Americans but rarely do we discuss the healing process, which I wonder, in war times is that what the country wants.
We are at war in Muslim countries; Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Although we no longer use the war time 'shorts' of WWII to generate "patriotism" and anti-whoeverwefighting sentiment, we do use news outlets and hollywood to create a similar phobic state. So, how can we truly have a discourse separating the crimes of a few from a peaceful religion of many. We are able to separate local acts of terror from the perpetrators such as; the shoe bomber, the IRS bomber, the Hutari, Catholic priests, gang violence, etc. We don't blame a race, community or religion for the acts of a few. What we do is acknowledge the inhumaness of the act, find methods of prevention and for the victim, discuss ways to heal and not displace our anger or anxiety.
Juan started the conversation not in an accusatory manner as O'Reilly, Beck and other fear-mongers but by speaking from a perspective of personal fear and contextualizing that fear at the scene of the crime itself. Honest dialogue isn't always easy, sometimes hearing the truth hurts but from truth, on both sides, we can have a legitimate discourse, begin to heal and free ourselves from the illegitimate fear of a religion.
Let me be the first to tell Mr. Juan Williams that it is okay to fly in a plane with Muslims. 99.9% of Muslims warrant no concern on planes or anywhere, regardless of their dress. But of course, that .1% of Whites, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Europeans, Christians, Jews, Atheists and yes Muslims, we all need to be nervous about.
Why doesn't anyone want to talk about how many people Christians kill in the name of God and nobody is afraid of them...hell I am ...all the time!
ReplyDeleteNot all opposition--and very little i would think--is based on phobia. Rational opposition comes from an actual understanding. When one is opposed by realising that there might be a cultural threat - then that opposition stands. Just as westernization is opposed--and rightly so--in the mid-east. Simply having Mohammedans here is not enough for me; unless there is a huge influx. At the same time - i am content that i do not live on the east coast. I'd like to have had maintained Protestant supremacy anyway. With the collapse of Protestantism for a Judaized Evengelicalism and a near forty percent Papist population... I don't think those that practise Islam are anymore detrimental.
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