Moderate Muslims: The New Target?

On March 21^st, over 150 federal agents raidedthe offices of several prominent Muslim organizations and the homes of some ofthe most respected members of the American Muslim community, located in NorthernVirginia. For over twenty years, the Muslim leadership associated with theInternational Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT)one of the targets of the raid, has been at the forefront of many progressive,moderate, intellectual and liberal initiatives taken by American Muslims.

The raids, according to authorities, are investigatingalleged links between IIIT and terrorist organizations. No one has been arrestedand no charges have been made yet.Theterrorism task force is hoping it will find some evidence in the material,computers and files, it has confiscated from the Herndon offices of IIIT. IIITis a research institute that has invested two decades and millions of dollars insearch of "the Islamic epistemology" – a magic wand that when discoveredwould instantly restore the lost glory of the Islamic civilization. Needless tosay it is still looking. I think the task of reading through all the materialthat IIIT produces, every third word of which is epistemology and every secondword is maarifah, which means the same in Arabic may actually constitutecruel and unusual punishment. In a different situation I might of havesympathized with the Feds, but now I think they deserve it for terrorizing theMuslim com

The raids on IIIT and the Graduate School of Islamic SocialSciences (GSISS pronounced Jesus) are an attack on the most moderate, mostpro-American of Muslims. These raids have sent a shiver down the spine of theAmerican Muslim community. If people like Dr. Taha Al-alwani are also targets inthe War on terrorism, then this war is indeed a war against Muslims and notterrorists. Dr. Al-alwani the president of GSISS is a leading liberal Muslimthinker who advocated that American Muslims adopt the festival of Thanks Givingas an Islamic festival, since Islam is all about thanks giving.

The IIIT community has played an important role inpromoting education and liberalism amongst Muslims. They have advocated Muslimparticipation in America’s mainstream by supporting the creation ofinstitutions such as the American Muslim Council. They created the GSISS toproduce "Made in America Imams," a sure way of promoting liberal Islam bycutting of the need for importing conservative Imams trained in anti-Westernplaces like Saudi Arabia.

In the last few months, the Bush administration hassystematically disengaged itself from the American Muslim community. In theimmediate aftermath of September 11^th, President Bush was indeedheroic in making several statements, and appearances with Muslim leaders, toprotect the civil rights, properties, businesses and places of Worship ofAmerican Muslims. Muslims recognize that if he had not been so supportive, thebacklash against the community would have been very severe. But that was in2001. Since the beginning of this year, the White House has become completelyinaccessible to Muslims.

The administration has discontinued almost all kinds ofprevious contacts with mainstream Muslim organizations. Things are so bad thateven public relations contacts, such as Eid celebration in the White House thatwere routine in the past, are now on hold. Even the American Muslimorganizations that endorsed the candidacy of George Bush and campaigned for himin 2000 now have no access to their President. The combination of estrangementfrom our President and the continued raids by the authorities on Muslimorganizations and charities has slowly induced a feeling of fear, uncertainty,and melancholia in the community that is beginning to feel as if it is undersiege by its own government.

Increasingly Muslims fear that they may be becoming avictim of the growing frustration within the administration. The war against theAl-Qaeda operatives still hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan is not going sowell. Both Osama Binladen and Mullah Omar are still missing. While theauthorities continue to detain over a 1000 people at home, there has been nomajor breakthrough against the so-called network of terrorists hiding inside theUS. The anthrax bomber is still at large. On the international front nobody,neither the so-called pro-Western Arab regimes nor Western allies in Europe, arewilling to support a US attack against Iraq. Washington is spending billions andafter the laudable liberation of Afghanistan, has little to show for itsefforts. Muslim leaders feel that this raid against moderate Muslims may well bea desperate attempt by the authorities to find something that it can use toclaim as another victory in its war on terror.

One of the most debilitating effects of raids on moderateMuslim institutions is the power it gives to those conservative Muslims who arecritical of the US and see the war on terror as essentially a global war onIslam. These raids weaken the position of Moderate Muslims who are inviting theglobal Muslim community to do its best to undermine extremism and intolerancewithin the Muslim World.

This was supposed to be a war on terrorists, the radicalextremists who advocate violence against the US, not against moderate Muslimswho promote democracy, education and interfaith relations. More and more Muslimsare feeling that if moderate Muslims become as much a target as extremists thenperhaps the war on terror is slipping into a war on American Muslims.

Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of International studies atAdrian College. He is the Vice President of the Association of Muslim SocialScientists and is also on the board of the Center for the Study of Islam andDemocracy.