A visit to the friendly people of ‘The Great Satan’

[Al-khiyal]

Readers might recall my article entitled ‘A Visit to the Friendly People of the "Axis of Evil"’, detailing my first visit to Iran. I rang an American friend from Tehran to offer greetings from ‘the Axis of Evil’; perhaps I should have rung an Iranian friend from Philadelphia to offer greetings from ‘the Great Satan’! Just as I found the Iranian people to be anything but evil, I found the American people on my first ever visit to be anything but Satanic. A report of the travels of an Evangelical Christian might not unduly interest Muslims – except for the fact that my visit raised several vital points for the British Muslim community, with lessons to be learnt and opportunities to be grasped – not least to aid their suffering brethren in Palestine and Iraq.

It is not uncommon to come across American Evangelicals working in Britain. I have several American friends, which is why I find it extremely tiresome and offensive when some Muslims (thankfully, a minority) attempt to demonise all Americans for the misdeeds of their politicians. It is simply a mirror image of hostile commentators demonising all Muslims for the misdeeds of fanatics. However, what was important in this trip was that I was able to gauge the opinions of Americans on their home turf.

There are not many Evangelical Christians with PhDs in Islamic Studies, and fewer yet who have met the President of Iran, the founding President of Algeria, the Queen of Jordan and many prominent British Muslim leaders, as well as appearing on Iranian TV, the Islam Channel and Al-Jazeera, together with writing for Muslim publications such as the ‘Muslim Weekly’. Hence, it should not surprise anyone that when US Evangelical churches wanted specialist knowledge on Islam, they should invite someone from Britain! This is one aspect of my visit which was brought home to me – as Americans freely confessed, they know little about Islam.

This is a vital area which Muslims need to address. Recently, a prominent and ardently pro-Israeli US Evangelical issued a book which along with much other nonsense, asserted that whilst Christians believed that Jesus was born of a virgin, Muslims believed He was created from dust! Such ridiculous ideas are likely to be believed if no one corrects them. So why haven’t Muslims done so? Remember, the US Evangelical community is extremely large – over forty million and rising – and very influential. If Muslims fail to engage this community then more hostile elements will – and the result will be more suffering for their brothers in the Muslim heartlands.

One idea that was presented to me in America and which I had to refute was that if ‘suicide bombers’ were placed in pig skins, they couldn’t enter Paradise. I first encountered this idea when a US congressman claimed that American forces employed the tactic against Muslim guerrillas during their conquest of the Philippines. Leaving aside the ethics of such an action, I replied that the idea was ‘garbage’ – Muslims believe that martyrs immediately enter Paradise, and expect that the foe might well desecrate the bodies of Islamic martyrs. Again, why have not Muslims explained this? Of course, it could be argued that such an explanation is more powerful and, frankly, more credible coming from an Evangelical Christian, especially a Briton, but ultimately, the responsibility must lie with Muslims to explain their faith.

On a more positive note, whilst ministering in Chicago, where I was asked to speak about ‘the Jihad of al-Qaida’, I found that people knew nothing of events such as the Sykes-Picot agreement, the Balfour Declaration, the overthrow of Premier Mossadeqh in 1953, etc., but once they knew, they were unanimous in recognising that such policies should be condemned. Indeed, I was very surprised that when I quoted the US State Dept. on the discrimination suffered by Israeli Arabs, in the context of being one of the issues on which Al-Qaida builds its support, the audience agreed that such discrimination was immoral. Perhaps Arabs and Muslims should emphasise this fact more.

That was an abiding feature of my visit to America – I found that ordinary Americans, including US Evangelicals, whilst obviously holding theological differences with Islam, were not at all hostile to Muslims and Arabs, and were willing to recognise that Muslims had legitimate grievances, not least over Palestine and Iraq. Of course, America has its fair share of bigots, and unfortunately they often have influence, but I came away convinced that if Arabs and Muslims presented their case properly to the American public, and especially relating their suffering to that of Native Americans (Red Indians) and Blacks under Segregation, much progress could be made. I often find that Muslims – despite the Islamic precept of ‘sabr’ (patience/perseverance) - are often defeatist about American popular attitudes, imagining that most Americans are incurable Islamophobic and anti-Arab bigots, especially Evangelicals, yet I can honestly say that I encountered none of this during my visit.

[Al-khiyal]

When I’m in a foreign land, I think it impertinent to criticise the government of that country, so when I was asked questions about the Bush administration’s policies, I declined to answer, since as I explained, my response might involve negative criticism (I freely do so in my own country!), and I would not want to embarrass my hosts. However, I was surprised by the widespread scepticism about Bush’s policies, notably on Iraq. Indeed, one store in New York I visited was selling T-shirts and caps emblazoned with the date of Bush’s last day in office! Most Americans I met – secular and Evangelical – could see no good in remaining in Iraq, and wanted to be out ASAP.

Among the vital points that emerged during my visit were the following three. Firstly, to explain Al-Qaida’s emergence, I related the relevant hadiths on the sanctity of Arabia. From a Western secular viewpoint, US troops were invited into Arabia by the Saudi government. However, I asked the audience in Chicago how they would react if on the next Royal visit, the President should give Virginia to the Queen! The thought amused the audience, but they all stated that such an action was unconstitutional, and that President Bush would be impeached if he attempted it. I explained that effectively, the Qur’an and Sunnah operate as the ‘constitution’ of Islam, and thus the Saudi action was void. The audience gave signs of a sudden enlightenment – now they could understand what the problem was.

Similarly, when I gave a talk on ‘Shari’ah and Democracy’, I explained how some Muslims regard the concept of Shura (consultation), allied to ‘ijma (consensus) as analogies to democracy. More interesting was when I explained the opposition of some Muslims to democracy. I asked what the opposite of democracy was: different people in the audience answered ‘dictatorship’ and ‘tyranny’. However, I explained that the objection of some Islamists to democracy is not the idea of elections, etc., but rather to ‘man-made law’ as opposed to divine sovereignty. Again, the audience found this extremely illuminating. Since Americans pride themselves on being the greatest democracy in the world, the ‘sweet land of liberty’, diatribes against democracy by some Muslims will be misinterpreted as expressions of support for oppression.

Finally, I emphasised the distinction between Offensive and Defensive Jihad, noting that since Sunnis have no Caliph, they cannot do the former, and that Shia, and thus Iran, cannot do so until the Twelfth Imam/Mahdi comes, and Jesus returns as his military commander (the very points I made in Tehran last year). Thus even if Iran had a nuclear arsenal ten times that of America, it cannot assault America in an Offensive Jihad, but can only respond in Defensive Jihad if attacked. Further, I emphasised that according to Surah 8:66, if the enemy in Offensive Jihad is more than twice as strong as the Islamic State, then war is shelved. This was startling to many listeners, and I’m sure enabled them to sleep more easily. Perhaps if Muslims and especially Shia, presented these facts to the US public, the possibility of confrontation in the Gulf would be reduced.

Readers might remember an article of mine called ‘The Lunacy of Racial Profiling’, and I utilised the same concept, showing the audience an array of prominent Arab-Americans, many of them looking distinctly Nordic or Hispanic. This shocked them, but showed how ineffective such profiling is. Whilst travelling from Philadelphia to Chicago, a charming young lady working for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) called me out to search my bag and confiscated some of my toiletries because of their size. She was only doing her job, but she did it with courtesy, sensitivity and professionalism. I hope this will encourage Muslims and Arabs concerned about their treatment whilst flying. I spoke to a young Black lady (perhaps a convert) working for the TSA who was a hijab-wearing Muslimah – again an encouraging sign of commitment to diversity. Significantly, when visiting the ruins of the World Trade Center, among the poster photos on the railings I saw was that of a hijabi Muslimah in tears.

I was surprised by how culturally similar America was to Britain – I never felt as though I was in a foreign country, as I even do when visiting my wife’s beautiful country (Switzerland). The countryside in Pennsylvania was breathtaking, but the beauty of the character of the American people surpassed even that. Everywhere I went I was met with friendliness and courtesy (not just by Evangelicals). I found people eager to speak to me because I was British! People would say to me ‘I just lur-ve your accent!’.

This provides a great opportunity for British (as opposed to American) Muslims, especially those raised here, notably such effective commentators like Salma Yaqoob and Anas Altikriti. Whilst 9/11 was carried out by foreigners, 7/7 was effected by UK Muslims, so to hear British Muslims on a public tour explaining the issues of injustice that Al-Qaida exploits whilst condemning the violence would be extremely interesting to the US public, and help US-Muslim relations, as well as the Palestinians and Iraqis – and remember, Americans will ‘just lur-ve your accent’!

A visit to the friendly people of ‘The Great Satan’

[Bent_Bladi]

interesting article! thanks for sharing...

I have several American friends, which is why I find it extremely tiresome and offensive when some Muslims (thankfully, a minority) attempt to demonise all Americans for the misdeeds of their politicians.

Ugh! I know what he means!!! Some people back fil blad (and they're not just Muslims) attack me (even though i'm 102.4% Arab and wear hijab) because i live in america.

Of course, America has its fair share of bigots, and unfortunately they often have influence, but I came away convinced that if Arabs and Muslims presented their case properly to the American public, and especially relating their suffering to that of Native Americans (Red Indians) and Blacks under Segregation, much progress could be made. I often find that Muslims – despite the Islamic precept of ‘sabr’ (patience/perseverance) - are often defeatist about American popular attitudes, imagining that most Americans are incurable Islamophobic and anti-Arab bigots, especially Evangelicals, yet I can honestly say that I encountered none of this during my visit.

I agree with him... we aren't doing enough to speak out. Bas Alhamdulilah we've started. InshaAllah it'll grow and become more widespread and people will begin to see the lies that were presented to them about Muslims.

Thus even if Iran had a nuclear arsenal ten times that of America, it cannot assault America in an Offensive Jihad, but can only respond in Defensive Jihad if attacked.

interesting point! but i mean, i don't think America will base its decisions on how much Iran will base its actions on religion........