ick up any newspaper or watch any news report these days and you are confronted with vivid images of Muslims in trial.  Occupation in Palestine and Iraq, shameful prisoner abuse, and the countless senseless deaths of innocent civilians and the destruction of infrastructure are all clear examples anyone can point to.  Maher Arar’s deportation to Syria and subsequent torture, civil liberties being threatened in numerous countries and other examples, all lead the Muslims around the world to wonder what is happening.

In addition to atrocities being committed against Muslims by other groups, Muslims themselves are very good at providing abhorrent material for international media to cover.  The gang rape of Mukhtaran Mai in Pakistan, honour killings in Jordan and other countries and the misapplication of Shariah in numerous places offer observers plenty of reasons to be critical of Muslims. 

In the past few centuries, no one has really bothered to look too deeply into Muslim countries nor is anyone even vaguely aware of the many contributions Muslims have made to the world.  Only since 9/11 have people’s appetites for information about Islam surged to the point where Muslims and Islam are being examined very closely. 

There is a considerable cadre of journalists, pundits and casual observers who use isolated incidents concerning Muslims to discredit Islam.  By equating the actions of the followers with the principles of Islam, these individuals seek to malign the faith itself, equating Islam with terrorism and hatred and characterizing Muslims as the “other“, dismissing commonalities and similarities, particularly with regards to human rights, justice, and brotherhood. 

Of particular interest these days however, is the emergence of Muslims who raise complaints and point out their grievances with other Muslims.  While some of the points these commentators raise are certainly legitimate, many of them cross the very line that we accuse some journalists of crossing: that is, criticizing Islam itself based on the actions of the Muslims. 

No one should be foolish enough to think that these criticisms are no worse than those made by other commentators.  The fact is that these will have far more serious consequences for us if we continue to ignore Muslim media darlings who propagate inaccurate information about Islam and make statements on the basis of incomplete, incorrect or improper understandings of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Just to be sure, this is not an indictment of every Muslim commentator who has and makes statements to the media on behalf of or with respect to Muslims and issues related to Islam.  There are many honest, objective individuals and groups who seek to educate the general population and the media about Islam and issues related to Muslims at home and around the world.  These same voices are ready to identify where Muslims are acting contrary to their faith and to advance an enlightened opinion about the state of the Muslims around the world.  But the fact is that there are some who are not like this at all.

There are three main reasons why we as every day, middle path Muslims need to wake up and see who is speaking for us.  The first is the “I’m Ethnic, So You Can Trust Me“ problem.  Most Muslims in North America and Europe are visibly different and are from a diverse array of countries.  Because the principles of Islam are not widely known, it is reasonable to assume that any person who (stereotypically) looks like a Muslim will have some credibility when speaking. 

Having established some ’visual credibility’, many Muslim commentators are then free to voice any opinion they like.  This could be of tremendous use but unfortunately the loudest Muslim voices are often the ones that seek to identify themselves as “progressives“.  Following the thought process through, if someone is a so–called “progressive“ Muslim then naturally the rest who do not agree with the commentator’s position, right or wrong, will be labeled as “regressive“. 

As an example, some Muslims recently tried to use the Ontario Arbitration Act to mediate some family disputes.  The decisions would have had to conform to Ontario law and participation by the parties would have been voluntary.  Even after a full review by former Ontario Attorney General Marion Boyd and much debate, misinformation continued to be spread about the scope and nature of these tribunals.  In fact, much of the opposition was spearheaded by Muslims and some Muslim groups who saw that this was simply going to result in Shariah being introduced into Canada, with the same zeal of its misapplication in other countries.  “Progressive“ Muslims led us to believe that the Shariah is anti–woman and that poor uneducated Muslim women would be forced into these tribunals by misogynistic Imams and Mullahs.  Though certainly not without its problems, the plan was never given the chance and Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty abandoned the facility completely for all religious groups.  Simply put, the problem was that people who neither understood the actual nature of the Shariah nor the issues related to these arbitration proceedings, used their incorrect perceptions to scuttle what could have been a very effective program. 

Finally, and most importantly, the reason why Muslims must learn to advocate for Islam is that if we continue to remain silent in the wake of the propagation of misinformation by certain Muslim commentators, when we eventually do speak up, our words will fall on deaf ears.  The fact is that there will come a time when the public will assume that the wrong information they heard is actually what Islam and Muslims are about.  When that happens we will be unable to reveal the true spirit of Islam because our voices will have been crowded out by the loud and ignorant ones.   

The thread that links these issues together is that there is a dreadful lack of accurate knowledge about Islam available to our friends and neighbours.  If we are not prepared to show others what Islam is really about by first acting like Muslims and then ensuring that we are prepared to speak up as appropriate, we are doing ourselves and Islam a tremendous disservice.  Nature abhors a vacuum and right now it is being filled by ignorant Muslim voices ruining it for the rest of us.  If we want to ensure that the moderate voice remains relevant and important, we have no choice but to act.