Islamophobia

The Arab News June 23 Editorial entitled "Islamophobia" is another example of the misguided notion that, if Muslims explain Islam to the West, there will be an outpouring of respect and admiration for us. Many Muslims go a step further, expecting that once they hear “the truth,” non-Muslims will fall in awe of Islam and Muslims and come running to us with open arms, anxious to embrace our religion.

Relatively few Westerners are interested in learning about Islam so long as Muslims continue to demonstrate the character and behavior that have come to define us. The more we explain, the clearer it becomes that we do not live up to the moral and ethical standards we so arrogantly spout off. We speak of Islam as the exclusive religion of peace, justice, patience, tolerance, equality, humility, and generosity. Sadly, this is not how the world sees Muslims and, therefore, Islam. This is our fault, not theirs.

Western Islamophobia is not so much an irrational fear, hatred, or misunderstanding of Muslims as it is a lack of trust. Trust must be earned, and it will not be given in exchange for a few flashy slogans, pretty pictures, and television commercials featuring smiling Muslims. Western wariness of Muslims comes largely from the oppression and violence they see us visit upon one another.

Expecting others to see Muslims as anything other than what we are is naive. For them, Muslim behavior defines Islam. Blaming the West, America, Israel, and our leaders for our internal condition is equally foolish. It is the immature avoidance of the pain of taking an honest look at ourselves, getting off our high horses, and getting down to the business of practicing what we preach. Change comes from within, not from self-deception or external public relations campaigns.

We Are Not Reverts

A Muslim organization recently announced a workshop seeking to explore and curb the supposed disappearance of 60% of “reverts” to Islam. Ignoring these dubious statistics momentarily, the terminology demands our immediate consideration.

“Revert” is apparently a clever term picked up by Muslims in America or England decades ago to describe individuals in those countries who have chosen Islam as their religion. This term is likely well-intentioned and based on a Tradition of Muhammad, i.e. “every human being is born with an innate inclination toward monotheistic belief.” Therefore, a person accepting Islam is, in essence, returning to a previous condition rather than accepting a new one. The logic is sound, but the term “revert” carries a negative connotation in the English language.

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary lists the verb “revert” as “return to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc.” On the surface, this seems like a reasonably accurate expression to describe one who embraces Islam. After all, the reasoning goes, we are born with an instinctual belief in the oneness of God, and Islam is an affirmation of that belief.

Nevertheless, Webster’s also lists a single synonym, “retrogress,” or “go backward into an earlier and usually worse condition.” An online search on The Free Dictionary yields these additional synonyms:

• regress “return to a previous, usually worse or less developed state”
• recidivate “return to a previous pattern of behavior, especially to return to criminal habits”
• relapse “slip back into bad ways; backslide”
• retrogress “return to an earlier, inferior, or less complex condition”

The words listed above also cross-reference “revert” as a synonym, thus classifying it into a family of words denoting backwardness and a lack of progress, and even criminal deviance. To “revert” implies to worsen one’s condition, not improve it. Invoking this perception of new Muslims, no matter how ingenious the word may seem, actually serves in an opposite sense. It is not a fitting description of the process we have undergone, nor is it appropriate when applied to the religion of Islam.

Islam was revealed as a more enlightened, developed, and progressive faith than those practiced by Jews and Christians. It was certainly a radical break with the established traditions of the polytheistic Arabs of the time. While it is true that Islamic belief in the oneness of God harkens back to the message given to previous Prophets, Islam’s system of religious practices and laws represents an evolution into a religion previously unknown to mankind. For example, the number of times for the daily prayer and its permissible locale, i.e. the whole earth, were new concepts rather than the revival of or reversion to prior ones. Following the teachings of Muhammad, implementing Islamic law as he instructed, fasting the month of Ramadan, and thousands of other practices were new manifestations, not old ones. Islam was and continues to be a religion of human progress, not a regression or reversion to a previous, more primitive state. Incidentally, Muhammad and his followers referred to those who accepted Islam as “Muslims” and not by some other name indicating returning or reverting to some past doctrine.

Today, people choosing to enter into Islam are individuals seeking to grow and improve our lives. It is worthwhile to reflect on our value as Muslims, considering we have made a conscious decision to break with our own cultural and family traditions in our search for the right path. Most of us work hard to filter out the customs of those who were born into Islam in other countries from the religious instruction they provide us. This is something most of the world’s Muslims fail to do, even when they leave their homelands. To label us as “reverts” suggests that we have devolved, not evolved. As such, this word not only misrepresents our reality, it also does us grave disfavor in that it is a damaging and destructive term.

Given the negative undertone associated with “revert”, it is necessary for us to re-think the wisdom of employing this word to describe men and women newly entering into Islam. As for those clever Muslims who have selected and continue to employ it, chances are that English is not their first language and, perhaps the unconstructive nuance was lost on them. In any case, while the term has a crafty logical basis in modern English, it has no equivalent term used by Muhammad to describe his followers who underwent the same process. Therefore, it should be left up to us to decide upon a more suitable label if, in fact, anything other than Muslim would suffice.

Finally, it appears that “revert” would be an appropriate word to use in reference to those who at one time embraced Islam and then chose to leave it. They are the ones who have returned to a previous and worse condition. As for the current investigation into the causes for their decision to do so, maybe the Muslim community requires further introspection into its own attitudes toward and treatment of their new brothers and sisters and the people they come from.