altmuslim
By Alan Howard
America today is grieving. Two mass shootings on the same day, and more families weeping and knowing that their mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband will not be coming home.
Last night and again this morning I found myself asking over and over, “why does this keep happening?” And by “this” I mean two different things, gun violence and disaffected Muslims (regardless of political motives) killing people.
I believe that we have two separate issues here: radicalized or politicized Muslims with grievances. The other issue is gun violence. And these two issues converge like two circles in a Venn Diagram at the counter of a gun store somewhere in America.
It is important to point out that the majority of mass shootings in America are perpetrated by non-Muslim white males. Since 9/11 most domestic acts of terrorism in America have come at the hands of groups and/or ideologies that are not related to Islam.
But this does not change what happened in San Bernardino. And for those of us in the American Muslim community, admitting that we have a problem is the first step towards finding a solution. This solution however, cannot be solved without tackling the larger issue of gun control in this country. They are two sides of the same coin, the convergence of two unrelated issues that can have deadly consequences.
American Muslims are largely integrated into the society and fabric of America. Black American Muslims have been here since the time of slavery and thus are indigenous. Other Muslims are immigrants who came here like many of our ancestors in search of a better life and new opportunities. American Muslims are better integrated into society than most Muslims living in Europe, yet we face the same dangers. American Muslims share the same frustrations as mainstream Americans when it comes to jobs and taxes and other things. But we also have to deal with discrimination and stereotyping which can create real barriers to employment or even keeping a job once we have one. If those barriers lead to resentments and rage they can easily find an outlet in violence or joining violent groups who justify their crimes with ideology.
When people have easy access to devices that can kill many people fed by preexisting rage inside regardless of faith, people will get killed.
It is too easy to buy weapons of any sort. It is easier to get a gun than it is for a new driver to get a license.
My teenage son has to study a manual, and then has to take a test in order to get his Learner’s Permit to begin the process of driving a vehicle. Even after getting the Permit he cannot drive without an adult present. And then a year later he has to present himself with a vehicle at a designated location and do a carefully proscribed test with that vehicle to prove that he knows how to be safe and drive it correctly. We do this because getting into a car crash will kill you and potentially others as well. A gun has the same problem. If you do not respect it or understand it and have no training on it, you can kill yourself or other people. Why do I have to go through a process to get a license to drive a vehicle, but I can walk into any gun store and plunk down $500.00 and walk out with a gun despite possibly never having fired one? How does this make sense?
We have two problems that showed up together in San Bernardino. Both can be solved with quick action.
The problem of disaffected Muslims can be dealt with by creating more areas for Muslim youth to integrate through community engagement by mosques with local government or local churches and synagogues. Through interfaith dialogue between faith communities that includes joint youth groups and joint holiday observance. Anti-bullying programs at schools specifically designed to stop the mistreatment that breeds the resentment. Training religious leaders at mosques to identify politicized individuals early and speak with them and intervene with them and in necessary cases inform law enforcement.
The gun issue can be addressed through new laws that will not take away the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution; the right to bear arms is part and parcel of the American experience. Rather common sense laws that make it harder for anyone to walk into a store and purchase one. Waiting periods do not seem like a burden – there can be no reason to rush to get a gun. If you need it for deer or quail season then you simply plan your purchase ahead of that date. And during that waiting period the authorities can use the time to cross-reference your background against criminal records and mental health records. Nobody wants to take away your guns, but making it more difficult to buy one than buying bubble-gum is not a bad idea.
Is either of these methods foolproof? No, a determined person with a grievance will find a way to harm others. The shooting in San Bernardino may turn out to have been an employment dispute and have little if anything to do wit the faith or politics of the shooter, but that does not mean we still do not have a problem.
We always seem to shake our heads and shrug now when there are these incidents. It can seem so large and so insurmountable. But when did we as Americans become too jaded to work to fix something? Throughout our history we have made many mistakes, and we have worked and continue to work slowly but surely on trying to rectify them. Shouldn’t we try to fix these problems too?
Alan Howard has been doing interfaith community work for over 15 years. He is a manager in the IT industry and lives with his son in Atlanta GA.
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