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People talk about extremism all the time these days, but because the term isn\u2019t defined clearly, it has come to mean just about anything. These days, it is increasingly become synonymous with Islam, leaving Muslims in the US constantly accused of tolerating, harboring, or even being extremists themselves. The Oxford Dictionary describes an extremist as \u201ca person who holds extreme or fanatical political or religious views, especially one who resorts to or advocates extreme action.\u201d
\nBy this definition, the accusation that the Muslim community is made up of people who tolerate, harbor, or are themselves extremists falls flat. To whatever extent that extremism exists in the Muslim American community, it has been disowned by our organizations, given no refuge in our mosques (particularly after 9\/11 and 7\/7), and is relegated to the margins of our community and the Internet. In the few mosques that have been linked to extremism, individuals have used the facilities to conceal their activities from worshippers and the public at large. For all the complaints that people have about extremism among Muslims, you\u2019d be hard pressed to find one that will unabashedly declare their views to all.<\/p>\n
However, the same is not true when it comes to those whose unabashed hatred of Muslims lead them to defile the very foundation of this country. <\/p>\n
When right-wing pundit Dennis Prager penned a column<\/a> that said that newly elected Muslim congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) \u201cshould not be allowed\u201d to take his oath of office on the Qur\u2019an, he revealed something disturbing about himself and the thousands that rallied to his side. Because the Constitution<\/a> strictly prohibits \u201creligious tests\u201d being used on elected representatives, and the Bill of Rights<\/a> has a strict protection of the freedom of religion, this issue pits the legal and moral foundations of this country against irrational hatred. Praeger and his supporters have chosen the latter, and we now have thousands of people who claim to not be held to the tenets of the Constitution and Bill of Rights when it comes to the pursuit of their Muslim foes. (Thankfully, many thoughtful conservatives \u2013 despite having no love for Islam or Muslims \u2013 have defended<\/a> the rights of Muslims in this case.)<\/p>\n Ultimately, Muslim extremists in the US are few and marginalized, with both Muslim and non-Muslims united against them. To think that elected Muslim representatives, or a population making up some 1% of America, could enforce sharia law by surprise \u2013 as some prophesize \u2013 is laughable. But the real extremists, who seek to discard the legal foundation of this country and set up a Taliban-style \u201cmorals police\u201d to enforce fealty to a state religion, are getting stronger each day. Which one is more of a threat to our society?<\/p>\n Some pundits, unable to find actual Muslim extremists in the US to argue with, seem intent on manufacturing them. CNN\ufffds host Glenn Beck warns<\/a> that if Muslims aren\u2019t \u201clining up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head\u201d, then they will end up \u201cbehind razor wire.\u201d Put another way, Beck issued an extremist threat against Muslims if Muslims don\u2019t engage in extremist actions against extremists. If this were actually to happen, it is reasonable to assume that Beck would respond by claiming it as proof of the maxim that Muslims don\u2019t believe in civil society and rule of law, and resort to violence first. How could this ever be taken seriously? But as Beck\u2019s ratings will attest to, it is.<\/p>\n It is easy to find bloggers<\/a>, commentators<\/a>, radio talk show hosts<\/a>, and many others who state very clearly that Islam should be \u201cdealt with<\/a>\u201d or \u201cconfronted\u201d. They are on some of the most-listened to radio shows, the most-read op-ed columns, and the blogs<\/a> with the highest traffic. But what do they mean by this? Tellingly, each can speak or write forever<\/a> about the \u201cthreat\u201d that Muslims in the US pose, but they have hardly a word about the \u201csolution\u201d. (It would be informative if the media, when bringing these people on the air, would ask that simple question.) They leave no room for \u201cmoderate Muslims\u201d, no respect for Islam as a legitimate faith, and do not want Muslim Americans \u2013 more than half of whom were born in America and know no other home \u2013 as neighbors. Perhaps they haven\u2019t yet bothered to take their rhetoric through to its logical conclusion (the amount of time they devote to this obsession makes it unlikely). They are only responsible for whipping people into a frenzy. What happens next is in the domain of the lynch mob. And we all know where that gets us. <\/p>\n Again, what is the more extremist threat in America? The Muslim bogeyman in America that everyone talks about but nobody can seem to find? Or the thousands of Americans who daily declare their intent to fight their Muslim neighbors with no shame or guilt, and accompanied by silence on the part of our fellow Americans? I believe in the goodwill of Americans, and truly believe that the vast majority would not allow Muslims to be swept aside in violation of the laws that make our country special. What worries me, however, is that it may take many innocent Muslims being put behind razor wire \u2013 or worse \u2013 for the country to wake up to the threat of the real extremists among us.<\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Which is the extremist threat in America? The Muslim American bogeyman that everyone talks about but nobody can find? Or the thousands of Americans who openly declare their intent to fight their Muslim neighbors?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":530,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-shahed-amanullah"],"yoast_head":"\n