Inevitably, following the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, there were some who were trying to pin the blame on all people they disliked – Muslims, Arabs, black people, refugees.
At the other extreme, we had people denying that Islam had anything to do with this at all, insisting that these were not “real Muslims”.
I feel that the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and admittedly it’s not easy to stick to the path of objectivity with the winds of extremism blowing in gusts from either side.
Let me start by addressing the second group. Yes, the terrorists were Muslim. Denying this is called the “No True Scotsman” fallacy. Obviously they are not representatives of the rest of the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, but they are Muslims, just like the KKK and Anders Breivik are Christians but do not represent Christians in general.
By a huge majority, most Muslims want to live in peace and have no desire to attack anyone. Globally, most of the victims of violence committed by Muslims are themselves Muslim – just as, historically, most of the victims of the violence committed in the name of Christianity were Christians.
In the wake of the attacks, Muslims worldwide immediately voiced their condemnation of the attacks, as did members of other religions and other groups.
This brings me to the first group. Some people find it difficult to understand how it is possible that such radically different groups all claim to follow the same religion. Yet consider how many Christian denominations there are or were, all deriving their code of conduct from the same Bible, yet arriving at such different conclusions.
The truth is that the Qu’ran, the Bible and other scriptures all contain many verses that can be used to condemn or support just about any ideological position one holds. Different groups of Muslims today claim that the other groups are not true Muslims, just as Catholics and Protestants once said of each other throughout Europe.
When we look at the countries ruled by Islam we can see an unwelcome world reminiscent of our own Dark Ages
Most Muslims find within the Qu’ran verses that support peace and acceptance of others – because this reflects the kind of world they want to live in. If we are to address the problem of the violence, we can’t start by pinning it on the wrong group. The terrorists in this case were Muslims from a specific group, radical and extremist. These found within the Qu’ran verses to promote violence, not all that different from how Christians found verses to justify burning “heretics” alive, stoning “witches” to death or owning slaves.
And yet, when one looks at the more moderate Islam, there are still problems to be found. We had the local Imam, Mohamed El Sadi, declaring on live TV that he agreed with the Sharia law which mandates cutting off a hand and foot of someone guilty of petty theft.
Similarly, we find “moderate” Muslims agreeing that gay people should be put to death, as should those who leave Islam. Some even sympathise with the terrorists that attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices, seemingly feeling that violence is justified as a response to something they found offensive.
If this is “moderate” Islam, then we have a problem. It’s a problem because this ideology and attitude is simply not compatible with the modern world, which we have built on a foundation of human rights and secular law.
When we look at the countries ruled by Islam we can see an unwelcome world reminiscent of our own Dark Ages. Atheists, such as myself, face the death penalty in 13 countries, every one of which is under Sharia law. Gay men face the death penalty in 10 countries, again, every one of them ruled by Islam.
Women are treated as inferior beings as an official state policy in many such countries. Saudi Arabia vies with ISIS itself to see who can commit the most human rights abuses.
These aren’t terrorists living outside the structures of society. These are the governments, parliaments and courts of countries around us.
Many Muslims and ex-Muslims are calling for an overhaul of Islam into one which embraces human rights, equality and coexistence. They want an Islam which moves away from the conservative and even regressive, totalitarian movements that have engulfed Saudi Arabia, Iran and many other countries.
Many of these countries were vibrant, modern nations before this style of Islam took over. It is up to Muslims to convince the rest that they are not only not a threat to the modern lifestyle, but they are part of it now.
Their voices should not merely insist that they don’t agree with the extremists but that they want a respect for human rights and freedoms to become the norm, even in countries like Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.
They need to demonstrate an Islam that is compatible with all of this and work to bring it to fruition in all countries where Islam is the predominant faith.
Ramon Casha is chairman of the Malta Humanist Association.