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 Say, "O people of the Scripture, come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah. Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we submit (to God) as Muslims." (Aal-Imran: 64)
“For me, it's very important that this show is about Muslims, not about Islam. It's just showing that Muslims are normal people…” - Panelist on a TV show run by Muslims in Australia
Some Muslims have the inclination to go out of their way in order to prove that they are just like everyone else. To prove that they are just as Australian (or British or American) as anyone else. That there Islam does not really make them much different from everybody else. Why would they be different? After all, they obey the law, work hard Monday to Friday, and take it easy on the Weekend with a family barbeque every now and then. They believe in giving others a ‘fair go’ and in being good citizens. In sum, they do most of the things everyone else does. Therefore they are just like everyone else, ‘normal people’.
Those who carry this mentality are also ever-ready to highlight the myriad of similarities between Islam and Western ideology. That they conveniently relegate the glaring differences to the margins of any discussion is not something that they should be condemned for however. After all, there is no ill-intention behind the entire approach. It is built on sincere and admirable intentions. Nevertheless it is also built, as I will argue, on a heap of naivety. Naivety (or ignorance) that assumes that ‘Muslims’ can somehow be divorced from ‘Islam’, whereas in reality the only thing that makes a Muslim a Muslim is their Islam.
The question at the crux of this discussion is really whether we, as Muslims, are really not significantly different to the Non-Muslims? Preceding this question however is another: assuming that there is a significant difference, is it wrong to be different? This is an important question given that the approach of proving similarity implicitly assumes that there is an onus of proof, which assumes, in turn, that there is some issue (or issues), with being different. Yet surely that is not the case. Or is it?
Western thinkers and advocates argue that democracy and liberalism value diversity. The policy of multiculturalism itself is meant to be a policy which sees benefit in diversity and seeks to exploit these benefits. Thus, arguably, the West itself has no issue with people who are ‘different’. Yet deeper analysis would show that the matter is not as black and white, because notwithstanding the theory, in practice we note a variety of concerns.
First we note this idea of ‘minorities’ in the West. A ‘minority’ inherently is defined on the basis of its difference to the majority (otherwise it would not be a minority). Why is there a need for such classifications? Is it because such groups have specific commonalities which others don’t and therefore they need to identified separately in order to have their needs as citizens better taken care of? Arguably that would not be a bad idea (though I would beg to differ), except that we usually don’t hear good things in relation to ‘minorities’ in the West. Rather we hear of the ‘Algerian’ riots in France, the ‘Pakistani’ vigilante in Britain, the ‘Lebanese’ gangs in Western Sydney, the ‘Hispanic’ and ‘Black’ issue in America, and so on.
One must ask whether the needs of such ‘minorities’ have been incorrectly identified, or whether there is an underlying problem in the notion of minorities to begin with. Human beings are human beings after all. They have the same organic needs and the same instincts. They’re core needs are not different. Or are they?
The second thing we note about the claim of the Western value of diversity is the glass ceilings that are more apparent than some would like. Glass ceilings firmly installed above the heads of minority groups. Thus the Americans are over the moon that after 200 years of independence they have a woman and a black contesting for the role of president. Two centuries is not that long, is it? In Australia it took almost a century for a woman to make the bench of the High Court, a bench firmly occupied by white Anglo-saxon males belonging to the higher classes of society. Many similar examples can be presented.
The third thing we note is of the way Western governments and Western media seek to ‘challenge’ different ideas and those who carry them. False propaganda, lies and fabrications, fear-peddling and fear-politics were the main tools used against the ‘Red’ danger, and nothing has changed now as the West seeks to take a stand against the burgeoning Islamic revival. The lack of ideas to counter ideas is only matched by the abundance of politically-charged labels, rhetoric and fear-mongering.
And thus we see that in practice a lot is left desired with the Western claims of equality and valuing diversity.
But let us sideline the above points, for the sake of argument, and assume that truly Western ideals do value diversity and difference. What then is the point of proving similarity? Particularly considering that, in fact, Muslims are not the same as non-Muslims. We are different.
We are different in terms of beliefs, having a unique worldview. We believe in the existence of a unique Creator who has an active sovereignty over all that exists, necessarily including humanity, and that He is different to human beings in every possible way. We believe in Muhammad (saw) being the last and final Messenger and that he received the final and definitive revelation from the Creator. We believe in the ‘unseen’: in angels and other life forms living in parallel worlds. We believe in a Day of Resurrection and being accountable to our Creator. And we believe in all these as being the absolute truth. Further, we believe that any who reject these realities knowingly will spend an eternity in Hell, and that those who confirm them and act upon them will spend an eternity in Paradise.
We are different in terms of actions. We pray five times a day, each time performing a ritual ablution. We fast in Ramadan from dawn till sunset. Our women cover their entire bodies, save only hands and face. We only eat meat slaughtered in a specified manner. The criterion of our actions is the revelation, and not personal benefit.
One could go on and on, but the point would seem clear.
Does this mean we share no similarities with others? Of course not. What it does mean however is that the differences are greater and are defining. The similarities are coincidental.
Allah (swt) commands us in the Qur’an to call others to what is just and correct and to draw a clear distinction on what is a distinction. He says, in one instance,
“Say, ‘O people of the Scripture, come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah. Then, if they turn away, say: ‘Bear witness that we submit (to God) as Muslims…Ibrahim was not a Jew, nor a Christian but he was (an) upright (man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists.” (Aal-Imran: 64,66)
Some people use this verse to justify their approach of highlighting similarities and claiming that the similarities are more important than the differences. This is a misinterpretation because the word sawaa’ does not mean ‘common’, it means ‘just’ (i.e. correct) as the classical mufassirun have noted. Add to this the context of the preceding and proceeding verses which draw clear distinctions between ‘us and them’ such as the one about Ibrahim quoted above, and the point is clear that the command is to call others to Islam with a clarity of what Islam stands for. Focusing on similarities and sidelining differences blurs this required clarity.
To finish - though this is really the start of the discussion, not its end – I want to make the point that regardless of Western ideals or practice there is nothing wrong with being different per se. It is the difference itself that matters. For us, as Muslims we should be proud of our Islam, particularly those aspects of it that are different and unique, for that is what defines apart from others as being Muslim. We have the truth and can assess the realities of the world with a clarity that those without this truth cannot.
Going further still, our best contribution to un-Islamic societies is our Islam, for it is the lone way forward for all humanity. Instead of trying to be accepted as being the same as everyone else, we should have pride in our distinctions and work hard to correctly and intellectually convey those distinctions to others, with a sincere intention of seeking what is good for them. If we hide our difference or seek to portray them as insignificant, we only defeat our own purpose, and harm both ourselves as well as those who could benefit for the treasure that we have been blessed with.
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