Ending the Politics of Division

On October 19^th, Canadians voted to a Liberal majority government led by Justin Trudeau. His decisive victory came on the heels of a coordinated and deeply funded campaign of hatred against Muslims, organized by Trudeau’s predecessor and chief opponent, Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party. Harper, in his bid for a third term as Canada’s prime minister, thought it would be wise to play on the propaganda-fed public’s anxieties about Islam, and make opposition to Muslims a central plank in his party’s platform. This decision led to his work to keep Omar Khadr in jail, his attempted criminalization of the niqab, his talk about “Barbaric Cultural Practices” when speaking about the Muslim community, and his hatred towards our brothers and sisters in Palestine. He was so successful in this campaign against Muslims that by the end days of the election campaign, the “Muslim issue” received national attention, even though Muslims are less than 5% of the total population.

But, on October 19^th, Canadians spoke loud and clear. The Conservative party suffered a landslide defeat in almost every province, and even in urban portions of their traditional “fortress” in Alberta. While Canadians had many reasons to oppose Harper – he made enemies of First Nation communities, environmental activists, the scientific community and historians – one of the major annoyances Canadians articulated against the Harper regime was divisive politics. This was demonstrated by Rick Mercer, Canada’s most popular political comedian, spending the majority of his video, put out 2 weeks before the election, condemning Harper’s focus on the niqab. This is also why Trudeau repeated his oft-quoted line in his acceptance speech, “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.” He recognized that this rhetoric contributed to his victory. What this shows is that Canadians have demonstrated that they are unwilling to have their country become one where divisive politics can be a pathway to election victory. Canadians have demonstrated that even after years of propaganda, and even though there is still a lot that they do not understand about Islam and Muslims, they will live up to their social values of inclusion and tolerance. This is indeed worthy of praise.

Remnants of Hate

While Harper’s divisiveness was rejected by Canada, Islamophobia still played a large part in determining the outcome of this campaign.

The NDP were the forerunners of this campaign for its first half. The only time they started to fall was when they lost their Quebec stronghold after defending a Muslim woman’s right to wear the niqab. When this drop in numbers was seen nationally, Canadians became worried that the NDP would not be able to win the election and unseat Harper, so they “strategically” supported the Liberals. Quebec’s aversion to our deen still played a crucial role in determining the fate of the election. The NDP may have won if it weren’t so popular in Quebec to hate Islam.

Furthermore, Trudeau – while not actively divisive – is no friend to Muslims. He has supported the violation of our privacy and rights by voting in favour of Bill C-51. He has contributed to the vilification of Islam, by voting for Harper’s Barbaric Cultural Practices Act. He has shown a disregard for Muslim blood overseas by saying Canada needs to have a continued role in Iraq and Syria, as well as supporting the Zionist Entity and claiming that BDS (a movement focused on boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning Israel) has no place on Canadian campuses.

Most importantly, the hatred of Islam is still a cultural force in Canada that can be used against us. Conservatives still received 32% of the popular vote in Canada, and Quebec still showed a palpable aversion to our deen. Furthermore, the media machine is still pushing all the negative misperceptions of Islam – that it is prone to violence, is hating of women, and is incompatible with justice. This media apparatus has not evaporated due to a change in the Prime Minister.

Assessing our Strategy

It is essential for Muslims to recognize that it is vital for us to engage with Canadian society at large and convey the message with eloquence and clarity. We need to make a collective effort to sit down with everyday Canadians, and explain to them why we adhere to Islam, and what this adherence entails. We need to ready ourselves to answer their questions, address their concerns, and embrace the controversies that this discussion might lead to. We need to listen to their problems, understand their concerns, and explain to them the solutions that Islam offers to human problems. In short, we need to create a positive public opinion for Islam.

It is only through these efforts that we can directly tackle the distrust that many Canadians feel towards Islam and Muslims. However, we cannot achieve this task as individuals. It is both unreasonable and impractical to expect every single Muslim to actively explain Islam to non-Muslims. Rather, the leaders of our community must make a systemic effort to reach out to Canada’s civil society. Our imams, shuyookh, and masjid board members should arrange joint events where they can explain the Aqeedah, systems, and societal vision of our deen.

The community should call upon its leaders to shoulder their responsibility to carry the dawah of Islam to non-Muslims to inform them, to educate them, and to explain to them.

RasulAllah (saw): Creating a public opinion for Islam

The validity of this strategy comes from examining the actions of RasulAllah (saw) in creating a public opinion for Islam. We know for a fact that he (saw) didn’t work through Dar-al Nadwa; the parliament of the Quraish. We also know that he refused the crown when it was offered to him. This communicates to us that working through the system will not work because RasulAllah (saw) did not undertake any such action. However, he (saw) and the sahabah (raa) with him took on the challenge of creating a public opinion for Islam: they would engage the society in a discussion about Islam. For example, Abdullah bin Masood (ra) took the task of reciting the Quran to Quraish in the Kaabah. These ayat would challenge Quraish and their practices, while illustrating the correctness of Islam. So despite the small number of Muslims in Makkah (i.e. in relation to the entire population of Makkah), Islam became the discussion point of the city.

Although the success was not seen immediately but these actions had a deep and long lasting impact on Quraish. The impact of these actions was not seen during the lifetime of RasulAllah (saw) but after he passed away. When Abu Bakr (ra) became the Khaleefah, Makkah was one of the three cities which stayed loyal to the Khaleefah when most of the Arab tribes rebelled.

How Can You Create a Public Opinion for Islam ?

In order for us to fight Islamophobia and practice Islam we can do the following:

Organize as a Community:we cannot do this as individuals, nor can Muslim leaders do this without our support. Consequently, we need to work together as organized body to tackle the issue. The leaders in our community need to take the lead in such efforts; the youth of our Ummah are eager to engage in this work if the leaders take the initiative and provide direction and resources.

Outreach to the civil leadership in society:In the Canadian society there are many who take pride in the idea that Canada is an inclusive society such as principled politicians, academics, unions leaders and other activists. We need to reach out to them and alert them to the “retail politics” that is being conducted. Instead of focusing on real issues, opportunistic politicians seek to divide the communities within the society. This will lead to a tense, disharmonious society, which will be difficult to live in.

Explain Islam:  Even though the goal of this dawah effort is not to establish Islam as a way of life in Canada but when we engage the civic leadership we need to explain Islam to them. We need to show how Islam works as a cohesive whole to bring justice to human beings instead of being on the defensive about our deen.

Empower the Community: The masjids and activists should hold regular workshops to show how to discuss Islam with our coworkers, classmates, and neighbors. Such workshops should cover topics such as how to discuss tough topics that the media likes to focus on – without compromise. It should also cover how to engage people so they see the wider perspective. Also, such an initiative should be ongoing that encourages people to share experiences and improve their strategies. 

There is a large segment of non-Muslims who are disenfranchised with the Capitalist system. Many do not believe that the political parties in Canada, USA or anywhere else actually represent their interests. Many, such as the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, celebrity turned activists (e.g. Russell Brand, Lupe Fiasco), and others see the governments as entities that represent the wealthiest 1% of society. After the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis, this reality was made apparent by the way governments around the world bailed out banks and corporations using taxpayer money, without any bailouts for the people. Consequently, many realize that the current political system is unjust.

By working with such people, we can demonstrate that Muslims are a voice of justice in whichever society they interact with.

Conclusion

Large number of Canadians have demonstrated that they are unwilling to succumb to hatred as a nation. They have lived up to their cultural values of decency and tolerance. It is now incumbent on the leaders of the Muslim community  in Canada to live up to our Islamic values of standing up for justice, intellectually engaging the societies in which we live, and always presenting a clear and persuasive invitation to Islam.

RasulAllah (SAW) informed us,

'By Allah, if Allah were to guide one man through you it would be better for you than the best type of camels.'

(Bukhari, Muslim)

Even if we are unable to guide anyone towards Islam, at the very least we can disempower the forces of hatred towards our deen with such an approach.

It is time for Muslims to organize collectively to explain Islam, and create a public opinion in its favour. As noted above, it was the efforts RasulAllah (saw) and the sahabah (raa) took to create a public opinion that paved the way for Quraish to accept and support Islam.

In shaa Allah, this will be the effort that Allah will make the reason to grant us His Pleasure, and admit us into His jannah when we return to him.

'Invite to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.' [TMQ  16:125]