Some Good News from the Islamic World . . .

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Not all news from the Islamic world is best depicted in images of radicals rioting; some is of critics critiquing. The Memri news site notes in "Harsh Self-Criticism In Arab World Over Violent Reactions To Anti-Islamic Film" (Memri, September 24, 2012, Special Dispatch No. 4971) that some Muslims are criticizing the violence stirred up by Muslim reactions to the recent trailer for that stupefying film, The Innocence of Muslims:

In an article that was posted on several Libyan websites, columnist Walid 'Abd Al-Raziq 'Amir apologized to the Prophet Muhammad for the Libyans' attack on the embassy . . . .

Hassan Haidar, a columnist for the London daily Al-Hayat, wrote: "No one can even entertain the notion that this movie should be defended or that its creators should be praised. In fact, it must be unequivocally condemned and rejected . . . . However, the protests [in the Arab {and larger Muslim} world] were wildly different from what a protest should look like . . . .

The Qatari daily Al-Raya harshly condemned the attack on the American consulate in Libya and the murder of the American diplomats, [arguing that] . . . . "Muslims offended by [the movie] insulting their religion and prophet . . . should restrain themselves and deal with the matter in nonviolent ways and in an intelligent and calculated manner . . . ."

Dr. 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Barr, known as the Mufti of the M[uslim] B[rotherhood] who is also a member of the Office of the MB General Guide, claimed in an article on the MB's official website that it is a duty to defend the Prophet Muhammad by continuing civilized activity, without harming facilities or people . . . .

Arab intellectual Dr. Khaled Al-Hroub, a professor at Cambridge University who routinely publishes articles in the Arab media, warned against ". . . . the culture of religious zealotry that was imposed on people for over 50 years, and which brought forth what we witness [today]. . . ."

Al-Hayat columnist Hassan Haidar also warned about . . . . "the extremists, exploiting the Arab spring revolutions, . . . trying to impose themselves, . . . . prepared to take up arms and [act] violently, . . . while threatening not only 'infidel foreigners,' but also moderate Muslim citizens and Christian minorities . . . . It is the responsibility of the new regimes . . . to stop those trying to spread acts of extremism and intimidation before they get worse; and to prove that they belong to the tolerant middle way of Islam" . . . .

'Imad Al-Din Hussein, a columnist for the independent Egyptian daily Al-Shurouq, . . . . [argued] . . . . "We are a nation that contributes nothing to human civilization in the current era . . . . When we become civilized and obey true Islam, then everyone will respect us" . . . .

'Ali Al-Sharimi, a columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Watan, [said]: ". . . . Imagine a large tank carrying various advanced weapon systems, driven by the prophet 'Issa bin Maryam [i.e., Jesus], carrying . . . the cross . . . and towing a wagon laden with treasures [he has robbed] . . . . [The image] would likely evoke cold and mocking responses [from Christians] . . . . So why do our societies [respond with] exaggerated commotion [to images of Muhammad]? . . . . How can we convince the Western citizen that this religion [Islam] is respectable, when all he sees is extremism and terrorism . . . . [and suicide bombings] justified on some of our satellite TV channels, and from the pulpits of our mosques . . . ?"

These are all commendable words, perhaps not representative of merely a tiny minority of moderates, and I hope sincere, though I do wonder in the case of the Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson. Anyway, I post so many critiques of Islamism that I might give the impression of seeing no complexity in the Islamic world, but I am not blinded by my anger at Islamist extremists, so I at times post articles like this one today to remind readers that not all Muslims are extremists. I had Muslim friends in Germany when they and I were recipients of Friedrich Naumann doctoral fellowships, I spoke out for the protection of Bosnian Muslims when the city of Sarajevo was being shelled and civilians there being shot by enemy snipers, and I saw my son born in a Palestinian hospital in East Jerusalem, where the Muslim Arabs were very kind to us, lest anyone imagine that I'm anti-Muslim. I'm aware of complexity.

My critiques are mainly directed at Islamists . . .