Author: Dr. Koenraad Elst
Publication:
Date:
Message to the British Muslims of South-Asian
origin
After the timely folding of yet another Islamic
terror plot, the public's attention is focused once more on the "Paki
problem". Over twenty Muslims have been arrested in connection with the
alleged discovery of preparations to blow up a set of airplanes on trans-Atlantic
flights starting from London Heathrow. They are mostly holders of British
citizenship, born in Britain though of South-Asian origin, and from well-settled
families. To their British neighbours, fellow students or colleagues, they
must have looked like success stories in terms of integration into British
society. And yet, they secretly wanted to terminate the lives of hundreds
of anonymous Britons, not excluding those same unsuspecting neighbours.
This is only one incident, though apparently
a very sizable one. We may even concede that the incriminating evidence is
not fully in yet, so we shouldn't judge in haste. But then, it is only one
incident among many. The German police have just folded a Muslim plot to blow
up trains, and worse than the failed terror attacks are all those that have
succeeded. Remember the trains blown up in Madrid, the tourist centres blown
up in Bali, the murder of Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam, and so many others.
Specifically Pakistani connections were in evidence in the 1993 and 2001 attacks
on the WTC in New York, on the public transport system of London on 7-7-2005,
and in the endless series of terror attacks in India: buses stopped and all
non-Muslims shot every other month in Jammu & Kashmir; repeated bomb attacks
on trains and public buildings in Mumbai, from the big international trend-setter
of 12-3-1993 (many synchronous explosions) to the latest one on 11-7-2006;
on a political meeting in Coimbatore 1998; on Parliament buildings in Srinagar
and Delhi in 2001; on temples in Gandhinagar, Ayodhya and Varanasi (the details
of the latest temple attack in Imphal remain to be discovered); on a Diwali
shopping crowd in Delhi, and so on.
Yes, we know your excuses: that you are millions
while the terrorists are counted in dozens, so most of you are innocent and
unrelated to terrorism. Still, outsiders will wonder just how many of you
are in the know when these "unrepresentative" and "isolated"
young men make their preparations for acts of terror. How many of you shield
suspects when the police comes looking for them? Just a question.
And then the big excuse: that "this isn't
real Islam", that "this great peaceful religion condemns terrorism",
that "terrorists have no religion". We don't believe this convenient
plea, but we would still welcome it if it could actually dissuade would-be
terrorists from their project. Why do you always address us, the non-Muslims,
with those rosy stories about peaceful Islam? Why not go to the centres of
militancy and repeat those sermons there? We don't mean some perfunctory "open
letter" meant for non-Muslim consumption, but an earnest effort to persuade
the militant Muslims, one that doesn't stop until the goal is reached. We
suspect you have so far never tried this because in your heart of hearts,
you are perfectly aware that Islam does condone these acts. Because you expect
the militants to quote chapter and verse from your own Quran to justify their
methods, reminding you of how Mohammed's career mainly consisted in armed
struggle against the infidels, and leaving you speechless.
The consequence is that only an extremely
gullible fringe of British society can now remain unsuspecting. After this,
what Muslim will they trust? Every time the problem of Islamic terrorism raises
its head anywhere in the Western world, the public is treated to assurances
that "this isn't the real Islam" and that "the vast majority
of Muslims abhor this terrorism". Each time the politicians accompanied
by camera crews pay visits to mosques to assure Muslims of their lasting confidence
in Islam's peaceful intentions, which alas leaves them no time to go and comfort
the victims of Islamic terror. Each time, ordinary people including the non-Muslim
immigrants force themselves to keep in mind that "not all Muslims are
terrorists", in particular this one and that one with whom they try to
stay friends.
But there is a limit to all this patience
and goodwill. If Muslims who could be showpieces of multicultural integration
turn out to be discreet fanatics and murderers, who says the friendly Paki
news agent around the corner isn't plotting your death? This time around,
Paki Britons will notice how the looks in people's eyes have become icy. Their
mouths may not yet voice it, but their eyes are completely eloquent about
it: "Paki, go home!" Indeed, if I hadn't studied Islamic doctrine
and history, I too would by now have renounced all hope of a harmonious outcome
and concluded: "Paki, go home!"
Fortunately, there is an alternative and simpler
solution. You must have noticed that natives are far less prone to "Hinduphobia"
or "Sikhphobia" or "Parsiphobia" than to what politicians
like to call "Islamophobia". Indeed, non-Muslim South-Asian immigrants
have authoritatively been praised as Britain's "model minority".
If they too sometimes suffer harassment, it is very largely from natives who
don't know the difference between all these exotic religions, between a Sikh
and a bearded and turbaned Osama bin Laden. This way, you Pakis have made
them the indirect victims of the sinister reputation that you yourselves have
earned. Still, the performance in education and professional life of the non-Muslim
South-Asians must be a matter of envy to you.
So, why not become one of them? You live in
a country with unfettered religious freedom, quite a different situation from
the religious oppression in Pakistan. Overnight, you can shed the burden of
your Muslim identity and embrace Anglican Christianity, Methodism or Roman
Catholicism. You can become an atheist or agnostic or go and congregate with
the Druids and New-Agers in Stonehenge. Better still, you can return to your
roots.
Every South-Asian Muslim knows that his ancestors
were Zoroastrians or Kalash Kafirs, Buddhists or Hindus. In dramatic circumstances,
they converted to Islam as the lesser evil in preference to death or impoverishment
or third-class citizenship. Out of inertia or brainwashing, you yourselves
have so far chosen to remain in Islam and not to undo their shame. Now that
you are facing the consequences of being Muslims, viz. the hostility provoked
by never-ending Islamic arrogance and aggression, you have a good occasion
to reconsider your religious identity. Drop this erroneous belief system that
was forced upon you and come home to your ancestral community, where you belong.