An American Muslim changer
[Hat tip: commenter “Artfldgr.”]
Here’s a very interesting article about another kind of changer, who told his story recently in a talk to the Heritage Foundation:
Khalid, now a scholar in cybersecurity studies at the University of Maryland, was born in the United Arab Emirates and lived in Pakistan before emigrating to the United States in 2010.
As a 14-year-old struggling to fit in at an American public high school, Khalid said he turned to the internet to make sense of what some saw as the negative connotation of his first name, “Mohammed.”
He said he quickly became enthralled with the answers online extremists offered.
So we have a very young Arab Muslim immigrant who came here with his parents and in trying to cope with a difficult transition process became enthralled with online groups who gave him what he needed at the time, which was a sense of belonging and purpose, as well as an explanation for what was wrong in his life.
Makes sense.
This is where it led:
“The more I confided in them, the more separated and secluded I became from my own family,” Khalid said. “My family could not figure out what was wrong with me; they did not know what was happening because I kept it very well hidden from them.”
Khalid was arrested in April 2014, charged with conspiracy to provide material to terrorists, and convicted. He says he spent five years in federal prison.
At 17, he was the youngest person to be convicted of terrorism-related charges in the U.S.
His change began in prison—and, like the impetus for his original immersion in extremism and terrorism, it was not so much ideological as interpersonal:
Slowly, with the help of officers at the juvenile detention center, he said, he began to emerge from the extremist mindset.
The officers “explained about their struggles, they explained about their dreams, about their journeys,” Khalid said.
“And so began a process of humanization, a process in which I was able to finally relate to these people whom I’d other-ized under the umbrella of Islamist ideology, and whom I finally, when I reached that beginning step, began to see as human beings,” he said.
He found what he was looking for—understanding—in what he’d considered an unlikely place.
Khalid is still a Muslim. This is his suggestion for the future:
I see … a lot of my friends actually struggling to reconcile [Islam] with the society they find themselves in. They want to be partakers of this American culture. At the same time, they want to hold on to a Muslim identity that unfortunately, you know, sometimes is collapsed together with a whole bunch of outdated traditions. … I think moving forward, a lot of people individually have to decide how they want to interpret the religion, instead of letting religion be this one-size-fits-all approach.
I am pretty sure that some readers will see this and say it’s some elaborate form of taqiya. I don’t think so. It seems sincere to me.
There are a number of Muslims in Western countries who have advocated a similar moderate or reform Islam. I wish them good luck. They’ll need it.
I know Muslims who are trying to reconcile their religion with life in a modern, westernized culture. I knew them in Egypt and know them here. I wish them well; these are the kinds of Muslims we should encourage, not CAIR and related organizations.
I also knew of Egyptian Muslim converts to Christianity. That’s a very, very hard, and dangerous, transition to make.
There are many ideologies which, when followed to extremes, will permit or encourage the treatment of non-members as not worthy of human consideration. The problem with Islam is that the extremest version is mainstream, with lots of support in the foundational scriptures and traditions of the faith. It is very easy for insecure or unhappy young men (or women) to find value for themselves in the violent aspects of Islamist teachings.
There are a number of Muslims in Western countries who have advocated a similar moderate or reform Islam. I wish them good luck. They’ll need it.
They will certainly get a lot of flack from the likes of C.A.I.R. It would be interesting to question the members of the Squad what they think of these changers.
I think a large part of the problem of (in Kate’s terms) “Muslims who are trying to reconcile their religion with life in a modern, westernized culture” is ultimately defining what is a Muslim.
Is a Muslim just one who subscribes to the five pillars? If so, what is the place of the Koran? What is the place of Hadeeth? And, if the Koran has a central place, how is it to be interpreted?
IMHO, a lot of what we, with some measure of condescension, call “good Muslims” are what in other contexts are called “cultural …”. E.g., “cultural Catholics” who grew up “in the Roman Catholic” church, but don’t believe in any of its tenets and whose attendance at Mass is, at best, at Christmas and Easter. I don’t mean to pick on Catholics: this type of believer is undoubtedly in all organized religions, including Communism.
None of this simplifies the resolution of the ultimate question, however. But until you know what you believe, you can’t determine your place in whatever society you find yourself.
Arrgh! I missed the comment from Khalid: “a lot of people individually have to decide how they want to interpret the religion, instead of letting religion be this one-size-fits-all approach.”
I’m not going to descend into a epistemological discussion.
I work with muslims who I trust are not out to kill me.
One was my boss and an asset to me, though he is much younger.
We are still in touch.
It’s because of his friendship I refrain from denouncing muslims in general n social media and instead often defend, which can earn me some criticism.
I do believe, though, that many of the pleasant muslims I currently work around would, in the right environment, denounce me as a Christian, due to social pressure.
I hope I’m wrong and wouldn’t know until that environment was in place.
I still believe that the foundational tenets of their religion are barbaric.
As long as they don’t act on them, we’re good.
Such “changers” are very courageous. All too often, they themselves become targets for their “betrayal” and have to change identities and/or obtain protection.
There still is a very long row to hoe….
Which makes one wonder why this particular paragon is allowed to spew his particular brand of ideological purity:
AKA, still a bit of work to do:
https://www.jns.org/virginia-imam-calls-to-overthrow-weak-arab-regimes-prays-for-mujahideen/
(“Freedom of speech”, no doubt…)
Islam converts by the sword, not by the Word, and has always done so.
Contrast with Christianity. See the 21 Coptic Christians who by their faith accepted seaside decapitation by the Jihadis without struggle.
Islam is tyrannical and barbaric. It is vile, an ideology disguised for American constitutional purposes as a religion. That is akin to designating Nazism as a religion.
Individual muslims can be nice. Nazis loved their children. So what? What other schema allows “honor killings” of one’s own children?
‘Nuf said.
Khalid is trying to “reframe” Islam.
As I understand it, the conservative Islamic jurisprudential position is that any Muslim who does not accept the Qur’an in its entirety can be branded as an Infidel, with a range consequences up to and including death.
In this context, how about this “reframing” of what our position is in the West—in Western civilization—as taken from Raymond Ibrahim’s new book, “Sword and Scimitar”—Fourteen Centuries of War Between Islam and the West.”
Writes Ibrahim on pages 8-9 of his Introduction—
”Like Islam, what is now referred to as the West was for centuries known and demarcated by the territorial extent of its religion (hence the older and more cohesive term, “Christendom”). It included the lands of the old Roman Empire—parts of Europe, all of North Africa, Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor [most of modern day Turkey]—which had become Christian centuries before Islam arrived and were part of the same overarching civilization.
In other words, the West is what remained of Christendom after Islam conquered some three-fourths of its original territory. As historian Franco Cardini puts it; “If we…ask ourselves how and when the modern notion of Europe and the European identity was born, we realize the extent to which Islam was a factor (albeit a negative one) in its creation. Repeated Muslim aggression against Europe…was a “violent midwife” to Europe.” Resisting Islam defined Europe through the unity of Christianity. Similarly, after summarizing centuries of Islamic invasions, Bernard Lewis writes, “Thus, at both its eastern and southwestern extremities, the limits and in a sense even the identity of Europe were established through first the advance, and then the retreat, of Islam.” Accordingly, Europe’s self-identity never revolved around ethnicity or language—hence why such a small corner of the Eurasian landmass (Europe) still houses dozens of both, some widely divergent—but rather religion: it was the last and most redoubtable bastion of Christendom not to be conquered by Islam. Simply put, the West is actually the westernmost remnant of what was a much more extensive civilizational block that Islam permanently severed.”
Let a couple of these last sentences sink in.
Hows about we “reframe” our view of our position here in the West by thinking of our position in this way—“…the West is what remained of Christendom after Islam conquered some three-fourths of its original territory” and —“Simply put, the West is actually the westernmost remnant of what was a much more extensive civilizational block that Islam permanently severed.”
What does thinking of our position in that way do to how we view the History of Islam and our relationship here in the West to it, our approach today to Islam, and to our estimation of it, and the threat it poses to us?
I’m surprised that he thinks that he has a choice of his personal interpretation of Islam. That doesn’t seem to be the way it goes these days in America or anywhere else. My sense is that modern Islam is “my way or the highway”…
I’m known a few Muslims personally and they were fine, warm people personally. Likewise I’ve known a few reallio-trulio KKKers and they were fine, warm people personally.
People can believe totally bat-sht dangerous stuff and one-on-one still be pretty decent — if you don’t touch their third rail.
Likewise I’ve known people can be totally A-OK with my particular belief system du jour and be the sort who will knife you in the back in a heartbeat.
I don’t know what the moral is beyond … it’s complicated. I like to give everyone the chance to grow up and grow kinder.
Islamic terrorism cannot be divorced from its theological foundations, so I am going to descend into a epistemological discussion because this subject cannot be rationally discussed without doing so.
For the sake of argument, I’ll accept at face value that Khalid is sincere when he states that “a lot of people individually have to decide how they want to interpret the religion, instead of letting religion be this one-size-fits-all approach.”
Kate gets at Khalid’s ‘interpretation’ problem; The problem with Islam is that the extremest version is mainstream, with lots of support in the foundational scriptures and traditions of the faith.
Islam cannot be ‘interpreted’, as it’s far too specific and unequivocal in its theological declarations and imperatives. Erdogan is correct when he declared that, “There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”
Those declarations and imperatives can be ignored and willfully denied as all such as Khalid do but they have no theological basis in supporting a less extremist interpretation of Islam.
Once again, Islam at base rests upon Muhammad’s consistent and repetitious claim that he is NOT the Qur’an’s author. That he, an illiterate… miraculously was enabled to take dictation from the archangel Gabriel who repeatedly visited him and perfectly transmitted Allah’s direct testimony, while making sure that Muhammad got it exactly right, down to the last comma.
To revise the Qur’an, so as to reinterpret it in a less extremist manner thus requires that Muhammad’s claim to divine authorship of the Qur’an be rejected. But to reject such a basic, foundational claim implicitly declares Muhammad to be either a liar or deluded.
In which case, Islam’s entire theological foundation collapses.
My sense is that modern Islam is “my way or the highway”…
Magnus: True, but … if enough Muslims got tired of Islam’s intolerance, it would make a difference eventually.
My reading of the collapse of the USSR was that enough Soviet citizens stopped believing the BS and let it fail.
The rest of us were damned lucky that the Soviet insiders apparently stopped believing enough that they didn’t fire off all their nukes in a suicidal gesture.
I don’t think the Russians, because they were the Soviet insiders, get enough credit for that.
Spasibo.
“I work with muslims who I trust are not out to kill me.
…
I do believe, though, that many of the pleasant muslims I currently work around would, in the right environment, denounce me as a Christian, due to social pressure.” Edward R Bonderenka
In support of your contention; “WHEN MUSLIMS BETRAY NON-MUSLIM FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
Why Islamic treachery in the Middle East should concern Americans. by Raymond Ibrahim
I came to know a number of Muslims in the 1980s during my time in Morocco (mostly spent in Tangier). Several were named Mohammed. This was just before fundamentalism began to really infect and move things in a bad direction. Ayatollah Khomeini, for instance, was not popular, or didn’t seem to be. (I would bring him up.) Many of the ones I interacted with seemed to want to be seen as worldly, but sometimes one who spoke good English and professed a desire to go to New York would suddenly get a light in his eyes and ask if I knew the Koran. My friend Paul Bowles’ novel The Spider’s House is a good primer on how Islam leads to a mindset essentially alien to anything we usually come up with in the West. Bowles moved to Tangier in the 1940s and lived there for 50 years.
yara, yes, Muslim “moderates” are culturally Muslim. They probably fast during Ramadan and probably don’t eat pork, but they don’t know a great deal about the Qur’an and ahadith, nor do they have much knowledge of the traditional schools of jurisprudence. Many Muslims, even Arabic speakers, can’t read the classical Arabic of the Qur’an well.
The more observant the Muslim becomes, and the more he studies the tradition, the more likely he is to become violent, as a general rule (of course there are individual exceptions). And there’s the difference. A Jew who embarks on a serious study of the Tanakh and Talmud is extremely unlikely to emerge as a mass murderer. The same is true for a Christian who embarks on a deep study of the Christian Bible and the Church Fathers. When I see women, previously unveiled, wearing the hijab, I begin to worry, and when I see a woman in the full rig (abaya, hijab, niqab) I feel there is an extremist Muslim male around.
My friend Paul Bowles…
miklos000rosza: You are some kind of royalty in our midst…
As someone who has been significantly impacted by Muslim issues and culture, I wish him the best, and hope that liberal or moderate Islam grows in number and influence.
huxley, you’re too kind. I actually see myself as kind of a poor relation here, as I’m an autodidact with limited areas of specialized knowledge. As for Mr Bowles, he and I just got along well. It’s funny, but what made us become real friends was an uninhibited big argument we got into about Huey Long. I felt like I had a developed opinion on Long whereas Bowles was just repeating the standard 1930s Communist Party line. Mohammed Mrabet was there in the living room, shirtless and perspiring in the heat, amused as Bowles and I raised our voices and then laughed.
I always look forward to your posts. This is the only political blog I ever comment on, though often everything has been said by the time I arrive so I remain mum.
Geoffrey Britain @7:51
“To revise the Qur’an, so as to reinterpret it in a less extremist manner thus requires that Muhammad’s claim to divine authorship of the Qur’an be rejected. But to reject such a basic, foundational claim implicitly declares Muhammad to be either a liar or deluded.
In which case, Islam’s entire theological foundation collapses.” [Aside: Islam has generally been more successful (so far) than Christianity has in maintaining this position vis a vis their scripture.]
I happen to agree with this. When I decided not to descend into an epistemological discussion, I was thinking of Khalid’s comment that “people individually have to decide”. My descent into epistemology would have followed the “how do you decide” question down the rabbit hole.
Islam demands a belief in objective truth as revealed from God to Muhammad. Should they ever descend into relativism, it will be easy to forego the difficult parts in their scriptures.
1. Lotsa muslims here in Israel leading lives of unprecedented freedom and prosperity. Many of them know it and don’t want to live under Islamic governance. Since the first Zionist Jews arrived, the Jewish settlement has drawn muslims looking for a better deal.
However… If the conversation goes on long enough you hear some very jarring statements. They think they can have the economic fruits of the west without the cultural roots. Some even think westerners are foolish and naive. They certainly see the secular west’s recent moral decay and are repulsed by it.
They are by no means interested in reformation, or leaving islam.
islam is still very much a tribal religious-cultural identity. Leaving islam leaves one bereft as no “lapsed catholic” ever experienced.
And obviously it’s still violently coercive and honor-driven.
2. Taqiyya? You can bet that the extensive muslim prison network contacted this guy.
No indication in the article that his parents or community ever disapproved.
And he’s now in cybersecurity.
40 years ago i attended university with this guy:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Barghouti
He spent a lot of time chatting up the Jewish students, dontcha know. Now he runs a prominent BDS organization.
The arabs – like the chinese and the russians – play much longer cultural/political games than Americans.
This recalls the self-regarding Romans who thought the were “educating” the sons of barbarian chieftans in the ways of the west. Didn’t work out that way…
3. All those with hopes for a muslim reformation – Google “history of modern Turkey”.
Check the very terms associated with adherents to various religions: Christians and Jews “believe,” “practice”, or “follow”. Islam requires its adherents to “submit”.
“[Aside: Islam has generally been more successful (so far) than Christianity has in maintaining this position vis a vis their scripture.]” yara
Islam’s success is directly related to Muhammad’s claim that the Qur’an consists of Allah’s direct testimony. To embrace Islam one has to accept that claim and once accepted, revision becomes impossible because fallible mankind is literally incapable of ‘correcting’ (revising) infallible Allah’s words.
An example of that type of impossible to revise claim is the Ten Commandments, which Moses declared to be not his words but Yahweh’s… literally written in fire upon stone tablets by the ‘finger’ of God. If a Jew rejects Moses’ claim of the Ten Commandments divine authorship… then what theological support is left for Judaism?
Geoffrey Britain on August 21, 2019 at 6:27 pm said:
… If a Jew rejects Moses’ claim of the Ten Commandments divine authorship… then what theological support is left for Judaism?
* * *
If ALL Jews reject Moses’ claim, then the support for Judaism is defunct; if ONE Jew rejects it, then you just have a heretic Jew.
Power Line’s picks today link to a great essay on Solzhenitsyn & his works, which BTW were deeply founded in truth as well as facts, and this section seems to be relevant to the story of Neo’s post:
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2019/9/how-the-great-truth-dawned
This next section may explain why the Left allies with the Islamic Jihad: they share an ethical position, even if the precipitating ideologies are different, and despite the religious component of the latter. It is difficult to convey the argument in an excerpt, so I recommend reading the original, and indeed the entire essay.
Link to Raymond Ibrahim’s posting “WHEN MUSLIMS BETRAY NON-MUSLIM FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS,” recommended above by Barry Meislin:
https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2015/07/08/when-muslims-betray-non-muslim-friends-and-neighbors/