Moderate Muslims' citizenship duty

Mansoor Ijaz wrote in CSMonitor The trust that binds citizens of free societies together was violated last week when suspected Islamist terrorists set off a wave of bombs at the height of London's morning rush hour, killing more than 50 people and injuring 700.... Verbal condemnations and choreographed press releases against terrorist acts, as Britain's Muslim leaders produced last Thursday, are not sufficient. Real action is needed - and fast. America's Muslims largely failed to rise up to their citizenship responsibilities after the 9/11 attacks, often choosing instead to play the role of aggrieved victims. Their voices in America's body politic are now marginalized as a result.

This is definitely true, leading many to say there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim. I personally believe there are moderate Muslims, who want to live in peace, but they need to step forward and work to stop the training of additional Islamofascists.

Indeed, that moderate Muslims everywhere do not take meaningful steps to weed out Al Qaeda's dangerous roots in their communities is a stunning failure of leadership and lies at the heart of the increasing distrust secular societies have for all Muslims. Britain's Muslims have an opportunity to set an important example by elevating the duties of citizenship above fears of looming civil rights violations. What to do? The action plan for moderate Muslims is uncomplicated if the political will to combat Islam's extremists from within takes hold. In Britain, three steps would be effective:

• Forbid the use of mosques and other religious institutions to discharge bigotry and hatred. As France has done, Britain should require imams to pass competency exams.

  I am not that sure what a competency exam would prove. They may know what to say to pass such an exam, but are they saying it from their pulpits in the mosques. I believe the preaching in the mosques needs to be monitored, and if hate speech, and encouragement to resort to violence, is preached, the imam needs to be dealt with. If he is from outside the country, he needs to be expelled, and if he has somehow obtained citizenship, he needs to be tried for his hate speech and incitement to violence.

  Radical preaching must be replaced with knowledge of how the Koran relates to daily life within Britain's secular traditions. Any imam failing to comply should be shown politely to the departure lounge at Heathrow Airport. Those who pass must accept their citizenship responsibilities to become resources for authorities seeking data on criminal elements residing in Britain's Muslim communities.
• Open Britain's Islamic charities to greater financial scrutiny to identify those that fund terrorism. Charities should limit foreign donations to 10 percent of operating budgets and certify that the remaining donors are British citizens who give from taxable, transparent income sources. Stopping the flow of money is key to dismantling Al Qaeda's franchise strategy, where one or two foreign "masterminds" oversee attacks with foreign money and logistical support.
• Form community watch groups made up of Muslim citizens to reclaim Islam from terrorists - groups that are committed to contributing useful information to authorities. Britain's tolerant political environment has transformed it into a haven for militant Islam. Communities joining together to compile and analyze data on Muslim fanatics for use by British authorities in official proceedings is the best way for moderate Muslims to prevent the state's antiterror apparatus from appearing biased or being used inappropriately. It would also be the surest sign that British Muslims take their citizenship as seriously as their religion.

  This makes a LOT of sense.

It is hypocritical for Muslims living in Western societies to demand civil rights enshrined by the state and then excuse their inaction against terrorists hiding among them on grounds of belonging to a borderless Islamic community. It is time to stand up and be counted as model citizens before the terror consumes us all.

Gregory Djerejian blogged We need moderate Muslims (the vast majority of adherents to Islam, one of the world's three great monotheistic religions, are indeed moderates) to help us reclaim Islam from the fanatics, not only in far-away Saudi Arabia; but also in nearby Luton and Leeds. We need them--not only to help 'out' fanatics hiding in their and our midst--but also to help spur on the conditions whereby a reformation of radical Islamist thought can take root. Violence-infused, radical Islamist thought must not be allowed to even flirt with the mainstream. It must be portrayed as evil and fascistic, and very firmly denounced and forsaken. Repeately, loudly, often--by Muslim community leaders throughout Europe and the Middle East and the United States in places like Detroit.

David T blogged It is foolish to think that such "community watch groups" can be formed entirely without the assistance of the mainstream muslim religious bodies and social institutions, some of which will be engaged in promoting a softer form of political islam. Engagement with gradualist - rather than revolutionary - Islamists should be like the mating dance of the porcupine: conducted with extreme caution. The process of working with with mainstream and moderate Islamist institutions should also be accompanied by, not only a recognition of the diversity of muslim cultural opinion, but an engagement with the broadest range of muslim opinion: including genuine religious progressives, cultural muslims who are secularists, or those who simply recognise a distinction between their faith and their political views.