Fail to prepare, Prepare to fail

The ineffectiveness of Muslim Americans

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail, says a popular proverb. The failure of Muslims in the United States to make any impact on the current US policy in the Middle speaks of the ineffectiveness of Muslim organizations in preparing themselves for a catastrophe like the one being witnessed in Lebanon. It is apparent that Israel is pursing a belligerent policy of aggression in the region under the direct patronage of Washington. The White House and the Congress as well as the public opinion seem to be solidly behind Israel.

The fact that only 22 members of the House didn't endorse the HR 921, a resolution that advocated violence in the name of self defense and condoned the aggression of Israel in the name of national interest is a clear indication that despite the protests of Muslim organizations, the legislatures of the nation's top law making body don't care about the concerns of Muslims as far as the situation in the Middle East is concerned.

Of course, one can explain the congressional position in terms of the influence exerted by the pro-Israel lobby or in terms of the activism of right wing evangelical Christians. Yet the question that must be asked is why have Muslim organizations failed to create a public opinion that is fair and objective towards the Middle East?

Part of the answer can be that, Muslim organizations seem to be more concerned with hobnobbing with officials in law enforcement agencies and bureaucracy rather than making a firm stand on principals and reaching out to the masses and those public officials who ultimately shape the public opinion. It is perhaps time to look critically at the existing Muslim organizations and ask tough questions.

During the recent crisis in Lebanon, besides issuing condemnation, no Muslim organization produced a single piece of serious analysis on the situation educating the community about the nature of the crisis and their responsibilities. No organization sought to develop a national Muslim consensus on the issue. Only a few organizations have planned a day of either prayer or protest. No organization has given any clear guidelines to its members about the future course of action.

The reason of their failure is not their apathy or indifference to the plight of Palestinians or Lebanese. I believe this is because none is prepared to handle the crisis and none is capable to mobilize Muslims the way Jewish community has mobilized its ranks in support of the ongoing unjust war of aggression.

A critical analysis of most of our Muslim organizations in the US will show that they operate on an authoritarian style. They are not grass roots organizations and they have made few efforts to mobilize Muslims on a consistent basis. Most of the time the effort is put on promoting their own organizations, instead of promoting the issues and coordinating the work with other organizations. They may have chapters and branches, but most of these outfits comprise of people who rarely work with the masses. Most leaders are content with the situation because they don't want their leadership to be challenged or questioned. 

Additionally, very few organizations make efforts to involve women and youth in their political discourses. When they do involve youth or women, they usually assign them the task of arranging the chairs or cooking for the believers.

Even the conventions that are ritually held by Muslim organizations annually, rarely talk of a national consensus strategy or outreach plan. 

It is this style of work and leadership that give rise to failures. It is time that we review what we have been doing to ourselves and decide upon an honest course of action that would help us become effective at the grassroots level. 

We cannot ask our fellow citizens to change their perspectives on the Middle East on the basis of a few statements that our organizations issue ritually. 

We cannot ask even public officials to change the direction of the country, when we our selves have not found any direction in the country.

In order to win over the hearts and mind of the people, we have to prove that we care for this country and humanity at large. Besides building our mosques and centers for the purpose of our own gratification and glorification, what else have we done to get involved in the affairs of the country? We are conspicuously absent from our city council debates when issues such as homelessness and development projects are discussed. We are conspicuously absent from school boards when the educational strategy is discussed. We are absent from the discussion when the library board decides the budget and the number of books to be purchased each year. We are absent from debates on environment, crime, nuclear disarmament and many other issues.

In chapter 3 verse 110 when the Quran says - You are the best of people, evolved for mankind, it qualifies it by saying that you are the best because, you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.

Over and over during conventions and from the pulpits of the mosques we claim that Islam has the answer to our social problems, yet we are not prepared to show how to implement the answer for the well being of all. We want people to accept the call of Islam, yet when someone joins the ranks of Muslims, we rarely welcome them in our homes or identify with their concerns. We want people to believe that Islam is an egalitarian faith, yet we find it hard to accommodate African Americans or people who do not belong to our ethnicity in our decisions.

We are ineffective simply because we chose to be. No one would prevent us if we mobilize Muslims for the welfare and well being of people. 

Unfortunately, we have been stuck with individual and organizational leadership that uses the name of Islam and Muslims to serve their personal interests. There are those who parrot the language of the state department and leave us confused and there are those are so engrossed in their ethnic identities that they rarely talk of the concerns of the umma in a practical sense.

It is time that we hold our organizations and leadership accountable. It is time that we develop a sense of responsibility towards our fellow human beings and it is time that we work for the emergence of a Muslim community that can effectively play a dignified role in promoting truth, justice and welfare of people in this country and around the world.

Dr. Aslam Abdullah is editor-in-Chief of the Muslim Observer and the director of the Islamic Society of Nevada as well as the director of the Muslim Electorates Council of America.