Standing with Muslims
I’m a female Arab Catholic from the United States. I have been set up to stand separate from Muslims, but I refuse to do so. I hope you will refuse, too.
Over the last two years I’ve led several RC groups for allies to Muslims. People often tell me that they don’t know where to start on this topic and that it makes them feel inadequate. As with any other topic, we can start with a decision to discharge on it. We can commit to spending ten minutes a week on it in sessions. After a few months we can consider increasing the time to a full one-hour session. We can discharge on any feelings that come up. I’ve found discharging on the following topics useful:
The oppression of Muslims
We can’t solve a problem if we can’t admit it exists. We have to face how bad the situation is for Muslims. Islamophobia, the fear of Islam and Muslims, is thriving. But the oppression of Muslims is nothing new. It is a result of centuries of colonialism, decades of U.S. imperialism, and the perpetuation of capitalism and war that benefits the owning class. We can start with something we’ve noticed in the news or with people in our lives. If we can’t think of anything, we can search online with the key words “hate crimes Muslims.” That will give us plenty to discharge on.
That Muslim women are powerful, and Muslim men are good
The idea that Muslim women are oppressed by tyrannical Muslim men and need to be freed by U.S. intervention has been used by the U.S. government to justify war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. War does not free women. It lines the pockets of [makes wealthy] the one percent [the richest one percent of the population] and disproportionately hurts women and children. We must not be confused by the myth that Muslim women are powerless. (I’ve seen very progressive people confused by it.) Muslim women are not more oppressed than non-Muslim women. Muslim men are not more sexist than non-Muslim men. The oppression of Muslims has been so normalized that these basic truths have to be stated and taken into sessions.
“Terrorism” and “terrorists”
We can have sessions on the words “terrorism” and “terrorists” and what we’ve been taught about them. The dominant society uses these words to describe violence by Arabs and Muslims. Rarely does it use them to describe violence by white individuals, the state (such as the police), or the U.S. military. Why is that?
Our own humanity
It’s been considered okay to treat Muslims as if they’re subhuman. Many individuals—and institutions such as the media, the military, and the courts—do so without consequence. A Muslim Co-Counseling leader has asked us to discharge on our own humanity, because to remember the humanity of others we must first remember our own. Where are we harsh with ourselves? Where do we dismiss ourselves? Where do we discount our full humanity? Discharging there will help us to value our own humanity and that of others.
What gets in the way of standing with Muslims
Azi Khalili, the International Liberation Reference Person for South, Central, and West Asian-Heritage People, has asked us to discharge on anything that gets in our way of standing with Muslims no matter what. Whatever it is, it will not move unless we decide to move it and discharge on it consistently.
Next steps
I end each allies-to-Muslims support group with each of us sharing one thing we’ll do in the following week as an ally to Muslims—in RC, in the wide world, or both. Nothing is too little or too big. Next steps have included interrupting Islamophobia with a colleague, reaching out to a Muslim neighbor, and launching a social media campaign. The important thing is deciding to do something and saying it aloud to at least another Co-Counselor who can hold us accountable. Taking action pushes us against any recordings of powerlessness.
We need to remember that doing ally work is for ourselves. If it benefits someone else, that’s great. But really it’s about getting our own minds back, breaking isolation, building bridges, and enriching our lives.
Los Angeles, California, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of wide world change
(Present Time 192, July 2018)