When America Becomes a Haven

The storm over the film has quieted — although some are still groaning. Others prefer to let those who acted on instinct enjoy a victory, even though natural impulse was and will always remain blind. “Everyone is competing to wash his hands of a crime while its perpetrator is left there to rot, like a leper.”

I will not write about “The Innocence of Muslims,” which was portrayed as a “movie,” or about what reaction would have been logical, feasible, reasonable and beneficial. Nor do I intend to explain how there should not have been an Arab and Muslim reaction, for others have already done so. More importantly, I don’t think that those who burned, destroyed, threatened, cursed or fumed with rage were prepared to hear any advice in the first place. The makers of that depraved film knew this full well.

Some politicians and party leaders have made a sweeping generalization and placed the responsibility on the shoulders of America. To them, the U.S. is responsible for the production of such toxins and is a greenhouse for growing those monsters. I do not see eye to eye with those who advocate this view, and I stress its inaccuracy. At best, this is a faulty analysis based on stereotypical thinking, which is no longer appropriate because it is superficial and simplistic. But at worst, it is a deliberate deception that gives the speaker an excuse not to face reality. To some, America has become, in this sense, a haven and a scapegoat. They resort to calling America a criminal and demon.

Who is the America that is defined by this generalization? Is it the system of government? Is the intention to suggest that this regime is directly responsible for the “movie”? What is America to gain by this? How does this theory jive with the American government’s relations and interests regarding the nations of the Islamic world and the many leaders of major Islamist parties and movements?

Who is the America that is accused? And what West is this? After all, this is the same world where, 500 years ago, they lived as we in the East live today. Their societies paid in blood for a word or idea or position. Rulers invented diverse methods of torture for any of their citizens who defied or disagreed with the Church and the king, such as skinning or burning victims alive, or using rats to split open their stomachs.

The Inquisition was the epitome of human devilry. Darkness and immorality prevailed, and the Church allied itself with those who believed that the end justifies the means. The politician paraded his power while men of religion enlisted the Lord, and in his name laws were made to oppress, murder and achieve peace at a cost of silenced voices and dashed dreams.

This dark period of history was only dispelled when the Church and clergy were defeated. Church and state were separated. A new relationship was established between the citizen and the state. The long and short of it is that this narrative produced terminology that the West still reveres. Fundamental freedoms are guaranteed, even if some abuse them, for these freedoms are the basis and foundation of their paradigm. Those who oppose these freedoms either end up in the trash bins of history or behind the bars of justice.

Freedom of expression is one of them, as well as the freedom to worship. The story goes that the U.S. uses a double standard when it applies these rights, and that we Arabs and Easterners have long been among those unjustly treated and abused. But, in their countries, they do permit everyone freedom of worship and of speech. Conversely, in our countries, it is a freedom missing from the Quran, and the rest is in the annals of kingdoms and their policies.

In their view, this is not about something sacred. In the East, the past is still sacred to us, as wars have separated religious communities and sects. We have inherited taboos and have been raised on them since infancy. There are three main things that our nations believe should not be violated: religion, sex and the highest authorities. This is our world, and it is not the world of America and the West.

Therefore, I ask, how is it that America and the West are condemned when they, in the name of freedom, received and protected leaders of the Islamic world who escaped certain death in their countries and sought the refuge of the just and democratic West? Are we forgetting where and how Ayatollah Khomeini lived before he returned to rule the first Islamic Republic in the modern era? And where did Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Tunisian Islamic Renaissance Movement, return from? Where do countless sheikhs live in safety? In America and Europe.

How is it possible to simply make criminals of America and the West, and not consider the millions of people who are displaced because of the oppression of their Muslim rulers and seek the humane laws of the West? How can we do that, while we witness dozens of mosques and minarets rising in Western capital cities, and in the East a Christian cannot visit certain places in Saudi Arabia, nor can Christians build churches, by virtue of the so-called law in many Muslim countries?

You do not have to love America, but you should dislike it for the right reasons. Whoever accuses America of being responsible for this scum has erred twice: America is innocent of this charge, and it disguises the real perpetrator, who will remain free.

A group of sectarian racists are responsible for this scum, which some call a movie. They represent a sick, dangerous, racist ideology, for sectarianism not only feeds on inflaming and inciting other religious groups, but it also provokes all who do not agree with its principles and twisted belief.

They are a faction that claims to be Christian but, like all cults, has no religion or God. They are present in America, Europe, and among us.

We should identify them and find out what fosters their ideology and how they are becoming so numerous. We must stand up to them and expose them, for silence motivates them and makes them stronger.

We shouldn’t flatter them by publishing things about them. Search for them here in the East and there in the West, for we believe in the freedom of true worship and freedom of speech. When we only search for the causes of our ailments in America, and do not take a look at ourselves, we inevitably pay a heavy price.

Sectarianism, both here and there, is more dangerous to us than America, as we are taught by those who still bleed from sectarianism’s daggers in the cedar-covered mountains of Lebanon. They did not doubt the severity of the wound, for blood speaks loudly.