Yes, I am a Muslim...but it wasn't me!

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By Anis Albasha

For a long time, I used to listen to different religious sermons, including Friday’s sermons, in Arabic. When I travelled abroad, I started hearing sermons in different languages, English, Italian and German. Sermons in Islam serve as a chance to give people guidance in religious teachings or to talk about some concerning issues. During most of the sermons I attended in different languages, it was very likely for me to hear the preachers saying that Muslims should “maintain high moral standards so they can improve the image of Islam in front of others”. Though I totally agree with the first part of this commandment, I entirely disagree with the purpose that usually accompanies it. 

There are two main reasons behind this reiterated advice about 'improving the image of Islam'. The first reason is the conventional religious approach which is used by most Muslim preachers, even the contemporary ones.  According to this traditional approach, beautifying the image of Islam in front of non-Muslims is considered as a sacred responsibility. The second reason is that most Muslims do not differentiate between the personal responsibility and the social responsibility. Yet, they tie these two concepts to their mistaken perception of the Islamic doctrine.  

Besides its blind emulation of the traditional religious heritage, the traditional Islamic approach promotes the idea that the guidance of all the human beings is a communal responsibility for Muslims. This traditional way of thinking adopts the idea that Muslims are responsible for everything that is committed in the name of Islam. Worse still, the western media bears considerable responsibility for reinforcing this trend among Muslims and non-Muslims. Western media consistently attributes every terrorist act committed by few individuals to the whole nation of Islam. According to an academic study cited by the Independent Newspaper, terror attacks carried out by Muslims receive more than five times as much media coverage as those carried out by non-Muslims in the United States. Another recent study covered by the Washington Post stated that attacks by people claiming to be Muslims received 449% more coverage in recent years.

The result of both, the Islamic conventional approach and the negative media-perpetuated image of Islam is that a religion of 1.6 billion people is being presented in public discourse by the bad acts of some individuals who spread blood here and there. As a defensive reaction, Muslims are trying hard to defend their religion and to show how good Islam is. In doing so, Muslims think that this is the best way to absolve Islam from any notorious images attached to it because of the horrible acts committed by some radical and extremist groups ‘such as Al-Qaeda or ISIS’. On the other side, most Muslim preachers support and promote this attitude which is in line with their point of view that tends to believe that defending Islam is a kind of a collective duty.   

When it comes to the issue of bearing the responsibility, many Muslims do not differentiate between the personal responsibility and the social responsibility. In Muslim societies, the real meaning of these two kinds of responsibilities is missing while the borderline between the two terms is obscure. The social responsibility can be defined as the obligations to fulfill certain assigned duties, in a way, that would benefit the society as a whole, rather than as individuals. On the other hand, the personal responsibility is the duties assigned to ensure an overall image of the individuals concerning their moral code as perceived by the society. Sadly enough, most Muslims tend to neglect the moral code which should be applied when people deal with each other. Instead, they think that performing of certain religious rituals is more important than applying the moral code.

In fact, what many Muslims do, or what they are told to do with regard to improving the image of Islam, has nothing to do with both the social and the personal responsibilities. People who live in a society or in a community have to learn how to be responsible for their own actions. In other words, when people have the free will to cause their own actions, they can then be held accountable morally or legally. So, when some people choose to do something bad, they are the ones who should be blamed. If those people happen to be Muslims, it is not the responsibility of all Muslims to clean up the mess those people made. Besides, nobody is supposed to take the blame of others’ acts just because they ‘ideologically’ belong to the same group. Blaming a whole nation or an entire group of people for the behavior of some individuals is an act of folly which paves the way for stereotyping and prejudice.  

Surprising as it may seem, when it comes to the Islamic doctrine, there is nothing in the authentic teachings of Islam that tells Muslims to be responsible for improving the image of their religion in front of other people. Moreover, Islam doesn’t urge Muslims to exert efforts in order to convert non-Muslims to Islam. In Islam, the relationship between people and God is supposed to be private and it should go in a vertical line. Conversely, relations among people who share the same or different beliefs should not be based on religion. Relations among people should be defined within the moral principles and values which can be found throughout the world. That is to say, dealing with people is not supposed to be measured by embracing a doctrine or by practicing certain religious rites.   

This fact is stated clearly in many places of the holy Quran:

“O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To God is the return of all of you, and He will make you understand all that you were doing (and call you to account for it)” 5:105

“Not upon you, [O Muhammad], is [responsibility for] their guidance, but God guides whom He wills” 2:272

“And if they belie you, say: For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds! You have no responsibility for what I do, and I have no responsibility for what you do” 10:41

“To you be your Way, and to me mine” 109:6

“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids obscenity, maleficence and iniquity. He admonishes you that possibly you would be mindful”16:90

As for the concepts of responsibility and accountability, Quran emphasizes the fact that everyone is responsible for their own actions: “And no bearer of burdens shall bear another’s burden.” 6:163

So, the issue of maintaining moral values as a means to ameliorate and promote the image of Islam has no actual base in the Quran, the primary and the authentic reference of the Islamic doctrine. It is true that Islam urges Muslims to maintain moral values and principles, but this is not for the sake of beautifying the religion or to persuade people to embrace Islam. Moral values are important to have fair relations and to establish healthy interactions among people. However, many Muslim preachers continue preaching the opposite and telling people something else about this issue. It seems to soothe them to find a reason for their own understanding of Islam. This is an indication that the misunderstanding of Islam is not confined to the non-Muslim world, but it can be found among Muslims themselves, especially those who can’t see the forest for the trees!

To conclude, we all should be aware of the importance of the moral values and principles in our life. It is also important for Muslims in particular to stop feeling susceptible because their religion is being put under a prejudiced microscope. They should also stop being defensive when it comes to attacking Islam and hold it accountable for every despicable actions committed in its name. We should understand that, to be responsible means first to be able to take care of yourself and then to have the courage to bear the consequences of your own actions.