Poisoning the Public

Let us consider the violence of the state and pursuit of power in the name of religious identity. Let us witness how frequently revenge is confused with martyrdom. Let us trace the spread of intellectual poison.

Last Thursday, over 215 Muslim people were murdered, blown up in the Shiite slums of Sadr City. "As the bombs went off, everyone started running and shouting," said Kareem al-Rubaie, a news photographer. "I saw a car from a wedding party, covered in ribbons and flowers. It was burning. There were pools of blood ... and children dead."

And as you read this, the spiral of violence and revenge continues in Iraq. Shia mosques have been bombed. Scores of dead bodies are found every week with marks of torture upon them. Shiite militiamen grabbed six Sunni Muslims as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burned them alive near Iraqi soldiers-- who did not intervene to save their lives.

Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Anthony Shadid suggests that “Civil War is perhaps too easy a term, a little too tidy….(for) gangland turf battles over money, power and survival… a raging insurgency, the collapse of authority…” Through irresponsible policy and shocking mismanagement, the US government is in part responsible for the tragic situation in Iraq. However, we simply cannot shift blame entirely to the US for the current human rights disaster. Muslims kill and Muslims die in this horrible tragedy.

What can Muslims do? CAIR has condemned the latest escalation in sectarian violence. But is there really nothing more US Muslims can do to stop the slaughter of innocents in the name of Muslim religious identity?

Internationally, Muslim leaders are players in this game. Ostensibly to promote reconciliation in Iraq, Vice President Cheney traveled Saturday to Riyadh to ask King Abdullah to help control the Sunni reaction. In return, Saudi Arabia wants the U.S. to help rein in Iraq's Shiite militias; to support Lebanon in its struggle with Hezbollah and Syrian interests; and to accept a new unity government in Palestine. Will this work? And at what price?

Meanwhile the US government is cutting millions from life-saving antipoverty programs in Africa in order to channel more money into democracy building programs in “frontline states on the War against Terror.” But as the New York Times observes, “Promoting democracy and fighting terrorism are laudable goals… (but) there is little indication that America knows how to build democracy.”

And how does one build democracy in a Muslim nation, often characterized by tribal ties, a lack of developed civil society and a legacy of exploitation? Though there are successful Muslim states, the overall record has not been at all encouraging. The politics of divisiveness prevail and like greedy, competitive children, most of the regional leaders play with sectarian fire. Very dangerous.

For example, King Hamad al Khalifa has curtailed many democratic rights in Bahrain. Though in the minority, Sunnis are given special privileges though special naturalizations of Saudis and selective gerrymandering of districts. Also like in the US, smear campaigns in text messages and emails have been rampant in the current election. One candidate stated, “The government wants a polarized Parliament based on sectarian grounds. They want to have a Sunni bloc and a Shia bloc which they can accuse of being tied to Iran.”

It is not heart-warming to see these tricks of power spread faster than traditions of power-sharing, consultation and accountability. How does one translate “hanging Chad” into Arabic? Is this the famous Mu’allaqat?

But perhaps soon we will all be hanging by our legs. How easily extremists chip away at our sense of public trust, and derail our peace plans. In Lebanon, the killing of Pierre Gemayel follows the murder of Prime Minister Hariri last year; the nation faces a crisis. In Britain, last week’s radiation poisoning of former intelligence agent Litvinenko is hardly the first such poisoning. It may be pay back for Litvinenko’s book detailing how Russian services orchestrated the bombings of apartment buildings in order to build the case for the Second Chechen war. And Israel continues to assassinate Hamas operatives. Terror and state terror keep the public fearful and pliable to those willing to be harsh in use of power.

Unfortunately for us all, rigid understandings of tradition and local codes of honor influence many Muslims around the world. In this context, decisions are made behind the scenes, and power is not easily challenged. Even worse, this authoritarian culture is amplified by the power of the modern state, and by technology. And yet, even in the USA, once known as a more open society, the American public has become more isolated and participates much less in collective decision-making than before. What is happening to us? How can we resist?

Each year that Television viewing increases, civic engagement drops. More Americans watch TV (86 percent in prime time) than speak with family members (56 percent in same time period). The average number of televisions per home is greater than the total number of residents. The fraction of six graders with a TV in their room increased from 6 percent to over 80 percent in 20 years. Families once watched TV as a family; now individuals watch alone, and play computer games and surf the internet alone. And every age that grows up this way is less engaged civically, their friendships and community relationships are less deep and more situational, and public life suffers as leisure time is privatized.

I myself notice that my excessive time on email has started to negatively affect the way I interact with others. It is interesting that adaptation to modern technology can consume and control us just as surely as the traditional Big Brother can.

Muslims should consider how our public life is being poisoned by the powers that be, by technology and the choices we make in an increasingly complex world. Insha’allah we will learn to better understand how to free ourselves from all these intellectual, social and political traps. Muslim democracy—are the doors closing with a slam or opening-- with Islam?