Muslims must speak out against Islamism
Muslim communities in the West have recently celebrated the main holiday in the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha, safely away from the fratricidal wars in the Middle East between Sunnis and Shia Muslims in Syria and Yemen.
However, as a member of the Arab American community, I have noticed, during the Islamic holiday a rise in fundraising activities among Islamic groups that subscribe to Islamist agendas.
As a Lebanese American who was involved in the politics of the Middle East, I accept the temporary ban on some Muslim- majority countries as a necessary security precaution.
Muslim communities enjoy the freedom of faith and action in the West, things they do not enjoy in their countries of origin, but some of them abuse this freedom by trying to establish an Islamist community incompatible with the American Constitution.
We should not reduce the national duty of protecting America to a racial issue or a human rights issue. There are Muslims of all races. Hence, we should have no sensitivity in criticizing Islamism that had been a recent development in the 20th century.
Islamic communities in the West need leaders who call for Islamic reform and the integration of immigrant Muslims with their Western communities.
Muslims are here to stay, and they are a source of wealth to this nation, like any other immigrant communities. We need to encourage voices that inspire young Muslims to embrace moderate Islam and live the American dream, reject Islamist agendas, and contribute to this country, as their ancestors did (before the rise of Islamism in the last four decades) when they crossed oceans, drawn by the beacon of hope and freedom in America.
Hesham Shehab
Lombard