Why Not a 'Million Muslim March'?

By AHMED H. AL-RAHIM
July 26, 2005; Page A24

Two recent events have sent shock waves through Egypt. The later of the two was the terrorist bombing of the resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh. The first, unnoticed in the West but no less unsettling, was the silencing of a liberal scholar, Sayyid Mahmud al-Qimany.

Mr. Qimany, an outspoken critic of Islamism whose many writings have been banned by al-Azhar University (Sunni Islam's most revered institution of higher education), recently received a death threat declaring him an apostate. "We have individuals," the message read, "who are willing to cleanse their sins with your blood." The individuals threatening him wished to make an example of Mr. Qimany in the same way they had of his fellow secular writer Farag Fouda, assassinated in 1992.

If Mr. Qimany did not retract his statements and writings against the Islamists, his fate was death. Despite the Egyptian government assigning bodyguards to protect him, he knew that once he was declared an apostate, the state could do little to prevent the Islamists from assassinating him. So to spare his family the fate that befell Fouda's, Mr. Qimany recanted all his writings, promising never to write again. He knew that he was alone in his battle against the dark forces of Islam; his only weapon was his pen, which alas he surrendered to the Islamists as others before him surrendered their lives.

The silencing of Mr. Qimany could not come at a worse time, when there are so few Muslims speaking out against Islamism and the recent spate of bombings. Sadly, only the voices of Western political leaders constantly remind us that Islam is a "religion of peace." Where are the Muslims, especially those living in the West, who have the freedom to organize and make their voices heard? It seems that the only time we hear from the Muslim masses is when there are alleged desecrations of the Quran, or of prisoner abuse in Iraq. Where is the Muslim outrage, the mass protests to defend Islam, in whose sacred name murder is committed nearly every day, against what Western leaders describe as a "perversion of its true nature"?

Alas, the battle against Islamism -- and also for the heart of Islam -- has become a battle for the West to fight. As a Muslim, these acts of terrorism committed by fellow Muslims -- and yes, they are Muslims, from whom we cannot distance ourselves by the sophistry that asserts that their version is but a perversion of Islam -- are a great source of shame. But what is more shameful is that there are no mass Muslim protests to speak of against terrorism that is committed in our name. In the same way that Muslims have protested against alleged desecrations of the Quran, they now should be out in full force in the streets of Cairo, London and New York, sending a clear message to the Islamists that Enough is Enough. Why not a "Million Muslim March" on Washington, of law-abiding Muslim citizens clamoring to reclaim their faith from those who would kill innocents in its name? Muslims must no longer stand by while murder and suicide bombings are committed in their name.

Mr. Rahim, an Iraqi-American, has taught Arabic and Islamic studies at Harvard University.

Wanna take wagers on how heavily policed this would be?

Heavy shit

Wouldn't it end up being just as laughable as the other million man march? I still don't see how that march did any good or made any difference whatsoever.

How many people actually showed up at the million man march?

I don't think it was a million.

what is the meaning of the word "Islamist" anyway?

Islam - Religion
Muslim- a person who practices Islam
Islamist - ????

But yeah.....getting a million Muslim gathering in current environment now....not a good idea....and thats me speaking as a Muslim...

I think the way the author is using it, is towards Islamic Fundamentalists, or towards those that would force Islam upon other people. I have never really heard Islamism used before.

As for a march, I think people would pay attention. One of peoples biggest complaints in the west is that they are not hearing enough Muslims openly critisizing the fundamentalists. A million doing it at once would be definetly noticed around the world. The million man march was largely ignored because of who the major organizer was, and some of his past opinions.

Exactly, it's a western term used to those who are trying to establish a worldwide Caliphate through force.

From Wikipedia:

Islamism is a neologism of Western etymological origins referring to a set of political ideologies derived from conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism which hold that Islam is not only a religion, but also a political system that governs the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. The goal of Islamism is to re-shape the state by implementing a conservative formulation of Islamic law.



Thank you for being the one who gets the article. It ain't about the "march" per say. It's a about the massive number of peace-loving Muslims who appear, at least to the west, to not be taking a stand against the Islamic terrorists. How are the US/UK/Aus/etc public suppose to believe that the majority of Muslims do not secretly sympathize with the terrorists unless the make strong public statements saying so? Having a bunch of Clerics say "I oppose the bombings" is like hearing Bush say "it's not about oil". Very difficult to believe. I believe, as does the author, a large scale peaceful public demonstration would show a lot of people that Islam really is a religion of peace.

I think this is racist, but the first thought that ran through my mind was, "Why police that so heavily? There won't be anyone there to kill but Muslims."

Sorry.

I find it more true. Cause just imagine not only how many cops would be involved but how many other government officials would be involved.