What Religion is he?

When a Muslim commits a crime, his/her background and religion are clearly displayed for the world to see, even though the crime itself is committed by people of other religions and ethnicities with their backgrounds seldom specified. Such was the case of the “Rochdale Sex Gang” when neoconservative, Zionist Islamophobes such as David Aaronovitch and Melanie Phillips persisted on linking Islam to a crime. Funnily enough, these sick minded individuals would never suggest a link between Judaism and Jewish criminals who molest members of their own community.

At a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Denver, Colorado, a man named James Holmes shot twelve individuals and injured over fifty more. If it was a Muslim, there is every guarantee that he’d be called a terrorist and the world of neoconservatives and left-wing Islamophobes would be fervently trying to link Islam with the shootings. Unsurprisingly, there is not a single link made between Holmes’ religion and the shootings. In fact, he is bizarrely titled the “Batman Psycho.”

Had he been a Muslim, the police and other authorities would try to spy on his circle of friends, any societies he was part of at the UC Riverside campus and would try to establish non-existent terrorist links on “AdultFriendFinder” of which, he was a member. Furthermore, all Batman material may be banned under the pretext of leading to terrorist activities and anyone caught with a Batman comic is profiled and arrested under the Terrorism Act and sent to Guantanamo.

Instead, we have already established there is a possibility of him containing a mental illness with evidence in pending. When Staff Seargant Robert Bales massacred sixteen Afghani civilians, everyone spoke about how he was stressed and the domestic troubles he was facing. No one bothered to check the domestic and psychological and domestic pressures on Abdul Sabor who killed four French soldiers in Afghanistan and was even given the death sentence. However, when Muslims commit crimes, there is no psychological profile but demonisation and an expected public apology for every crime a Muslim commits.

The question is: how come we Muslims allow this media double-standard to continue? The answer lies in the lack of media and political lobbying. How many decent, popular and renowned Muslim journalists are out there trying to counter the Islamophobic narrative? You could probably count them on one hand. Instead, every Muslim is in this stupid cultural race to become a doctor in order to make lots of money and have a sense of community honour. In reality, our honour needs to be in Islam and we must start to understand that money can be made in all avenues of life; we need to start living for Islam and not just for ourselves. Muslims often respond by saying as community, we are poor and that we don’t have enough money. Yet we see Muslims donating tirelessly for new chandeliers in mosques and for mosque expansion! We continue to build mosques due to unnecessary sectarianism but we do not consider building Muslims up to run the mosques that are already there in order to make them eloquent and intelligent advocates for Islam.

Our condolences go out to those who were mercilessly slaughtered by Holmes. Allah says in the Quran 5:32-“Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.”