Call me Abu Dhir, I am outraged by Islamist control of American Muslims. I am inspired by one of the Prophet’s earliest companions. His name is Abu Dhir and called out corruption and paid a price for speaking truth to abusive power. But he never compromised on his principles.
Naive Hopes
As an immigrant who fled repression and bigotry in the society of my birth, I naively thought by coming to America that I would finally be able to practice my faith as a Muslim without any politics thrown in my mosque experience. I came to here to escape both generals-turned-dictators and clerics-turned-theocrats.
Unfortunately, Islamists made the same journey to America. They fled the dictators who tried to repress and jail them – and found an open society where they could do what they wanted. They brought with them a fanatic passion for religious extremism, fueled by the sermons of crazy clerics, millions of dollars in petro-funding, and the political savvy of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Islamist Enjoy Total Freedom In America
Here in the States, Islamists are free to follow the same model they tried in the Middle East: take over the institutions of Islam to gain political power in the name of all Muslims, regardless of whether we Muslims agree with their worldview or not. You at least have to give them credit: They now control the vast majority of US mosques and Muslim centers.
The challenge for people like me here an America – just like back in the old country – is that Islamists are trying to set up their own parallel society. A hostile take over of Islam itself. They need to take over our communities because they want to their message to dominate – and because they want to be the representative for Muslims in America.
My dream is to be able to go to Friday prayers with my children without having to be subjected to political rants, misogyny against my wife, for my vote to count in board elections, and to not see my community institutions controlled via corrupt and undemocratic practices: rigging boards, cheating, lying and usurping.. all supposedly in God’s name.
Islamists Fueling Islamophobia: American Muslim Caught In the Middle
It took me years to realize that there is a connection between the rise of Islamists in America and the rise of Islamophobia. I initially thought anti-Muslim bigotry came just from conspiratorial fear-mongering and the hatred of immigrants. But as I got exposed to Islamist domination of US Muslim institutions, I realized this is only half the story. The inconvenient other driver of Islamophobia is that extremism of Islamist leaders who dominate our community institutions.
The sheer number of scandals these groups have been embroiled in over the past 30 years shows that the perception of Muslims being a threat to American society was fueled by Islamists’ own behavior. These scandals, which are easily found in seconds with a quick Google search, generally break into the following categories: double-faced talk when engaging non-Muslims, financial corruption and abuse, sexual abuse, abetting extremism, smearing and silencing critics, financial and immigration fraud, board election fraud, misogyny, and the list goes on.
Google It
It is catastrophic that a simple Google search will reveal dozens of people who held high positions in major Muslim American organizations who were convicted on terrorism charges or had demonstrable ties to actual terrorist groups like Hamas, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, the Islamic Jihad. These are individuals who posed as spokesmen and representatives for American Muslims.
American Muslims Are Between A Rock and A Hard Place
Like many American Muslims, I find myself stuck: the vast majority of my faith’s worship places are effectively controlled by Islamists whose ideas about gender, religious freedom, tolerance are not in-sync with the values that made me come to America in the first place. They render accounts to no one (except maybe their foreign patrons) and never take responsibility for any of their abuses.
To make matters worse, there’s a hurricane of anti-Muslim hatred that grows with news of every terrorist attack, and the prejudiced perception that US Muslims a whole, and their leadership are only fronts for terrorist groups seeking to dominate and destroy America.
Doing My Part For US Muslims
I am not sure that I have a solution for this problem, but I decided to do my part. I have been silently watching first-hand for years the rot inside Muslim institutions. I kept silent until I realized that the only way to change our institutions is to speak up about the corruption and immoral behavior of leaders who represent us in public.
I created this blog as a resource for American Muslims to make smart choices. I would like to save others the time and pain that took me to understand the unholy alliance between Islamists and Islamophobes: each depends on the other to make the big bucks, to gain power and relevance. The rest of us are left with the hateful stares in the streets, extra scrutiny at airports, and a confused youth with few positive Muslim role models.
It is now time for us to resist, to demand accountability from leaders: sunshine is the best disinfectant. 30+ years have shown that no one will protect our children and improve our community but ourselves.
So this is my story. Now come forward and share yours. Abu Dhir lived a lonely life, just as his beloved Prophet (PBUH) foretold. This time around, Abu Dhir shouldn’t have to stand alone.