The Politics Of Islam: Representations

In today’s society, ‘Islam’ is as much a political term as it is a religious one. The reasons for this are various. We’re currently in a “War on Terrorism” which seemingly only focuses on Muslim Arab “terrorists,” despite the fact that so-called acts of terrorism have been declining since the eighties, and that most of today’s terrorism is originating from Latin America. 1

Because the way in which this “War on Terrorism” is framed, misconceptions abound. The media broadcasts the “terrorism” that the government wishes to focus on – and this in turn shapes the view of terrorism held by the general populace. Feasible estimates of the number of Muslims in the US range anywhere from one to five million. 2 & 3 Regardless of the specific number, however, it would be safe to say that for the general population of America, interaction with Muslims is limited.

Because of this unfamiliarity with Muslims on a personal level, the populace is not particularly well-versed on the Muslim faith. This is can be a problem in and of itself. But it becomes an even larger problem when their interest is suddenly piqued, such as it was following September 11th, 2001. The general populace, without any options, turns to the mass media, and to the books at the front of the bookstore, with the snazziest titles and covers.

The media has responded to this renewed interest by “giving the people what they want.” Naturally, however, they give it with their own coloring. And since at the heart of the matter we have a corporate media, one which is thoroughly intertwined with government, it necessarily broadcasts with its’ best interests in mind.

An additional stipulation must be added here. Not only will the elite who own the media be coloring the information, but they will also being influencing and shaping the discourse.

There is no incentive for providing impartial reporting – or in this case, educating – to the masses. If the media is controlled by the elites (a posit which might prove a bit hard to argue), it would be self-defeating to not broadcast the most politically-favorable version of Islam possible.

C. W. Mills once wrote that the US has three spheres of power; three groups of elites. The corporation, the goverment, and the military. It is readily apparent what stake each of these groups has in supporting the media that we watch. It is also apparent what stake they might have in the current political “War on Terrorism.”

And thus – problems abound. A religion which many are ignorant of, is taught through a politicized framework. Even without the politicization, the fact that the media is the first and only source of knowledge for many is troubling. Ideally the media should not be educating, but rather informing – current events, not fundamentals.

But alas, many do flock to the media for information on Islam. Television stations and periodicals alike were overflowing with special reports on Islam following September 11th, 2001. And thus, it becomes extremely important to understand the connection between religion and politics when studying Islam. The largest topics were on things such as ‘jihad,’ sexual inequality, and, most especially, the question of “why do they hate us?” The question which purports to explain everything we need to know about Islam.

‘Jihad’ has become a very common buzzword in the media as of late. Today jihad is up there with ‘Allah’ in terms of words commonly connected to Islam. And it is quite possible that Americans have ascribed more importance to the word than it has ever enjoyed before.

Along with its rise in popularity, has come a rise in its misuse. The commonly accepted definition of jihad today is that of ‘holy war.’ It is a pronouncement that the likes of Bin-Laden throw around, willy nilly. This ‘holy war’ seems to always be directed at Americans.

Associating jihad with ‘holy war’ is not confined to the unwashed masses either. It carries this connotation into the media, into books and other publications, and into speeches and government policy. One could use the word in such a fashion in many circles, and no one would bat an eye.

However, even a cursory objective look at the word will turn up different definitions – varying – but all quite a distance away from the popular ‘holy war’ translation.

Carl Ernst writes that defining jihad to mean holy war, is to apply Christian terminology to the translation. 4 It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to do this. In Asma Barlas’ article she explains the more accurate definitions of jihad. These include, chief among them, that of an “inner struggle.” In fact, every time that jihad is mentioned in the Qur’an, it is within this connotation of an ethical-moral struggle. There is such a thing as a ‘lesser jihad,’ which is analogous to a physical struggle – ie. warfare. But one must remember that this is the lesser definition of jihad, and that it still does not mean that the violence is religiously-ordained. 5

Where did the myth of ‘holy war’ come from? This misconception has certainly been around for some time now. Perhaps we simply listened to what a few extremists had to say on the issue, and took their translation as the absolute authority on Islam.

Did we consider the Afghan war against the Soviets in the eighties a jihad? Perhaps holy wars are justified only when fighting the “evil empire.”

Regardless, for whatever specific reason, there remains a large divide between what we are told jihad means, and what it actually means based on the Qur’an.

Another area in which the media and much of the current ‘Islamic literature’ fails, is the discussion of women and their status as prescribed by the Qur’an. There is certainly gross sexual inequality throughout the Middle East, northern Africa, and southeast Asia (of course, the same holds true for the Americas, Europe, and the rest of the globe). But to say, as many have, that it is Qur’anic-prescribed inequality, is not so clear cut.

Many times today, we hear about how things such as head scarves – all the way up to burkas – are religiously prescribed. We also see how Islam allows polygamy, and – if we read selectively enough – encourages wife-beating and husband-worship.

This is, once again, taking a selective, patriarchal reading of the Qur’an, and calling it absolute fact. However, in her book, Asma Barlas warns against reading the Qur’an in such a way. She says that one must read the Qur’an holistically, for the best of meanings. 6 Others, such as Amina Wadud, say that one has to go about reading the Qur’an after abandoning self-interest or the ego. 7

Either way, it wouldn’t make sense to read the Qur’an in a patriarchal fashion, and thereby condone some of the current grievances against women. Again, the question comes back to why we take the narrowest and most limited of interpretations.

Jihad and the woman’s place in Islam are certainly two of the most widely talked about topics in terms of Islam today. But there is a single question which encompasses both of these topics, and more. It’s a question that has been on many peoples’ minds in the past three years.

“Why do they hate us?”

Worst. question. ever.

In this question, we have the “us” – or the western American. Then there is “them” – which is apparently the arab Muslim (although Cat Stevens has taught us that the racial distinction can be blurred). And then we have the final piece of the puzzle – them hating us. This is apparently already established after September 11th, 2001.

What I idly wonder, is why an entire religion hates a single country wholesale? Or how that can even happen? Is it indeed in the Qur’an?

Commonsense tells us that hating America is not the sixth pillar of Islam. Thus this question is, at its base, a gross oversimplification based on child’s logic.

But such an oversimplification is much easier to deal with than a more complicated question dealing with social, economic and political issues. Instead of questioning some of the foreign policy of the last hundred years, we can simply say that their religion is violent and that they hate “infidels.” We seemingly use the term more than any Muslim.

In this way, we absolve ourselves from any wrongdoing, past or present. It’s their bloody religion to blame.
And the religion is important. For whatever reason, being Muslim is the defining feature of a person for most Americans. The religion trumps all other characteristics. And as this happens, we start to prescribe all other traits as an offshoot of the religion.

Islam, as a religion, is fairly tame in my eyes. It seems to follow many of the tenants of Judaism and Christianity, which preceded it. It’s another world religion, and there is nothing particularly ‘scary.’ However in today’s society, the predominate images of Islam, are of suicide bombers and arabs shooting guns. This is the representation of Islam that is put out by the media and sensationalist books. I might call this representation / distortion “political Islam” if the term was not already in use elsewhere.

And this is what the public wants. They want to learn about the representation of Islam that they hear about on the nightly news. So they go out and buy books which further inflame the situation.

This is the fundamental problem in dealing with Islam today. Not only is there a sharp difference between the Islam we commonly hear about, and the actual religion, but we don’t even particularly care to understand the religion. What possible connection do suicide bombers have to the actual religion? I would venture a guess and say none, since suicide itself is forbidden by the Qur’an (not to mention killing civilians, etcetera).

If Islam did not have the ugly connotations that it currently has, it wouldn’t be the hot topic that it is. Books would be relegated to the back shelf along with other “eastern religions,” and college courses on Islam would be pushed into religious studies (eastern religious studies at that).

So if one wants to study Islam, they must first ask themselves: which Islam do they want to learn about? The media’s representation of Islam? Or the Islam that is practiced by a billion Muslims worldwide? This will necessarily change how they go about doing it, what they will read, etcetera. And as such, it’s very important to understand the various influences on Islam.

– References
1. US Department of State. “Patterns of Global Terrorism – 2003”. April 29, 2004. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2003/31751.htm. 12/14/04.
2. CUNY Graduate Center. “Graduate Center Survey of Religion in America Complements U.S. Census”. October 2001 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/press_information/current_releases/october_2001_aris.htm. 12/14/04.
3. Islam101.com. “The Muslim Population In The United States”. December 1992. http://www.islam101.com/history/population2_usa.html. 12/14/04
4. Ernst, Carl. Following Muhammad. Chapel Hill: University of N. Carolina Press, 2003
5. Barlas, Asma. “Jihad = Holy War = Terrorism: The politics of conflation and denial”. American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences. 20:1; pp. 46-62.
6. Barlas, Asma. Believing Women in Islam. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002
7. Wadud, Amina. “Beyond Interpretation”. The Place of Tolerance in Islam. Boston: Beacon Press, 2002