Anti-Islam bigots need education, not attention

I opened my e-mail box one day this summer to find myself swamped with messages demanding urgent action against a Web site producing T-shirts imprinted with vulgar images. The T-shirts made light of the desecration of the Koran allegedly conducted at Guantanamo Bay.

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Muslim community has been compelled to protect the sanctity of Islam. My friends and family felt obliged to act, incensed at the lack of sensitivity and respect shown to Muslims after Newsweek published a report on alleged Koran abuses (which it later retracted).

But I was more uncertain of how to react as I sorted through the e-mails that enthusiastically called upon every citizen to fight this obscene Web site through letters, editorials and phone calls to local politicians.

Calling attention to the Web site only gives the company more publicity — and there is no such thing as bad publicity, especially when it is free. If controversy increased the Web site’s viewership, the site would not feel compelled to retract the product but might instead increase output.

So, I asked myself, should I just sit back and tolerate the existence of such depraved humor to minimize any added publicity? It certainly wouldn’t be an instinctual choice. Considering the frustration associated with defending an entire religion, it is rather difficult for young Muslims to maintain tolerance for Web sites that disregard any sense of civility and sensitivity.

After much deliberation, I chose to follow the gray path. In my personal struggle to understand this moral atrocity, I identified the root of the problem to be not just a group of morally irresponsible individuals but also a lack of proper public understanding of Islam. I decided I would much rather expend my energy rectifying the root of the problem and salvaging the integrity of Islam and its message. To battle directly with morally depraved entities that are producing obscene products seems in comparison to be inherently futile.

I cannot remain quiet while bigotry and propaganda take captive my religion and my identity, but neither should I waste my time trying to fight the most ignorant and offensive.

Rather, the only way to stop careless assumptions about Islam is to break down misconceptions. We should use the media and educational resources to start a public dialogue to break down ignorance.

No matter how loudly these T-shirt-making bigots may claim otherwise, Islam is not our enemy. Radical terrorists have hijacked my holy religion, just as Branch Davidians hijacked Christianity in 1993. During this vulnerable time for U.S. Muslims, attacking all of Islam for the evil deeds of these few makes just as much sense as attacking Christianity for the acts of Planned Parenthood bombers. Only through dialogue can we dispel the core confusions about Islam and allow for a better understanding to prevail.

Saira Karim is a Lovett College junior.

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