Written by Theresa Corbin

The Islamophobia industry (indeed it is an industry that rakes in millions of dollars selling hate) has created a bit of rhetoric that is divisive, misleading, and infuriating.

Rhetoric: Why don’t we hear the moderate* Muslims speaking out against extremism and terrorism?

This question is slung around the media after any psycho with an Arabic sounding name goes and does what psychos do. But the fact is that when some media outlets *cough* Fox *cough* ask a question like- why aren’t Muslim speaking up- they are not really asking a question as much as they are planting a seed in the public’s mind.

The rhetoric is meant to make the average person think that the majority of Muslims are silent in the face of injustice falsely done in the name of Islam. And that Muslim silence implies consent.  

So Joe Schmo wonders if there are so many peace loving, law abiding Muslims then why don’t we hear the moderate* Muslims speaking out against terrorism? 

And the short answer is: The media is largely ignoring the billions of Muslims speaking out against terrorism in one breath, and then asking, “why don’t we hear from them?” in the next.

Almost exactly 3 years after I posted the first edition of “What Muslims Are Doing to Stop Terrorism” (find it here), I am again giving you the long answer to the same divisive and misleading rhetoric.

What Muslim Are Doing to Stop Terrorism:

• Muslims have formed activist groups on like this one on Facebook.
• 70,000 Muslim scholars in India passed fatawa (religious rulings) against terrorism, calling terrorist organizations un-Islamic and their members non-Muslim. 
• 250 Muslim scholars from around the world held a conference to produce The Marrakesh Declaration, which calls all Muslims to reaffirm the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) appeal for a peaceful, productive, and plural society.
• Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi wrote a book roundly refuting ISIS and all extremism. 
• 120 Muslim leaders wrote an Open Letter To Islamic State, telling them how wrong they are, using actual Islamic texts.
• Millions of Muslims on social media are roundly denouncing extremism. 
• Muslims have created hashtags and foundations like Muslims Are Speaking Out – #MASO started by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
• Religious leaders all over the UK have taken to  YouTube  to get the message out that terrorism is antithetical to Islam.  
• Nearly every masjid (mosque) that has a website has a statement denouncing extremism and terrorism on their home page.
• More than 30,000 Muslims met in the UK  to stand against violence and extremism.
• Muslims DO report extremist threats, even when they come from family members. 

I could go on and on, but you are smart enough to get the picture.

If you are someone who has parroted this question about Muslims, next time maybe ask yourself what you have done to combat evil that is done by people who share your religion, race, or nationality.

Terrorism and extremism is a problem within every community in the world today. No one has the luxury of putting their head in the sand and pointing a finger. 

*Islam calls for moderation in all things, so using the term “moderate Muslim” is ignorant, redundant, and insulting because it insinuates that being extreme is the default setting for Muslims.

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