In the last seven days four Muslim Americans have allegedly resorted to violence in America. This is not the Prophetic way.
Below are some vital tips for us to process our anger in non-violent ways: resorting to violence ruins others, ourselves and our families.
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Facts First:
- March 7: Emir Balat, 18-year-old, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19-year-old, reportedly tried to bomb an anti-Islam protest organized by Jake Lang’s group, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter and far-right influencer, in New York. No one was injured; both were arrested.
- March 12: Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41-year-old, who had two of his brothers killed by an Israeli air strike in Lebanon last week, rammed his vehicle into a Michigan Synagogue. One guard was injured. He was shot dead.
- March 12: Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36-year-old, a veteran soldier, killed a Lt. Colonel in a Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) class at Old Dominion University in Virginia and was killed.
Alhamdulillah, they did not become mass casualty events.
Thinking and Talking Points:
- All attackers are U.S. citizens
- All attackers are young
- They are all Muslims who have taken the un-Prophetic path
- Two of them seem impacted by the War
- Two of them were reacting to Islamophobia
- These attacks seem connected with the vicious cycle of war-terrorism-Islamophobia
- Just in the last two weeks, 4 million people have been displaced in Iran and Lebanon because of Israeli-U.S. attacks and invasion.
- In the last two years 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza and 73,188 are dead because of Israel’s ongoing genocide.
- Brown University estimates that over 4.5–4.7 million people have died due to the War on Terror.
- Distinguished Professor John Mearsheimer is now quoting highly respected British journal The Lancet saying that sanctions by the U.S. and its allies have killed 38 million people worldwide during 1971 and 2021.
Action Items:
Allah commands Muslims to repel evil with wisdom. (“Good and evil cannot be equal. Respond [to evil] with what is best, then the one you are in a feud with will be like a close friend,” Qur’an 41:34)
- Provide Positive Outlet to Anger: There is a body of well-researched studies that establish a frustration-aggression nexus. This psychological theory proposes that blocked goal attainment (frustration) always leads to some form of aggression. It is, therefore, important for Muslim community organizations to engage the community, especially young Muslims, in activities that channel their frustration into opposing war and genocide by means that will not hurt others or themselves.
- Fund Projects that Strengthen the Youth: Relationship and engagement are proven methods to stop people taking the wrong direction. Just imagine these two teenagers, who will be spending the rest of their lives behind bars for their stupid act, on charges of the “use of a weapon of mass destruction.”
- Strengthen the anti-War Movement: Being part of those who stand for peace is one such mediating vehicle. Support, donate to or join pro-Palestine Jewish groups, and others who stand for peace like CODEPINK, Veterans For Peace, ANSWER Coalition Non-Violence International and Win Without War.
- Break the Vicious Cycle of War-terrorism-Islamophobia: They reinforce each other and the main victims are Muslims. Muslims in America are only one percent. It will, therefore, require Muslims to work in coalition with other networks.
- Oppose Islamophobia: Islamophobia is rising and it always increases during wars. What is your personal commitment in terms of time and money to oppose Islamophobia?
- Family Discussions About the War: Talk within family settings about the war-terrorism-Islamophobia nexus. Talking is better than silence. It allows people to vent and may help you guide someone to process their anger in the right direction.
- Avoid the Risk of Being Recruited by Extremist Groups: Ensure that you expose ISIS-type organizations within your congregations.
- Entrapment by the FBI: There is a long history of the FBI entrapping young Muslims to divert their anger into violent acts. Ensure that your families are aware of it. Alse ensure that your masjid educates its people in this regard. Here is research regarding it. This is a critical media look about entrapments. Here is a U.S. government perspective about it.
- Issue Statements Condemning Wars: Muslim organizations need to give voice to how Muslims by and large feel. This will increase trust in the leadership that has the burden of ensuring that their followers stay engaged in positive activities.
- Dua: Submitting ourselves to God Almighty in worship and supplication is a great way to mediate frustration. He controls the world; we don’t. Please make dua for the innocent victims, for the leadership of our country and for war to end.
As war and Islamophobia continue, it is regrettably likely that more such incidents might happen.
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