April 15, 2015

After my last week’s commentary on Islamic extremism and the problem within the Muslim communities, I received a number of encouraging and insightful responses

The feedback was not only uplifting but educational as well.

In my commentary I mentioned Quilliam, which I believed was the only Muslim-run anti-extremist organization, but it turns out there are more.
One of the commentators introduced me to a website, Clarion Project that has a list of “Progressive Muslim Organization,” some of which are specifically anti-extremist.

While it is encouraging to know there are organizations out there fighting for the right cause, the question is why don’t we know about them?

Why don’t we hear about them?

In my understanding, some of them are small-scale organizations and that might be the reason why they aren’t well known.

Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is likely one of the most renowned Muslim organizations in the US. The organization’s mission revolves around addressing Islamophobia.

According to its website, the organization was created to defy the “stereotypes of Islam and Muslims.”

“Prior to establishing CAIR, its founders observed that “the core challenge [in America], that of stereotyping and defamation, was having a devastating effect on our children and paralyzing adults from taking their due roles in civic affairs,” according to cair.com.

It is true that Islamophobia is a problem. People get attacked for wearing a headscarf or for having a dark skin tone in some instances, as the dark complexion is often stereotypically associated with Muslims.

Miss America 2014, who is an Indian Hindu through her background, was labeled a terrorist on social media for having a dark complexion.

So, yes, I get it. It is important to address Islamophobia.

But I think it is being addressed, not just by CAIR, but also by several entities and individuals.

Although certain sections of CAIR’s website are dedicated to addressing extremism and focus on separating the extremist ideology from actual Islamic teachings, but this still isn’t enough.

A prominent organization like CAIR can use their eminence to address an even more important issue.

Perhaps, they need to redefine their goals and add addressing extremism as part of their objectives.