A Call To Heed the Better Angels

I was recently asked by the editor of a German on-line Journal to contribute a response to an interview of the exiled Egyptian scholar Nasr Abu Zayd. After visiting the Journal's site and reading the interview, I contacted the editor and asked him what, exactly, he was looking for from me. His response gave me pause. Abu Zayd had talked about Islam in the way that he understands it: as a broadly tolerant faith tradition that is currently passing through a phase of inner turmoil as Muslims in various parts of the world come to terms with the post-colonial global order. I have no quarrel with such a characterization; indeed, I endorse it. The editor's comments to me suggested that he was not altogether satisfied with Abu Zayd's position. He suggested an approach that I could take, but I pursued my own Ghaffar Khanian path.

This did not go over well with the editor at all. He complained that the response that I sent him distorted the situation in Europe. He then characterized that situation as follows:

"The main thing is however that the top-muslims in our muslim organizations deceive us. They are talking of tolerance but do the exact opposite and this in such a cunning way that it is difficult to convict them. The majority of the muslims by the way is not taking part in any way in these organizations. But how cooperate with the normal muslim without cooperating with the organzations?"

After reading these statements, I substituted the words "Jews" and "Jewish" for "Muslims" and "Muslim" where appropriate and suddenly found myself transported to Germany in the 1930's:

The main thing is however that the top-Jews in our Jewish organizations deceive us. They are talking of tolerance but do the exact opposite and this in such a cunning way that it is difficult to convict them. The majority of the Jews by the way is not taking part in any way in these organizations. But how cooperate with the normal Jew without cooperating with the organzations?

This is how it begins. Decent, intelligent, well-meaning individuals uncritically--and without the benefit of historical comparison--adopt a discourse in which the "other" is portrayed as "deceptive" and "cunning." Before you know it, the Jews that the German government found so difficult to deal with in the early decades of the 20th century have been replaced by the Muslims of the 21st.

In reply, I suggested that the editor read an article recently published in the international edition of Der Spiegel. I don't know whether he read it or not as he never commented on the article in our subsequent correspondence. He did, however, translate my response into German and publish it on his site--for which I give him much credit.

We must never despair of others but call them always to the better angels of their nature.