People are not happy with the way I look at some of the issues concerning Muslims. This week I’ve been accused of playing the victim as a Muslim, while I received hate mail saying that Muslims should apologise to the UK “for importing your Third World backward religion Islam into the West” and “for bringing your evil religion and crazy followers into Christian lands”.
As Sadiq Khan, the new mayor of London, got elected, his opponents called him an extremist. Many Muslims called him a sell-out, while others described him as a moderate.
There are many descriptions about who is and isn’t a good Muslim: sell-out, extremist, moderate, victim and so on. The last one is particularly contentious, because those protesting against discrimination, violent attacks and hatred are seen as playing the victim.
It’s heartbreaking to see the “playing the victim” accusation being labelled against refugees fleeing Syria. Many bizarrely claim that it’s not so bad there. It’s sad that their Muslimness is being blamed for the situation they find themselves in.
We are prone to using a single definition of what is an “acceptable Muslim” and, as a result, seeing Muslimhood only in a binary way. Any shades of nuance or grey that step away from the checklist of what makes an acceptable Muslim and which would therefore disrupt people’s world view of a good or bad Muslim make people uncomfortable.
Binaries include the far right who will say my best friends are Muslim who go to pubs. All others are considered terrorists. Or politicians accepting “liberal” Muslims who don’t criticise the government policy. Or “liberal” Muslims who refuse to believe that a person can be a liberal and a practising Muslim at the same time. Or Muslims who demand every Muslim in public life must follow only one single script.
The latter also criticise the attacks heaped on Muslims because they face accusations of sharing a platform with “extremists” such as Mr Khan. They cannot fathom that public duties demand negotiation and engagement with others who may seem unsavoury and that it demands a consideration for all. Or simply that one can be proud of being Muslim and a champion of Muslim rights while accepting other beliefs.
Some consider that there is only a single way to be Muslim, Christian, Jew, “modern” or liberal, that there is either a “good” way or a “bad” way. A binary is a precursor to the dissolution of tolerance. The creation of a binary is paving the way towards division.
I am just one singular public face, yet I am called conservative and liberal, accused of playing the victim as well as being the aggressor and apologist.
The paradox is that the label says more about the person doing the labelling than the labelled one. It shows us how they view the world and their position in it. They are willing to accept engagement only on their own terms rather than have an equitable relationship.
We won’t always like the way people assert their identity or faith; we may even think they are wrong. But it’s become too much of a sport categorising Muslims “good” and “bad”. It’s time to declare the game over.
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and blogs at www.spirit21.co.uk
