Mass cyndicate meaning4/15/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() So what’s the solution? Rather than supporting generalizations against all Muslims, we should treat the various manifestations of violent extremism as we would any other mental health problem or crime. They tend to be broken people - empty shells with weak personalities and low self-esteem, carrying emotional baggage from childhood, from growing up in unbalanced families. Most known extremists and terrorists are anything but spiritual and devout individuals. Many cultural factors influence how we behave - and religion is interpreted as reflection of the culture in which it is observed, not the other way around. Luckily for those young men, they learned to reconcile their religious identity with a candid assessment of their cultural identity, helping them divert themselves from the sort of mental and psychological breakdown that might have led them to violence. These families espoused these views because of the tensions created by the clash between their native cultures and their adopted one. Rather than supporting generalizations against all Muslims, we should treat the various manifestations of violent extremism as we would any other mental health problem or crime I have witnessed several cases of young men coming from the same background as Mateen who had homosexual inclinations - young men who came from families that publically supported extremist groups, spewed anti-Western rhetoric online, in public and in the community, and supported extremist interpretations of Islam that embrace the execution of homosexuals, rampant misogyny and other self-destructive and violent forms of behaviour. (It’s really not much different from the case of Americans affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan who consider their world-view and ideology as vital parts of their ‘Christian’ identity.) It’s important to separate Islam, the faith, from the tribal systems that tend to be intertwined with it - tribal systems which consider their particular culture and habits to be indistinguishable from Islam itself. When the father claimed that he was shocked by his son’s appalling act of violence, it was apparent to me that he - like too many other parents - had ignored how his son’s self-hatred had been the catalyst for his so-called “radicalization”. His religious or political views may have had nothing to do with the tragedy the professed vehement homophobia of his family’s culture most certainly did. ![]() He felt ashamed of who he was and struggled to reconcile the conflicting - yet undiscussed - duplicity inherent in the ultraconservative religious culture of his family’s native Afghanistan. ![]() The young man evidently was struggling with a conflicted sense of identity. When I heard of the massacre in Orlando and learned something about the background of the gunman, I knew - before hearing any details - what the story was about. For many Muslims in the West, the balance between the freedom to express one’s personal identity and the need to be accepted by parents who come from another time and culture can be precarious. While many want to ‘fit in’ and be accepted into the society in which we’ve been raised, we also feel a yearning to connect with our roots, our heritage and the culture of our ancestors. The issue of identity lies at the core of every individual’s journey of self-discovery and self-realization. We have our ‘saints’ … our ‘satans’ as well. I feel that my Canadian identity is also an integral part of who I am.Īs with any major faith, Islam has a myriad number of interpretations, sects, denominations and schools of thought. I feel privileged to be counted among those who share a belief system that has brought spiritual fulfillment, purpose and meaning to billions over the past 1,400 years. I’m a Canadian Muslim - proud of my faith. ![]()
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