While reading through the recent archives of Memri I came across a couple of noteworthy columns. In the first, Saudi columnist Thuraya Al-Shihri writing in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, criticized Muslims for failing to condemn terrorism and for failing to spread positive messages about Islam.

“[The London daily] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat [recently] reported that ‘a Belgian paper distributed to its readers free copies of the Holy Koran in French, along with a coupon for [a copy of] the Koran in Flemish, which is the language spoken in the part of Belgium close to the Dutch border. For 15 days, the paper also ran a supplement in which it published a book called Islam Now, presenting the history of Islam up to the modern era. The paper plans to run [a series] of articles on the Islamic faith and its practices: prayer, fasting, charity and the pilgrimage [to Mecca]…’

“When the offensive cartoons of the Prophet [were published], we responded by damaging buildings and campaigning to boycott products. Most [Muslims] continued to purchase these products in secret, or [went on buying them] because they were not aware of their origin. The whole affair [produced nothing more than] slogans which were meant to support [Islam], but which in practice only damaged its reputation.

“When we wanted to explain the value of our faith, [why didn't we launch] social initiatives… or harness our economic resources to inform the world about the noble nature of Islam and shari’a? Nothing [of this sort] was done, except for a few conferences organized by Muslim preachers - and even this came only after the situation had deteriorated.

In the second piece, Omar Dahbi, columnist for the Moroccan daily Aujourd’hui Le Maroc wonders if the Imams who condemn acts of terrorism against Muslims are actually condemning the act itself or rather the fact that Muslims are the target.

“…When an Islamist leader or Imam condemn ‘the terrorist act that targets the lives of Muslims,’ this poses a real problem. What are they condemning, the act itself or the fact that it targeted Muslims? When they invoke hadiths that attest to the sanctity of ‘Muslim blood’ in their arguments, does this not legitimize, at the same time, the killing of ‘infidels’?

“What is the difference between the act of killing civilians in Casablanca and [the act of killing civilians] in Tel Aviv? To applaud those who explode themselves on a bus in Haifa is a way of legitimizing terrorism.

“To be against terrorism means to denounce any harm to human life as such, and to condemn the ambiguity of the discourse of hatred and intolerance. Glorifying acts of carnage elsewhere and denouncing them in one’s own home is an act of hypocrisy that should no longer be tolerated.”

It’s refreshing to see some people have the guts to say this publicly.