so, can we focus on how much attention is paid, when speaking of 9/11 and terrorism in general, to so-called “good” muslims who completely renounce the “extremists” and who are sooo american and normal everyday people?

because don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with everyday moderate muslim-americans, but the idea that everyone wants to focus on them and talk about them and how much other muslims need to be like that really bothers me.

to me, this type of thinking emphasizes that terrorism is this monolithic thing that people “over there” do because they’re evil and naturally violent and extremist. when in fact, terrorism is often a calculated response to occupation and the resulting oppression.

so, see where this leaves us? all of a sudden by focusing on these good moderate muslims, we’re using a colonialist frame of mind to analyze terrorism as something simplistic and necessarily evil when it is one of the most complex social phenomena that exist in the world. by focusing on good moderate muslims, we are STILL alienating these so-called terrorists and still upholding american values as superior. good moderate muslims are good and moderate specifically because they are oh so american and love freedom and democracy and aren’t too far on the conservative side of their religious beliefs. good moderate muslims don’t believe in terrorism which means that this “war on terror” is all the more justified.

as a muslim, i feel very uncomfortable when called upon to stand in line with these good moderate muslims. i’m not criticizing the muslims themselves but rather the system and framework that makes it necessary for many muslims in this country to identify as good moderate muslims and then act like it. and i get that pressure, i do. i myself feel that pressure all the time, and maybe it’s because i’m for all intents and purposes already a political radical, but i feel sooo uncomfortable with being moderate and standing on the side of colonialist oppressors. i just can’t do it, and as muslims, we all have our own decision to make about that, but i just can’t stand on that side.

edit: and to add, there’s the whole apology factor too. good moderate muslims are expected to feel especially sorry for what happened and even apologize for it. they are expected to show their sorrow more than anyone else, but they are also expected to deny the muslim-ness of terrorists. while it’s true that islam absolutely does not condone terrorism, it is worth thinking about why we as muslims feel the need to deny that the terrorists were muslim. it’s just a way that we are expected and honestly almost required to distance ourselves from them even more. which again helps to set up the us vs. them dichotomy that the colonialist oppressors thrive on.