It is good to let rational heads prevail as such a tragedy will surely be held at gunpoint by those seeking to polarize communities. It should not even be a question that Muslims or Pakistanis (or any other identifiable community associated, one way or another, to the perpetrators) condemn such disgraceful acts. The large majority of people condemns it, no question about it, that should be the automatic assumption. Nevertheless, it is good that leaders and organizations (such as CAIR-CAN) have stepped up to officially condemn in order to make sure that such ignorance, simple-mindedness and outright stupidity will be kept in check on both sides. Already, there are people who are looking to bank on such a tragedy to confirm their own prejudices and to force it upon others. We must resist the two positions often people get caught up in when faced with such tragedies:

(i)      Those who call upon every single Muslim or Pakistani (or any other identifiable label that is used), every chance they get, to personally condemn such an act. It is an act of prejudice to even assume that this is condoned by Muslims or Pakistanis on a general level.

And …

(ii)      Those who refuse to even blink and offer a branch of condolence to those affected because they do not want to be made to feel as if they are personally responsible for apparently sharing the same religion or nationality of the perpetrators. Also, due to the lack of people expressing the same type of sympathy when their own are subjected to the same type or even worst type of brutality.

Sadly, a lot of people fall into these traps. While I can understand their way of thinking, they are inherently flawed. Personally, as a Muslim and someone who has many Indian friends, I want to take it upon myself to offer my condolences to them and anyone who is affected by this terrible tragedy. It is outright insensitive for me not to. Therefore, I have no quarrel putting up a statement of my own on the record. Not everyone is willing to do that and that is totally fine but that should never be an excuse for community leaders -- in particular, those who have a wide influence and not some University campus organization or anything like that.

Generally speaking, at the grassroots level, such openness is extremely valuable. In light of my own personal experience, it is a relief to just refer to a big organization like CAIR-CAN when someone tries to impose their own prejudices on me that there is an issue with how Muslims are quiet when it comes to terrorism. It has been a common practice for a very long time and one only needs to attend one single convention (ie. Reviving the Islamic Spirit and Journey of Faith) to understand how groundless such a claim is. That being said, a proactive approach in condemning specific acts and responding to events immediately is important.

We have to ensure that such a terrible tragedy does not result in the broad and general repression of any particular group as it happens often in history. No one should ever be made personally responsible just because they share the same religion or nationality of the perpetrators of any atrocity. Nevertheless, again, it should fall upon community leaders to condemn such an attack in order for a point of reference to be made. Caution must be exercised when it comes to this as we should not expect for any individual or groups to be made responsible for putting out their own statements. It is not the job of every single “leader” (in the broad sense of the word) to condemn every single idiot on the street. Whether or not a statement is warranted must be judged on a case by case basis. As it relates to the attacks in Mumbai, I personally think that such statements are warranted and are extremely valuable when it comes to the bigger organizations. In that sense, it is more of a show of solidarity as opposed to a 'condemnation' if one prefers another word.

At the end of the day, regardless of the brutality of such an attack, the grievances must be addressed as often they are quite serious despite the moronic way in which they have been brought to light. Here is a good introductory article highlighting such grievances.

When the Oklahoma City Bombings occurred, there was no shortage of media outlets attempting to highlight the grievances that the perpetrators had. When this was done, no one was accused of justifying the bombings. It was seen as a necessary practice if we are at all serious in making sure that this does not happen again. It is a standard practice of any rational human being.

In the spirit of resistance,
Critical Mood