The Prophet Muhammad taught us that we should chose our leaders from among the best of us. Leaders are expected to display the characteristics of a good Muslim, including humility and self-control, commitment to consultative government, and dedication to compassion, care for the less well off, and a peaceful society in which all can prosper.
I can well imagine that many of you reading this column are shaking your heads and wondering where one might find such a leader in the Muslim world. Certainly the rulers of many Muslim countries fail miserably when compared to the standards Islam holds up for leadership. As do many of the self-proclaimed leaders of Islam, like Osama Bin Laden or Ahmed Yassin.
This failure in leadership, aside from the fact that it has resulted in horrific violence and atrocious living conditions for millions and millions of Muslims around the globe, is also responsible for much of the rising tide of Islamophobia that plagues certain groups in the West.
On the home front, we see a variety of American Muslim leaders. Most prominent in the press is the immigrant community. ISNA, CAIR, and their ilk are headed mostly by men who came to this country since the 1960's immigration policy opened the doors to people from the Muslim world, and by white converts, often women, who follow a socially conservative brand of Islam. The domination of these men and women in the media gives America skewed view of what the Muslim American community is like.
The largest group of American Muslims is actually African American Muslims, the vast majority of whom follow Sunni Islam. While the immigrant community tends to focus on interfaith activities, civil rights, and promoting their understanding of Islam, the African American community is much more concerned with issues that affect blacks in America -- such as racism, the multitude of difficulties that challenge people living in the inner city, as well as civil rights.
So, too, Progressive Muslims are struggling to make themselves heard. All too often, we are conflated with people like Wafa Sultan, or Hirsi Ali, who have clearly stated that they are no longer Muslim. Progressive Muslims, however, maintain a firm connection to the faith and to God. Our reading of the Qur'an and/or hadith lead us to a value system that focuses less on right and wrong, on Heaven and Hell, and more on developing the good characteristics a Muslim is supposed to engender and creating a society of compassion, equality, peacefulness, with human and civil rights for all, including freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.
While we disagree on various points, the American Muslim leadership is united in promoting core values such as I have mentioned above -- compassion for others, civic engagement, commitment to harmonious society and justice. We are also trying to present a more realistic understanding of Islam and Muslims than you get by watching the evening news.
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