The Mealy-Mouthed Mufti

If anyone doubts the extent of delusion and denial among those who purport to be leaders of contemporary Islam, let them consider the following disgraceful statement issued by the Grand Mufti of Australia in the wake of the barbaric murders of innocent civilians in Paris on November 13th 2015. The Mufti has rightly come under fire for the wording of this statement, and some have called for his immediate resignation. A retraction or resignation is unlikely; instead there is an attitude of defiant and self-indulgent ignorance that pervades the office of the Mufti and that further characterizes Mahometan officialdom throughout Australia. It is not confined to Australia, though. It permeates Islam as a whole, beginning with its leaders and representatives and seeping down to the average Saracen in the street. The rot starts at the top. It radiates out from Mecca and typifies everything that is wrong with contemporary Islam. 

The events in Paris are infamous enough: there is no need to rehearse what happened, who was killed, by whom, or the nature of the barbarism. But readers should consider the following statement by His Eminence, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, and in particular note the statement highlighted in red. 

Let us consider it. What are the “causative factors” that are creating terrorism and that are preventing strategies to stop terrorism? They are, according to the Mufti:

1. Racism
2. Islamophobia
3. The curtailing of freedoms through securitisation
4. Duplicitous foreign policies
5. Military intervention

So, apparently, the causes of terrorism are all matters which are being inflicted upon Muslims. Muslims are the victims. Muslims themselves are not to blame. Islam itself is not to blame. There are no problems or faults within the Islamic Ummah itself that have not been imposed by non-Muslims. There is no reason for Muslims to reflect upon their own interpretations of their faith, on where modern Islam has gone wrong, or on the structures and ideologies that prevail in their communities. No. Muslims, according to the Mufti, are the victims. Muslims are being pushed into terrorism by others. Nothing can be done about terrorism until critics of Islam are silenced.

Note that there is no direct condemnation of those who perpertrated the massacre in Paris. There is no statement condemning the ISIS organization as unIslamic. And there is no statement demanding that Muslims everywhere conduct some appropriate soul-searching to root out the evil of fundamentalism from contemporary Islamic religiosity. Instead, the Mufti’s statement lays the blame on others. Terrorism is a reaction to racism. Terrorism is a reaction to “Islamophobia” – whatever that may be. Terrorism is a reaction to security and policing. Terrorism is a reaction to the Australian government’s foreign policies and, by some strange paradoxic, Australia's military engagement against terrorists in the Middle East. (Is the Mufti really saying 'We can't do anything about terrorism until you stop bombing ISIS in Syria?!!!') 

Unless this mealy-mouthed Mufti condemns the attacks in Paris - without reservation - he should resign. His response to the Paris atrocities is completely unacceptable. He promotes an ideology of victimhood rather than confronting the poison that is infecting contemporary Islam. He is part of the problem. He deserves to be condemned and he has shown himself not to be fit for the high office he holds.

(We might also note at this time that the Mufti - supreme representative of Muslims in Australia - cannot or will not speak English. It speaks volumes in itself that Mahometan officialdom in Australia has appointed a non-English speaker as their figurehead. There is no serious effort to engage with mainstream Australia.)

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What might His Eminence have said instead? Several correspondents have asked the present author what response Muslim authorities should have given? It is, of course, not the business of this author to do the job of the Office of the Mufti or the National Council of Imams, but he offers the following as one possible appropriate wording. It is not, as they say, rocket science. The Mufti's Media Statement might well have been worded as follows:

His Eminence, the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, and the Australian National Imams Council, mourn the loss of innocent lives due to the recent terrorist attacks in France. Almost 130 people were tragically killed and more than 350 injured.

We would like to convey our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased.

We reiterate that the sanctity of human life is guaranteed in Islam. We condemn, without reservation, all those involved in these evil and barbaric deeds and denounce any Muslims, in Australia or abroad, who offer support to those responsible. Acts of terror have no justification and are profoundly un-Islamic in every respect. Those who perpetrate such acts face the displeasure of Allah Almighty and the punishment of the hellfire. They can in no way be regarded as martyrs.

We regret, once again, that radical and extremist ideologies have taken root in some sections of the Islamic Ummah and we vow to work tirelessly to completely eliminate such perverse ideologies from our own community. We assure the Australian people that we will cooperate with the Australian government and law enforcement to take all necessary steps to remove the doctrine of hatred and terror from within Australian Islam, to prevent any material support for terrorism here or abroad, and to protect innocent Australians from all acts of terror and religious violence.

We ask the Australian people to distinguish between the great majority of Muslims who are peaceloving and a small minority of deluded heretics who are misled by narratives of victimhood and blind hatred that have no basis in fact. We call upon all people of good will to stand with the peaceloving majority and to help us cleanse contemporary Islam of this terrible cancer.

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Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black