THE SILENT MUSLIM MAJORITY
THE SILENT MUSLIM MAJORITY- WHERE’S
THE OUTRAGE?
by
Ken Eliasberg
From 9/11 to the present time we have frequently been admonished not to engage in any act of intolerance toward the Muslim community: That Islam is a religion of peace. And I believe that this is as it should be. After all, we are a tolerant people, and an intolerant response to an act of savage intolerance - i.e. 9/11 - would not be appropriate. We have also been told that the savagery of 9/11 was conducted by a small “minority” of radical islamists and in no way reflects the peace-loving sentiments of the majority of Muslims. And I’d like to believe that as well. That said, two thoughts occur to me: (1) How substantial is this anti-American minority, and (2) has the Muslim majority’s response to this outrage been all that one might expect it to be? And I find the answers to these questions quite disturbing, if not alarming.
Size of Minority.- Again, we are told that the great majority of Muslims are peace-loving; that the Islamic fundamentalists (crazies) are a very small minority. Let’s assume, arguendo, that that is in fact the case. What then, in this context, constitutes a very small minority? While estimates differ as to the number of Muslims in the world (somewhere between one billion and a billion three hundred million), let’s pick a compromise number of an even billion. What would be a fair figure to use as a minority? Probably 5%, but let’s go even smaller say, 2 and 1/2%. That would mean we are dealing with approximately 25,000,000 whackos. That’s a lot of crazies to worry about (crazies, I might add, who appear to be heavily funded)!
Bear in mind that we have been historically advised that the Nazis comprised only some 3% of Germans prior to WWII. Germany having less than 50 million people at the time, that would mean that about 1and 1/2 million crazies took over Germany. This means that we are dealing with about 17 times the number of whackos that plunged the world into the maelstrom of WWII. Granted that the world is considerably larger today than it was in 1939, and granted also that the Germans were a far more advanced and resourceful group than today’s Muslims, still, the numbers are a bit disconcerting - 25,000,000 people are a lot of people to have to worry about. In addition, WMD were not a consideration during WWII, a variable which dramatically changes the equation.
Furthermore, while there may have been only a million and a half Nazis in Germany in 1939, there were certainly a significant number of Nazi sympathizers among the remaining German population. In that context - i.e. Muslim support for these assassins one cannot help but be disturbed by the vitriol pouring out of Islamic countries, i.e. the Madrassahs in Pakistan, where Jihad and hatred are course staples, or the schools in the Palestinian sector where anti-American, anti-Isreal, and anti-Jewish materials seem to comprise the heart of the curricula, or Mosques throughout the Middle East where hate-filled accusations are routinely leveled against the West, or the newspapers throughout the Middle East where the United States is not uncommonly referred to in less than the most glowing terms, or Arab television (Al Jazeera), where once again vitriolic expressions with respect to both America and Isreal are the order of the day. Then there was that statement of the Prime Minister of Indonesia - the largest Non-Arab Muslim country in the world - regarding his antipathy to the United States and Israel.
And, more disturbing, and closer to home, one need not go abroad to find strong support for the fundamentalist cause. Not too long after 9/11, students in a Mosque in America were queried on their reaction to that horrific event, and they displayed more than a little sympathy for the jihadists (a euphemistic expression which, in this context, refers to barbarian animals). Along these lines is the very disturbing information contained in a recent report of Freedom House, entitled “Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques.” I commend this report to the interested reader’s attention.
All of which brings one to a somewhat disturbing conclusion regarding both the intentions of Arab fundamentalists towards America and, more disturbingly, their possible numbers, i.e. maybe they do not comprise such a small minority of the Muslim population, and, worse yet, maybe there is more support for their cause - anti-modernity - than we would like to imagine. Which brings me to my second concern - how many of the remaining Muslim population are, if not sympathetic to, at least not too upset by, the behavior of these Islamic fundamentalists?
Where’s the Muslim Outrage? - Of course the obvious answer is that we’ll never know just how much Muslim support these murderous thugs have in the Muslim community at large, and we do not want to assume anything regarding their numbers for risk of defaming a great religion. That said, I have to ask - where’s the outrage? These murderous thugs are tarnishing the good name of Islam. You would think that the majority of Muslims would be up in arms and doing everything in their power to not only eliminate this bunch of crazies, but taking every opportunity to express their great concern. That has not happened. Are there comments made by representatives of the mainstream Muslim community? Absolutely! But, in my opinion, they pale into insignificance when contrasted with the voices referred to above, i.e. Pakistani Madrassahs, Arab newspapers, Palestinian schools, etc.
And, more to the point, if there is such outrage among the majority, it doesn’t seem to be having much effect on the obstreperous minority. You would think that even violent crazies might not wander too far off the reservation if they were really fearful of evoking a violent backlash among the unhappy “majority.” And I realize that many might be afraid to speak out. However, when the good name of a religion is being trampled under foot by a bunch of wild animals, I would think the rest of the community would be up in arms. And this does not appear to be the case.
And, please, spare me any nonsense that certain Muslims have spoken out. I know that; indeed, many have done so. but their voice pales into insignificance when contrasted and compared to the volumes spoken in the Madrassahs, Mosques, Schools, Arab newspapers and T.V., etc., etc. and even from some of Muslim leaders. Has any reader seen a fatwa declared against Osama, for example, by any Isamic cleric? I don’t think so.
Their concern seems less than passionate; their voice in protest is muted to the point of being inaudible, and their actions in protest restrained to the point of being almost invisible. On the contrary, to the extent that their unhappiness is discernable, it not infrequently appears to be directed to the U.S.’s action in the Middle East, particulary U.S. support of Israel. Perhaps, more to the point, if the majority of Muslims are really disturbed by the behavior of their fundamentalist brothers their feelings have either not been relayed to these barbarous butchers or, if they have, it does not appear to have had much effect on their murderous conduct. Which suggests to me that the violent crazies may not represent such a “minority” after all (or, if they are a minority, they may have more support and/or sympathy among the “silent majority” than one would like to think). The bottom line is simply this - either Islam has a problem with Islam, or we have a problem with Islam. If it is the former then one must ask where’s the Muslim outrage? In this regard, one cannot help but recall the following statement attributed to Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Where are all of Islam’s “good men” (and women) now that they are so sorely needed?