THE ATTRACTION OF ISLAM NOT MUSLIMS

By Bilal Cleland

My introduction to Islam came in the 1970s when as an arrogant Anglo Australian I visited Egypt with friends. They were not particularly interested in religion and neither was I.

I was a committed Unitarian of the Melbourne Peace Memorial Church, which had a strong social justice and generally leftist orientation.

Its logo is “To Seek the Truth and Serve Humanity,” which I wholeheartedly endorse.

When in Egypt I met my first Muslims, people I considered to be in the depths of barbarism just waiting for a thousand years of Unitarian enlightenment from the West to descend upon them.

The Unitarians in Europe have a long history of persecution for denial of the myth of the Trinity, considered to be an essential requirement of civilisation since the Decree of Theodosius in 381 CE when freedom of opinion was forbidden in the Roman Empire. One of the most famous Unitarians was Michael Servetus, burnt alive by the Protestant Calvin In Geneva, with books about Muhammad tied to his feet.

As Unitarianism developed it demanded freedom of religion, which was accepted by the Muslims, with John Sigismund of Transylvania becoming the first Unitarian monarch in Europe, under Ottoman protection in the 1600s. When the Hapsburg government, of mutual consultation and of democracy. They were famous for their contribution to science, like Joseph Priestley the discoverer of oxygen who opposed the Tories and was forced to flee Britain from a mob of church and king supporters who burnt down his house in 1791. It was with this progressive history that I encountered my first Muslims in Cairo 50 years ago. Ramadan 2023 ناضمر

Roman Catholics eventually took over Hungary, the Unitarians were subjected to genocide. Unitarianism became associated with opposition to exploitation, to slavery, to racism and the subjection of women. Unitarians in the American colonies helped draw up the revolutionary Declaration of Independence, which was never implemented in full.

It was gob-smacked to find that my progressive European Enlightenment ideas were all contained in the Quran, a book which to that time, I was convinced was the rambling of some deluded ancient Arab.

Religious toleration, freedom of belief, respect for the rights of women more advanced than nineteenth century Britain, the divine significance of mutual consultation in affairs including governance, total denial of any semblance of ethnic or racial superiority, was all part of that Revelation by Muhammad (s) and elucidated by his life, acting as the Quran in motion. His Final Sermon made a particular impression upon me as did his attitude to Bilal the former slave and to Julaybib, probably suffering from dwarfism.

I accepted Islam with the Egyptian brother who introduced me to the teachings of the Quran.

When I returned to Australia I was a unaware of the Muslim community but was teaching ESL in Myer House in Melbourne CBD. One of my early students, Turan Buday got me to attend the mosque and from then I became involved in the community.

It was a rocky road. While most individuals impressed me with their openness and friendship, there were many instances of culture shock and feelings of alienation.

My involvement in Islamic Council meetings were traumatic and I saw behaviour which I never saw amongst Unitarians or people in the Peace Movement of which I had been part for over ten years.

There were many cases of xenophobic denigration of other Muslims, fights between Islamic societies, jealous wars inside societies and very questionable decision by leaders. Racism, misogyny, greed and nationalism abounded alongside claims to be living in accord with Islamic teachings while ignoring them at every crisis and conflict.

Conflicts over halal slaughter income was for years a source of anger and nastiness which shocked me.

I just started to give up. I stopped attending the mosque, stopped praying but did not give up halal meat or toilet ablutions. Not sure why, perhaps because I still felt attached to something.

This lasted a few months but I found that I could not depart from Islam. I acknowledged the validity of the Message of Islam, its compassion and tolerance even if they were not common in the Muslim community.

The example of my friend Jemal Hasan eventually brought me back into the fold and I have remained there.

I became involved in the Islamic Council of Victoria then in the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. I saw some dreadful corrupt behaviour, vicious fights between organisations and individuals, was subjected to slander and poisonous commentary but I understood by then that Islam is not the Muslims.

The only big hit I have taken in the past few years was the appalling response of a section of the Muslims to the pandemic. Vaccination was declared haram by some voices and I remember one imam being persecuted for agreeing to vaccination. The wearing of masks was attacked. The suspension of Friday congregational prayers was described as some form of treason. Conspiracy theories abounded and were spread by those who should have known better.

It was as though the white supremacists of the Trump camp were infiltrating the Ummah. That seems to have passed and now I wait with baited breath for our community response to the Indigenous demand for a Voice to Parliament. We are being tested as individuals and as a community. We are judged by our intentions.