These issues don’t even touch on social matters, including how non-Black Muslim families view interracial marriage or perpetuate European standards of beauty as ideal, likely the result of centuries of Western colonization. And what about our own actions, whether intentional or not, that contribute to injustice or divisions among us? While our faith teaches us that only our own level of God consciousness and good deeds elevates us above others, we’re still naïve enough to believe in our own immunity to the systems of oppression and inequity that surround us. There is far greater good in confronting such realities than pretending they don’t exist. In fact, acknowledging and accepting them will enable us to unite and challenge all aspects of anti-Black racism so that we may grow closer to one another as a collective, become a stronger ummah and unite as one community to advance the common good and advocate for justice in all spaces. Such resources already exist and are readily available. We don’t have to look very far to see the incredible opportunities to learn and grow together, thanks to the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC; www. muslimarc.org), the Muslim Wellness Foundation (www. muslimwellness.com) and similar organizations. As we strive to educate ourselves, we must also learn about the larger Muslim experience in the U.S. While working as a community to eliminate Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bias, we should also recognize the work and sacrifices made by Black Americans, many of whom were Muslim, during the Civil Rights era. The laws we use today to argue for equal treatment of Muslims only exist because of their struggles. We would do well to remember: “O you who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding justice, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk” (4:135). As Muslims, we must support calls for justice in this moment and always for everyone — not just for fellow Muslims. Neither the above verse nor our tradition supports such a limitation. And yet some Muslims remain silent until one of our own faces injustice and oppression. Too many of us became enraged over police officer’s Rusten Sheskey shooting at Jacob Blake’s back seven times on Aug. 27 in Kenosha, Wis., which paralyzed this 29-year-old man from the waist down and caused several non-fatal internal injuries — but only after learning that his father is Muslim and recited Surat al-Fatiha at the beginning of a press conference to address his son’s condition. By remembering to love one another for the sake of God, our Creator, who made us into nations and tribes so that we may know one another, we might also know that we must strive to eliminate each and every act of injustice both in ourselves and each other. ih Roula Allouch, who says she “went to law school to be an advocate for civil rights, access to justice and the rule of law,” is a litigation attorney with Graydon Law. She is chair of CAIR’s national board.
“Terrorism” or “Marijuana-Induced Psychosis”? Spot the Difference Disturbing trends in Canada’s judicial system BY AZEEZAH KANJI
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he grossly disparate treatment of two similar cases highlights Canada’s double standards on extremism. The first is the “Canadian Tire attacker” — Rehab Dughmosh, a Syrian immigrant woman — which stimulated an outpouring of consternation in the Canadian media. National security consultant Jessica Davis warned in the Globe and Mail that “The government must … identify and mitigate the threat that radicalized women could pose to the security of Canada.” As columnist Christie Blatchford hyperventilated in the National Post even before Dughmosh had been found guilty, the defendant “appears for all the world to be the face of the modern new (alleged) terrorist.” The June 2017 attack’s actual details, however, indicate that it was a minor (Canadian) tire-fire involving more pathos than peril. Dughmosh had swung a golf club and a knife at store employees, bruising and biting one of them before being subdued. No one was seriously injured. Despite swearing allegiance to ISIS, she had no functional connections with it. A court-appointed psychiatrist diagnosed her as likely schizophrenic and possibly “not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder” (a defense not pursued during the trial, at which she represented herself). Her years-long episodes of paranoid delusions and hallucinations had caused her to cover all phone jacks and light fixtures because she was being “surveilled.” Moreover, at the time of this episode she was displaying “intense psychotic symptoms.” And yet Dughmosh was charged with 14 counts of terrorism and sentenced in February 2019 to seven years’ imprisonment: three for the assault and four for having traveled to Turkey in 2016 with the alleged intention of joining ISIS. Although Superior Court Judge Maureen Forestell noted that Dughmosh’s punishment was reduced because of her mental illness, it NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 31
