December 2002 Call to Action News

Esack: A progressive Islamic take on 9/11

South African Muslim theologian, Farid Esack, spoke bluntly about the Muslim reaction to 9/11. Most Muslims in the world rejoiced on 9/11, he said, because from their viewpoint the bully on the block was finally getting a beating. People in the U.S. wanted to believe that most Muslims were peace-loving, so they asked questions about Islam to allay their own fears, not to really understand what had happened. Esack pointed out that when people rejoice at such awful destruction, it reveals terrible pain. We need to see beyond the immediate situation to the decay beneath.

Esack had little patience for glib interfaith dialogue where middle class people meet, share information about their religion, then go home and feel good about their tolerance. Rather, "We need to be mirrors into each other as part of a struggle for justice," he said. We need a truthful critique of middle-class values - caring more about self-transformation than about transforming the world.

Mohammed came to make waves in his society. That is our responsibility as well. Jihad means to struggle to transform the world. The problem occurs when the obsession with justice is unaccompanied by compassion or grieving for the other side. Then, anger is all that remains. Through real self-examination, we come closer to God.