David Day's article does not even attempt to mask the disdain that he feels for Muslims and Islam ("Under Muslim Feet," Feb. 7). It is clear that Day perceives Muslims as either wholly apathetic and removed from the violent pulse of their community or the very people creating the violent pulse. The subtext of both these descriptions is that something is seriously wrong with contemporary Muslims. However, in no way does Day responsibly address the growing tide of resentment that Muslims around the world feel toward the West.
He flippantly observes, "They blame American foreign policy, British police, Israel, Western decadence, the media, authors, the Pope, filmmakers and cartoonists. Most need to look no further than in their mosque or out their window." Not only do these statements attempt to obscure how things such as American foreign policy affect the daily lives of many Muslims, but it also serves to depict Muslims as irrational peoples who are grasping at anything to blame. Day believes that good Muslims are the moderate Muslims. Are moderate Muslims those who do not strictly follow Islamic tenets or, rather, is it those Muslims who are completely divorced from and apathetic to the struggles of many Muslims around the world?
Instead of painting Muslims as a group of people who are out of control, it would be more effective and humane to understand that Muslims are not one homogenous group. Also, we should study what the West has done and continues to do to facilitate and create the anger that many Muslims feel toward the West. While America is dropping bombs over two Muslim countries and Israel is carving up Palestine, it would be foolish and immoral to depict resistance to such totalizing forces as unwarranted radicalism.
While Day discusses the legitimate fear he felt on a bus in Israel, he does not explore the constant fear and oppression that Palestinians live under daily, which is a major cause of suicide bombings. The oft-repeated myth that Muslims are blowing themselves up to get to heaven is laughable and completely circumvents the real discussion that needs to be had.
Furthermore, Day makes light of the increased surveillance that the Muslim community is being made to endure because he believes that someone needs to keep Muslims in line, since they won't do it themselves. Day's acceptance of this type of profiling is highly problematic because he is furthering a viewpoint that all members of a group become suspect when some of that group's members behave in a deplorable manner.
Lastly, the fact that Day has been able to publish such a hateful and degrading article about Muslims is a clear indication of the status of Muslims around the world. Muslims understand that they are seen as sub-human, violent and irrational. We can either embrace this false understanding of Muslims and paint Western countries as peaceful saints or try to actually understand the global context.
