The Refugee Crisis and the Battle for the Soul of Islam

The tragic attacks in Paris, France and Beirut, Lebanon, which have casualties in the hundreds, and even more injured, left the world speechless and appalled. This is the first time a major Western nation was attacked by ISIS in such an immense way to cause worldwide outrage. France responded right away to these attacks, declaring a state of emergency, closing its borders, and calling several air strikes on known ISIS hideouts in Syria.

But what do these attacks mean for Islam and Syrians around the world looking for political/religious asylum?

Austria has begun to close its border, building a barbed-wire fence to keep out any refugees that are looking to get as far away from their homeland as possible. Several U.S. governors are now refusing to allow these refugees in as a result of the recent attacks. Some presidential candidates have even decided to make anti-immigration a big part of their platform. Jeb Bush declared he wanted to allow only the Christian Syrians into the country, but when asked about how he would regulate this process and vet the Syrians, he did not have any clue. Donald Trump has said on several occasions that he intends to close down all mosques in the U.S., which is appealing to many anti-immigration, anti-Islam conservatives; it’s also an affront to the First Amendment. But there’s the hypocrisy in the Republican candidates; they love to implore that “All Lives Matter,” but when it comes to the Syrian refugees in dire need of help, some lives appear to matter less.

For the U.S., this is nothing new. If we look back to World War II, a time in which Jewish-Germans were seeking political asylum, many Americans were anti-immigration. An article by The Washington Post demonstrated a shocking statistic; that two-thirds of Americans did not want to allow Jewish refugees into the United States. This anti-immigration sentiment, then and now, really goes against principles that the U.S. was founded upon. The Statue of Liberty is there as a symbol of freedom; the “City Upon a Hill” we founded was a place for all immigrants to come and call home. Denying these oppressed Syrians is un-American.

In Canada, an Ontario mosque was burned down by radical right-wingers who have become Islamophobic. There was also a Muslim woman in Toronto who, on her way to pick up her kids from school, was brutally beaten. And in a demonstration of anti-Islam sentiment in the form of graffiti in Toronto, one individual wrote “Muslims go home!!! We don’t want you here!” for everyone to see. The sad part about all of this is that, in reality, we are helping ISIS.

So where does this Islamophobia come from?

This is largely because of the generalization of Islam as a “violent religion.” Americans see what ISIS is doing in countries like Syria, Iraq, or Saudi Arabia and put developed, civilized countries such as Indonesia and Turkey in the same category, which isn’t fair at all to those countries. There is a significant, ideological difference between jihadist terrorism and regular Islam that needs to be distinguished, otherwise this generalization and vilification of Islam will continue for years.

As Reza Aslan, Muslim activist, said in an interview, “[we cannot use] two or three examples to justify a generalization.” What if we were to make a generalization about other major religions? The Westboro Baptist Church and KKK bastardize Christianity, and the Myanmar monks killing people is bastardizing Buddhism. So how can we generalize Islam the way we have been?

If we continue to do so, it may actually work as a powerful tool in recruitment for groups such as ISIS, This is something President Obama recently told the American people in an address, and many people around the world have taken notice of. For years, young, confused Muslims sought solace in the hands of fundamentalists such as ISIS who teach them that western civilizations do not want them around.

What ISIS stands for is a form of Islam that believes the entire world must be homogenous in religion, an entirely Muslim world, and they will use military force to emphasize that, as we’ve seen. The Syrian refugees are leaving Syria because they are under siege from ISIS. Over the last five years, over 200,000 Syrians have been killed by ISIS. How can we declare ISIS our enemy and not offer what solace we can to those they are attacking and killing. It is worth noting that since 9/11, not a single refugee allowed into the country has been arrested on domestic terrorism charges. 

Muslims, in light of all this, have stood up for themselves; they want people to know that they do not agree ideologically with fundamentalism. #NotInMyName is a hashtag that trended in order to differentiate themselves from that, to explain what should’ve already been apparent.

“I am a convert to Islam from Christianity & ISIS does not represent Islam. Islam is peaceful & beautiful.”

“Islam and ISIS have no correlation. If you believe they do then read the Quran and THEN you can talk #NotInMyName

“Islam has taught me to show peace and goodwill to all. Terrorism has no religion. Thoughts are with those affected in Paris #NotInMyName

You get the idea. Like most religions, Islam is not inherently violent; it is people that are violent. Syrians are currently on a ‘Trail of Tears;’ they’re looking for asylum, a place away from religious persecution. ‘All Lives’ should matter, and it’s about time, that America embraces the principles it claims to stand for. We should let these Syrians, who are in dire need of our help, into our country before we repeat history.