A dervish lament for Theo van Gogh

Yakoub Islam searches for meaning in the brutal death of the controversial Dutch film maker.

Page 42
Q-News, Issue 358
December 2004

In the Name of Allah, my heart is sick from hearing Muslims express their ‘outrage’ and ‘condemnation’. These are empty, pointless platitudes that go together like blood and daggers, canes and children’s buttocks, whores and their customers. Together, they signify a sickening split in the moral thinking of Muslims unable to discern love from hate.

A recent example of this mental schism is evident in responses to the life and death of Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh. Theo was a man who used to write, make movies and mind his own business. He liked to be provocative by touching on the rawer cultural nerves of his country. He sometimes gave people a present of a cactus because that’s how he saw himself.

Theo Van Gogh came to the attention of the Muslim community when his film Submission was aired on Dutch TV. The film was bound to cause trouble. It was scripted by controversial ex-Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali and it showed a naked woman with Quranic text painted on her. Thus was begot the first of the foolish acts - ‘outrage’. Muslims were deeply outraged.

Not me.

I made a special point not to be outraged, partly because I have no wish to portray myself or other Muslims as victims; and partly because expressing such outrage is an invitation to stupid men disguised as devoutly religious Muslims to shoot and stab people - sadistic men who possess inadequate religious knowledge, little insight and a warped sense of social justice.

Many of our community leaders pretend not to notice the existence of these stupid men in our midst. Consequently, every time they answer the phone to a journalist or write to express their outrage, they abnegate responsibility for where such glib expressions of outrage will lead. Their words are bullets slaughtering the bodies of innocents and the souls of those criminals intent on killing.

Moral censure exists in societies to protect the weak from sin and exploitation. The weak in the Muslim ummah are men looking for an excuse to commit acts of violence on our so-called enemies. Expressing words of outrage, condemning these enemies as opprobrious, is no better than showing porn to perverts.

Outrage is saying to weaker Muslims, “This is who you should hate.” What religion is this that I have joined? What monster protects the weak by filling their hearts with poison hatred? I beg you, in the Name of ar-Rahman, the voices of outrage are silenced if we live with Allah's love. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, felt pity for humanity. He wept.

The image of the word of God cruelly juxtaposed on a naked, suffering woman is surely an event that should provoke grief in our hearts, not ‘outrage’.

Was this film intended as an act of cruelty? Then weep. Was it an insult? Then weep. Do you believe it told the truth about women abused in the name of Islam? Then, by Allah, weep.

The Muslim ummah witnesses a thousand times more cruelty, abuse and ignorance in this world every day than was ever in this film. We should have stood on the doorstep of Theo Van Gogh weeping, when this film was shown, instead of watching his friends and family weep over his coffin.

Muslims have expressed condemnation at Theo’s killing – the second foolish. The leaders of the Dutch Muslim community called the actions of his murderer ‘cowardly’. Do they mean it would have been better if his killer had challenged him to a duel? By God, I would have won this man’s friendship. He would have listened to a friend. After all, he listened to his friend Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Brothers and sisters, this is Europe, not the Arabian lands at the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him. We do not need wars to win over those who fear the word of Allah. Give up your positional politics and become spiritual leaders, humbly seeking out people to care for. Learn - about Islam, the human condition, about the cultures of this continent. Engage with the people who live here and make it a home for us all.

And so pray for Theo Van Gogh and his family.