Where Are All the Moderate Muslims?
By Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News
May 16, 2007
CBNNews.com - TULSA, Okla. - As the world searches for answers in the war on terror, one big question is this: where are all the moderate Muslims?
It seems that all too often, terrorist attacks are met with silence by the Muslim community, especially here in America.
CBN News spoke to one American Muslim who did speak out -- and was threatened because of it.
There was a time after 9/11 when the release of an al-Qaeda videotape would create a major stir among Americans. These days, many dismiss the tapes as little more than propaganda.
But not Jamal Miftah -- he's seen the effects of jihad firsthand.
Miftah lived in the tribal region of Pakistan, a major terrorist stronghold. When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, radical clerics recruited thousands of young men from this region to fight American troops.
Many of them never made it back home.
"The most unfortunate part was -- I saw all those leaders come back safe and sound, without being harmed," said Miftah. "And almost 700 or 800 of the innocent, ignorant Muslims -- who were not aware of the real motives -- died there or were left behind.
When al-Qaeda released a video last fall calling for new attacks against America, Miftah had seen enough.
Now living in Tulsa, Miftah sent a column to the Tulsa World newspaper. It called on all Muslims to speak out against al-Qaeda and terrorism.
Miftah explained, "I wanted to create awareness among Muslims to not become tools in their hands by committing suicide bombings or terrorist acts."
"It was not for publicity, it was not to get attention -- it was just to convey a message. I think I was duty-bound. I am a proud Muslim, and it was my duty," said Miftah.
Miftah expected leaders of his local mosque to approve of the article, since it condemned Islamic extremism. He was wrong.
Miftah thought his fellow Muslims would support his stand. But he says that when he came to the al-Salam mosque, he was surrounded by a group of angry Arab men who physically threatened him.
He says that the imam of the mosque called him "anti-Islamic," and that another mosque official branded him a traitor to his faith.
A witness who wishes to remain anonymous verifies Miftah's version of events. He told cbn News that several men also shook their shoes at Miftah during the confrontation -- a major sign of disrespect in the Middle East.
"It was just scary," he recalled. "And even this guy -- who tried to rescue me out of the mosque -- he said to the mosque president, 'Don't harm him, don't touch him.'"
He added, "It was not just ordinary people. It was the mosque leadership."
Miftah filed a police report after the incident. In the meantime, the Tulsa Islamic Society banned him from the al-Salam Mosque.
Miftah said, "That was not a normal reaction. That was not a sensible or sane reaction. If they had any objection to my article, they could have sat with me and said, 'Okay, why have you written this, or why have you written that?' And I could have explained it. But they were just trying to threaten me."
One part of Miftah's article specifically angered the mosque's leaders.
He wrote, "Even mosques and islamic institutions in the u.s. and around the world have been tools in terrorists' hands and are used for collecting funds for their criminal acts."
Blogger Michael Bates, who writes about politics and other events in Tulsa, said, "He certainly wasn't making that assertion about Tulsa. But the fact that they responded in such a shrill way makes you wonder if there wasn't something there."
Bates says he was shocked by the mosque's reaction.
"They did eventually make a statement to the local newspaper," he said, "They said Jamal Miftah was welcome to come back. That it wasn't about terrorism. But what did come out was what they were really upset about: that he said mosques in America were involved in funneling money to terrorist organizations."
Bates says there is a precedent there.
The al-Farooq Mosque in Brooklyn and the Bridgeview Mosque in Illinois both have come under federal investigation for funding terrorism.
A 2005 Freedom House Report found that 80 percent of all American mosques have Saudi funding behind them.
CBN News spoke to one mosque member who criticized Miftah's version of events.
"He wasn't kicked out at all," insisted one al-Salam mosque-goer. "They were asking him why he made a blanket accusation against all U.S. mosques harboring terrorism."
Our other attempts to get answers didn't go over so well.
The mosque's leadership declined our requests to be interviewed on camera for this story.
But a mosque representative told CBN News, "Our issue wasn't with (Jamal Miftah) condemning terrorism. We do have major issues with his statement that leaders at American mosques have pocketed half their donations and given the other half to terrorists. There was a disturbance in the mosque. He wasn't alone in it. He is welcome back."
Miftah says he won't be returning to the al-Salam Mosque. He now leads his family in prayer at their home. But he still wants the mosque to apologize for calling him anti-Islamic.
"It amounts to an invitation to anyone within the Muslim world to come and get me.The more I think about it, the more I get worried about it. And that is what I wanted them to say, that 'he is not anti-Islamic.' And that is what they are not saying."
Miftah says that even in Pakistan, he was never treated so badly by his fellow Muslims. He says that if it can happen in America's heartland, it can happen anywhere.
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