Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi

 

A journalist started his questions in a traditional way, but the interview went non-traditional:



– As a liberal, what do you think of …..”



* Who said I am liberal?

– Aha, you are an Islamist, then?!



* Nope!

– So what are you?



* What’s wrong of being just Muslim?

– We are all Muslims!



* Exactly!

– But everyone has an identity!



* I am an Arab-Saudi.

– I mean intellectually.



* I hold a PhD in Journalism and Mass Communication.

– Please stop teasing me! I meant your school of thought, are you Salafi, Ikhwani, Wahabi, liberal … you know!



* What if I am not any of the above?

– Can’t be! At least tell me: who is your sheikh, master teacher, references, idols?



* My main reference is the Qur’an; my one and only sheikh is Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him); my past idols are Caliphs Abubaker and Omar; my modern idols are Imam Abdulaziz Bin Saud, King Faisal and Mahater Mohammad.

– You are teasing me again. Sir, I am trying to classify you. What is your classification?!



* And I am trying to declassify your image of me. I am me. I don’t belong to certain ideas, they belong to me. I formulate my own thoughts. I take the fatwa and idea that convince me. I have no “mathhab,” (religious sect) did the Prophet (peace be upon him) had any?



– But your writings show you are more to the left. If not a liberal, then what?



* Left to whom? I might be right to some, left to others, and in the middle to myself. A certain idea I advocate, like women’s right to choose their destiny, may seem liberal to those against the principle, but Islamic to those who share with me the same understanding of Islam. It is a matter of perspective.



He wasn’t convinced, and decided to classify me as a moderate Muslim, which suits me fine. His attitude, however, points to a chronicle disease in our society—classification.



The problem, as I explained to my fellow participants in the National Dialogue Conference, last week, is being classified against our will. This became a weapon to silence “the others,” when their logic betters yours, or to get rid of your enemies and competitors for work or business gains.



And if you were unlucky enough to be the victim of this “witch hunt”, you have no refuge to turn to. It is enough for someone to feed the rumor or accusations in Twitter, WhatsApp, work and social circles, that you are atheist, zionist or liberal, to destroy your life. Suddenly people avoid you, contracts are cancelled, job opportunities are lost and messages of name-calling, threats and hate come in by all means, from the knowns and unknowns. Once in, it is very hard to get out. The classification will hunt you forever!



Therefore, I demanded, we get strict laws and a special court to speed up judgement. Without that, we will live in a jungle, where those who have the highest voices and strongest arms will always win and control, twisting our minds and arms into dangerous paths. Those who have valuable, different and peaceful thoughts to contribute will find it safer to keep quite. What a loss!



I am happy to report that the conference agreed, and the recommendations include the call for laws against hate speech! Let’s hope that our call will be heard and recommendation implemented … soon!



Now to your comments, dear readers, on my last article “Racism! Just don’t call it Islamic!”:



Basis



“The basis for marriage among Muslims is simply: being Muslims.” Fathima Khaleel



Empire first!



“I won’t let my daughter marry unknown Muslim until the Islamic empire had the power to bring him to justice in case of fraud or crime.” Ibn-E-Islam



Tribal adherence



“Tribal adherence and Islam is always being used to camouflage parents’ vested interest. Educators and liberal scholars should promote independent choice.” Manong



Priority



“Most people give priority to societal rather than Islamic value. Islam’s complete, we are not.” Nadeem



Path



“Do not blame Islam for your own bad deeds. Take the greed and selfishness out of our system, follow the only right path.” MH Kayani



Commercialism



“Some Muslims will use religion according to their needs and demands. Marriage became commercial rather than moral.” Aymen Rasheed



Heaven



“Allah urged us to marry to complete each other—a likely bridge to Paradise.” Nadir Beatty



My story



“I loved a Saudi student in Canada but her father refused because I am Indian, hence of a lower bloodline. He threatened to hurt my parents in Saudi Arabia if I don’t back off.” R. Z.



Reconsideration needed!



“So the question is that can a Muslim girl marry a person of her choice regardless of caste, color and creed. The answer is yes provided he is of the same faith. Reality is no for girls and yes for boys. Not only Saudi, Pakistani and Indian fathers feel the same!” Maria Khan

— Dr. Khaled M Batarfi can be reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com and followed on Twitter: @kbatarfi