Open Letter to Anwar al-Awlaki

By Omer Mozaffar

In response to his blog posting “Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing.”  I would post this letter as a “comment” on that blog entry, but I do not trust that that blog is legitimately his.  Some of the blog postings are so shortsighted and simplistic that I do not expect that they are from Anwar al-Awlaki or any scholar in his/her right mind.  Compare the loose accusations in the Nidal Hassan entry with the careful comments in this National Geographic interview.

Salam,

I am posting this note with the respectful hopes that you will reconsider or clarify some of your recent comments.  Shaykh, I disagree with you that Nidal Hassan is a hero.  He is not anything close to being a hero.

If he had this alleged problem with being a Muslim and American soldier, he should have resigned.  He should have gone AWOL.  If his plan was to kill American soldiers, then he is obviously a fool for having spent so many years in the military to do what he did.  Further, if his plot was to kill American soldiers, he is an even bigger fool because it will not stop any wars and — if anything — it will result in the death of more Muslims.

But, he is not a hero or a fool.  Rather, he seems to be someone with serious mental problems.  Unfortunately, there are many who are attempting to link his conduct with some sort of Islamic interpretations, but as my above paragraph illustrates, he would be a fool (at best).

Indeed, this war that the United States is engaged in is wrong and should be condemned again and again.  Iraq did not attack us.  Afghanistan did not attack us.  Yet we are wiping out hundreds of thousands of lives to sustain these occupations. But, we also know that in the cycle of empires, whether we speak of the Umayyads or the Americans, empires in decline eventually engage in wars to sustain themselves, which often accelerate their own declines.

But, regarding this point that you make:

“The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.”

Treason is a very serious charge.  I am assuming you have already contacted each of these American Muslims to address your concerns before having accused them/us of treason.

But, his actions are most definitely to be condemned.  It is absurd that Muslims have to condemn the horrific actions of Muslims, while it should be understood that horrific actions are implicitly condemnable.  It is all the more absurd because members of other communities are given the privilege of silence.

Indeed, we wish that American Muslim leaders would be more aggressive in criticizing the government on each major and minor infraction.  In time they will be.  But, if Nidal Hassan shot and killed those soldiers, then he was dead wrong.  If you regard my comment as treason, then I’m sorry:  we disagree.  There are likewise plenty of Americans who regard any criticism of the United States (especially by a Muslim) as equally treasonous, and I disagree with them also.

But, speaking of hypocrisy, let us look at this point:

“The fact that fighting against the US army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right -rather the duty- to fight against American tyranny.”

You are someone who spends quite a bit of time blogging and lecturing, so there is an obvious question here:  where are you fighting?  As you know, it is frowned upon us to say what we do not do.  So, the question is:  who is falling into hypocrisy?

Now, I am not calling you to fight.  Rather, I am calling you to say what you do, and to not say what you do not do.  Indeed, you should continue lecturing, but shift your focus to something productive.

And Allah knows best.

Originally published at Mozaffar’s Moments