SPEECH: Who Speaks for Islam?

The stories of Muslims represent the voice of Islam, serving the Muslim community and inspiring more people, said Dalia Mogahed in her speech on Wednesday evening at Minaretein, Education City.

Photography by Xiahanqing Wu

Dalia Mogahed, the Director of Research of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), was a key speaker of the lecture, “Who Speaks for Islam?”, hosted by the College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

To figure out the importance of the voice of Islam, Mogahed introduced the dilemma Muslim communities are confronting. According to the case study of American Muslims, she recognizes that American Muslim communities are currently challenged by extremism on one hand and atheism on the other, especially after the 2016 Presidential election.

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Generally, in terms of Islamophobia, American Muslims often find themselves portrayed in a negative light by the media, and as a result, are plagued by persecution. Thus, to American Muslims, specifically to the younger generation, speaking about their own stories on behalf of their community is a positive way to eliminate the current unfriendliness.

Mogahed then linked the social context of American Muslims to every Muslim within the situation, by employing a personal anecdote which inspired her understanding of leadership.

It happened during her high school years and the experience broke her usual quiet and nerdy character. Mogahed encouraged her classmates to help a heavily injured student, Eric, to catch up with the academic schedule. After witnessing how bravely Eric fought for his life with the help of her peers and herself, Mogahed decided to “step out of [her] comfort zone as a quiet hardworking student and run for student council.”

When she successfully won the election of the student council and served more people later, Mogahed said, “We must seek to serve, using leadership as a means, not a goal.” This interpretation of leadership influences Mogahed’s career and how she understands her voice in “prestigious platforms”.

As a well-known public speaker and Islam scholar, Mogahed was invited to deliver a TED Talk and another speech in Dallas. In both speeches, speaking about her stories of being an American with the Islamic faith but “being scapegoated and demonized in unprecedented ways” deeply encouraged her audience.

By viewing the audience’s reflections and letters, Mogahed realized that it is necessary to approach others with deep generosity. In the context of severe Islamophobia in the US, stories from American Muslims are highly needed. These stories, “shift our view from victim to survivor, warrior, teacher,” she suggested. Hence, she suggested speaking for Islam, as a warrior’s or teacher’s fight-back to Islamophobia.

Mogahed’s speech at the University of Virginia exemplifies how to respond to Islamophobia by speaking for Islam. An attendee, who Mogahed describes as “a fake expert”, asked her if “Islam promotes terrorism.” Without furiousness or anger, she politely talked about the idea of anti-violation in Islam and clarified, “blaming Islam for ISIS is confusing the context for the cause.”

Although Mogahed received a warm and enthusiastic standing ovation after replying to the man’s rude argumentation, she insisted that today, the American Muslim community urgently needs “a chorus of truth-tellers to drown out the lies.” Even if Muslims are a minority in the US, they are an indispensable part. Thus, spreading facts, not falsehood about Islam and Muslims, is everyone’s duty to protect this part of vulnerable people from those who bully their faith.

Photography by Xiahanqing Wu

For example, Mogahed is currently privileged to Islam-related research topics at ISPU. Under the mission of informing every decision and dialogue about American Muslims, “we conduct object to research on Muslim Americans and the issues that impact them,” she added.

At the end of the speech, Mogahed answered the question of “who speaks for Islam?” The answer is everyone. Everyone needs to be a truth-teller, “even when it’s uncomfortable, even when we don’t feel impressive,” Mogahed encouraged, adding “let us do it out of love and generous giving, let us do it to serve.”

Nearly a hundred audience cheered for Mogahed’s meaningful words to Muslims and non-Muslim communities.

“[The speech] is a fascinating opportunity to educate myself about Muslims and Islam, and her words inspired me to spread the anti-Islamophobia vision,” Xiomara Henriquez, a Latin-American visitor, commented.