SCOTLAND is no stranger to religious sectarianism and intolerance. Here, as elsewhere, it has permeated society in an insidious way for many decades. Ask most people in Scotland where the fissures of that religious sectarianism lie and it is almost inevitable they will say along Protestant-Catholic lines. This hatred, discrimination and abuse continue to be a blight on Scottish society, but it would be wrong to say that progress has not been made in challenging it. It would be wrong, too, to think the prejudice that corrodes Scottish life is limited to any particular faith. The recent death of the newsagent Asad Shah in Glasgow who was killed at his shop in what the police described as a religiously prejudiced attack is a point in case. It serves as a stark reminder of the fault lines too within our Muslim community.
In an extensive interview in the Herald Magazine today, Scotland’s leading Muslim commentator and intellectual Mona Siddiqui, makes the case that all too often the kind of prejudice and persecution said to lie behind the killing of Mr Shah, an Ahmadi Muslim, is rarely addressed properly by Scotland’s Muslim leaders.
As an Ahmadi, Mr Shah was a member of a minority sect of Islam that faces persecution and violence in countries such as Pakistan and is often treated with open hostility by many orthodox Muslims in this country. That hostility towards Ahmadis derives from their belief that Muhammad is the final prophet sent to guide humankind. In the wake of Mr Shah’s death, Ahmadi Muslims in Scotland launched an anti-extremism campaign. There was disappointment however that representatives of the Glasgow Central Mosque and the Muslim Council of Scotland invited to the launch ceremony alongside other faith groups, only proffered their apologies for being unable to attend.
Mona Siddiqui is right to point out that the hostility shown towards Ahmadis or any other faith group is not something that can or should be ignored. It cannot be glossed over or defended on the spurious basis of closing ranks because certain Muslims say everyone is against us. Her call for Muslims to face up to any religious intolerance that lurks within their own community is an important one and needs to be listened too across all communities irrespective of faith. As Ms Siddiqui herself has pointed out in the past, pluralist societies flourish because of people’s commitment and civic engagement, not their indifference. All too often a polite, political correctness can hinder rather than enhance society’s ability to confront and counter the challenges posed by those whose prime motive is to sow the seeds of bitterness and create division. Ms Siddiqui is not someone to shy away from the need to ask difficult questions about her own faith those who share it with her and others who view it from a distance. To that end she is right in her call for the need to monitor the speeches of "any leader, not just imams", who actively promote hatred towards another community. Ms Siddiqui jokes that her critics never tire of asking “why doesn’t she ever defend Islam? That, however, is precisely what she is doing, and in the best possible way.
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