They are all the children of Adam, including the murderer.  God surround them with care and forgiveness. 

I was struck by how the VT victims represented a broad representation of Americans.  Allah, Allah, Allah.

Why is religious identity important?

A Korean American Christian male killed 32 people on the VT campus, including several professors and instructors.

Should his religious identity be emphasized, no?

So why does Muslim identity matter?

Simply because someone has a Muslim (read Arab name) does not mean they are practicing?  The person could quite possibly be a Christian, Jew, Baha’i, Druze, etc.

Think outside the box.

Focusing on the religious identity of a dead Muslim student very much risks giving off the impression that one considers a Muslim life to be worth more than another, which is simply not the case.  All life is valuable and worthy of being preserved. 

At the same time, though, I must admit that I am affected extra deeply by the loss of that student’s life, or the life of any fellow Muslim; not because I consider other lives any less valuable, but simply because I do, indeed, have the sense of the ummah as a big "family."  (Even if that is not always the case in practice, I still use it as a personal guiding principle.) 

"Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch we are free."
—Valerie, in V for Vendetta

As-Salaamu `Ala Filasteen wa Rahmatullah

Bashir (Chris), I disagree with you for a number of reasons.

Muslims espouse this sense of tribalism which is not so emphasized in Muslim majority countries.  I never heard the term ummah used as much as in the West.  Many Muslims on college campuses would openly disagree with our relationship Chris and damn us to the Hellfire.

Should I consider them my brother or sister then?  Would you be so tolerable of Mr. Phelps and his homophobic web site godhatesfags.com!?

I couldn’t agree more with the Bashir’s first para—which is the point I was trying to make. Though I might go further and say that it might actually be a clue to our actually valuing one life above another, not just giving the impression.

And Gustavo, have you lived in Pakistan? Or other such community? The "Ummath-e-Muslima"  concept is often invoked. And not always in the tribalist, Salafist way it is used so oftenin the US and West.

http://iFaqeer.blogspot.com

All human life should be mourned. We may or may not all consider ourselves children of Adam.

But we all belong to a single species and are children of the earth, dependent on it as a habitat.

Who says that thinking of oneself as part of the ummah, even if not in the tribalist salafai mode-
what ever that means- is not tribal? Are we not just global citizens?

Does our common dwelling space not serve as a unifying factor?

I’m not Pakistani, I’m Afghan and Iranian.  I do not taint my sense of Islam with Pakistan’s modern existence and experience.  Muslims do tend to emphasize this dilusion of unity, but how is unity a reality when even in Pakistan, being a Shia is almost a crime.  Outside the confines of secular Punjabi circles, the masses are adamantly brain-washed in Pakistan to believe that Shia are outside the fold of Islam, therefore being reduced to the rank of kafr, we are legitimate targets of hate and death.

Perhaps anti-Shia sentiments is also rooted in Pakistani strained relations with revolutionary Iran and the fact that Shia in Pakistan are relatively well-to-do and therefore their success makes them a target of envy.

But emphasizing the death of an Egyptian national and member of a campus MSA over the death of 31 other non-Muslims demonstrates the lack of concern many Muslims openly espouse towards non-Believers.

Chris is a white novice Muslim, I’m a Muslim of a cultural Islamic background, one where unity has never been a reality.  In Iran, Azeri Muslims are persecuted, in the same manner that Christian minorities in Turkey have been targetted recently or the Kurds.  In Afghanistan, the Taliban waged a campaign of genoide against the Hazari Shia of Bamyan province.

Tell me where unity is a reality in Pakistan?  Tell me why Bengali Muslims gained their independence in the early 1970s?  Tell me why Pushtun nationalism and Baluchi cries for autonomy are deemed so threatening to Pakistan’s territorial integrity?

I agree with Ginan, we are humans, to say we are the children of Adam when there are those who would reject this foundational origin myth, is arrogance at best and I believe Wafa Sultana made similar comments on Arabic language satellite television.

Right on Laury, yes!

Bashir (Chris), I disagree with you for a number of reasons.

Well, personally, I don’t see where there’s anything to agree or disagree with, since I was referring to emotion/feeling (i.e., feeling it extra deeply when something happens to a fellow Muslim) rather than cognition.  One may share or not share another person’s emotion or feeling, certainly, but I don’t see how one can "agree" or "disagree" with it.

Muslims espouse this sense of tribalism which is not so emphasized in Muslim majority countries.  I never heard the term ummah used as much as in the West.
I don’t really see it as "tribalist" to feel a special connection to others, around the globe, who share one’s belief in "La ilaha ill allah wa Muhammad rasul-ullah."  Truth be told, throughout this history of Islam, by which I mean from the time of Adam, there was always some sense of a community being set apart by its identity of submission to Allah (swt), and it was certainly an element among the Muslims of Makkah; thus, I don’t see it as being necessarily problematic or "tribalist."  To me, it’s only "tribalist" if one were to take that sense of connection to another level by imagining one’s group to be superior to others, associating exclusively with one’s own group, imagining others to be "bad," etc.   As for the term "ummah" in the West, my best guess would be that an idea of the "ummah" may be exceptionally functional in the West (vs. in a Muslim-majority country) for dealing with the everyday reality of a society in which there is not a majority (or even a sizable minority) that shares one’s faith; it’s, like, a way of keeping grounded for those who feel the need to do so.

Many Muslims on college campuses would openly disagree with our relationship Chris and damn us to the Hellfire. Should I consider them my brother or sister then?
Yes!  That may sound counter-intuitive, but I feel it is as important, if not more important, to build connections with those who might be tempted to revile us.  My reasons for feeling this way are both religious and functional:

1. Religiously, Islam (from Adam to Muhammad) has always included "killing with kindness" as an approach to dealing with those who would wrong us or persecute us in thought, word, or deed.  This is emphasized in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible: "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you" (Proverbs 25:21-22). Jesus (saw), certainly, is most famous for emphasizing this in his words ("turn the other cheek") and actions.  This is also a part of Muhammad’s (saw) biography: "Even his enemies were treated not only with kindness, but, with genuine concern for them. The story of woman who used to throw garbage on the Prophet whenever he went by her house, portrays the picture of a person with deep love for even those who would actively oppose him. One day when the woman became sick, the Prophet not seeing her there became concerned for her and went to visit her" (site).  Thus, I see the need to emphasize such a value in my own everyday life.


2. Functionally, establishing brother/sisterhood with such individuals is the first step to changing their minds, insha’Allah.  I’m happy if  I can even get someone to the point where they’re thinking, "Okay, I don’t agree with Chris’s lifestyle because I can’t see any way that homosexuality and Islam are compatible.  At the same time, though, he’s always treated me with respect and kindness, so it’s obvious that he’s a good person and sincerely desires to be a good Muslim, even if his understanding of the faith is way off."  Is such a sentiment ideal?  Absolutely not.  But is it, at least, something to celebrate and give them credit for?  Absolutely.  Furthermore, if one can get enough Muslims to that point, then it may not be long before they come to a next step: "Okay, I don’t agree with Gustavo and Chris’s relationship, and I really wish they’d both just go and find wives.  But, seeing as that’s obviously not going to happen, I’ll just wish them much happiness together."  Again, it’s not ideal, but it is something.

Would you be so tolerable of Mr. Phelps and his homophobic web site godhatesfags.com!?
That depends on what Allah (swt) asks of me.  If so, then yes, as much as it may frustrate me.

Chris is a white novice Muslim, I’m a Muslim of a cultural Islamic background, one where unity has never been a reality.
I think that’s an important difference, in that I’m coming to the faith via a different path.  I started with the Qur’an and with the history of the Makkan Muslims…and in the more liberal (as far as Middle Eastern countries go) Arab-Muslim culture of Jordan.  Therefore, I came to it with an emphasis on fundamental beliefs, practices, and ideals—and with the experience of living briefly in a country where I was regularly treated with the hospitality and kindness that is incumbent upon anyone who professes Islam.  (Not unlike the hospitality I had received several months earlier from Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, or from Kenyan Christians a few months ago, so I’m willing to acknowledge that the hospitality is probably as much cultural as religious.)  In fact, I have fond memories of my last day in Jordan, in which a Muslim friend’s dad took me, her, and another friend of ours to a mosque for Juma with his family, and then treated us to a very good lunch and dessert, so I was left with a positive opinion of this man and his faith.  In my experience, unity and the "ummah" are a reality at certain times and in certain places—not as much as I would like for it to be, but certainly enough to maintain my confidence in the value of those as ideals for me to embrace as a Muslim and as a human.  Surely, then, you can see how that notion has come to be so important to me and to my Islam.

"Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch we are free."
—Valerie, in V for Vendetta

As-Salaamu `Ala Filasteen wa Rahmatullah

Ginan, I see what you’re saying, and I agree on some points, but admittedly, not as much on others…

All human life should be mourned.

I agree, wholeheartedly.  Each life is as valuable as the next, and I oppose any attempt to define the lives of one group (e.g., Muslims) as being worth more, or more grievable, than any other.  Ideally, Islam should compel us to feel compassion and sympathy for every single death at VT—even that of the shooter himself!  (For reasons I don’t feel like explicating or debating at this moment).

Who says that thinking of oneself as part of the ummah, even if not in the tribalist salafai mode-
what ever that means- is not tribal? Are we not just global citizens?
It is not "tribalist"; it is human.  The fact is, it is only human for a person to identify with one or more distinctive groups—be they defined by religion, nationality, political ideology, sexual orientation, etc.; social psychology tells us that much.  As far as I can see, the only way to avoid identification, and consequent affection, for a group would be to become a hermit and isolate oneself from society entirely. (And, even then, it is highly likely that one would still carry subtle, unconscious group identifications from prior to the time of one’s self-imposed isolation.)  So, my answer would be no, we are not just global citizens.  We are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist, etc. global citizens; gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, transgender, etc. global citizens; male, female, etc. global citizens; American, European, Middle Eastern, African, etc. global citizens; and so forth…

This is not, by any means, to suggest or condone self-segregation, ethnocentrism, or tribalism of any sort.  It is just means to be realistic about human diversity, group identifications, and their implications.  Generic humans?  We’re not that postmodern just yet. :-)

"Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch we are free."

—Valerie, in V for Vendetta

As-Salaamu `Ala Filasteen wa Rahmatullah

Good responses Chris, you made me speechless, and you know how hard that can be.