| |
| META TOPICPARENT | name="FirstPaper" |
|---|
Using Law and Social Control to Improve Islam's Image in America
-- By KhurramDara - 15 Feb 2012 | |
<
< | ***need new title that fits (narrow in on central idea first]] | | | When the Park51 project, formerly known as the Cordoba House, and commonly referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque" was being protested just a couple of years ago, there was a sign that I saw a protestor holding. Initially, it had caught my eye because of how many words had been scrunched onto this little piece of cardboard. The sign said "All I Need to Know About Islam I Learned on 9/11." All he "needed" to know about Islam, he had learned on 9/11.
For that man holding the sign, and for the many others who admire the likes of Robert Spencer, Pam Geller, and Frank Gaffney, 9/11 was a natural consequence of Muslims carrying out Islam. For them, Islam is inherently promotes violence. There are organizations, like Jihad Watch and Stop the Islamization of America who perpetuate nonsense about American Muslims: they want to impose Shariah on all, convert America into an Islamic state, and destroy Western society. | | | What about the second approach? A protest or a counter protest can be a sign of strength. But again, there is a targeting issue. Typically, you aren't protesting with the expectation of persuading the opposition; your target is the independent and uncommitted. So here you lose the man with sign again. Similarly, it's unclear how we would convince an average American to be interested in the subject. | |
<
< | And litigation? We are entitled to practice our faith freely in the United States. A lawsuit to prevent a local government from preventing the building of a place of worship could work at achieving the short term objective: building a mosque. But a court order, for example, is unlikely to persuade naysayers that the result is right. | >
> | And litigation? We are entitled to practice our faith freely in the United States. A lawsuit to prevent a local government from preventing the building of a place of worship could work at achieving the short term objective: building a mosque. But a court order, for example, is unlikely to persuade naysayers that the result is the right one. | | | What hurts? For those who have negative perceptions of Muslims, what hurts is Islam. Islam to them is what they saw on 9/11, what they see on TV, what they hear from "experts." Islam is abstract in some cases, and general in others. It is never specific. It is never a person. It's always an "ideology." For social control to succeed, it must be able to appeal to the non-rational, unconscious motives of humans. Our existing approaches do not do that. | |
<
< | That is not to say they are not important or useful (for example, litigation is often necessary, especially in the scope of hate crimes or discrimination). The approach needs to be one that combines, not replaces existing approaches with other forms of social control. In fact, our need for the legal system may actually be indicative of the sparse use of other forms of social control by American Muslims. Donald Black proposes that there is an inverse relationship between law (government social control) and other forms of social control. With this model, if we increase our use of other forms of social control, it follows that we should have less of a need for litigation, as an example. | >
> | That is not to say they are not important or useful (for example, litigation is often necessary, especially in the scope of hate crimes or discrimination). The approach needs to be one that combines, not replaces existing approaches with other forms of social control. In fact, our need for the legal system may actually be indicative of the sparse use of other forms of social control by American Muslims. Donald Black proposes that there is an inverse relationship between law (government social control) and other forms of social control. With this model, if we increase our use of other forms of social control, it follows that we should have less of a need for litigation, as an example). | | | This is plausible. Consider human relationships, whether they are personal or professional. They build a level of comfort and connection between people. Having a Muslim coworker or a Muslim neighbor, can make Islam more than some "ideology," or some abstract thing. It can make it a person. It can make it specific. A Jewish or Christian American's perception of Islam, can be shaped by his relationship with an individual Muslim. This is because the relationship can serve as an educational tool. Spending time and getting to know an individual results in experiential learning. A person who is friends with a Muslim won't come to understand Islam by reading a book or taking a class about it. And if someone is attacking or discriminating their friend because of his faith, their defense won't be rooted in a technical understanding of Islam and won't include a rhetorical assault on the discriminating parties misguided or poorly constructed argument for why Islam is evil. The defense won't be rational, it will be emotional--he's my friend, or he's my coworker, or he's my neighbor. | |
>
> | So, in addition to using the law when necessary, American Muslims should develop ties and roots to their communities to build these personal connections. Again, it is plausible that the more known and engaged American Muslims are in a particular community, the less likely it is that there will be issues of discrimination or protest regarding Muslims. Subsequently, the need for litigation in this context would go down. | | | | |
>
> | Of course, there is the point to be made that Muslims make up only a small portion of the United States population, and therefore, this approach is limited in its scope. This is true. However, we aren't limited to merely using personal connections as a form of social control. We can also use popular culture. The likes of Fareed Zakaria, Muhammed Ali, and Lupe Fiasco, all have the potential to "normalize" and humanize Islam, with their fame. While every American Muslim can't be a famous news commentator or musician, an attitude that embraces, rather than blindly rejects, American culture will increase the likelihood that more American Muslims grow up to become highly successful in a number of fields. | | | | |
>
> | *****you need to cut about 180 words******** | | | | |
<
< | | >
> | end of revised paper, comments and notes below
| | | *then go with D.Black comparison, inverse law, social control* | |
>
> | **the title should be changed, you need a central idea
--now i think i have that, this is how a combination of law (government social control) and other social control can improve the image of Islam in America | | | |
|