Lingua Islamica: Homeland Security Using Muslims to Help Prevent Radicalism

It is very unfortunate that some Muslims allow the Department of Homeland Security to help dictate what is defined as radicalism and how to prevent it. Islam already a very rich history of advancing a moderate society and rejecting extremism. Working with agencies that have proven to be unjust and outright anti-Muslim is not an effective method for Muslims to combat extremism in our communities. Rather, it helps an anti-Muslim agenda more effectively.

As Allāh says in the Qur’ān:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

Wa kadhālika ja‘alnākum ummatan wasatan litakūnū shuhadā'a ‘alā n-nāsi wa yakūnu r-Rasūlu ‘alaykum shahīda.

We have made you a justly-balanced Ummah (worldwide nation), so that you may be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger may be a witness over you.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Baqarah, Āyah 143)

An excerpt from a San Francisco Chronicle article:

After nearly six years of intense law enforcement scrutiny of Muslims in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is reshaping his agency’s approach to Muslims and invited four prominent Muslims to help the agency prevent homegrown radicalism.

The four leaders Chertoff called on -- a former ambassador from Pakistan, a Santa Monica author who grew up in San Jose, a Houston city councilman and an Austin, Texas, blogger -- suggest increasing youth services, working with bloggers to fight extremist ideology on the Web and even changing the terminology the government uses to describe terrorists.

The May 8 meeting -- the first of its kind the Homeland Security secretary has called with Muslims -- was part of a series of gatherings that Chertoff told Congress in March would be “an unprecedented level of cooperation” with various ethnic and religious communities to “prevent radicalization.”