Cyber Bullying

According to Wikipedia: "Cyber Bullying is the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, which is intended to harm others. As it has become more common in society, particularly among young people, legislation and awareness campaigns have arisen to combat it."

I find this phenomenon very disturbing. I have heard of instances on the news and sat through lectures about it in school but had never witnessed it first hand before the 5^th of March. That’s when the American Islamic Leadership Coalition (AILC) held a rally for the New York City Police Department (NYPD). I was surfing the net when a friend sent me a link to a blog (CLICK HERE TO READ THE BLOG) and the twitter handle (CLICK HERE TO SEE TWITTER ACCOUNT) of a Women’s Rights Activist she has been following for a few years. I hadn’t intended to become so involved with what was going on but felt a serious lack of mercy and compassion in the things that were being said about this sister (CLICK HERE TO SEE HER BLOG) in the comment section of the blog and on twitter. A sister whose life’s work appears to be, to make the world safer for girls and women.

The source of the vitriol surrounding this sister seems to be her decision to stand with the AILC during a rally where they expressed their support for the NYPD. As I watched twitter, she answered again and again why she made the choice she made. She stated that while she didn’t agree with the NYPD’s actions in every case, she was willing to reach out to them with forgiveness and compassion to find the path forward.

“And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers.” (42:40)

I admit, I don’t know the whole story behind what the NYPD did (something about spying) but, this is America. Surely this sister has the right to seek reconciliation if that is where her conscience leads her. According to her, she has turned to the NYPD several times in the past to help her in her work with girls and young women. With the help of the NYPD, she has changed lives. Commendable work if you ask me…and since I’ve already offered that opinion let me offer another; Even if you disagree with the groups represented there by speakers, isn’t it our duty to follow this young woman’s example and forgive rather than to condemn. One person I interacted with on twitter compared this activist to a wife beater and a racist police officer. Slurs like “Uncle Tom” and “Aunt Jemimah” have no place in civil discourse and no positive change can occur without civil discourse. Mud-Slinging certainly has no place in the Muslim American Community. Don’t we have enough haters outside our community?

“Who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good;” (3:134)

I realize may be wasting my time because I also noticed something else about the whole uproar surrounding the AILC’s decision to publicly support the NYPD: The woman singled out for bullying/harassment on twitter and elsewhere (CLICK HERE TO SEE ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BULLYING) was not representing a group – like The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD), Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC), Alliance for Iranian Women (AIW), LibForAll Foundation, all of whom had speakers at the event – but a single individual who stood in the back and didn’t speak. I believe this is because the victim of these Bullies is an individual who stood alone without the backing of a large non-profit…and all their lawyers. The Bullies went after what they perceived as the weakest member of the pack. That’s what Bullies do…especially when they lack the mercy and compassion that Islam demands of us.

“Allah would explain to you and guide you by the examples of those who were before you, and would turn to you in mercy. Allah is Knower, Wise.” (4:26)
The behavior of Bullies in our community does more to enable and advance islamophobia than this woman – whose life’s work has clearly been helping others.

"Images of hate serve only our most destructive aims - a masochistic appeasement of the worst of ourselves." – Raquel Evita Saraswati