An American Muslim

Maher Hathout and his philosophy of radical openness

Comments (0) By Mehammed Mack Wednesday, Jan 3 2007

...continued from page 3

Hathout now says he regrets his word choice, but stops short of apologizing: “When I said ‘butchers,’ I used harsh language; however this happened during the Intifada, when the treatment of Palestinians was itself very harsh.”

In response to the controversy, the Commission on Human Relations decided to take some time to review the award. “The opposition was mostly coming from certain subgroups of the Jewish community who don’t represent the mainstream, mainly the ZOA and the American Jewish Congress,” Hathout says and then adds, “The Progressive Jewish Alliance and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple came to my support.”

(Photo by Kevin Scanlon)

More About

During the commission hearings, the proceedings were frequently interrupted by protesters yelling out “Liar!” and “Terrorist!” Hathout claims there were attempts to get him to step away from the award on his own. “One committee member offered that, if I were to withdraw, they would give me a chance to give the keynote speech at the award ceremony,” recalls Hathout. “ I said, ‘No, I’d like you to look me in the eye and tell me, based on the hearings, that I’m not deserving of the award. I want you to go on record and deny me the award.”

Finally, the committee held a re-vote and Hathout was re-approved with no audible nays. Someone in the audience yelled out, “Call the roll!” When they did, four votes in favor and five abstentions were revealed. Of the whole experience, Hathout concludes: “Opposing the policies of Israel should not be a litmus test to decide the worth of any American citizen.”

And yet, Hathout must have realized that the word “apartheid” seems to cause an uproar whenever it is associated with Israel — the title of Jimmy Carter’s new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, is a case in point. I ask Hathout why he chose to use such a loaded word. He says he was only being “objective” and quotes Archbishop Desmond Tutu and a study by the left-leaning Israeli paper Ha’aretz, which qualified certain aspects of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank as apartheid.

But as for the accusation that he supports Hezbollah, Hathout is emphatic when he says that he’s never supported a political group outside the U.S. He cites the books and theological papers he’s written in which he argues why terrorism and suicide bombing is Islamically forbidden. But for some, the books are not enough. No matter how many times he has condemned terrorism, he is asked to condemn it ever more forcefully again and again. In response to an op-ed column in the Los Angeles Times during the controversy over the award, Hathout was accused of half-heartedly criticizing terrorism. He wrote back a strongly worded reply:

“I am an American Muslim with a deep commitment to life, not death. I oppose the violence Hamas or Hezbollah engages in against Israel. I do not now, nor have I ever, supported Hamas or Hezbollah, verbally or otherwise. I do not support any foreign groups or governments. I only support my country, America. I support the right of Israel to exist, just as I support the right of Palestine to exist. I believe in the futility of a military solution to Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I have publicly condemned terrorist actions committed by these groups and countless others, have repeatedly and publicly condemned suicide bombings as a violation of Islamic teachings and have loudly stated Islam’s forbiddance against the targeting and taking of civilian life. I also oppose the violence engaged in by Israel toward the Palestinian people. I oppose terrorist behavior in all its forms, regardless of the perpetrator or the stated aim. I am also against religious extremists who perpetrate violence and death in the distorted name of their faith. I am engaged directly on a daily basis in countering the ideologies of extremism and nihilism that lead to terrorism, and I continue to work closely with local and federal law enforcement ?to prevent further terrorism on American soil.”

And in an interview with the Independent Lens project Face to Face, Hathout points out, “We have been speaking against terrorism way before 9/11. We are an Islamic organization that condemned the Taliban three years before the problems. But the fact that they come back . . . repeating this question means: You don’t belong. You are not for real. Or you are just saying that to be politically correct or to be protected, which is very insulting.”

Before I leave his Wilshire office, Hathout wants to make sure I understand one point, about where the center’s progressivism comes from: “We called for gender equality and pluralism way before 9/11. Our track record, thanks to God, is very clear. When 9/11 came we were already in our zone, maybe others were jolted or electrocuted into this reality, but not us.” They were already carving out a new American Muslim reality, before the world would start asking questions.

“I chose America deliberately,” Hathout is heard telling the Face to Face interviewer, “to be able to live in a democracy. I feel that freedom is a basic requirement for human-beingness. So I came here knowing that home is not where my grandfather is buried. Home is where my grandson ought to be brought up.”