Beyond the veil

Fareena Alam gives her 2 cents about the veil debate in a well written article published in Newsweek. While she is critical of people who are throwing the veil up as an issue, she is also critical of Muslims and i think she gets it right when she says:

Muslims are not necessarily helping themselves, either. Instead of focusing on the powerful theological message of Islam and its relevance to modern Europe, some critics say, Muslims spend too much energy defending the outward symbols of their faith. "Crises like this expose a spiritual vacuum," says Navid Akhtar, a British documentary filmmaker. "We are becoming a religion that is obsessed by icons. We forget that we worship God, not our headscarves or our beards." Muslims indeed have a duty not to alarm their neighbors, he adds, much as Straw and Blair imply. "If your neighbor is frightened of you, it's not all his fault," Akhtar says. "You have a responsibility to meet him halfway, to try and calm him down."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.