Much of what was said at the recent forum on “Muslims in America—Hearing Their Story” here in Belmont was not really about Muslims at all.
The Belmont Religious Council and Belmont Against Racism, amongst others, hosted the forum. Concerned citizens packed the room at the Beth El Temple, accompanied by elected officials, representatives of the Belmont police and members of Belmont’s faith-based community.
The evening was powerful. In explaining why understanding Muslims is a “human rights” issue rather than a religious issue, Harvard professor of religions Ali Asani said that “every human being has multiple identities. Religion is one. Race is another. Gender is another. But when you categorize a human being with multiple identities, and you see this human being through just one dimension, it’s dangerous.” Asani strove to “alert us to the dangers of denying Muslims the multiplicities of their identities and viewing them uni-dimensionally, just through the lens of religion.”
every human being has multiple identities. Religion is one. Race is another. Gender is another. But when you categorize a human being with multiple identities, and you see this human being through just one dimension, it’s dangerous.
When Asani made that comment, it wasn’t just one lightbulb that popped on in my head, lightbulbs were popping as though that statement was walking down the red carpet at the Oscars. I could see that I’m not merely a lawyer and an economist in my professional life. I’m also a parent, a spouse, a neighbor and a host of other things. Each of these personae helps shape who I am. With more than a billion Muslims in the world today, therefore, to categorically assert that it is religion alone that defines them seems atrociously hollow.
Asani’s observation is one of the foundations of human rights movements throughout the United States and elsewhere. One could easily substitute any number of words for “Muslim” in his comments, and they would carry equal power.
By Roger Colton for Belmont Citizen Herald, posted on April 7, 2016
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