Ban on scarf, minarets in France, Switzerland: US Muslim scholar for abolition of Islamophobia laws

A visiting American Muslim scholar believes that the laws based on Islamophobia in the western countries, like France, Switzerland and the United States, 'if any', are violating freedom of religion and should, therefore, be abolished.
Safiya J. Ghori-Ahmad, a US-borne youngling Muslim scholar who is an expert on the rights of minorities in South Asian countries, also rejects the UN Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) resolution, saying that the move of the multilateral body was not an answer to the "very unfortunate" Islamophobia laws.
She expressed theses views during a roundtable interactive dialogue on "Reporting Issues Concerning Minorities" with a selected group of media persons at a local hotel. The event was sponsored by the US Consulate General in Karachi. US Consulate's public affairs officials Elizabeth O. Colton, Mushtaque A Rajpar and Shazia Ali also present on the occasion.
"The Swiss ban on minarets and the scarf ban in France... are very unfortunate... it violates the freedom of religion," she told a questioner.
She proposes "education" and not UN resolutions to effectively deal with the sense of Islamophobia that, she said, was still haunting a certain segment of people in the West.
She is, however, unsure if such discriminatory laws were promulgated in her homeland, saying the same "should be repealed in France, Switzerland and even in the United States, if any".
Sharing her observation of the US courts' behaviour towards the concept of freedom, she said: "The US courts tend to go for freedom of expression as compared to freedom of religion."
The young scholar believes a free press, American Muslim community, the NGOs and community leaders have a proactive role in repairing the prevailing "disconnect" between the Muslims and the West, whose once-cordial relations are now suffering from the "perception issue".
Safiya, who is married with a lawyer from Pakistan, replied in negative when asked if she believed US foreign policy with regard to its self-declared War on Terror had proved to be counter-productive or was leading the sole superpower heading in a wrong direction. "It is unfair to say that we are moving in a wrong direction as this President (Obama) has been struggling hard to engage the Muslims," she said.
Later, talking to Business Recorder she named Rashad Hussain, Arif Ali Khan and Farah Pundit as those Muslims who were appointed by Washington on key posts in the US.
Terming the diplomacy a "long and hard path" to succeed, the US official said policies of the nation states did not change overnight.
Elizabeth O. Colton, Public Affairs Officer in the US Consulate General, backed Safiya's argument stating that the change could not take place overnight and may take a lot of time.
Elizabeth, calling herself a staunch supporter of the present Democrats regime, however, did not share Safiya's view that the slogan of change was just introduced in her country by the Obama administration.
"We as Americans have been trying for this change for decades but that's an inside way," she told the discussants.
Once a victim of discrimination in the US in the post-9/11 scenario, Safiya, excitedly, told the conference that the Muslims in America had voted for President Obama and were enjoying enough leverage now.
"He (Obama) has appointed many young Muslims" on different key posts in the US to engage the Muslims," she said.
Dwelling on unpleasant incidents like the publication of the blasphemous caricatures depicting the revered Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Danish newspapers, the American scholar said the Muslims' reaction should have been peaceful.
Safiya, who sees the culture more influential than the religion in South Asia, Middles East and African regions, suggested that the Muslims across the globe should have responded to the blasphemous cartoons in a way that was non-violent and respectful.
Conceding that the Muslims had a feeling of discrimination from the West, the US official said the letter was also wondering "why they (the Muslims) hate us so much".
Offering remedy to religious intolerance and a possible backlash from the extremists offended by the enlightening efforts, Safiya referred to an active 'educational campaign' led by 'moderate religious imams'.
She said: "Moderate religious imams and individuals who can take up this issue may be used to battle those voices... (or) to use Islam in a way that you promote contextual perspectives."
A strong believer of religious diversity, the American academician also proposes person-to-person engagement as a way to seek solution to the question of religious harmony. "I find a verse (in the Holy Quran) that (says) Islam goes for diversity."
Analysing the status of minorities laws in the West and Pakistan, Safiya concluded that all discriminatory legislation, like the blasphemy law in Pakistan must be repealed. She said these laws might allow the extremist individuals and groups to manipulate, exploit and even suppress the religious minorities.
"It is easy for zealots to exploit the laws in Pakistan... the blasphemy laws should be abolished," she viewed. She, however, finds the minority laws very 'clear and favourable' in the West where, she said, a strong legal system was in place, using which the people could get their problems resolved satisfactorily.
On the other hand, the same legislation in Pakistan often appear to be ineffective because of the "impunity" enjoyed by some, particularly those sharing power in the government, in terms of legal executions.