At Public Discourse, Jennifer S. Bryson looks at what we mean when we call for people to “respect” Islam:
As for the phrase “respecting Islam,” one needs to ask whose Islam? Islam is a vast, complex, diverse realm filled with a multitude of individual, human interpreters. Does “respecting Islam” mean respecting the arguments of those who throw acid in the faces of girls trying to attend school in Afghanistan, or does it mean respecting the arguments of a woman such as Asra Nomani who seeks access to mosques for Muslim women? In both cases this entails “appraisal respect,” dependent on the speaker’s evaluation of others’ actions and attitudes. We should not feel obliged to respect a position that claims the authority of Islam if that position is without merit.
By contrast, the phrase “respecting Muslims” shifts the discussion away from abstraction and toward the plane of human dignity and interpersonal relations. In the case of some Muslims throwing acid on the faces of Muslim girls trying to attend school, I can—even if I do so gnashing my teeth—respect the humanity in the acid-throwers without having to agree with them or condone their actions. With respect for their humanity I can feel concern for them—as believers in their faith they claim to be truth-seekers yet engage in destruction and brutality; it seems that in them there is an internal decay underway that harms them and others around them.
Respecting Muslims means recognizing, on a foundation of human dignity, the humanity—and thus also the diversity—among those who are followers of Islam. It does not mean agreeing with every single one of them on every issue, which would mean simultaneously accepting contradictions.
Read the full article here.