In an unusually frank and biting speech, the mother of Qatar’s emir lashed out Tuesday at Western nations on Muslim stereotypes that are being perpetuated by the media and governments in a bid to lump the world’s Muslims together as one, homogenous “other.”
“For example, a Muslim is first and foremost identified as a Muslim, rather than simply a human being. Whether they are Pakistani, Malaysian, Senegalese or even British-born, their multiple identities are leveled under a constructed monolith of Islam,” Sheikha Mozah, who is a wive of the former emir, said in a speech at the St. Anthony's College Oxford. "Why do Muslim lives matter less than the lives of others? If they matter at all."
Comparing the glossing over of Western atrocities to the fiery condemnation of ISIS, the sheikha rejected the use of the word medieval as it was only applied to Muslim extremists.
"The word 'medieval' is appearing more and more to describe the actions of radicals. But why do we insinuate that somehow those who are perpetuating certain acts of violence do not belong to our age? That somehow they are not 'modern’?” she said. "It is a naive refusal to accept our collective responsibility. ISIS is as modern as Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. They are all products of our age."
Mozah regularly speaks out on many issues but, according to Qatari media, the topic and tone she employed as she was opening an extension to the Middle East Center was unusual for her.
The sheikha did not spare Arab regimes in her criticism, warning that homegrown Islamaphobia was being employed to maintain their grip on power, while blaming it on the influence of Western colonialism.
"It is evident that colonization leaves behind deep material, political, cultural and psychological scars, and gaping wounds. Debate is needed. Violent repression is not,” she said. "Could this be a reason why we, as Muslims, have lost confidence in our ability to apply the universal and eternal Islamic values to our living traditions?”
Qatar has had tense relations in recent years with a number of other Arab nations, including its partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council, over its support for Islamist political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, since the Arab Spring.
Last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Doha for several months over alleged “interference” by Qatar in their internal affairs. The interference was largely interpreted as punishment for Qatar’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the former ruling party in Egypt that has now been labeled a terrorist organization by many states.
Doha's Al Jazeera satellite television has also been frequently accused of supporting Islamist extremists, and its journalists have been held on terror charges in Egypt.
She ended her speech with a call on Muslim youth to show the world that “Islam is a rich, living moral tradition that can offer solutions to universal challenges,” but the risk is that critics will see instead a defense of extremists.
While Mozah's frank speech was admirable, could her words be twisted to further accusations that Qatar is supporting Islamist extremists?