A torn and divided nation
A small town in Virginia has exposed the ugly underbelly of the United States of America.
OVER a month after the racially-charged events at Charlottesville, Virginia, the episode continues to divide the United States.
To recap, a “Unite the Right’ rally was held in the small university town on Aug 12 to protest against the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. One of the largest white supremacist events in recent US history, it was met with counter-demonstrators and the resulting clash led to the death of one and 19 injured.
The open display of racism and hatred shocked the nation, and the governor of Virginia declared a state of emergency and condemned white supremacy. But President Donald Trump’s subsequent tweets “blaming both sides” , including the anti-fascists protestors, have further divided the nation. His comments drew widespread criticism from all sides of the political spectrum but right-wing supporters have hailed his remarks as a justification for the rally.
I have spent the last two weeks travelling in different parts of the country and meeting many different people, from politicians to government officials and academics to the man on the street, and the one common thread is how polarised the country is.
My trip was facilitated by the East-West Centre and as part of the senior journalist programme, myself and 12 other media personnel from around the world were given the opportunity to meet various religious organisations as well as leaders of the Muslim community in both Washington, DC and Minneapolis.
To say the average American Muslim is fearful of his or her place in American society is an understatement. Muslims in the US make up only slightly over 1% of the population, but the events of Charlottesville, perceived linkage to terrorism and negative media portrayal have made them a segment of society that is disproportionately more affected than any other ethnic group.
A July 2017 survey of US Muslims by Pew Research showed that Muslims perceive a lot of discrimination against their group; are leery of Trump; and think their fellow Americans do not see Islam as part of mainstream US society.
After Friday prayers at the Adams centre mosque in Sterling, Virginia, Imam Abdul Raffa told us that the mosque had organised more interfaith events with other religions to counter the increased incidents of racism and harassment around the country since Charlottesville.
“In fact, the FBI has made a few visits to our mosque to train our staff on how to handle harassment,” he said, adding that even the Virginia governor, senators and congressmen had visited the mosque.
Imam Raffa said that even though Virginia had become a hotbed of the white supremacist movement in recent months, incidents of Islamophobia in his community was still low.
Charlottesville is only a two-hour drive away from the nation’s capital but it might as well be in another country. Washington, DC, is as liberal and moderate as you can get. The Sunday that we were there, thousands of people took to the streets to take part in a unity walk. This interfaith, cross-cultural commemoration of the Sept 11 attack was also timely because participation showed that residents of the nation’s capital were united against hate and bigotry.
Our group also attended Episcopal Sunday service at the National Cathedral and took part in a dialogue with the pastor, Rev Jan Naylor Cope.
“We have to listen to one another and see ourselves in another person’s shoes,” she told us, justifying the recent removal of decades-old stained glass windows of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, another Confederate icon, from the church.
The National Cathedral is the sacred place where funeral services for American presidents are held and the removal of the stained glass windows was a hugely controversial move. “But African Americans and other minority groups find the windows offensive and a symbol of white supremacy and we believe that we have made the right decision,” Rev Cope said, adding that she received more than 1,000 emails protesting the church’s actions.
Rev Cope’s views echo that of Rabbi Fred Scherlinder of the Adam Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue in Bethesda, Maryland.
After Shabbat service, Rabbi Fred told us that the congregation was in solidarity with minority groups and was welcoming of diversity.
“We are very much a Blue (democrat) synagogue and are totally against Trump’s policies and incen- diary speeches,” he said, qualifying that there were also Jewish communities that supported the president.
Rabbi Fred, who is part of the religious left, said that he was heartened to see religious groups from all parts of the country come out against the right-wing voices that have sought to drive a wedge into America’s multi-cultural and multi-religious traditions.
But it would be erroneous to conclude that the wounds of Charlottesville will heal because so many people – religious leaders, politicians, the media and etc. – have spoken out against fascism (let’s call a spade, a spade).
Yes, people are aghast with the right-wing elements in the country but these groups aren’t going away anytime soon. They are growing and are becoming increasingly emboldened by a political leadership that fed on their insecurities and deep-seated prejudices to win the last election.