What’s the first thing you think of, when you hear the word ‘Islam’? Suicide bombers? Veiled women? For most of us, the only time we encounter the terms ‘Islamic’ or ‘Muslim’ is on the evening news, followed by the words ‘terrorism’ or ‘fanatic’. In many people’s minds, Islam has become inextricably linked with violent extremism. We should remember that when people from Peru, Portugal and Pakistan are asked what they most associate with ‘Ireland’ many of them name the IRA.

I have to confess that I’m conflicted about Islam. On the one hand, the smug, self-righteous atheist-feminist in me wants to tear strips off it. And yet, at the same time, my whiny, liberal, politically-correct side can’t abide me kicking the underdog when he’s down. It’s not easy being a white, middle-class journalist – as Kevin Myers will tell you.

Last month, I learned more about the daily realities of British Muslim life, in one hour, than I have watching years of news reports on the subject. I was watching Shazia Mirza’s magnificent stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her routine focussed on the cultural and religious tensions of being a British Muslim woman in the present climate.

She talked about Muslim-swims: all female affairs where participants cover themselves from head-to-toe in special swimsuits, jump in simultaneously, and swim toward Mecca. She also revealed that Pakistani fathers, of a certain age, think Cilla Black is Allah’s gift to men. Apparently – despite never having had a boyfriend – Shazia is regarded as suspicious by potential Muslim suitors. They are scandalised that white men pay to see her perform (comedy) in clubs. Personally, I suspect these guys may just be intimidated by a woman who is sharper and cleverer than they are – a fate that bright women the world over can relate to.

 

By the end of the gig, I was slightly in love with Shazia. I have a weakness for beautiful, witty, articulate women. Fortunately for her, I’m already going out with one. I can’t imagine that Mr. and Mrs. Mirza would be terribly impressed if their daughter brought home a pale, Irish atheist called Abraham. But I had to talk to her, if only to plead with her to bring her show to Dublin. As it turned out there was another journalist in the queue – thankfully a much older, and far less attractive, man – from Le Monde. He’d completely missed the point of her show, and repeatedly asked about the suicide bombings in London. Eventually Shazia barked, “What I am saying is far more interesting and important than what the suicide bombers are saying.” For a fleeting moment, I considered proposing.

For Mirza to stand up and do stand-up, as a Muslim woman, takes wits, insight and considerable bravery. Detonating a bomb on a tube train – or a Luas – requires none of these qualities. Any idiot can do it. In fact, if we’re ever going to undermine terrorism, we need to stop treating suicide bombers as if they’re important. The London bombings in July were allowed to eclipse the Make Poverty History campaign and the G8 summit. Millions of people peacefully lobbying against their own short-term interests is far more news-worthy than a few extremists blowing themselves up. Of course the attacks were a tragedy for the 62 people killed. But extreme poverty is a tragedy for the 30,000 children it kills every day.

There will always be fanatics willing to die for their cause. We will never be safe from the threat of terrorism. But nor will we ever be safe from the considerably larger threats of cancer, pollution or bad driving. If Osama Bin Laden’s primary aim was to kill Westerners, he would invest all his money in the tobacco industry. Terrorists can carry out brutal, shocking attacks but the chances of being hurt in one are still tiny. If, as a society, we recognise how small this threat really is, we will deprive the terrorists of their most powerful weapon.

If we wish to go further, and ‘drain the swamp’ of possible recruits, we need to reach out to Muslim communities. What made Mirza’s show so powerful was her willingness to expose, and criticise, the aspects of her religion and culture which she finds distasteful. The same approach has been adopted with great effect by Irshad Manji, whose manifesto The Trouble with Islam Today provides powerful and challenging reading. As practicing Muslims, these women are in a far stronger and more credible position to criticise Islam than any outsider.

If we in the secular world are serious about engaging with mainstream Islam, then we need to follow the example of Mirza and Manji, by openly criticising the aspects of our culture that need reform. Westerners often claim that their democracy and human rights agenda is ‘objectively better’ than the political systems in Arab countries. Maybe so. But we don’t find it so easy when Muslims produce medical evidence showing that their approach to alcohol is ‘objectively better’ than ours.

On my last evening in Edinburgh, I visited a Mosque, and got talking to some thoughtful and incisive British Muslims. I had no choice but to agree with them, that Western popular culture promotes sex as a commodity, instant gratification as a philosophy, and over-consumption as a lifestyle.

One young woman challenged my assertion that all major religions oppress women. I suggested that – while her understanding of Islam might be egalitarian – in practice, all religions are socially conservative and patriarchal. By blocking women’s access to positions of religious authority, and failing to take account of advances like contraception, religions tend to re-enforce many barriers to women’s progress.

But I freely conceded that our secular, commercial culture bombards women with propaganda about how they should look, setting an impossible standard. It then pressurises women to pour time and money into achieving a thoroughly artificial and arbitrary notion of beauty.

We in Ireland have a unique opportunity. As a nation we understand how it feels to be tarred with the brush of terrorism. We have experienced conservative, doctrinaire religion. Unlike other Western nations, almost all of our Muslim community are recent arrivals. We have a unique chance to engage with, integrate and learn from our Muslim community. If we squander it, we’re damn fools.