Answerthe question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Answerthe question - Essay Example But can such issues bring about programmatic changes in Muslim societies? In the current context of a referendum on the issue of banning minarets, the media criticized it by proclaiming it â€Å"pure discrimination† by LA Times, â€Å"disgraceful† by New York Times, not paying any focus on the expression of the Muslim societies. In the fear that Muslims are trying to create a â€Å"parallel society† in Europe, the ban was voted that favor the demolition of minarets by 57 percent of the voters. Muslims didn’t react on the issue. Earlier eggs were thrown by the Muslims on Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a leading Muslim politician in England. Such acts help in presenting a wrong image of the community. In the words of the Swiss Islamic scholar Ramadan, â€Å"Muslims have striven to remain hidden in order to avoid a clash. It would have been more useful to create new alliances with all these Swiss organizations and political parties that were clearly against the initiative† (Amanullah 2009). Not weighing much on Ramadan’s su ggestions to the Muslim community on the issue of banning minarets, important issues need to be attended, which are Muslim’s isolation from the democratic forces, their insistence on following traditions in the name of religion – traditions which are not relevant with the changing times. Muslims the world over should express their views on violence, terrorist attacks, women rights, democracy, and their relations with the West. The movie ‘Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think’ written jointly by Georgetown University professor John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, raises issues like political liberty and freedom of speech that have come to the forefront to be explored and followed by the Muslim society to bring programmatic changes (Reef & Suhail 2009). Political liberty and freedom of speech are more demanding issues, as they are