A mother of Turkish descent living in the San Juan Islands hired a babysitter so she could work. What she didn’t know was that the soldiers of slander had planted lies in her babysitter; lies that would upend her life for a time.
Of three things my heart is frightened,
and of a fourth I am in great fear:
Slander in the city, the gathering of a mob,and false accusation—all these are worse than death.– Ecclesiasticus 26:5
The lie was that Islam teaches and Muslims practice what is known as FGM: Female Genital Mutilation. Anti-Muslim hate groups really pushed out this slander a few years ago. Islam does not teach it and Muslims do not practice it. There are groups that do practice FGM. They often claim permission from whatever tradition they are part of. There are people who use Christian, Jewish, Animists, and Muslim and other traditions to justify the practice. But no major or responsible leaders in these or any other traditions affirm the practice.
Impacted by this slander the babysitter assumed the child of the Turkish mother had been the victim of FGM. Instead of talking with the mother and asking a few questions, the babysitter brought in a friend and then called Homeland Security. They became soldiers of slander. Here is the link to the Washington Post article.
While the issue was resolved after sometime, the event continues to have a negative impact on the family, as you might imagine. I have reached out to her to offer support. I will also be working with some organizations on San Juan to further educate folks about how they can be supportive.
But let’s go up to a 30,000 foot level and look at what happened here.
First, let’s remember that nearly every group is being impacted by slander today. This slander is particularly troublesome for those who have less status because of their racial, cultural, or religious identities. I have heard similar stories from my Indigenous, Asian American, and Jewish siblings–all equally important.
Second, the slander by the Anti-Muslim hate groups was effective in guiding the actions of everyday people. Their actions both were in reaction to the slander proposed by the hate groups, and for many people would confirm the slander proposed by these hate groups with a local example. They became soldiers of slander. This is a lesson from Ecclesiasticus: that slander about a group quite often leads to violence toward that group.
Third, people are often hooked into distrust or dehumanization of others through what they value–distorted by slander. The reality is that the babysitters were also harmed by the Anti-Muslim hate groups. I am not saying they were not responsible for their actions. We are all responsible for determining who to trust. But they were misled by a 30 to 50 million dollar dehumanization industry that is very good at what it does–tearing us apart.
Fourth and most importantly, it sounds like lots of groups on San Juan Island are rallying around this family. What was the result of slander by Anti-Muslim hate groups is drawing people together–in support of each other across racial, cultural, and religious lines. This is also the lesson of Ecclesiasticus: that we can learn to see these patterns and to find ways to resist them collectively. The reason that scripture has been written and remembered is to give us tools to live together in peace with our cultural differences.
We are not powerless against the forces of dehumanization: our ancient traditions offer both warning and wisdom to help us stand together–empowered by our common humanity.
Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash