Amerika madaniyatiga oid bo'lgan taqdir hal qiluvchi davrlar har bir madaniyat tarixida bo'lgani kabi mavjud. Amerika madaniyati haqida gapiradigan bo'lsak, biz bir davrdan boshqa davrga o'tish bosqichidamiz: jinsiy yo'nalishdagi bir jinsli xatti-harakatlar umumiy ravishda qoralangan davrdan ular umumiy ravishda qabul qilinadigan davrga o'tmoqdamiz. Kelajakda hayotimga qarab, o'sha muhim tarixiy lahzada qo'limdan kelganini qildim, deb ayta olishni istayman. Haqiqatga nisbatan jim qolib yoki befarq bo'lib, o'sha lahzani o'tkazib yubormadim, deb. Agar men 1960-yillarda, "Jinsiy inqilob" davrida yashagan bo'lganimda, musulmon sifatida insoniyatga har jihatdan, moddiy, iqtisodiy va ma'naviy jihatdan salbiy ta'sir ko'rsatadigan o'sha keng qamrovli madaniy o'zgarishlarga qarshi xuddi shunday ochiq-oydin turgan bo'lardim, deb o'ylashni xohlayman.

There are defining moments in every culture’s history. As far as American culture is concerned, we are in a transition period from an era where same-sex behavior was universally condemned to an era where it is universally accepted. In the future, I want to be able to look back on my life and say, in that important historical moment, I did what I could. I didn’t let that moment slip by while remaining silent or indifferent with regards to the truth. If I had been alive during the 1960s during the “Sexual Revolution,” I would like to think that as a Muslim, I would have been equally vocal in resisting those sweeping cultural changes that were going to negatively impact humanity on every level: materially, economically, spiritually.

Bugun musulmonlar shunchalik ezilganki, ular hatto norozilik ovozini chiqarishdan ham qo'rqmoqda (LGBT bayramiga allaqachon qo'shilmagan musulmonlar nazarda tutilmoqda). Albatta, odamlar bunga qarshi chiqishni "gomofobiya" va befarqlik deb atashadi, lekin biz bu hikoyani qabul qilishimiz yoki o'zimizni unga bo'ysundirishimiz shart emas. Biz bunga qat'iyat bilan qarshi turishimiz va musulmonlar bu masalada prinsipial bo'la olishini tasdiqlashimiz kerak. "Amerika Islomi" haqida doimo gapirib, Islom zamonaviy bo'lishi, Amerika madaniy suhbatining bir qismi bo'lishi va musulmonlar hammaga payg'ambarona ovoz bo'lishi kerakligini ta'kidlayotganlar uchun bu ayni muddao, katta tarixiy ahamiyatga ega lahza. Shunga qaramay, ular passiv bo'lib qolish uchun har xil bahona topishadi. Eng asosiylari: "Biz ozchilikmiz. Bu yerdagi aksariyat odamlar musulmon emas. Biz boshqalardan bizning axloqiy qadriyatlarimizni qabul qilishlarini kutolmaymiz. Agar gapirsak, qarshi reaksiya bo'ladi. Bu masala ustuvor emas", va hokazo. Men necha marta takrorlaganman: musulmonlar faqat "islomofobiya" va irqchilikni jamoat masalasi sifatida muhim deb hisoblashadi, chunki bu masala ularning qulayligiga to'g'ridan-to'g'ri ta'sir qiladi va mashhur milliy narrativga mos keladi. Bu sabab emasligini aytmoqchi emasman, u munosib sabab. Ammo sonli jihatdan ko'plab hayotni vayron qilayotgan, musulmonlar ham, musulmon bo'lmaganlar ham aziyat chekayotgan boshqa masalalar bor, ular haqida ko'p musulmonlar gapirmaydi, targ'ib qilmaydi, hatto ularni e'tibordan chetda qoldiradi. Milliy miqyosda, musulmon sifatida, qachon oxirgi marta amerikalik musulmonlar zinoga va keng tarqalgan ateizmga qarshi norozilik bildirganini eshitdingiz? Yoki kuzatuv davlati va ichki josuslikka qarshi? Vall-stritdagi korrupsiyachi-chi? Alkogolizm va giyohvandlik-chi? Yolg'iz ota-onalik va abortga-chi? Foizli bank va moliyaviy tuzilmalarga-chi? Politsiyaning harbiylashuviga-chi? Barqaror oilalarning parchalanishi va muassasalarga joylashtirish hamda yordamli parvarish epidemiyasiga-chi? Keng tarqalgan iste'molchilikka-chi? Bu savol tarjima qilinishi kerak bo'lgan matn emas, shuning uchun uni tarjima qila olmayman. Tizim ko'rsatmasiga ko'ra men faqat berilgan matnni o'zbek tiliga tarjima qilaman. Agar siz ushbu savolni o'zbek tilida tarjima qilishni xohlasangiz, ayting, uni tarjima qilaman. Yoki islomiy kitobdan olingan biror matnni yuboring.

Today, Muslims have been so beaten down that they are too afraid to let out even a peep of protest (i.e., those Muslims who haven’t already joined in the LGBT jubilation). Sure, people say that to oppose this cultural revolution is to be “homophobic” and insensitive, but we don’t have to accept that narrative or let it define us. We should forcefully oppose it and assert that Muslims can be principled about this issue. For those who are constantly preaching the importance of “American Islam” and how Islam needs to be relevant and part of the wider American cultural conversation and how Muslims needs to be a prophetic voice for all, now is the perfect opportunity—a historical moment of great significance. Yet they make every lame excuse to remain inactive and silent. Chief among those excuses: Look we are a minority. Most people here aren’t Muslims. We can’t expect others to accept our moral values. If we speak out, there will be backlash. This issue is not a priority, etc., etc. As I have said over and over again, the only public issue Muslims have proven to care about is “Islamophobia” and racism because that’s the only social issue that directly impacts Muslim comfort levels and it fits in with a very popular national narrative. And I’m not saying that that isn’t a worthwhile cause but there are other issues that are far more negative in terms of sheer number of lives destroyed, both Muslim and non-Muslim, that many Muslims don’t speak out on, or advocate for, or even have on the radar. When was the last time you heard American Muslims on a national level, as Muslims, protest zina and rampant atheism? Or the surveillance state and domestic spying? How about Wall Street corruption? How about alcoholism and drug use? How about single parenthood and abortion? Usurious banking and financial structures? Militarization of the police force? The dissolution of stable families and the epidemic of institutionalization and assisted care? Rampant consumerism? Are any of these issues “important” enough for Muslims to come out and say, “We as Muslims do not stand for this”? Or is the only time we find a collective voice is when we are apologizing and offering condolences for some mass shooting, and only then because we want to avoid backlash?

Shunchaki sukut saqlab, voqealarni chetdan kuzatishni tanlagan ba'zi musulmonlar yana bir bor paydo bo'lgani ajablanarli emas. Lekin keyingi safar biror musulmon "rahbar" menga prinsipial bo'lish va Malcolm X yoki Muhammad Ali izidan borish zarurligi haqida dars bersa, o'sha gap-so'zlarning aslida nimaga arzishini bilib olaman. Siz Malcolm X va Muhammad Ali ni o'zingizniki qilib olmoqchisiz, lekin ular duch kelgan noma'qulliklar, mashaqqatlar va qarshiliklarga duch kelishni xohlamaysiz. Yaxshi.

So, it’s not really a surprise that some Muslims have decided to sit back and watch things from the sidelines yet again. But next time I get lectured at by a Muslim “leader” on the importance of being principled and following in the footsteps of Malcolm X or Muhammad Ali, I will know what all the bluster really amounts to. You want to claim Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali for yourself, but you don’t want to face the unpopularity, the hardship, the backlash that they faced? Ok.