We can learn lessons from a SC official’s decision to ‘dress like a terrorist’

When I first learned that an elected official in South Carolina had posted a picture of himself dressed up in traditional Middle Eastern clothing as part of a terrorism training exercise, I was more confused than offended.

Don’t get me wrong.

As an attorney with our nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, I recognize that dressing up in Middle Eastern clothing and putting on a giant fake beard to “play a terrorist” is incredibly offensive.

But I was initially too confused to feel offended.

After all, the picture raised so many questions:

▪ Why did a councilman in Berkeley County, of all places, feel the need to engage in counter-terrorism training?

▪ Exactly what kind of training was this?

▪ Why did everyone dress up in Middle Eastern clothing?

▪ And why in the world didn’t anyone realize this was a bad idea?

In the days since Berkeley County Councilman Tommy Newell first posted the picture on Facebook, media outlets have answered some of the above questions.

The event was hosted by a private corporation that arranges tactical training, primarily for law enforcement and military personnel.

Police officers, soldiers and other participants act out armed responses to combat emergencies, including simulated terrorist attacks using “bad guys” dressed up in traditional Middle Eastern clothing.

According to a report by WCIV Channel 4 in Charleston, Newell contended that he hadn’t done anything wrong; he said he had simply been hired by a private company to play a role as an actor.

But while Newell may see nothing wrong with his conduct or the training, there are actually several things wrong with it.

The far-right threat

First of all, too many Americans subconsciously or consciously equate terrorism with the Middle East and extremism with Middle Eastern clothing. This is despite the fact that most terrorist attacks in the United States are committed by far-right extremists, including racists and neo-Nazis.

From the wave of attacks targeting the federal government, abortion clinics and gay night clubs in the 1990s to more recent attacks on synagogues, mosques and minorities such as Hispanic Americans, far-right extremism has posed a unique and constant threat in America for decades.

The fact is that your average terrorist is much more likely to be a clean-shaven man wearing jeans and a T-shirt than a bearded man wearing a thobe and a kufi — or a woman wearing a hijab.

Misguided stereotypes

The second problem with Newell’s training is that many Americans still don’t recognize the irony of fearing or loathing Middle Eastern gowns and hair scarves.

Although many Muslims adopt this appearance in an attempt to emulate the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him), he was hardly the only Abrahamic religious figure to present himself this way.

Several months ago a young girl standing in the checkout line in a store noticed my wife — a Muslim who wears a hair scarf and a gown — carrying our newborn son. Shocked, the young girl pointed at my son and yelled, “Baby Jesus!”

Indeed didn’t Jesus — who Muslims also consider a prophet of God worthy of emulation — keep a beard?

Didn’t his mother, Mary, cover her hair with a scarf?

Didn’t they and other people of the Middle East wear robes?

They certainly weren’t wearing suits or baseball caps.

Here’s the point:

There’s nothing wrong, unusual or dangerous about wearing “Middle Eastern” clothing; indeed if you’re reading this article, you’ve probably done so yourself.

Everyone who has graduated from a school while wearing a robe was following a clothing tradition that originated in Islamic universities.

Dangerous training

Finally, it’s incredibly dangerous for police officers and military personnel to engage in faux battles with people dressed up in Middle Eastern clothing.

Why?

For the very same reason it’s dangerous and offensive for cops to train using “bad guys” dressed up in clothing that is associated in stereotypical fashion with African Americans.

If a police officer spends hours shooting blanks at someone dressed up to look like one particular ethnicity, that obviously increases the risk that officers will either subconsciously or consciously look upon such people as threats in the real world.

Visit a mosque

As for Newell, I do not seek to shame or even condemn him for this faux pas.

Over the past four years my civil rights organization has seen elected officials at the highest levels of government say and do far worse things.

Instead I encourage Newell to visit a local mosque once the pandemic, God willing, passes. Perhaps then he will recognize that people who cover their hair, wear gowns or grow lengthy beards are not his enemies.

They are his religious heroes, his neighbors and, yes, even his constituents.

Edward Ahmed Mitchell is the deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C.

This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 9:08 PM with the headline "We can learn lessons from a SC official’s decision to ‘dress like a terrorist’."