The Faith Divide

America testifies

By Eboo Patel and Samantha Kirby.

We know why Rep. Keith Ellison cried during yesterday's King hearings.

He cried because an American hero, Salman Hamdani, was suspected as a terrorist because of the simple fact of his faith. Hamdani was a first responder in New York on September 11th and sacrificed his life for his fellow Americans. His actions were those of a hero, but in the days after 9/11, you couldn't say "Muslim" without having it followed by "terrorist."

Keith Ellison cried because he is a father. Because he is concerned that when people hear that his kids are Muslim, they connect it automatically to the term "terrorist."

Keith Ellison cried because he is an American congressperson. Because he doesn't want any community - whether Catholics in the 1880s or Japanese Americans and Jews in the 1940s - to have a reputation in the public imagination as traitors or terrorists because of their identity.

Los Angeles county Sheriff Leroy Baca testified that we are safer when we work together, not when we are divided. He said that, "Our enemies cannot survive when we respond together." We don't know about you, but when someone who served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves and now runs the largest sheriff's department in the world says that, we listen.

Congressman Ellison echoed this when he said, "The best defense against extreme ideologies is social inclusion and civic engagement."

There are thousands of wonderful things happening right now that do just this. One of the best emails we saw this week was from the Rabbi at Northwestern University, who sent over a petition he was circling around to rabbis and other Jewish leaders. Part of it said:

"The values of Torah and the virtues of the American tradition demand that we raise our voices against the fear-mongering and hate that have been directed at our fellow citizens...Invoking our shared Abrahamic heritage and our commitment to American values, we write today as leaders of the American Jewish community to affirm, in unequivocal terms, that we stand in solidarity with American Muslims."

There are many more letters and petitions we haven't read. In fact during the hearings, Rep. Loretta Sanchez submitted dozens of such letters from various groups to be included in the testimony.

Right now there's a lot of people calling King the new McCarthy and the hearings the new witch-hunt. Frankly we're not concerned with how King ends up in the history books.

We care more about how America lives out its promise, and the way Americans responded - through campaigns like "WhatUnitesUs" on twitter and the "Today, I am Muslim too" rally in New York - shows us who this country really is.

The wonderful thing about America is when somebody calls a hearing, we don't have to be in the room to offer our own testimony.

By Eboo Patel  |  March 11, 2011; 8:09 AM ET  | Category:  Interfaith Issues , Morality , Religion & Leadership , Religion & Politics Save & Share:  Send E-mail   Facebook   Twitter   Digg   Yahoo Buzz   Del.icio.us   StumbleUpon   Technorati  
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PS: Please Tell KING RABBI David Wolpe & CO., aka The 1st Revvi of the U.S. 'JEWISH"s of America () Ummah/Community/Sangha... From EVIL EMPIRE ooopss. EVIL STATE, of California Landa, THAT

aTHEISM like aJUDAISM & "SECUALISM" Like PELEGism or EBERUism , is more like a RELIGION in Sweet Sweet U.S. of A. Actually Better! Soo, the God Player Needs to Tone Down or be Destroyed, like Poor Mel Gibson or Mr. SHEEN lately et al!

Scouts Honor!


Pleazzza. See This For Claerer Understandins. Thank aShame!


"Why Are a-theist So Angry?" Dated 03.10.11. See:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-david-wolpe/why-are-atheists-so-angry_b_833662.html

EXCERPT: "In the past when I have debated noted atheists -- Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris & others -- the audience was heavily weighted toward my opponents. That makes sense. Each of these men -- like Dawkins, Dennett & others -- brings with them a large following. But why seek out a religious site solely to insult religion? I wondered: Why are atheists so angry?"
____

Note: Israel's 1st Prime Minister His Honorable David BEN GURION {pbu et al} describes the "JEWISH"s (Who Caused the Death of Many Europeans, who were in the middle of Their Religio MOFIOSO's Enterprises, Like Today again?, for their "GODs CHOSEN PEOPLE SinDrome" and or "RELIGIOUS JEALOUSY PSYCHOSIS", "DOUBLE/TRIPLE STANDARDS PSYCHOSIS" etc. & more Ailments, both ORALY & Writtenly! like This:

"“I consider as Jewish? anyone who is crazy//meshuge enough to call themselves ‘Jewish” (by: Israels 1st PM/President David Ben Gurion +/- 1951 CE)."

And Our Prophet {pbuh et al} Hir Albert Einstein {pbuh} & HAPPY BIRTHDAY!, like-Wise Declined to Be 2nd President of Israel, because Knows, like US. what These [Hence TODAY] JEWISH's capable of & Evily will Do to US SABRAites, Not Only CANAANITES, ISLAMites or HINDUites or BUDDHAites oe Cristoites et al & CO.!
____

Credits: WWW
J░O░Z░E░V░Z░●░U░S

Please see how cunning the JEWISH's all ways have some one else's cunning Answers Answer disguised as if Originally Theres Exclusively? OYE...!

Note: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon {pbuh et al} Was Right about [JEWISH"s] Always Having To Prove Something! It is Time to STOP Them In America.

http://onwapo.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/so-so-manymany-genocides-not-only-for-jews/
.
Enjoy TRUTH (opposite MYTH)!

Posted by: ITs-TIME | March 12, 2011 10:45 PM
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Posted by: Nabihah | March 12, 2011 4:06 PM
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Eboo,

You should be more honest like Asra Nomani. Read her reasonable and intelligent article, especially when juxtaposed with yours. Asra knows your issues and your game and writes:
"Instead of circling the wagons with a public relations campaign of victimization, Muslims should rise to the occasion and honestly discuss what we all know: there is a very real interpretation of Islam inside our communities that threatens to convert our youth and others to extremism."

Now, tell us again why Ellison cried.

Posted by: clearthinking1 | March 12, 2011 1:13 AM
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Eboo, your agenda is hanging out again for all to see.

You wrote: "in the days after 9/11, you couldn't say "Muslim" without having it followed by "terrorist."

Really? Or is this just more of Eboo playing defense by playing offense. American are a tolerant people. Imperfect but tolerant. Even after 9/11, there was not rioting, no violence, only calls for calm by American leaders.

Contrast this with Islamic societies. Yes, you know the answer.

NOW. Who is it that talks about the "Muslim community", the "Muslim Ummah", the "Muslim people", the "Muslim state", and most importantly the "Muslim god - Allah"?

It is Muslims like you. You constantly refer to Muslims, whether American or not, as one people. YOU are the one who lumps the people together based on Islam - superseding all other identities.

Muslims are the one who proclaim every day the shahada: "There is no other god but Allah."
Is this is not inherently supremacist and divisive and intolerant and disrespectful. You say this everyday.

S0 don't blame others when they ask you to step up and speak up more to stop so many of your "brother muslims" who kill.

Stop the crocodile tears and stop the strawman arguments, unless your only agenda is to be an apologist for islam no what crime is committed in the name of Islam.

Posted by: clearthinking1 | March 12, 2011 1:02 AM
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If anything that hearing documented what we have known for a long time: the imams of the mushrooming mosques that most are built by Wahabi oil money are preaching the Wahabi extremist views. Those so-called imams are intimidating whoever wishes to notify authorities about young men from their communities travelling abroad to places like Somalia and Yemen to train on how to terrorize America. In another words those mostly Wahabi officials are aiding and abetting potential terrorists, and some have the audacity to label those hearings as “witch hunt”.

Posted by: abrahamhab1 | March 11, 2011 8:52 PM
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Ellison cried because he suffers from the Three B Syndrome, Bred, Born and Brainwashed in his religion.

There is a quick cure:

There never was and there will never be any angels to include Gabriel. No Gabriel, No Islam!!

Posted by: rambollini-1 | March 11, 2011 3:58 PM
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Should Congress Probe Muslim Radicalization?

You bet they should along with every other radical group. Every radical group is a threat to not only the safety of every American but to the world as a whole. They bred violence and hatred; all too often these groups are responsible for acts of pure evil with one goal in mind… destruction for personal gain. I don’t care what religious belief they have… if they promote hatred and violence we as a world society, i.e. the human race, we need to stand our ground and stop these activities. Freedom never comes cheap just ask anyone who has ever fought for it…. We’re not fighting Islam here or any other religion. We are fighting evil pure and simple. As a society we are at a point where we either change the way we think, disciplining our minds to the teachings of Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness & Temperance or suffer as a whole for our complacency in allowing the Modernism, Secular Humanism, etc. teaching doctrines of the commandments of men. We are long overdue in getting back on course with the principles in which our Constitution was founded. If we do not we will die as a Society and Country. We can either live a life where we don’t allow evil to prevail period regardless of race, religion or creed, or suffer the consequences of allowing evil to exist, living our lives in fear, hatred and misery.

Theodore – Oroville, CA

Posted by: teddiecochran | March 11, 2011 1:39 PM
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