Life as a Minority Isn't What it Used to Be

haloz i dont understand what you said-

im not merve- im not even turkish!

TRIVIA: Did you know that , Literally & Figuretivly , that "ZiON" or 'Zien' or 'Zye-in' or similar eponym varient,s means to acsually 'Screw something" or via sex someone! And

even more interesting, in ARABIC , not lost in translation , and in Hebrew (lots of Arabic therein & thereof, visa vis) via the the word 'ZiBBY', means a Mans (sex Part, Circumcised or not) organ! And so,

Arabs have Copy Cat the concept "KOSHER" and called it their 'HALLAL"! So Zibby & Zion is the Same Shiat! And there is nothing Sunni about them either???!

And did you know in Arabic the word 'MANIAC' or it's varient , means 'Homo-Sexual'???! But in Yidish, not Hebrew , is called a 'Fagallae'! Ya Ya!

Victoria/Merve K.
Hamas militant,the girl of Republic and agent-provocator as Suleiman Demirel said.

You failed to graduate *Medical College*,probably *kafan basmadi* as Tayyip says(that means your intelligence level and capability not enough to understand)
You called *Holy War* at IAP in Chicago.

Islam is not *spiritual path*,it is a *holy war* as you say.Can you speak in the name of American women although you are a *American citizen*.

poor misguided misogynist anonymous-

has so little respect for american women he cant imagine we can think for ourselves, and choose our own spiritual path without being guided by some man somewhere-

Ms Taylor, the relationship between your marriage and conversion to Islam would be interesting to read about.

Ms Taylor wrote, 'My children's classes, in contrast have included units on a variety of religions -- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism in particular.'

Wow! And that is how education has been in the US schools? Since when?

If a person ties his shoe lace in a certain way in a country ruled by Muslims, then it becomes the Islamic way to tie shoelaces.

Ms Taylor do write about the Islamic culture of African countries.

Isn't it interesting that Islam identifies only with the culture of countries which had highly advanced pre-Islamic cultures.

Any great achievement of the peoples living in a country ruled by Muslims becomes automatically Islamic, no matter that the peoples achieved them long before Muslims arrived. It is akin to immigrant Americans referring to the culture of the native American Indians and anything done by anybody in the land as Christian because the rulers happen to practice Christianity as their religion.

"The sum balance, I believe, makes it one of the best times to be a minority in America."

As long as you say 'God.'

UNITED NATIOS should set up a commission to study

the problems of minorities in third world

countries.

I can see it now, Eboo, Moody, Rudy, Victoria, Mischka and the Obfuscating Jihadist marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade clothed in bright green thawbs and heads topped with blazing green hijabs and flawed korans in their arms shouting "Death to Infidels, Christians and Jews". Let us hope this never happens but as followers of the flawed koran, they visualize it in their brainwashed minds out of necessity to fulfill their koranic dreams.

Islam was not a theocracy, no matter Muslims sought political rule everywhere they went. When Spain was ruled by Muslims everything that the natives of Spain did was Islamic, including the pre-Islamic culture.

Ms Taylor usually writes to display her essay and fiction writing skills, and to blow her own trumpet. Try the word megalomania and see if it fits her description.

Ms Taylor usually writes to display her essay and fiction writing skills and to blow her own trumpet. Megalomania is one word to describe it.

What does this have to do with Jewish identity? Ms. Taylor, you should attempt to keep your writing on the topic at hand. I feel upset that we have a thread about Jewish identity and one of the writers chooses to write about her conversion to Islam. If it were a discussion of Muslim identity and someone started writing about their conversion to Judaism, would you feel offended?

Thank you for mentioning that Jews were able to live freely under Muslim rule in Spain. In Iran, Morocco, and Iraq, Jews were second class citizens but they were not persecuted with massacres as they were in Europe. They could live and go to school and practice their faith. They did not live in fear. Ottoman rule was overall kind to the Jewish minority living there. They lived under the millet system as did Christians, which allowed them religious and educational self-governance.

However, we must face the facts that Muslim rule has not always been kind to the Jews. In Syria, it was against the law to employ Jews. Therefore, they either had to start their own businesses or they had to rely on charity. Jordan expelled all Jews from its borders following its establishment as an independent nation in the 40s. In the saddest and most egregious case, the Yemeni authorities would seize Jewish babies and give them to Muslim families to have them raised as Muslims.

Please Pre-Apocalyptarians; Cast Out All Your Religious Jealous Psychosis.

Go APOCALYPTIC SOCIETY & Never will there ever be such a thing as a "Minority via some ancient religion"!

Let go, Let Go, Let go, Of your Pre-Apocalyptic "Super-Stupid-Stitiopus" Mad Made & Zero E*C*L*A*T + "i" made genuine PHILOSOPHY via IT's NEW-SONG, comming from all O.U.R. oldy's but goody's !

DO NOT BE in DENIAL, to yourselves nor to Others!

interesting post, Pamela Taylor

and directly relevent to the question at hand.

thank you.

I think the author has some valid points, but there is little creditability here. All she has managed to do is establish that she is incapable of actually writing a relevant response toward the topic and prove her own ignorance.

I know education systems vary, but if she did not realize that were Muslims in Spain, I think she drew the short stick. Read a book. She obviously was in a coma during her Spanish history studies.

salaams jihadist-
you're right- from a political POV america divides itself much more strongly identity wise along red and blue (conservative and liberal- but im sure you knew that)delineations than religious ones.

ps- everyone in america is irish on st. patricks day!
(although honestly ive avoided the party for many years- ive had enough green beer thrown up on me to last the rest of my life) and, as you know, im irish so go figure

Jihadist, unfortunately your view about orthodox Muslims having more in common with orthodox Muslims is true only in your fantasy. Orthodox Jews would beg to differ. You seem to have forgotten that in Mohammad's day Jews and Muslims mixed like oil and water. Three Jewish tribes were put to the sword by Mohammad himself. It highly unlikely that it was done because they had the most in common.

Anonymous,

I thought Imam Pamela Taylor wrote an interesting essay of one person's journey to acknowledge the sources of her identity, including as a member of a religious minority, and reconciling that with the national identity of being American.

Of course her essay has relevance as the question on what is a "Jewish identity" is also one of interest and being experienced by other religious and ethnic minorities living in the United States - the question of a heritage and past identity being forged in the new world from the old world and old interpretations of faith giving way to new ones.

All ethnic or religious minorities in the US, not just Jewish Americans, are asking how much, how little they are giving up, will have to give up, or how to reconcile in being both American and still be Jewish or Muslim.

Are Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans, Christian Americans, atheist Americans, Hindu Americans, Buddhist Americans, Pagan Americans etc any less American than the other for being Jewish or Hindu or Muslim? For living by their belief, their traditions and heritage in their private life and in the public square?

Want to do away with say, St Patrick's Day's parade? Are the participants and revelers, who are not all Irish and Catholics, any less American or less Jewish and Muslim for wearing green and having fun on that day too?

Personally, in the United States, I think Orthodox American Jews have more in common with conservative or traditional American Muslims than they do with Reformed Jews or secular and cultural Jews.

Thanks and regards
"J"

how does this deal with or address the question at hand? Jewish American?