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Fair and equal treatment for Islam
After 9/11 President Bush reminded Americans that the attack was the work of a few terrorists and not the Muslim people. "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam," Bush said a few days after 9/11. President Obama reached out to Muslims worldwide in his 2009 Cairo speech, where he insisted that "America is not -- and never will be -- at war with Islam." Yet partly because of the furor over the "mosque" near Ground Zero, a new wave of anti-Muslim feeling has arisen. Gen. Petraeus recently spoke out against a planned burning of the Qur'an by a church in Florida, an act which Petraeus says threatens American operations in Afghanistan and harms America's image in Muslim countries.
Did we (Muslim and non-Muslims) do enough after 9/11 to heal the nation? If not, what should we have done? What more can we do now?
The despicable Qur'an burning event planned by the Dove World Outreach Church of Gainesville, Florida reminds us that real prejudice against Muslims exists. Such displays of contempt against an entire community need to be rejected by all people of good will, whatever legality of free speech the church enjoys. Burning a book regarded as the divine revelation of G-d by 20% of the world's population is obscene and must especially be condemned by those who consider themselves faithful and G-d fearing. We should never forget the words of the great German poet of Jewish descent, Heinrich Heine, who warned over a hundred years before Auschwitz; "where books are burned in the end people will burn." It must further be acknowledged that some of the critics of the Cordoba Initiative's planned community and prayer center near Ground Zero have blamed all Muslims for the acts of violent radicals. Most tragic of all recent events; a New York City taxi cab driver was stabbed for no other reason than telling his assailant that he was a Muslim.
Among the ugliness and hate the Muslim community is undoubtedly experiencing, however, are some in its leadership that not only want to deflect legitimate criticism of radical religion and terror, but apparently even want to censor Jews from studying and publicizing their sufferings, particularly the hate for Jews that is so prevalent in the current Middle East.
The best example of an organized attempt to deflect criticism from Islam and all Muslims is CAIR; the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which presents itself as a civil rights organization focused only on communicating Islam and fighting discrimination, but in fact is an aggressive foe of free speech (when it is directed at Muslims and Islam). CAIR is moreover an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Terror Trial, and spokesmen from CAIR will not denounce Hamas, which was the recipient of funds in that case. The wording of their condemnations of terror has been disturbingly hinged on the word "innocent," a vagueness that has been used in the past to exempt condemnation of terror against Americans and Israelis. Sadly, but not surprisingly, the 2010 recipient of CAIR's Lifetime Achievement Award is Helen Thomas, the long time White House Correspondent who infamously told Jews they should "get the hell out of Palestine" and "go back" to Poland and Germany.
A local version of calling legitimate criticisms of Islam and Muslims "Islamophobia" occurred recently on the campus of Yale University, where the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism held a conference discussing global anti-Semitism, particularly as it exists in the Middle East, and as it contributes to delegitimizing Israel.
In a letter to the Yale Daily News, provocatively titled, "Anti-Semitism but not anti-hatred," a Yale Law School student complained that while the conference "touched on anti-Jewish sentiment across different historical periods and geographic areas, they focused predominantly on the Arab and Muslim world." Indeed, Jews are very aware of the resurgence of anti-Jewish and genocidal statements from the Arab world and Iran as well as the terrifying spike in violence against Jews in Europe's Muslim communities.
Newscasters and interviewers are getting wiser to CAIR's politics and are beginning to ask their leaders, as well as prominent Muslims such as Imam Rauf of Cordoba, if they would publicly repudiate Hamas. (He would not). I have a different question which will give me insight into the heart of Islam, and help me separate legitimate criticism and slander. I would like Islamic scholars to confirm or reject the legitimacy and authenticity of the Hadith ("saying") quoted proudly in Hamas's charter: "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."
Hating Muslims for no other reason than their religion of birth or choice is indeed "Islamophobia." Holding Muslims and Islam to the same standards of inquiry as other groups, on the other hand, is in fact perfectly legitimate.
By
Shmully Hecht
|
September 8, 2010; 3:41 PM ET
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Posted by: woodstock-41 | September 11, 2010 7:49 AM
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FIVE QUESTIONS ISLAM'S AUTHORITATIVE VOICES NEED TO ANSWER. American Muslims need to tell us what the most authoritative voices of Islam would say in answer to the five questions posed below. The issue is not what individual American Muslims might answer. We need to know what the most authoritative voices of orthodox Islam would say.
Here are the questions:
1. Does Islam allow for the separation of church and state?
2. Does Islam allow for the full legal equality of women?
3. Does Islam allow for religious pluralism? For example, if a Muslim male married a Christian female, would the husband and wife be able to say to their children, “We will attend the mosque on Friday and the church on Sunday and consider ourselves a bi-religious family. When each of you is 18 years old, you will be free to choose. You can continue of bilateral approach; or, you can choose one religion over the other; or, you can choose another religion altogether.”
4. What does Islam say (according to the authoritative voices) should be the fate of heretics? For example, if a member of the Egyptian soccer team got up tomorrow morning and announced he was converting from Islam to Christianity and changing his name from Mohammad Ali to Cassius Clay, what do the authoritative voices of Islam say should be his fate?
5. Does Islam allow for the publication of a scholarly book alleging that Muhammad was a fraud?
(Alternatively, instead of posing the questions to the authoritative voices of Islam, we ask American Muslims to imagine the question is, “What do Islamic textbooks used in the teaching of Muslim students in America say in answer to the following questions?”)
Posted by: tbarksdl | September 10, 2010 7:09 AM
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Fair and equal treatment for Islam BUT Nothing fair or equal to rest from Islam! What a perverted logic is this? I really am not sure burning few copies of Koran will snuff the hatred from Islamists. Just check out what is happening in this border district in India facing Islamic Bangladesh, classic demographic warfare by Muslims once they reach the "threshold" of Intolerance! Lesson for America!
NO RESPITE DESPITE ARMY PRESENCE
http://hindusamhati.org/
NO RESPITE DESPITE ARMY PRESENCE. TODAY MORNING AGAIN MUSLIMS ARE ATTACKING DIFFERENT HINDU VILLAGES AROUND KARTICKPUR AWAY FROM THE MAIN ROAD.
HINDU WOMEN ARE FLEEING FROM BISWANATHPUR TOWARDS KARTICKPUR AS A LARGE MUSLIM MOB IS PROCEEDING FROM DOGACHHIA SIDE. POLICE IS TOTALLY HELPLESS. SEVERAL RAF PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN SEVERELY BEATEN UP BY THE MUSLIMS. EVEN ARMY IS UNABLE TO STOP THE MUSLIM MOB.
"KHEJURDANGA KARMAKAR PARA" VILLAGE JUST NOW BURNT. IT IS 2 KM. INSIDE FROM THE MAIN ROAD. ARMY IS NOT GOING THERE.
WOMEN ARE SCARED. ARMY IS NOT GOING INSIDE AS THEIR NUMBER IS TOO SMALL, ONLY ABOUT 200
SITUATION EXTREMELY WORSE. HINDUS ARE WAITING FOR MASSACRE. ALL SIDES ARE BLOCKED BY THE MUSLIMS. NO ROUTE TO ESCAPE.
Posted by: futuralogic | September 9, 2010 11:37 AM
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i don't know why this story publish before my comment.
They wanna say that Muslims are not humble and merciful people.
Please listen i wanna mention here that good and bad people found in the whole part of the world.If they do as you told us, we all strongly condemn it what all happened.
Let's come to the topic;
Hecht rightly said that we should treat equally and fairness element as well.
If the Christians says that we built their Church then as Muslims we never place any sort of hurdle in the this matter because America is the country of all the citizens of what they belong from.In the whole part of the world, people come and work for the US to make the prosper and land of peace to the other people.
I know that a group of Anti-Muslims don't want to do this.I don't know why they are doing like this?
I hope that all will be fine and decisions made on this matter fair and on the basis of Justis.
Posted by: hasan1493 | September 9, 2010 6:17 AM
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What is the true face of Islam? Is there any face to it? I really am not sure burning few copies of Koran will snuff the hatred from Islamists. Just check out what is happening in this border district in India facing Islamic Bangladesh, classic demographic warfare by Muslims once they reach the "threshold" of Intolerance! Lesson for America!
NO RESPITE DESPITE ARMY PRESENCE
http://hindusamhati.org/
NO RESPITE DESPITE ARMY PRESENCE. TODAY MORNING AGAIN MUSLIMS ARE ATTACKING DIFFERENT HINDU VILLAGES AROUND KARTICKPUR AWAY FROM THE MAIN ROAD.
HINDU WOMEN ARE FLEEING FROM BISWANATHPUR TOWARDS KARTICKPUR AS A LARGE MUSLIM MOB IS PROCEEDING FROM DOGACHHIA SIDE. POLICE IS TOTALLY HELPLESS. SEVERAL RAF PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN SEVERELY BEATEN UP BY THE MUSLIMS. EVEN ARMY IS UNABLE TO STOP THE MUSLIM MOB.
"KHEJURDANGA KARMAKAR PARA" VILLAGE JUST NOW BURNT. IT IS 2 KM. INSIDE FROM THE MAIN ROAD. ARMY IS NOT GOING THERE.
WOMEN ARE SCARED. ARMY IS NOT GOING INSIDE AS THEIR NUMBER IS TOO SMALL, ONLY ABOUT 200
SITUATION EXTREMELY WORSE. HINDUS ARE WAITING FOR MASSACRE. ALL SIDES ARE BLOCKED BY THE MUSLIMS. NO ROUTE TO ESCAPE.
Posted by: futuralogic | September 8, 2010 7:13 PM
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