Backlash Against Arab Americans, Muslims Continues

» Babatunde75 - As Muslims we should be careful

As Muslims we should be careful in how in
our sorrows of 9-11-01 incident at the WTC.
Not to give christians the right to start
defining what Islam is. During these past
few days since that day, whenever someone
comes on T.V. giving a definition of Islam
it is a christian professor from some college
or some news reporter who reports from the middle
east or something, and as of this moment I have
not seen a Muslim yet saying what Islam is.
As Muslims WE define what Islam is. We don't
submit to no one but Allah! We live in peace with
everyone who wants peace as we want peace. We are
not responsible for the action of every Muslim
just because he/she may be a Muslim. They did not
blame every christian for the acts of Timothy
McVeigh or Jeffery Dommer or any other christian
who commited some evil act, as a matter of fact
their religion was not even brought up to be discussed or debated, but now they have us defending our religion as if Islam is some evil
religion where wild sex and people who have no
control over what they do, and by using such terms
as 'Terrorists'. I know of no time when they have
called the acts of Isreal or the acts of the United States against Muslim countries and people
as the acts of 'Terrorist' acts. And if they don't see the acts of Jeffery Dommer and Timothy McVeigh
as terrorist acts then they should stop using such
term whenever someone of the Islamic faith does
something out of order in their view.

Peace...Babatunde

-- posted by Babatunde75

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» Dan_Ellsworth - The basic principle is good

Did Dahmer claim Christian motivation for his deeds?

But the basic principle seems worth noting, that Muslims should define what Islam is all about.

-- posted by Dan_Ellsworth

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» Babatunde75 - Thats what I'm saying

As a muslim if I were to go out here and
commit some unlawful act no matter what it
was, eating people or blowing up some
government building my religion would come
up into the picture even to the point of
saying my religion is what made me do such
evil act. But when a christian breaks the
law there never is nothing said about his/her
religion (unless its some kind off satanic
practice). Profiling has always been as
american as apple pie.
(Thanks for the correct spelling of Dahmer,
I knew I was wrong 'Dommer').

Babatunde

-- posted by Babatunde75

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» Anayat_Durrani - Re: Well done!

In response to message posted by Dan_Ellsworth:

Hello Dan,

Sorry it took me so long to answer you back. Nice to have you stopping by. =) I haven't heard from you in a while. How have you been? I hope you and your family are doing well.

I'm glad you liked my article and links. Thanks for the comments. Sometimes out of tragedy, some good can arise, and I think that good is seeing people of all faiths come together. But I only wish it didn't take a tragedy of this kind to bring people together.

I really enjoyed watching the prayer gathering at the Yankee Stadium. Did you see it? It was powerful. Below is the Muslim segment at the Yankee Stadium, which began with the call to prayer:

http://islamicity.com//video/ch20/Prayer...

Oprah is going to be doing a show on Islam called "Islam 101". It's going to be on today, Oct. 5. I'm definitely going to watch it.

By the way, since the tragedy I noticed a major jump in my hits. It's nice to know people are interested in learning more about Islam. I'm going to try to provide more information on my site in the coming weeks, as time permits.

Thanks for visiting Dan. I'll be knocking on your door for a visit as well. =)

-- posted by Anayat_Durrani

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» Anayat_Durrani - Re: Thats what I'm saying

In response to message posted by Babatunde75:

Asalamu alaikum Babatunde,

You make some great points. You just reminded me of something Muhammad Ali said. You probably saw this already, but I thought it was worth posting again:

Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali visited the ruins of the World Trade Center on Thursday. When CNN reporters asked how he felt about the suspects sharing his Islamic faith, Ali responded pleasantly, "How do you feel about Hitler sharing yours?"

-- posted by Anayat_Durrani

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» Dan_Ellsworth - Re2: Well done!

In response to message posted by Anayat_Durrani:

"Thanks for visiting Dan. I'll be knocking on your door for a visit as well. =) "

Good deal. And maybe that will generate some synergy that will inspire somebody to host a "Humor of Islam" topic. Even if not, it will be good to have each others' support for the proposition that a religion should be known by its deepest and best, not by its worst.

Speaking of which, Muhammad Ali has surprised me pleasantly a couple of times. The logical parallelism he pointed out was interesting, though he could have cited the KKK with equal justification.

No, I didn't see the Yankee Stadium event. Judy and I were on a vacation trip, mostly camping, September 22 through October 7. But one thing encourages me on a national level, that President Bush has spoken positively of Islam and our nation's Islamic citizens.

-- posted by Dan_Ellsworth

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» phoehne - Jump in hits on site

In response to message posted by Anayat_Durrani:

I am one of those who have been increasing the traffic to your site since 9-11. It is unfortunate it takes a tragedy to get us interested in another culture. I know there are many reasons but none of them sound very substantial when written out.

I have visited here because I personally want to have a better understanding of Islam. I know the terrorists are no more representative of your religion than Hitler is of mine. We always seem to overreact. German-Americans were hated in this country during both WW I and WW II. Japanese-Americans were placed in concentration camps after Pearl Harbor.

We proclaim America as a Melting Pot but we haven't become very homoginized. We expect everyone to become like us (but WHO is US?) yet we make little or no attempt to learn anything of others who live in this country.

Thank you for providing one way we can learn about another religion and culture. I desperatly pray that we have learned something from past history so that no one will need to repeat it.

-- posted by phoehne

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» gramma8 - Re: As Muslims we should be careful

In response to message posted by Babatunde75:

In your post you make reference to the fact that it is always a Christian professor on t.v. defining the faith of Islam.

Perhaps the reason for this is because the vast majority of non-Muslim Americans don't have a clue as to what Islam is. They want answers; and since the Muslim leaders are not publicly providing them, where else can a news team find their answers?
I have also noted in recent weeks the abysmal lack of Muslim leaders publicly condemning these acts of terrorism - nor have any of the American-Muslim leaders in any way disavowed the acts of the terrorist as being against their faith. It has been Christian leaders that are publicly telling not only Americans, but the world, that terrorism is not a part of the faith of Islam.

re:>>We are not responsible for the action of every Muslim just because he/she may be a Muslim. They did not blame every Christian for the acts of Timothy McVeigh or Jeffrey Dahmer or any other Christian who committed some evil act, as a matter of fact their religion was not even brought up to be discussed or debated, but now they have us defending our religion as if Islam is some evil
religion where wild sex and people who have no
control over what they do, and by using such terms
as 'Terrorists'..<<

Something you fail to understand in this situation is that bin Laden has made the claim that his terrorist acts are based solely on Muslim tenets. It is not something that was pinned on him by others. Please note that the term terrorist does not necessarily apply to all of a certain religious or ethnic background - it applies ONLY to those individuals who intentionally target civilians with the sole intent of forcing a change in policy/behavior of the rest of the populace targeted by such acts.
Military response to an attack is not the same as an unprovoked attack on civilians. If you see them as the same, you are no different than those idiots who see all Arab-Americans as the same as bin Laden and his group of followers.

Timothy McVeigh and Jeffrey Dahmer were without a doubt sick individuals. Neither of them claimed that his religion required them to kill anyone, let alone those of differing faiths (as bin Laden does). Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist, Dahmer was not. Hitler was a terrorist also.
The common denominator between bin Laden, Hitler and McVeigh is that they were willing to kill civilians (who had NO HAND in shaping political policy) in order to attempt to force those who do make political policy to change those policies.

re:>>I know of no time when they have
called the acts of Israel or the acts of the United States against Muslim countries and people
as the acts of 'Terrorist' acts..<<

Please specify what you are referring to here, when you claim the U.S. has acted against Muslim countries...
The only recent actions involving the U.S. and Muslim countries that come to my mind are:

• Kosovo
  • The U. S. Air Force intervened in Kosovo once again to protect Muslims against a Christian Yugoslav army bent on mass annihilation.
• Kuwait
  • The Gulf War was fought to restore the sovereignty and independence of Kuwait, a nation deeply Islamic in its politics and culture.
• Bosnia
  • More than 30,000 American troops were sent to Bosnia to protect Muslim Croatians against Serbian ethnic cleansing carried out by a Christian army.

The thing that strikes me about all this is that this country has expended its blood and treasure to protect Islamic nations and Muslim people. For Osama bin Laden, or any Islamic group, to argue that we have undertaken a new crusade against the Muslim world simply defies reality.

-- posted by gramma8

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» AliaHas - Re: Re: As Muslims we should be careful

In response to message posted by gramma8:

I have some problems with what has been said in the gramma8 post.
First off you say:
"In your post you make reference to the fact that it is always a Christian professor on t.v. defining the faith of Islam. Perhaps the reason for this is because the vast majority of non-Muslim Americans don't have a clue as to what Islam is. They want answers; and since the Muslim leaders are not publicly providing them, where else can a news team find their answers?"
I'm not sure what papers and news stations you have been tuning into since sep11 but there has been an abundance of Muslim leaders and figures providing input on the events and trying to paint an accurate picture of Islam. These people may not be given the same kind of airtime or authority as the non-Muslims but that is not the fault of the individuals.
Second you state:
" I have also noted in recent weeks the abysmal lack of Muslim leaders publicly condemning these acts of terrorism - nor have any of the American-Muslim leaders in any way disavowed the acts of the terrorist as being against their faith. It has been Christian leaders that are publicly telling not only Americans, but the world, that terrorism is not a part of the faith of Islam."
Again I would assume you have not been reading and watching what I have. I dont know how many times Muslims in this country must condemn the sep11 attacks before it is believed (because that really seems to be the issue, that some people in their close-mindedness are not accepting these condemnations). If you accept that Islam does not condone this act and it is certainly contrary to true Islamic teachings then really you should not expect Muslim-Americans to need to condemn it (it should be a given). Even so I could not even begin to count the numbers of orgs and individual Muslims who have condemned it and made it clear that this was not an "Islamic" act but a terrorist act.
Thirdly you mention Hitler, McVeigh and others not committing acts in the name of Christianity. I'm not entirely convinced of that since many of these "Western" terrorists in general have used verses from the Bible to support their actions (I think I recall McVeigh specifically doing this in an interview from his jail cell). We tend to ignore these things in the West because we know better than to assume it is the fault of the Christian religion that delusional individuals justify evil with religion.
Lastly you mention some of the actions of the US such as Kosovo, Bosnia, and Kuwait. Although I would never justify despicable terrorist actions as a response to US foreign policy I have to disagree with what you have said here. Many Americans, from intellectuals to laborers, have come to believe that the action in Kuwait was mainly about oil interests and not protecting Kuwaitis. The fact that so many in the armed forces as well as regular citizens were making statements like "nuke the arabs", failing to distinguish between an Iraqi and Kuwaiti suggests that they did not see it as an issue of protecting Kuwaitis either. I'm not going to respond to the other cases because I think this is an issue of looking at individual cases (and exceptions even) rather than looking at the larger picture of foreign policy (consider the unconditional support for Israel in the oppression of Palestinian Christians and Muslims for decades, the US-led sanctions on Iraq which have resulted in keeping a dictator in power while causing the deaths of 1 million Iraqi civillians according to UN statistics, etc). Foreign policy is more complex than a few cases which seems to be lost on Osama Bin Laden as well as the average American who is unaware of most of these policies and the impacts they have on the Middle East.
The last thing I would like to add is that any criticism of certain American foreign policy by Muslim Americans or Arab-Americans should neither suggest sympathy for Osama Bin Laden nor a failure to recognize that America practices a more admirable democracy (within its borders) than any other country in the world.
regards,
Alia

-- posted by AliaHas

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» DaisyHD - Re: As Muslims we should be careful

In response to message posted by gramma8:

Thanks to Ms. Durrani for covering this much needed topic. I am embarassed as an American at the gross accusations against Islam and Muslims that exists in this country, and I am apalled at the reports of bigotry happening around our country. I suggest that before people open their mouths to speak about something they don't know or act out of anger, they should take the time to learn and understand.

That said, I want to respond to the above post by "gramma8." Gramma8 wrote: "I have also noted in recent weeks the abysmal lack of Muslim leaders publicly condemning these acts of terrorism - nor have any of the American-Muslim leaders in any way disavowed the acts of the terrorist as being against their faith."

There is a problem when religious leaders, individuals, and entire religious communities are expected to condemn the acts of a criminial in the way that Islamic leaders and Muslims have been made to do in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks. Why should they??

When anti-abortion groups blow up abortion clinics citing Christian morals and teachings as their cause, did we ask every Christian leader to condemn the attacks? We did no such thing. Bin Laden and his like are sick minded individuals who have twisted religious teachings to suit their own deeds. No one should have to condemn his crimes merely because he or she happens to follow the religion that Bin Laden claims to follow. You're thinking is dangerous.

Incidentally, you might want to read up on the history of Israel for an abundance of examples on how religion is manipulated to kill innocent people. One example: In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli Jew, entered a mosque in Hebron and opened fire on Muslim worshippers, while they were praying, and killing about 30 people. He wasn't a lone psychopath; he was a medical doctor, and part of a radical Jewish movement. His father said of him: He was a righteous man. And following his death, he was viewed as a martyr by many. I don't recall anyone asking every Jewish leader to condemn this terrorist act. Indeed, one can say that the entire state of Israel was created on the notion that a religion (Judaism) justifies the ethnic cleansing of an entire nation of people. And this occurs there on a daily basis. Why the hypocrisy when it comes to people of the Islamic faith?

My point is this: terrorism occurs in the name of many religions. As Americans we should remember that civil rights must apply to EVERY American. No Islamic-American should be made to "publicly" condemn the crime of someone or some people he has nothing to do. We don't put people on trial for their religious beliefs.

Quite frankly, it should be a given that religious leaders would NOT condone the killing of innocent people. Otherwise, you are essentially holding an entire religion responsible for this crime. And that, I'm afraid, is completely un-American. And let's face it, if this were a radical group of Christians who were responsible for the attacks, I sincerely doubt we would be calling for America's Christian leaders to condemn it, and we wouldn't be seeing this kind of prejudice. Because that, after all, is what this kind of thinking represents. We can all do without it.

D.

-- posted by DaisyHD

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