An American Muslim Journal

Dov Zakheim's blog | Shadow Government

At the end of the day, there clearly is no Middle East-wide Arab Spring. Indeed, there may not be an Arab Spring at all. Not a single Arab state is being led by the kind of secular liberals that Washington favors, and the cloud of Islamism hangs over the entire region. Whether the Arab Spring will lead directly into winter remains unclear, but Washington and its allies, including its Arab allies, have every good reason to worry that it might.

via shadow.foreignpolicy.com

I was looking at the upheavals in places like Tunisia, Egypt and Syria as signs that the people of those countries were attempting to assert their God-Given right to be free. And I thought that was what the phrase "Arab Spring" meant to capture.

I also thought that people seeking to be free and to re-gain their liberty were objectives that Americans supported. Dov Zakheim's blog post does necessarily say so explicitly but what I gather from this particular blog post is that it is no "Arab Spring" if they do not result in governments and/or policies that are favorable to the U.S.

Am I misreading it?

Santorum: 'There Is No Palestine' | The Jewish Week

"All the people who live in the West Bank are Israelis.  There are no Palestinians.  This is Israeli land," the former Pennsylvania senator said.

"The West Bank is part of Israel," which won it as "part of an aggressive attack by Jordan and others" in 1967.  Israel doesn't have to give it back any more than the United States has to give New Mexico and Texas to Mexico, which were gotten "through a war," he said.

via www.thejewishweek.com

Santorum is such a frothy mix of lube and.... UGH!!

Muslim - Christian friendship in Ghana

I had lunch today with a colleague who is from Ghana.  He shared a very interesting recollection of his life in Ghana vis-a-vis interfaith relations.

My colleague is Muslim.  He told me that when he was growing up in Ghana the relationship between Muslims and Christians was positive.  He said that during Christmas, Christians would have their rams or whatever other animal they intended to feast upon, taken to the local imam to be slaughtered according to Islamic law.  They did this, according to my colleague, because they wanted to share their feast with Muslims and they understood Muslims' observance of zabihah standards.

That's a wonderful story.  That's how interfaith relationships ought to be.  I wonder if the relationship between Muslims and Christians is still good in Ghana?

Some Christians itching' to pick fights

Some Christians feel compelled to malign Islam in order to bolster their own faith.  Shame on them.

At first I thought about ignoring these people, but then I decided that their hate messages need to be shared with others so that we can be on the look out for these crazies in our neighborhoods.  I would be horrified if my children were exposed to such vicious and hateful lies about our faith.  It would be equally outrageous if my kids' friends were exposed to this kind of hate material.

A group calling itself "Defend Students" is leading the hateful anti-Islam leafleting at public schools (click here for a report on this from a fringe Christian web news portal).  A man named Dr. Gary Cass is reportedly the leader of this group.  His group is using the usual, false and very ugly claims that Islam promotes pedophilia and violence.  It's material that many of us have seen before.  I looked at the flier and could tell right away that it was a mix of lies, mistatements and hyperbolic rhetoric.

Here is a sample of the flier this group is handing out to public school children:

 

Muslim parents must be aware of this hateful work.  Parents of other faiths should be on the look out too. This is treacherous stuff.  I would be horrified if my kids or their friends (of all faiths) were exposed to this ugliness at or near their schools.

These extremists and hatemongers apparently have very little faith in Christianity and its appeal to others. This is their effort to dissuade young Americans from Islam.

This type of hateful material should not be allowed on public school property.  If nothing else it disrupts the learning environment that public schools seek to foster.  This material interferes with public schools' core mission of educating children.  This is because the information that the "Defend Students" group is attempting to disseminate is patently false and because it rises to the level of bigotry against Muslims.

Parents who find this material (or material like it) being shared at or near public school facilities should take thoughtful steps to stop it.  It does no good to confront the people distributing the leaflets.  It would be better to take pictures and video of them handing out the materials.  It would also be a good idea to get copies of some of the materials they are handing out.

The public school administration should be notified as quickly as possible.  However, the notification should be done in a thoughtful and organized way.  Parents should contact the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for assistance and guidance (click here to find a local CAIR chapter). The local CAIR chapter can help organize the outreach to the public school administration in a manner that is in equal parts thoughtful and forceful. The local mosque should be contacted as well.  Ideally, the local mosque will have an established network of interfaith partners in the community.  It is the responsibility of all people of faith to combat the hateful messages of this "Defend Students" group.

My concern is not necessarily that this fringe group out in California or Florida will make its way to Illinois. What does concern me is that a handful of local bigots will pick up on this effort and bring it to a school near me.  It is in our childrens' best interest that we remain constantly on the lookout for all hateful messages aimed at our children.