An American Muslim Journal

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.

 

 

Dick Durbin holds Muslim rights hearings - Scott Wong - POLITICO.com

Durbin noted that King previously stated there are too many mosques in the country. And he pointed to comments by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a possible GOP presidential candidate, that the country is “experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization.”

“Some have even questioned the premise of today’s hearing: that we should protect the civil rights of American Muslims,” Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said in his opening remarks. “Such inflammatory speech from prominent public figures creates a fertile climate for discrimination. So it’s not surprising that the Anti-Defamation League says we face an intensified level of anti-Muslim bigotry.’”

via www.politico.com

Of course the right-wing nuts are going nuts over this hearing.  They hear "Muslims" and they can't help but freak out (hat tip for that Pavlovian conditioning to Faux News).

Here's a shot of some comments on Politico.com:

Wow!  The anger and hate is so strong!  And wrong.

The fact is that this was a civil rights hearing.  The American community it was focusing on today was the American Muslim community.  And fighting to secure the civil rights of each and every segment of our community helps to strengthen the civil rights of every citizen.

As such, I'm not so keen on POLITICO.com's headline about "Muslim rights hearings".  These were civil rights hearings focused on the rising bigotry against American Muslims.

Sen. Durbin deserves a lot of credit for taking the lead.  I also want to acknowledge Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for co-chairing this hearing.

 

King Hearing Falls Short, As Predicted says Investors Business Daily

Sheesh!  Even the Investors Business Daily is piling on Rep. Peter King for his pathetic hearings.  Make no mistake, I don't think too kindly of some of the IBD editorials (they sometimes like to slum in the gutter by promoting bogus charges against legitimate American Muslim organizations).  I'm pointing them out, however, because EVEN THEY berated Rep. King for the way he failed to conduct a meaningful hearing.

IBD wrote:

Reviews of Rep. Pete King’s opening round of hearings into “Muslim radicalization” are lousy...  King, the Republican head of the House Homeland Security Committee, deserves thrashing...  King didn't even come close to delivering what he advertised with his investigation, titled "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response"...  He said FBI agents and other cops working terrorism cases constantly complain about the lack of cooperation from the Muslim community. Mosque officials and other Muslim leaders actually encourage such resistance, he said...  Yet the seven witnesses King called to testify included no national law enforcement officials to back him up. Nor did he subpoena any of the offending Muslim leaders to address these allegations under oath.

Huh!  Imagine that!  And why, IBD, do you think that is?  Is it that Rep. King's staff lost the notebook with the names and numbers of all the many law enforcement folks that supposedly told Rep. King about the alleged lack of cooperation of American Muslims?  Hmmm?  No, I don't think that's it.  I think it's because that was a wild claim that Rep. King can't back up.

Orange County GOP Leaders Scott Baugh, Adam Probolsky not bothered by Deborah Pauly's Incitement to Murder

 
The response by Orange County's party leadership to Pauly's comments has been muted, even a bit disjointed. In an interview with a reporter, OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh defended Pauly's right to speak out, but was clearly uncomfortable doing it.

"We don't referee the content of what people say out at rallies," Baugh said. He added later: "In Democracy -- in a country with free speech -- at rallies a lot of things are said. I wouldn't read too much into it."

Adam Probolsky, a Republican pollster, activist and central committee member said it's simply not the role of the party to be regulating what its members -- or even its leaders -- say at public events. "The news of the day is not what makes up the activity of the day of the Republican Party," Probolsky said.

via www.voiceofoc.org

Oh really Scott Baugh!?  So it doesn't bother you that one of your fellow OC GOP leaders incited the crowd to murder innocent men, women and children?  Quite a spine you've got sir!

I have a question for Adam Probolsky - what, sir, does make up the activity of the day at the Republican Party in Orange County?  Cutting eye holes in white bedsheets, perhaps?  Churning out a fresh litany of lame explanations for the outrageous behavior of your leadership?  Or perhaps just gearing up to tear down American workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively?  Your mama must be so proud.

We American Muslims go through a ritual of apologizing every time a kook who professes to share the same faith as we do goes and does something dumb, violent or illegal.  We do it because we want to set the record straight that these folks are acting contrary to what our faith teaches us.  We do it because we want our fellow Americans to know that we abhor terrorism.  We do it because, by and large, Americans ask us to do so.

So why is it Deborah Pauly's colleagues in the GOP can't muster up an ounce of decency and just say "Yeah, Deborah's an idiot, a bigot and probably a criminal if that dopey OC DA did his job" and be done with it?

Come on Scotty Baugh!  I gave you the line.  All you need to do is put it on your letterhead.  I give you permission to use that line as your own - no attribution needed!

Maybe good, decent people in Orange County - especially the Republicans - should head out to the next OC GOP meeting on Monday, March 21, 2011 from 7pm to 9pm at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.  That might be a good place to dish out a little protest against Pauly's hate and bigotry (albeit with a lot more civility than Pauly showed when she scared the heck out of little children).

Scotty Baugh - would it be okay if folks came and expressed their displeasure with the way your colleague conducted herself and with the lack of spine you've shown in addressing it adequately?  I'm advocating a civil and peaceful presence.  Are you cool with that?  Write a comment here and let us know.

I can't help but wonder if the GOP of the early part of the 21st century is going to go down in history as the party of the new KKK.  Is that how you want to be remembered?  Ugh!  I wouldn't.

 

Southwest apologizes to Muslim booted off plane - good for Southwest

 

(Reuters) - A Muslim woman who was booted from a Southwest Airlines plane because flight attendants found her behavior suspicious received a public apology from the airline on Wednesday.

Graduate student Irum Abassi was wearing a head scarf when she was ordered to leave a flight on Sunday before it took off from San Diego International Airport.

via www.reuters.com

Good for Southwest Airlines for apologizing in a timely fashion! It does them absolutely no good to have bigoted or ill-trained personnel on their flights.

It's amazing what narrow-minded (perhaps even bigoted) comments Ms. Abassi's experience and the subsequent apology are stirring up on the internet.  These people should be ashamed of themselves!

Here's a sampling:

Big deal. Southwest was trying to protect its passengers and I say good for them. I am sick of the crocodile tears and all of the rest from any member of a protected class in this country. And Muslims are the latest protected class, thank you misguided media/leftists.) Ms. Abassi’s fellow Muslims murder Christians every day all over the world. Jews are not allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia or to many other countries. Homosexuals are routinely jailed, tortured and murdered. I think Ms. Abassi should be grateful for the free travel coupon and that this is America. Tens of thousands of Japanese died a sudden and horrific death a few days ago. That was a tragedy. Ms. Abassi’s “trauma” was not.  via www.reuters.com

I say to Fing bad!! Muslims are the reason for the growing anti Muslim movement..Deal with it or leave via www.sigonsandiego.com

What a bunch of jerks!  This is the United States of America people!  We have laws and those laws prohibit the kind of discrimination that Southwest Airlines engaged in when it kicked Ms. Abassi off her flight.

We aren't going anywhere.  American Muslims are here to stay.  Period.  So deal with it.  We'll certain fight for our civil rights and liberties.  We can either live up to the ideals of America or become like the nations we abhor.

 

 

David Harsanyi: Prejudice isn't at root of Muslim hearings | The Columbus Dispatch

Another reality is that the depth of radicalism in Islam is unique in the modern world - and a threat to citizens in the United States. Some argue there is equal Christian violence - mixing in the Loughners and the McVeighs and anyone else they can find - to suggest that domestic terrorism is an amorphous idea with guilt equally distributed among all denominations of crazy.

That is absurd. In those rare cases, religion is typically incidental to the crime, not the driving reason for it. Certainly, those incidents are not underwritten by a worldview that demands submission. That's the fundamental difference between Nidal Malik Hasan and a rogue madman.

via www.dispatch.com

Does David Harsanyi know ANYTHING about Islam? No, it does not appear that he does.

What is he talking about when he says "the depth of radicalism in Islam is unique in the modern world - and a threat to citizens in the United States"?

There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. If Harsanyi's claim had any truth to it, then one would expect absolute chaos in the world. Instead, only a small, small minority of men and women embrace violent and extremist views and then act on them.

The fact of the matter is that those within the Muslim world who commit acts of terrorism do so despite Islam's teachings and not because of them.

What Peter King is doing is dripping with prejudice. Bias and bigotry are at the core of Peter King's motivation. He doesn't like Muslims and he's got an agenda to smear the community. It's that, or he's just intellectually running on empty.

Why does he hate Muslims? I don't know. A Muslim spurned his romantic advances at one point in his life? He's trying to rehabilitate his terrorist affiliations from back in the day? He is a religious fanatic that's trying to usher in some crazy "End Times" scenario? Or maybe, like racists and anti-semites and other bigots, he just hates for no good reason at all. I can't see into his heart but his actions and his words speak clearly to what lies within.

Who convenes a hearing on something as important as radicalization and then fails to bring experts to testify? Zudhi Jasser? Are you serious?

Sure, Jasser can provide anecdotal information. I'm sure he had some negative experiences with some mosques (I've been there and I know how disheartening that can be) and I'm sure he's heard some of the anti-American rhetoric by some preachers along the way too, but all of that doesn't add up to the claims Jasser is making!

David Harsanyi talks about "absurd" in this essay.

What is absurd is David Harsanyi's claims in this essay. He needs to get some background research on Islam, step back and get some perspective and then force himself to abandon the bigot vernacular.

David: you can't label 1.2+ billion people in such a simplistic manner!

Hate Comes to Orange County, CA - Where is D.A. Rackauckas now?

Watch this video.  It's ugly and vicious but it needs to be seen:

 

I was sickened by the level of hatred that these people displayed.  And I was shocked that politicians lend their voice and their support to this hatred with impunity.  Is this what the residents of Orange County are like?  I mean, how is it that these folks can be elected when they hold such bigoted views?

Let's take a look at some of these haters:

Ed Royce - He's a Republican member of Congress.

Ed strikes me as the kind of guy who would have owned slaves, lynched Blacks and been a card-carrying member of the KKK back in the day.  Well, actually, whose to say Ed isn't a KKK member now? He's obviously a bigot.

What are his fellow Republicans saying about him?  Are they distancing themselves from his endorsement of this egregious display of hatred?  

If not, why not?

 

Where is the California Republican Party on this?

_______________________________________________

Deborah Pauly - She's a council member from Villa Park in Orange County.  This person is a real loon.  She actually called upon people to kill the men, women and children attending the event at which she was protesting!  Seriously?

As hateful as these people were, if they had the right to be on that piece of land, then they had a right to be bigots and to say hateful things. That's their First Amendment right.  

But to call on U.S. Marines to kill these people?

Is that protected speech or an incitement to violence?  It's obviously an incitement to violence.  

Frankly, it doesn't get any more clear than this and the Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, needs to prosecute this woman.

I'm sure this woman will happily repeat her calls to kill the families at the event she was protesting.  She seemed to take some sick joy in saying it.  I feel embarrassed for her son and daughter.  Who would want such a nut-job for a mom?

_________________________________________________

WHERE IS THE D.A. - TONY RACKAUCKAS - WHILE DEBORAH PAULY IS INCITING MURDER?

The prosecutor in Orange County is one tough law and order guy.  He's prosecuting a group of University of California - Irvine students for political speech at an presentation by Israeli Ambassador Oren even though the students' actions were clearly protected under the First Amendment.

But where is Mr. Rackauckas when Deborah Pauly calls for the murder of innocent men, women and children in Orange County?  It can't be an issue of proof - this woman is caught on video calling for their murder!  So why is it that incitement to murder isn't worthy of prosecution but political speech is?

We should call Mr. Rackauckas' office and ask him whether or not he's going press charges against Deborah Pauly!  Here is Mr. Rackauckas' contact information:

TONY RACKAUCKAS
401 CIVIC CENTER DR
SANTA ANA, CA  92701
714-834-3600

I want Mr. Rackauckas to explain how the cases of the students at U of C-Irvine are distinguishable from the case of Deborah Pauly?  It's not that I don't know - I do.  The UC-Irvine case is one of protected speech and is immune from criminal prosecution and Deborah Pauly's comments are a clear incitement to murder and merit full prosecution as a felony.  But I'd like Mr. Rackauckas to explain his silence.

__________________________________________________

WHAT DO DECENT AMERICANS DO IN THE FACE OF THIS HATE?

I am waiting to see.  I know these nasty bigots are not what most Americans are like, but what are other, regular, everyday Americans saying to counter this hatred?

I ask this question because I want to hear from my fellow Americans who are as disgusted by this bigotry as am I.  If we don't speak up and against hate and violence (regardless of who is espousing it - Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Tehadists, etc) then we will let their poison seep into our society and slowly but surely that hatred will find its way into acceptable discourse.

It's time to stop demonizing Muslims.  These tehadists and al Qaeda and the neo-nazis and the other extremists are the enemy.  In fact, these Tea Party extremists and the terrorists responsible for 9/11 and other terror attacks on America have more in common with one another than they realize.

We need to recognize that these tehadists are the enemy and good people of all faiths need to come together as Americans to resist their insidious efforts to tear apart our pluralistic society.

Fordson - a film about high school football and more...

Football is America's sport.  We love this game.  We love to watch it played in the pee wee leagues all the way to the pros.  We love the minor leagues and the arena leagues.  We have a cable network dedicated to it 24/7/365.  The Combine in Indy where college prospects show off their skills probably gets better ratings than some prime-time shows.  And in recent times the NFL draft was re-organized to make it a prime-time event.  And high school football?  It's a way of life in many places across America. Check out "Friday Night Lights" if you have any doubt.  We love football.  

This augurs well for "Fordson".  As a documentary movie about high school football first and foremost it has the potential to be seen all across the country by a wide cross section of America.  And in the process of enjoying a great human story of high school football int the tradition of "Friday Night Lights", the movie will also likely shatter stereotypes and humanize Muslims in the eyes of their fellow Americans. 

What was that last bit about stereotypes and Muslims?  What, you rightfully ask, does that have to do with high school football?

"Fordson" is a documentary about a high school football team in Dearborn, Michigan.  Most of the players are Muslim.  The movie chronicles the challenges this team, and the community in which it plays, face as Muslims.  One of those issues is the challenge of fasting while still keeping up with grueling practices in the Islamic month of Ramadan.

I've watched the movie trailer.  What struck me most was how indistinguishable these players are from other high school football players.  They have the same passion, the same aspirations and the same challenges as other student athletes.  Oh, and these kids can play.

This documentary movie will help Americans who don't know Muslims and who don't have access to Muslims see the human side of this small but vibrant segment of American society.  As a community of 6 million in a nation of nearly 300 million people, it is impossible for every American to meet and get to know a Muslim personally.  The numbers and geography simply make it impossible.

If "Fordson" gets a wide enough release and distribution across the country, then I know it will do a lot in the way of building better understanding between America's Muslim community and the rest of the nation. 

People who know American Muslims - as classmates, as neighbors, as teammates, as relatives or as co-workers - are much less likely to espouse erroneous or negative beliefs about Islam.  That's because knowing someone personally and interacting with him regularly provides unique insights.  When you're talking about religion, the best way to understand it is through meeting someone who lives it.

This is how I reconcile the differences between my experiences and the statistics I read about regarding public perception of American Muslims.  In my adult life I've very rarely encountered overt bigotry because of my faith from my co-workers, my neighbors and the parents at my kids' school.  I firmly believe that people are open-minded and that meeting me in person dispels the negative imagery splashed across the internet, on hate blogs and on Faux News.

Yes, I would probably see this documentary movie even if it had nothing to do with American Muslims because I am obsessed with football.  But that fact aside, "Fordson" aslo has me fired up about the prospects of bridging the gap in understanding between American Muslims and our fellow Americans of other faiths!

Any chance I can get a sneak peek?!

 

Muhammad Ali Hasan joins the Democratic Party after bad experiences with Republicans

I've never heard of this fellow - Muhammad Ali Hasan - but apparently he's very well known in Colorado, and among Republicans, and according to the Colorado Independent Mr. Hasan has switched parties and is now a Democrat.  From one reformed Republican to another I say to Mr. Hasan - Welcome to the party!

The Colorado Independent describes Mr. Hasan this way:

Muhammad Ali Hasan, a member of the wealthy and influential Colorado Republican Hasan family and a past state House and treasurer candidate, said he is switching parties. Speaking at the University of Colorado-Boulder on his experience growing up Muslim in the American West and later in conversation with the Colorado Independent, Hasan said he is ending his affiliation with the party for the bigotry he believes has shaped Republican politics over the last year. The FOX News regular and founder of Muslims for Bush said he met recently with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the controversial Democratic leader won him over.

The only question I have for Mr. Hasan is why it took him so long to see the light?  This article says that he found bigotry shaping Republican politics over the last year.  What!?  This bigotry goes back a lot longer than just the past year Mr. Hasan!

The bigotry of the past year may be the most virulent it has ever been, but it has been within the Republican Party for a long time prior.  And at the end of the day the bigotry against Muslims is simply not an important enough issue (for them politically) to cause otherwise good and decent people within the Republican Party to raise their voices against this ugliness.

I've met Republican politicians in my life and thankfully I can say that many of them were not anti-Muslim or anti-Islam.  At the same time, I know that these folks opted not to raise their voices when other fellow Republicans - individually and sometimes through the Republican Party - said or did bigoted things. This notion that the bigotry is new within the Republican Party is a silly notion.

I know that there are other, more well known, American Muslims who have committed themselves to public service and still view themselves as Republicans.  I applaud them for their fortitude, and I suspect that they look beyond the ill-conceived policies of the day and focus more on the core principles that underpin their conservatism.

One person that comes to mind when thinking about principled American Muslim members of the Republican Party is  Suhail Khan.  Mr. Khan has served in many capacities for a range of Republican politicians and in various conservative policy positions.

I guess what I'm saying is that Muhammad Ali Hasan's change of political affiliation is not really all that noteworthy.  He was never a very significant figure within the Republican Party and his reasons for leaving the party are fairly pedestrian.  It remains to be seen what Mr. Hasan can accomplish as a Democrat.  What he does from this point forward is what may be truly newsworthy.

In the end I wish them all well - the Muhammad Ali Hasans and the Suhail Khans - because they are putting themselves out there and doing yeoman's work in the area of American Muslim civic engagement. 

Flustered in Phoenix: Mosque or Church?! Aw hell, let's just protest it just in case!

I have a simple message for some residents of Phoenix, Arizona: 

Dear Vigilant (but not-so-bright) citizens of Phoenix,

You must be stupid, stupid, stupid!  Don't you think it might be a good idea to at least confirm that the target of your protest is what you think it is?  Idiots.

Why such harsh words?  What else can you say to folks who compound their vices by heaping stupidity on top of their bigotry?

I'm fine with residents objecting to the building of a religious facility based on land use laws and zoning issues.  Protesting the house worship because you don't like the faith tradition, on the other hand, is simply wrong.

I hope these people have some reasonable friends and family who will chastise these silly people for their idiotic actions.  I refuse to believe that the majority of my fellow Americans condone the actions of those who oppose mosques (or any other house of worship) on the basis their dislike of the faith tradition it represents, but I also know that these are issues that most of us would rather not raise a ruckus over.

That has to change.  If you see something (stupid, bigoted, hateful, racist or simply ignorant), say something.

Thanks to The Atlantic for sharing this incident!