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.

 

 

Nine dead in Afghan protests over Quran burning - Afghanistan - Salon.com

Anger over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a Florida church fueled a second day of deadly violence half a world away in Afghanistan, where demonstrators set cars and shops ablaze Saturday in a riot that killed nine protesters, officials said.

The church's desecration of the Quran nearly two weeks ago has outraged millions of Muslims and others worldwide, fueling anti-American sentiment that is further straining ties between the Afghan government and the West.

via www.salon.com

Terry Jones is an idiot.  Wayne Sapp is an idiot. Burning the Quran proves nothing and accomplishes nothing.

The Quran is sacred and is to be respected for the value of its teachings. At the end of the day Jones and Sapp can't hurt God. Their actions cannot sully the Quran.

All Jones and Sapp accomplish when they burn the Quran is to further prove that they are indeed the idiots we thought they were.

But what about these people who are rioting and killing people over this Quran burning? My dear dear fellow co-religionists - seriously?

Do you truly believe that God wants us to ignore His own Commandment to do justice and to value the lives of the innocent in order to some how "avenge" Him?

The leaders of Afghanistan need to bring peace, economic growth, education and the rule of law to Afghanistan so that the people can grow. What I think I'm seeing in these particular people is simply barbarism.

In fact, these protesters and Jones and Sapp are like kindred souls, aren't they?

The response in Gainsville, Florida from American Muslims should be shared with our co-religionists abroad so that they might better understand what is really happening here.  The Miami Herald interviewed Ismail ibn Ali, a local American Muslim in Gainsville, and this is how they reported it:

“To have this behavior in Afghanistan is really sad because this is the reaction Terry Jones wanted,” ibn Ali said. “It’s just a really sad situation.”

Despite the publicity the city has drawn from the events in Afghanistan, Ali said that Gainesville is still a good town in which to be a Muslim, even if one church wants to tell the world otherwise. “I could take any creed, twist it and give you a reason to do something bad,” he said. “This act of violence [in Afghanistan] is not something any Muslim would say is justified.”

via Miami Herald

The chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, wrote this on Twitter today:

Thank you for saying what needed to be said Dr. Sahloul.  This is insanity.  I wish I could focus on the hatred and bigotry espoused and spread by Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp, but instead I'm forced to focus on the idiotic response of my co-religionists.  Why?  Because, as egregious as the Quran burning is to me, the killing of innocent human beings is far far worse.

Texas Insider » Sharia Law or the Constitution? America Must Choose

But a dilemma exists in our nation today concerning whether or how the First Amendment should properly be applied to Islam. This essay will show that the ultimate outcome of blanket protection for Islam in all its manifestations on the grounds of “religious freedom” would be the establishment of Islamic law and government, or Sharia, alongside or in place of civil law and government in this country.

via www.texasinsider.org

This is an essay by William G. Boykin.  Yeah, that's right, it's the same gentleman who once said this:

"George Bush was not elected by a majority of voters in the United States. He was appointed by God."

"We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this."

"I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

Holy...moly!  This guy is a complete nut-job.

I guess this three star bigot decided that he doesn't need to hide his true feelings any longer.  That wasn't always the case.  After taking heat for this "my God vs. his God" comment he went on 60 Minutes to rehab his image and to ostensibly clarify his comments.  In that interview, when asked about the "God vs. God" comment he said this:

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. Look, I’m a Christian. I make no apologies for that," says Boykin. "But I’m also not foolish enough to deliberately offend or in any way ostracize any religion. ... I’m not anti-Islam, I’m not anti-Allah.” via CBS News

What is strange is that in his interview with 60 Minutes Lt. Gen. Boykin recognized Islam as a religion. His essay at TexasInsider.org re-hashs the bigoted and indefensible idea that Islam is not a religion.

Just as I'd call out a Muslim who espoused hatred for Christians, Jews or any other faith, I'm going to have to call out Lt. Gen. Boykin.  He is a bigot.  He is an Islamophobe.

What scares me is that this man has seen about as much combat as any senior officer in our military (this was according to the 60 Minutes interview).  This is a man who is trained to kill, has killed and is vocal in his post-military life.  I shudder to think at the crazy plans he's hatching in his head and in his home.

Scary.

 

Glenn Beck contradicts himself again, praises Dr. King and slams Obama for having the same religious outlook

Everyone knows that Glenn Beck talks about of both sides of his mouth.  At his rally over the weekend he wanted to bring our country "back to God" or "closer to God" and then later, after the rally, used the media attention from his little stunt to continue attacking President Obama's faith.

Today's Seattle Times reported this:

Beck, on his Fox News show last Tuesday, said that liberation theology is at the core of Obama's "belief structure."

"You see, it's all about victims and victimhood; oppressors and the oppressed; reparations, not repentance; collectivism, not individual salvation. I don't know what that is, other than it's not Muslim, it's not Christian. It's a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ as most Christians know it," Beck said.

Really Mr. Beck?  Is that what it is?  So, any faithful Christian who is concerned about the poor and about economic injustice is engaged in a "perversion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ"?

I wonder what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would think about that Mr. Beck?  Weren't you supposedly trying to honor Dr. King with you tea party rally today?

Well, the good news is, this duplicity by Glenn Beck will eventually make its way onto the John Stewart show and provide us all with a lot of laughs!

U.S. charitable tax exemption helps support sniper equipment, Israeli settlements in Israel

Muslim charities are targeted for hyper-scrutiny by our government without an adequate set of guidelines or direction from the U.S. Treasury/DOJ to American Muslims who seek to fulfill their religious duty to give charity (zakat) to people in need at home and abroad.

President Obama promised American Muslims assistance last year in safeguarding American citizens' religious obligation to pay zakat.  I'm not sure anything has come of that promise to date and now we are just a little over 1 month away from Ramadan.  Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting and the time when many Muslims choose to fulfill their annual charity obligation.

At the same time that we are stymied from giving to needy causes for fear of governmental seizure and also possible criminal prosecution (or worse), it appears that our government is allowing Americans to benefit from federal IRS benefits in the form of charitable tax exemptions for donations to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.

The New York Times published a damning and detailed article on American donations to purchase sniper equipment and for paramilitary training under the guise of educational and charitable giving.

The New York Times wrote this in the article:

A New York Times examination of public records in the United States and Israel identified at least 40 American groups that have collected more than $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the last decade. The money goes mostly to schools, synagogues, recreation centers and the like, legitimate expenditures under the tax law. But it has also paid for more legally questionable commodities: housing as well as guard dogs, bulletproof vests, rifle scopes and vehicles to secure outposts deep in occupied areas.

How long will we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot?  I strongly support measures to curtail funding of terrorism (whether its advanced by Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians or Atheists).  I condemn anti-Semitism.  And I am appalled that our government allows us to continue this shameful support of clearly illegal and immoral activities such as building settlements and supporting oppressors.  

Shame on us if we let this go on un-checked.

Franklin Graham is a bigot - revoking invitation to Pentagon prayer service is the right thing to do

Our government should not support religious bigotry.  Franklin Graham is a religious bigot.  It was a mistake to invite him to a prayer service at the Pentagon.  Disinviting him was the right thing to do.

Mr. Graham should not be invited to speak to any gathering organized by our government.He is open and notorious about his hatred for Islam and is on record in numerous, reputable media sources with his bigoted comments about Islam.  He can believe and say just about anything but just not on the taxpayer’s dime.

Apparently those responsible for selecting a speaker for this Pentagon prayer service were unaware of his open notorious hatred of Islam which Mr. Graham has gone on the record with in various, reputable media outlets.  People make mistakes so cut the prayer service organizer some slack.  What matters is that the right decision was finally made.

I hope an appropriate explanation was given to Mr. Graham as to why he is not welcome to the Pentagon prayer service.  The explanation accompanying the withdrawal of the invitation should be clear in stating that the invitation was extended in error because Mr. Graham’s bigotry was not known by those planning the event, and now that it has been brought to light, the government, out of respect for the American people, is looking for a speaker who better represents Christianity.

Granting Mr. Graham a platform to speak or pray at a government event using government resources is counterproductive to the ongoing integration of Muslims into American society.  It creates a sort of cognitive dissonance among the Muslim community when, on the one hand our government speaks of outreach to and inclusion of Muslims in America, and then on the other hand promotes an Islam hater like Mr. Graham.

Why should we settle for Mr. Graham anyhow?  There are better Christians in America who are far better representatives of Christianity than is Mr. Graham.  Who, you ask?  I can go through my blackberry contacts or my Facebook friends list and name quite a few.  

You want only bona fide clergy?  No problem.  I know many wonderful Christians of various denominations.  Right here in Illinois I can think of Rev. Jay M. of the Presbyterian Church or Rev. Ed H. of the United Methodist Church or Rev. Allen E. up in the NW suburbs and Sister Joan of the Catholic Church. And I’m certain I could get some other great Christian clergy by asking my Christian friends.  We don’t need to settle for Mr. Graham.

True, Mr. Graham is only one voice of Christianity.  Yes, he is a well-known voice of Christianity.  And sadly, yes, he does have a fair number of followers.  So what?  None of that makes him a good choice for the Pentagon, because he does not represent the mainstream of Christianity.  

I base that last statement on anecdotal evidence.  A lot of it.  I believe this is true because I’ve pretty much lived my entire life in America and along the way I’ve been taught by, roomed with, worked for and with, befriended and lived next to a lot of Christians, and the vast majority have been incredibly decent people.  Mr. Graham is not at all like them.

Mr. Graham knows that we in the Muslim community don’t care much for his hate.  It’s hard to like a guy who calls your spiritual compass evil.  So our concern over his invitation is not helpful in persuading him to mend his hateful ways.

It may be better of his fellow Christians told him (or, in the case of those who do, continue telling him) that his behavior does not comport with the example and the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Tell him precisely why he is being disinvited and keep the door open for a future speaking engagement if and when he repudiates his hateful views.  To me that seems like a good Christian (or Muslim or Jewish) thing to do.

Hutaree Militia - Right Wing Extremists - Targeting American Muslims?

 (a photo of Hutaree's 'Christian Warriors')

That extremists Christians on the far Right would see American Muslims as the enemy is nothing new.  Given that Timothy McVeigh massacred over one hundred Christians in Oklahoma City (along with other innocent Americans of other faiths), it should surprise no one that Right Wing militias would target American Muslims.  Honestly, it is a matter of when and not if.

News reports in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times and the Detroit Free Press are all reporting that a fanatical Christian organization called Hutaree (they consider themselves Christian Warriors preparing to battle the Beast in the coming End Times) has been the target of federal investigators and that over the weekend arrests have been made in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.  In Illinois the arrest was made in Clarendon Hills according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Last November I wrote on this blog (click here to read that post) that we need to wary of extremist warmongers and that our concern should extend beyond Al Qaeda and to the right wing militias that seem to operate feely across our country.  At the time I wrote:

You know who these folks are - they are the people you see at rallies and protests, they are the screwballs who call into right-wing talk radio and lace their anti-Muslim diatribes with "God Bless America", "Amen" and "Yee Haa" and they are the entertainers pretending to be pundits and journalists on Faux News and on America Right satellite radio and are on the donor rolls of extremist Christian leaders like Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham.  They are the people shaving their heads and putting bedsheets on their heads and getting swastikas tattooed on their bodies.  They are the people bombing abortion clinics, killing doctors, going on shooting rampages against anyone who is not White and who target non-Christians with gun violence and random thuggery.  They have the blogs that rightly decry Al Qaeda organized violence and then go one indict every other Muslim for good measure.

These extremist Americans have more in common with Al Qaeda than with the rest of America.  Instead of allowing Americans to close ranks and deal with the fanaticism of Al Qaeda together, their hate ideology is extremely effective in keeping American Muslims off balance and consistently in a defensive posture.  Instead of spending time rooting out extremism, hours and hours of time is spent by American Muslims telling America who they are and what they believe.

We will see later today (Monday, 3/29/10) what the indictments allege about these wackos.  Dawud Walid, the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Michigan was contacted by journalists for comment according to the Detroit Free Press.  Why was the Muslim community contacted for comment and not, say for example, the Jewish community or leaders of the Gay and Lesbian community, in this instance?  Perhaps it is because this particular investigation involved plots of violence against fellow Americans within the Muslim community?

I don't know the answer to that but I am concerned.  Whether their targets turn out to be Muslims, Jews, other Christians, gays, immigrants or others, I will remain equally concerned.

Good people need to stand up to this hatred, violence and bigotry right now.  The world's most free and most tolerant society - the United States of America - has allowed religious extremists using Islam as a cover to retard and stunt the growth and development of the Great American Experiment of creating a more perfect nation based on democracy within a religiously, culturally and ethnically plural citizenry.

The tragedy of 9/11 has made us less critical of bigotry in our dialogue and it has allowed us to be less vigilant in protecting our civil liberties.  In that more permissive environment hate groups of varying stripes seem to now be flourishing.  The Hutaree's so-called "Chrisitan Warriors" happen to be the group that's caught our attention today but there are lots of others out there and we need to be wary of them.