Dr Zuhdi Jasser
American Islamic Forum for Democracy
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy has issued a call for the US Army not to grant conscientious objector status to a Muslim soldier who is refusing deployment to Afghanistan.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/02/islamic-group-asks-army-deny-muslim-soldiers-request-conscientious-objector/
As I have written before, Zuhdi Jasser, the head of the AIFD, is a true Muslim moderate who stands up against radical Islamists. He is the kind of Muslim our government should be reaching out to-not people like Feisal Abdul Rauf-who the State Department is sending to the Middle East to speak "on our behalf".
Kudos to Dr Jasser. He is a true patriot.
* The AIFD blog is now linked on Fousesquawk.
6 comments:
Fox News's favorite Muslim...
...that may be a little harsh, and frankly, I don't see much merit in this soldier's claim. However, this group is laying it on a bit thick. It is rather like, they are willing to push the case to the point of treason, going to extremes just to make really really clear that they are really really patriotic.
That kind of grandstanding is not necessary, and not even wise or worthy of praise. The army would be stupid to deploy him to Afghanistan. He probably should be given a dishonorable discharge, possibly sentence to some kind of term of confinement, certainly lose any hope of veteran's benefits, etc. Treason? The fullest extent of the law? That's showing off.
I wish someone would stand up to radical Conservatism...
The Intolerance of Jonah Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg? Good man.
I would characterize your article as a bit hysterical. Nobody is excusing the relatively few anti-Muslim incidents carried out after 9-11, but when you put it all together, Americans have behaved with remarkable tolerance.
Anti-Semitism is a real problem, and it is getting worse.
Jonah Goldberg is a good read. He is intelligent, articulate, writes well, and does take the trouble, sometimes, to back up his utterances with facts. He is also, in my seldom humble opinion, wrong most of the time. But he doesn't dismiss those who disagree with him as brainless unpatriotic morons. In his seldom humble opinion, they are simply wrong.
The linked article is a mixed bag. Goldberg is correct that there are lots of little prejudices floating around. He is correct to the extent that he says we shouldn't single one or another out as THE problem. I would agree that phobia about Islam is not a generalized 21st century American trait.
There are, however, various degrees to which various groups and individuals bear a rather uninformed animosity toward Islam, which specifically relates to 9/11/2001 and al Qaeda. We don't need to bury reference to these misconceptions as irrelevant, just because there are other prejudices floating around as well.
Siarlys,
No question that 9-11 and al-Qaida have been a major, major factor. Yet, there are so many other things going on, such as radical speech and plots emenating out of many (not all) mosques in America and Europe. Many of the utterances of imams and radical speakers are being publicized as they should be, the recurring incidents like Ft Hood and the New York and Detroit attempts.
There is a realization that intolerance exists within different strains of Islam. Why should we, in the name of tolerance, have to tolerate intolerance? I place a lot of hope in the Sufi movement from what little I know about it. Yet Rauf, whom I distrust, is a Sufi and in some parts of the world, Sufis are regarded as heretics and targeted for death.
We see Islam fighting violently within itself. We hear radicals (are they really radicals?) quoting the Koran and the hadith where it specifically calls for violence against non-believers. Then we see that violence acted out daily. We read of the bombings, the beheadings, the stonings, the honor killings. We rightfully refuse to allow that here.
What are we supposed to believe?
I believe that most Muslims do want to just get on with their lives and be part of America. I also suspect most are afraid to stand up and speak out against their vocal leaders. Had all decent Muslims stood up after 9-11 and gone to work getting rid of the bad guys and making this scourge disappear by any means necessary, there would be prescious little Islamophobia. Instead, there has been mostly silence, complaints of Islamophobia, talk of shariah compliance, and demands for accommodation. As long as groups like CAIR, ISNA MPAC, people like Rauf are recognized as the so-called moderates with whom we need to deal, the problem will only get worse. CAIR as we speak is advising Muslims not to speak to the FBI. They are an obstacle to law enforcement developing contacts within the Muslim community. Why is that?
I don't think we have much to argue about here. I find your distrust of Rauf to be more reflexive than rational, but all the elements you refer to do exist somewhere among the world's Muslims. There is indeed no reason to tolerate intolerance in the name of tolerance. I don't have extensive knowledge of the actual attitude of "most Muslims" toward CAIR or any other organized or disorganized school of Islam. The Muslims I know don't give me cause for concern. I'm not sure you or Rod Dreher or any others raising this spectre really know either. I even wonder whether some people, Breitbart for example, would rather have a lingering cloud of questions hanging in the air, rather than pressing the matter to a definitive conclusion.
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