The Muslim Public Affairs Council has published a treatise which purports to show the influence and participation of Islam in the founding and development of America. It is a cynical collection of anecdotes that show little more than certain of our founding fathers were aware of the presence of Muslims in far off lands, and examples of Muslim slaves in America.
http://www.mpac.org/publications/policy-papers/muslims-and-the-making-of-america.php#.UuP9cxDTnIV
The example of the Barbary pirates is illustrative. Here the writer compares the humane treatment afforded Christian slaves taken prisoner with the cruel treatment that America practiced upon African captives. Behold the title:
"The Barbary Wars in Context and the Hypocrisy of American Slavery"
Of course, it ignores the fact that Arabs from North Africa were taking black, Sub Saharan Africans as slaves long before the Europeans set foot on West Africa, and continued slavery after the Europeans and Americans abolished it in the 19th century. How do you think black Africans were introduced to Islam? The same way they were introduced to Christianity. Both forms of slavery were evil, but where is the hypocrisy? I would say on both sides.
All in all, I call this a cynical attempt to re-write American history by inserting some minor anecdotes to suggest that Islam has played a role in our history since the founding of our country. Could we not dig up the same kind of anecdotal evidence that Buddhism has played a role in American history?
And, more significantly, how about the influence of the Jews in the history of the land called Israel? How about the fact that over 3,000 years ago, long before the Prophet Mohammad walked on this earth, Jerusalem was the capital of Israel?
Which reminds me:
http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/16/breaking-unesco-pulls-jewish-exhibit-after-last-minute-protest-from-arab-league/
This rather twisted and fantastic history of Muslims in the early history of America is laughable. Here MPAC is doing its best to indoctrinate the great unknowning, who know nothing of U.S. History. The next thing we will here from the imaginative fiction historians is that the Pilgrims met the Muslims at Plymouth and these Muslims introduced corn into their diet. Maybe we will hear that it was not Sacajawea, but a Muslim that lead Lewis and Clark on the Louisiana adventure. Further on, we may here that the first man on the Moon was actually Muslim.
ReplyDeleteGive me a break!
Squid
More or less true... not unlike the way the Roman Catholic prelates in America tried to prove that the U.S. Constitution was founded on the basis of Catholic doctrine. Its a back-handed way to seek inclusion.
ReplyDeleteSquid,
ReplyDeleteMaybe I can take your ideas and write up a spoof.
I'm waiting for a CAIR or ISNA to claim that Squid is actually a Muslim.
ReplyDelete