Dr. Ben Carson and the GOP Hate Olympics

"I was out-niggered, and I will never be out-niggered again." George Wallace

The GOP Presidential Primary has degenerated into the Hate Olympics. In the words of segregationist George Wallace, the top candidates are now trying to "out-nigger" each other. Today, the new niggers are the Muslims and the immigrants. Candidates are rewarded for displaying the most acrimony towards the new niggers.

For instance, Donald Trump catapulted to the top of the field by bashing Mexican immigrants. As reported on NPR, he stated that:

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people."

Every since he uttered that racist and hateful statement, he has been leading on all of the major polls. His campaign is fueled by bigotry, sexism, nastiness and mean spirited attitudes. Instead being hurt by his sexist insults directed towards women news analysts and women politicians, grunting GOP Neanderthals continue to flock to Trump like sheep.

In order to compete with Trump, Dr. Ben Carson is placating the GOP's xenophobic, blood thirsty vampires by throwing them a new food source to devour, Muslims. As religious scholar Reza Aslan noted on CNN and as stated on the AP,

Carson’s campaign reported strong fundraising and more than 100,000 new Facebook friends in the 24 hours after he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.”

His campaign manager Barry Bennett told The Associated Press on Monday: “While the left wing is huffing and puffing over it, Republican primary voters are with us at least 80-20.”

“People in Iowa particularly, are like, ‘Yeah! We’re not going to vote for a Muslim either,” Bennett said. “I don’t mind the hubbub. It’s not hurting us, that’s for sure.”

Like sex, hate sells. Despite his soft spoken nature and gentle image, Dr. Carson is now pandering to hate and bigotry. Similar to Donald Trump, Dr. Carson is catering to racist birthers. He is shining the shoes of right wing imbeciles who suffer from cognitive dissonance. Contrary to all of the evidence, those fools continue to believe that Obama is an uncover Muslim from Kenya. Like Mantan in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, Dr. Carson is tap dancing to the tune of those who bigots.

Even brash and outspoken Trump remained silent when a member of his audience falsely said that the Obama is a Muslim. Trump remained silent because he realizes that you cannot win the Hate Olympics by speaking out against the haters. To win, one appease them. The haters are not governed by logic and reason. They are governed by enmity towards those who are different.



Islamophobia is illogical. Islamophobia relies on hasty generalizations. Terrorists and radical fundamentalists are only a small minority of the Muslim population. It is wrong to condemn and discriminate against an entire religion based on the extremist actions of a few of its purported adherents. Most American Muslims are law abiding, patriotic citizens who love American democratic values. They proudly serve in America's military and in Congress.  Islamophobia is analogous to racial profiling and anti-Semitism.

For example, just because some black people sell drugs and kill people, one should not assume that most black people do. The negative actions of a few do not justify stopping and frisking thousands innocent, law abiding black people. It does not justify an employer refusing to hire or appoint black people. Similarly, the actions of small segment of the Muslim population does not justify discrimination against innocent Muslims. As an African American, Dr. Carson should understand that. Moreover, many Muslims such Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, Mos Def and myself are African Americans. By discriminating against Muslims, he is also discriminating against his own black people.

Dr. Carson and others cloak their grotesque animus under the beautiful red, white and blue robes of patriotism. A true patriot believes in upholding and protecting the U.S. Constitution. Article 6 of the Constitution states that:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. (Emphasis added)

By supporting a religious test for the Presidency, Dr. Carson is shredding on the very Constitution that he professes to love. He is trashing the noble ideals of American democracy. If he made the same rancorous statements about Jews, Baptists, Catholics, Methodists and any other religious group, he would have been forced to withdraw from the campaign. Sadly, due to media programming, animosity towards Muslims is widely accepted in this society.

Unfortunately, reason and logic do not matter win you are striving to win the Hate Olympics by out-niggering your opponents. Dr. Carson will never win that contest. In the eyes of many of the Islamophobes, Dr. Carson is just another nigger. A black man will never be able out-nigger a white man.

White American Terrorist Kills Three Muslim Students

The Grio and the AP reports that:

HAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A man, his wife and her sister — all college students — were shot to death at a quiet condominium complex near the University of North Carolina, but police had not yet given a motive or released details about the suspect.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the Tuesday shooting, Chapel Hill police told local news outlets. He is being held at the Durham County Jail and was expected to make a first court appearance Wednesday morning.

About 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a report of gunshots. They found three people who were pronounced dead at the scene. They were identified as Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, of Chapel Hill; Yusor Mohammad, 21, of Chapel Hill; and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh.

Barakat and Mohammad were married, and Abu-Salha was Mohammad’s sister, according to UNC.

Barakat was a second-year dental student there, and Yusor was scheduled to begin dental studies in the fall.

Both had graduated from North Carolina State University, school spokesman Mick Kulikowski said. Barakat graduated with a business administration degree in the spring of 2013. Mohammad graduated in December with a biological sciences degree.

Abu-Salha was a freshman design major who had started classes last fall, Kulikowski said.

The neighborhood where they were found — immediately east of campus — consists mostly of apartments and condominiums rented by students. Neighbors there said Wednesday morning that never before seen police or had crime problems.

This is truly despicable and heinous. Although the investigation is not complete, it appears that Craig Hick committed an act of terrorism. However,  the mainstream media probably will not refer to him as a terrorist. They will probably describe him as mentally ill, depressed or lonely. As far as the media is concerned, only Muslims and Arabs commit acts of terrorism.

Instead of calling him a terrorist, some people will quietly consider that blood thirsty killer to be a patriot or a hero. Will there be any Charlie Hebdo style marches of solidarity in the streets of America for those three slain students? I doubt it.

A Week of Civil Rights Victories

Good afternoon. This has been a good week for civil rights. The Department of Justice expanded the definition of racial profiling. In addition, there have been two significant developments in voting rights.

The New York Times reports that:

The Justice Department will significantly expand its definition of racial profiling to prohibit federal agents from considering religion, national origin, gender and sexual orientation in their investigations, a government official said Wednesday.

The move addresses a decade of criticism from civil rights groups that say federal authorities have in particular singled out Muslims in counterterrorism investigations and Latinos for immigration investigations...

“Putting an end to this practice not only comports with the Constitution, it would put real teeth to the F.B.I.’s claims that it wants better relationships with religious minorities,” said Hina Shamsi, a national security lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union.

It is not clear whether Mr. Holder also intends to make the rules apply to national security investigations, which would further respond to complaints from Muslim groups.

“Adding religion and national origin is huge,” said Linda Sarsour, advocacy director for the National Network for Arab American Communities. “But if they don’t close the national security loophole, then it’s really irrelevant.”

Moreover, the Nation reports that:

Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and John Conyers (D-MI) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation to strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision last June invalidating a critical section of the VRA. The legislation, known as “The Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014,” represents the first attempt by a bipartisan group in Congress to reinstate the vital protections of the VRA that the Supreme Court took away.

In the Shelby County v. Holder ruling on June 25, 2013, the Court’s conservative majority struck down Section 4 of the VRA, the formula that compelled specific states with a well-documented history of voting discrimination to clear their voting changes with the federal government under Section 5 of the VRA. The two provisions were always meant to work together; without Section 4, Section 5 became a zombie, applying to zero states.

Section 4 covered nine states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia) and parts of six others (in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota) based on evidence of voting discrimination against blacks and other minority groups dating back to the 1960s and 1970s. Since the Shelby decision, eight states previously covered under Section 4 have passed or implemented new voting restrictions. This includes onerous new laws in states like North Carolina and Texas, which the Justice Department objected to under other provisions of the VRA (Sections 2 and 3)....

The bill is certain to have its critics, including on the left. Voting rights supporters will argue, justifiably, that the new Section 4 formula does not apply to enough states and wrongly treats voter ID laws differently than other discriminatory voting changes. Despite these flaws, the legislation represents a significant improvement over the disastrous post-Shelby status quo, which has seen states like North Carolina and Texas rush to pass or implement blatantly discriminatory voting restrictions after being freed from federal oversight. The legislation strengthens voting rights protections in a number of tangible ways and gives the federal government and voting rights advocates new tools to combat voting discrimination.

A recent ruling in Pennsylvania is a prime example why voter ID laws should not be treated differently than other discriminatory voting law changes. In another article, the Nation reports that:

Judge Bernard McGinley of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled against the state’s strict voter ID law today following a lengthy trial last summer. The law had been temporarily blocked since last October pending a full trial. The ruling is a big win for voting rights and a clear setback for voter ID supporters.

Judge McGinley found that the law violated the state constitution because hundreds of thousands of registered voters lacked the restrictive forms of ID required by the state, few had obtained the requisite ID since the law’s passage in March 2012, the state had not made it easy to get an ID and there was no evidence of in-person voter fraud to justify the burdens of the law.

Hundreds of thousands of electors in Pennsylvania lack compliant ID,” McGinley wrote. “Enforcement of the Voter ID Law as to these electors has the effect of disenfranchising them through no fault of their own. Inescapably, the Voter ID law infringes upon qualified electors’ right to vote.”

Noted McGinley: “In contrast to the hundreds of thousands who lack compliant photo ID, only 17,000 photo IDs for voting purposes have been issued.” Since the 2012 election, fewer than 150 new voting IDs had been issued by the state per month.

That’s because getting a voter ID in Pennsylvania was a bureaucratic nightmare. There are 9,300 polling places in the state, but only seventy-one DMV offices. There are only five DMV offices for the entire city of Philadelphia, none in nine counties and the in sixteen counties offices are only open one or two days a week . “The Voter ID Law does not contain, on its face, any valid non-burdensome means of providing compliant photo ID to qualified electors,” McGinley wrote. “Accordingly, the Voter ID Law is facially unconstitutional.” The lead plaintiff in the case, Viviette Applewhite, was a 93-year-old great-great grandmother who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and had voted in every election for the past fifty years but did not have a driver’s license and was at risk of being disenfranchised by the new law.

Nor did the state present evidence to justify the new voter ID law. The state “wholly failed to show any evidence of in-person voter fraud,” McGinley wrote. “Certainly a vague concern about voter fraud does not rise to a level that justifies the burdens construction here. Therefore, this Court does not find in-person voter fraud a compelling interest the Voter ID Law was designed to serve.”

The struggle continues. Peace.

The Ongoing Conflict In the Central African Republic

"They don't want to see us unite. All they want us to do is keep on fussing and fighting. They don't want to see us live together. All they want us to do is keep on killing one another." Bob Marley

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A couple of days ago, I saw the above news segment regarding the ongoing crisis in the Central African Republic. It deeply disturbs me to see my African brothers and sisters fight and kill each other over foreign religions and ethnic differences. I hope and pray for peace.

Al Jazeera reports that:

Gunfire has been reported on the streets of Bangui in the Central African Republic's capital after the news that interim President Michel Djotodia, facing international pressure, had agreed to resign after failing to halt inter-religious violence.

The resignations of Djotodia and Nicolas Tiangaye, the prime minister, were announced on Friday in a statement issued at a two-day summit of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) in neighbouring Chad.

Talks to decide on new leadership will take place in CAR, it said. Under an agreement brokered by the CEEAC last year, CAR's transitional assembly (CNT) elected Djotodia to his position as interim president in April to take the former French colony to elections, due at the end of this year.

As news from the summit reached Bangui, thousands of residents took to the streets, dancing, singing and honking horns in celebration. Cheers erupted at a camp for 100,000 displaced Christian civilians at the city's French-controlled airport.

There were no signs of the pro-Djotodia fighters who once dominated Bangui, Reuters news agency reported. Power vacuum feared Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips, reporting from Bangui on Friday, said the gunfire broke out shortly after the resignation announcement.

"It is not possible to work out who is firing at who at this stage," he said. "The international community is going to have to react very quickly as there is no one regionally who can unite CAR. "The foreign troops are largely welcome but they are not necessarily enough. The trouble in recent weeks and month has not just been in Bangui."

Despite the celebrations on Friday, there are fears that the resulting power vacuum will lead to greater instability if it is not filled quickly. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French defence minister, said he wished for the new leadership to be announced "as soon as possible", adding that "the aim is to move forward with elections before the end of the year". "We need the National Transitional Council to find a provisional alternative," he said.

Thousands of people have been killed and one million displaced by cycles of violence since abuses by Djotodia's mainly Muslim rebels, known as Seleka, prompted the creation of Christian self-defence armed groups after he seized power in March.

The Contradictory and Disgusting Politics of Terrorism

I pray for the people of Boston. May God bless and comfort the families and the victims of this horrible tragedy. I pray that law enforcement captures the cowards who committed this heinous and cowardly act of terrorism. Such senseless violence will not accomplish anything. It will only breed more violence and hatred.

We cannot let this tragedy consume us with hatred. If we do, the terrorists win. Unfortunately, some people have surrendered to hate. In response to the Boston bombing, Fox News Contributor Erik Rush tweeted that all Muslims should be killed. Here are his disgusting tweets.



We are constantly bombarded with news reports equating Muslims with terrorism. We see images of menacing Muslims wearing ski masks, shooting guns and blowing up innocent people.  We see images of men, women and children killed in New York, Arlington, London, Iraq, Israel and other places by Muslim terrorists. Rarely do we see positive images of Muslims on the news.   When we hear the word "terrorism", we immediately think of Muslims. A prime example of this problem is CNN's false report of a "dark skinned male" being arrested for the Boston bombing.



When one has the power to define, one possesses the ability to shape reality.  When we think about terrorism, we do not immediately think about Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynsky, Eric Robert Rudolph or other white men.   When white people commit crimes, they are punished as individuals. They are not stereotyped, profiled and punished as a collective like Muslims, Arabs, African Americans and Latinos are. In America, that is one of privileges of being white. 

In addition to contradictory standards for racial profiling, we also use a contradictory definition terrorism.  We have been taught to accept and tolerate some forms of violence based on the source of the violence.  The U.S. uses drones to kill innocent civilians around the world.  Israeli airplanes launch missiles into residential areas and bulldoze houses in the occupied territories. Those violent acts are not called terrorism.  They are called collateral damage. The word "terrorism" is reserved Muslims and Arabs.

That negative propaganda causes the American people to consciously and subconsciously hate and fear all Muslims. That hatred explains why most Americans do not care about U.S. drones killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.  That hatred explains why most people do not care about Muslims being held indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay without being charged or tried. Whenever there is a terrorist attack, we automatically assume that Muslims are responsible. Sadly, we begin to view and treat all Muslims as terrorists.

For example, no one knows who committed the Boston terror attack.  Yet, people assume that Muslim terrorists are responsible.  In response to the attack, people harassed and beat a man in the Bronx. The New York Post reports that:

A Bangladeshi man out for dinner at a Bronx restaurant was viciously beaten hours after the Boston Marathon bombing by thugs who called him “a f--king Arab” before pummeling him to the ground, sources said.

Abdullah Faruque, 30 — a native of the South Asian country who grew up in The Bronx — was at Applebee’s on Exterior Avenue in Melrose at about 11:30 p.m. Monday when he went outside for a smoke.

Three or four Hispanic males he’d noticed drinking at the bar followed him and angrily got in his face, he recalled yesterday.

“One of the guys asked if I was Arab. I just shook my head, said like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ I didn’t even know that [the] Boston [bombing] happened because I had a busy day,” Faruque said.

He turned to head back inside as one of the men snarled, “Yeah, he’s a f--king Arab,” and the gang pounced, punching him on the head and body, dislocating his left shoulder and leaving him semiconscious.

“Before I could grab the door, they started swinging at me,” the network engineer said of the 90-second beatdown. “I’ve been jumped before. If you can’t win, you back up, you try to protect yourself.”

The victim said he went home and turned on the TV, and only then learned about the bombing and put two and two together.

Erik Rush's hateful tweets encourages that type of violence against innocent, law abiding Muslims. Unfortunately, Mr. Rush is not alone. Anti-Muslim hatred is acceptable in mainstream America. Politicians like Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and others regularly make anti-Muslim statements without facing any real opposition.  

So when someone like Erik Rush says kill all Muslims, there is very little public outrage in the media. That is frightening and dangerous. If Mr. Rush said kill all whites, kill Jews, kill all black people, kill all gays, kill all women or kill all disabled people, Congress would hold hearings. Politicians would have universally condemned his statement. His story would have been on every single TV news channel and in every newspaper.  Fox News would have fired him immediately.  People for the American Way is one of the few organizations demanding that Fox News fire Mr. Rush.

As an African American, Erik Rush should be ashamed.  Throughout our history, we have been persecuted and oppressed.  Today, we are still racially profiled, stopped and frisked just because of the pigment of our skin. In light of our history and current day realities as a people, no African American should embrace anti-Muslim hatred. By the way, many of Mr. Rush's fellow African Americans, including myself, are Muslim.

If we accept this kind of hatred, American society may degenerate into a state resembling Nazi Germany. Stand up to hate. Sign the People for the American Way's petition.

Time to Boycott Lowe's?

America has evolved. At least in law and theory, discrimination is no longer acceptable. It is not longer acceptable to discriminated against African Americans, Jews, Catholics, women and the physically disabled. Nowadays, even the most rabid reactionaries try to avoid being labeled as racist.



However, it remains acceptable to discriminate against and to hate Muslims. Mainstream politicians openly express hatred against Muslims with impunity.

The most recent example of this hatred is the Lowe's situation. Under pressure from the Florida Family Association, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse decided to pull advertising from the All American Muslim program on TLC. The Florida Family Association opposes the show the following reasons:

"The Learning Channel's new show All-American Muslim is propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law. The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish."

The Florida Family Association's argument is absurd. That is analogous to condemning the Cosby Show for excluding drug dealers, gangsters, buffoons, hoochie mamas, pimps, and "welfare queens" from the show.

In preparation for this article, I watched a couple episodes of All American Muslim. It is a wholesome family show. The viewers see mothers give birth, men coach football, boys play sports, families discuss business ventures, families dining together, people attending religious services and people working. We see Muslims, religious and non-religious, doing things that normal, ordinary people do. That is too much for the Florida Family Association.

They call it propaganda because it does not fit their narrow, stereotypical image of Muslims. The Florida Family Association does not want people to see positive images of Islam and Muslim like this.

Instead, the images below are what they want the world to see when they think about Islam and Muslims.

They can only envision Muslims as wife beating, turbaned, gun toting, suicide vest wearing maniacs. They cannot see Muslims as fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, police officers, doctors, coaches, business people or as patriotic Americans. As far as Florida Family Association is concerned, any attempt to portray Muslims as typical American citizens must be propaganda. This is no different from antisemitism. It must be condemned as antisemitism is condemned.

When Muslim groups complained about Lowe's decision to cancel advertising on All American Muslim, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lowe's issued this lame "apology":

"It appears that we managed to step into a hotly contested debate with strong views from virtually every angle and perspective – social, political and otherwise – and we’ve managed to make some people very unhappy. We are sincerely sorry. We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, across our workforce and our customers, and we’re proud of that longstanding commitment.

Lowe’s has received a significant amount of communication on this program, from every perspective possible. Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lighting rod for many of those views. As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.

We strongly support and respect the right of our customers, the community at large, and our employees to have different views. If we have made anyone question that commitment, we apologize.

Thank you for allowing us to further explain our position."

If Lowe's truly supports diversity, it would not defer to bigots like the Florida Family Association. Lowe's should be ashamed of itself for bowing down to the demands of bigots.

All people of good will should urge Lowe's to reject bigotry. If Lowe's does not understand the language of tolerance and acceptance, maybe they will understand the language of money and boycott.

This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.

Seven Reasons Not to Vote for Herman Cain

Here are seven reasons why no one, especially African Americans, in their right mind should vote for Herman Cain.

1. He has NO political or foreign policy experience. He was a pizza man for crying out loud. His claim to fame is being the President of Godfather's Pizza. He has never held public office.

2. His 999 plan steals from the poor and working class masses and gives an unprecedented amount to the super rich.



3. He opposes the Occupy Wall Street Movement and supports the plutocrats.



4. He holds extreme anti-immigration views which border on racism. Listen to him talk about creating an electrified fence to keep illegal immigrants out of America.

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5. He holds bigoted views against Muslims. He is on record stating that he would not appoint any Muslims in his administration. If he said the same thing about any other religious group such as Catholics, Jews or Mormons, there would be much public outrage and discussion. View this video.



6. Mr. Cain will appointed judges like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. As we all know, Justice Thomas has an abysmal civil rights record. Listen to Mr. Cain praise Justice Thomas.

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7. Mr. Cain basically rejects his African heritage and refuses to use the term African American. Equally as important, Mr. Cain has made disparaging generalizations about African Americans and fails to acknowledge the continuing impact of the institutionalized racism.





By the way, what did you think about his political ad?

Peter King Should Cancel His Despicable Witch Hunt Now!

This Thursday, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King (R) plans to hold hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans. Rep. King told the Associated Press that:

"There is a real threat to the country from the Muslim community and the only way to get to the bottom of it is to investigate what is happening."

Peter King should cancel his despicable witch hunt for four reasons.

First, the hearings will only fuel bigotry and hatred. Rep. King's broad generalizations create the misconception that most Muslims Americans are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. As a matter of fact, the terrorists are a tiny minority within the Muslim world community. We must bear in mind that none of the 911 terrorists were Americans. An entire religion should not be put on trial because of the actions of a few heinous murderers.

Second, the hearings will discourage many Muslims from cooperating with law enforcements thereby making us all less safe. Instead of perpetuating fear and suspicion, the government should look for ways to build bridges of communication and trust with the Muslim American community.

Third, the federal government has more far important things to do. Instead of wasting the American people's time and money demonizing Muslims and fear mongering, Congress should focus on issues that really matter to the American people like unemployment, poverty, the war in Afghanistan, etc.

Finally, the hearings will pave the way for the harassment and persecution of other groups. During the McCarthy era, it was the communists. Today, it is Islam and Muslims. Tomorrow, it could be Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists or your particular religious or ethnic group.

Extremist Pastor Regains His Senses and Decides Not to Burn Qurans

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Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, planned to protest the 9/11 terrorist attacks by burning Holy Qurans.  Under massive pressure from political, religious and military leaders, Jones decided not to burn Qurans.  If he went forward, all hell would have broke loose.  Thank goodness, we avoided such a catastrophe.  All praise is due to God.

  

Islamophobia: Mainstream Hate

The proposed construction of a Muslim community center two long blocks away from ground zero has exposed and unleashed a rabid new wave of anti-Muslim hatred. Without doubt, the opposition to the mosque is rooted in prejudice and hate. Essentially, the opposition views all Muslims as terrorists or potential terrorists. That is primary reason why they oppose building a mosque near ground zero.

The opposition to building mosques is not confined to the area near ground zero. For instance, as noted in the New York Times article by Laurie Goodstein titled Across the Nation, Mosque Projects Meet Opposition,

In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Republican candidates have denounced plans for a large Muslim center proposed near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march and a county meeting.

In late June, in Temecula, Calif., members of a local Tea Party group took dogs and picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a new worship center on a vacant lot nearby.

In Sheboygan, Wis., a few Christian ministers led a noisy fight against a Muslim group that sought permission to open a mosque in a former health food store bought by a Muslim doctor.

In addition to protests against the building of mosques, there are other examples of anti-Muslim hatred. For example, one church plans to hold a Quran burning ceremony on September 11, 2010. Moreover, as pointed out on the Rachel Maddow Show, the hate group Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE) seeks to outlaw Islam in America.

This hatred is also reflected in polls. According to TIME magazine’s poll,

61% of respondents oppose the construction of the Park51/Cordoba House project, compared with 26% who support it. More than 70% concur with the premise that proceeding with the plan would be an insult to the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Twenty-eight percent of voters do not believe Muslims should be eligible to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. Nearly one-third of the country thinks adherents of Islam should be barred from running for President....

The discussion centering around President Obama’s faith is another example of anti-Muslim hatred. Many view being a Muslim as a blot on one's character. For instance, President Obama has been forced to repeatedly explain that he is a Christian and not a Muslim. Nonetheless, many Americans remain unconvinced. Shortly after the President voiced support for building a mosque near ground zero, the Pew Research Center released the results of a national survey. According to the survey,

[N]early one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim, up from 11% in March 2009. Only about one-third of adults (34%) say Obama is a Christian, down sharply from 48% in 2009. Fully 43% say they do not know what Obama’s religion is. The survey was completed in early August, before Obama’s recent comments about the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center. The view that Obama is a Muslim is more widespread among his political opponents than among his backers. Roughly a third of conservative Republicans (34%) say Obama is a Muslim, as do 30% of those who disapprove of Obama’s job performance. But even among many of his supporters and allies, less than half now say Obama is a Christian. Among Democrats, for instance, 46% say Obama is a Christian, down from 55%in March 2009.

Frankly, as Muslim, I find this anti-Muslim trend to be frightening because it is not just coming from the lunatic fringe. Mainstream politician politicians such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Republican Governor Sarah Palin and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio joined the hateful chorus. Newt Gingrich compared Muslims to Nazis. Some hypocritical politicians like Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio are actually pimping the 9/11 tragedy to score political points. Under pressure from the anti-Muslim right, feeble Democrats such as U.S. Senator Harry Reid and former Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean have capitulated and now oppose the building of the Muslim community center.

It is particularly disturbing to see victims of discrimination embrace this new form of antisemitism. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has a long and distinguished history of fighting discrimination. Yet, ADL issued a press statement opposing construction of the Muslim community center. I was shocked to learn that even some prominent black bloggers have jumped on the hate Muslims bandwagon.

It is time to stop the hate.

Tolerance Prevails in New York

On Tuesday, August 3, 2010, the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission approved the building of a mosque two blocks away from ground zero. According to New York Times, the Commission voted 9 to 0 to deny historic protection to the building in Lower Manhattan where the mosque will be built. I commend New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Commission for promoting freedom of religion.

When the 9/11 terror attacks occurred nine years ago, I was working in Washington, D.C. I was horrified and frightened. I, like all Americans, deeply mourn the tragic loss of thousands innocence lives and strongly sympathize with the victims' families.

As we all know, the criminals who committed those senseless atrocities were members of a fanatical, foreign fringe terrorist group, Al Qaeda. The Al Qaeda terrorists do not represent most Muslims throughout the world. They certainly do not represent peaceful, law abiding American Muslims.

It is morally wrong and unconstitutional to punish all Muslims for the crimes of a small deviant minority. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Denying Muslims the right to build a mosque violates freedom of speech and religion. Innuendo and unsubstantiated generalizations are not an adequate basis to deprive citizens of their constitutional rights.

Allowing the mosque to built is a triumph for democracy and the United States Constitution. Healing cannot be rooted in prejudice and bigotry.

No Faith Justifies the Fort Hood Massacre

I express my condolences to the Fort Hood victims and their families. I honor the fallen: Dr. Mike Cahill, Major L. Eduardo Caraveo, Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, Capt. John Gaffaney, Specialist Frederick Greene, Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, Sgt. Amy Krueger, Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, Pfc. Michael Pearson, Pvt. Francheska Velez, Lt. Cal Juanita Warman, Capt. Russell Seager and Pfc. Kham Xiong. I pray for the the wounded.

When I read about the terrible shooting rampage at Fort Hood, I was shocked and disgusted. When I discovered that Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a fellow Muslim, was responsible, I was outraged. I cannot understand how anyone, especially someone claiming to be a Muslim, could murder innocent people. People have compared this incident to the Oklahoma City bombing. Some people mention that the media did not refer to Timothy McVeigh’s Christian religion or describe him a Christian terrorist. Some have questioned the relevance of Hasan's religious views.

Although the investigation is ongoing, according to reports, Major Nidal Malik Hasan's religion is relevant because he alleged exploited it to justify his cowardly actions. We should not bury our heads in the sand and pretend that his faith played no role. We must confront and condemn all fanaticism. Hasan reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) before he began firing on his fellow soldiers. Additionally, he reportedly expressed reservations about joining non-Muslims in a battle against fellow Muslims. He allegedly made statements sympathizing with suicide bombers and had ties to an extremist imam linked to Al Qaeda.

After beginning to recover from 9/11, this incident has set back Muslim and Christian relations by decades. When the public is constantly bombarded with disturbing images of suicide bombings and other terrorist acts committed by misguided Muslims in the name of God, understandably and but unfortunately, people begin to equate Islam with terrorism and violence. I share Army Chief of Staff General George Casey’s concern that this tragedy may lead to some people to question Muslim American soldiers’ loyalty. People must resist prejudice. The extremists are a minuscule minority. They do not represent the vast majority of law abiding and patriotic American Muslims.

I join the many Muslims who have condemned this horrific crime. In the words of President Obama, “No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts. No just and loving God looks upon them with favor.”

Many people have used distorted interpretations of Islam to justify terrorism. However, the Quran and the example of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) oppose terrorism and extremism. Each surah or chapter, except one, of the Holy Quran begins with the phrase “In the Name of Allah (God), the Beneficent, the Merciful.” Mercy is God’s dominant attribute. No merciful God would condone the brutal murder of innocent soldiers. It sickens me to hear terrorists use God's blessed name to celebrate senseless acts of violence. Although the Quran does address the issue of war within a historic and pragmatic context, the greeting of the Muslims is As-salaam Alaikum (peace be upon you). The words "Islam" and "Muslim" have peace as their root. In fact, in Surah 5:32 of the Quran, Allah compares killing an innocent person to slaying a whole people and saving a single life to saving a whole people. Similar to other major religions, Islam condemns suicide bombings. At Surah 4:29 in the Quran, Allah commands Muslims not to “kill (or destroy) yourselves for verily Allah hath been to you most merciful.” In Surahs 4:171 and 2:143, Allah encourages the people not "to commit excesses in religion" and refers to the Muslim community or Ummat as "justly balanced". Extremism is the ultimate manifestation of imbalance. In Surah 5:8 of the Quran, Allah commands believers to be fair and “not to let hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.”

Intolerance and hatred breed violence. Muslim leaders must promote tolerance and mutual understanding. As stated in Surah 3:64, we must call Christian, Jews and Muslims to come to common terms. The Quran repeatedly reminds us that all of mankind was created from a single person. We share a common humanity and destiny.

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