From the New Duranty Times, "Muslim Converts Face Discrimination"
In the wake of 9/11, Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Egypt and other countries have found themselves living in a newly suspicious America. Many of their businesses and mosques have been closely monitored by federal agents, thousands of men have been deported and some have simply been swept away - "rendered" in the language of the C.I.A. - to be interrogated or jailed overseas.But Muslim immigrants are not alone in experiencing the change. It is now touching the lives of some American converts: men and women raised in this country, whose only tie to the Middle East or Southeast Asia is one of faith. Khalid Hakim, born Charles Karolik in Milwaukee, could not renew the document required to work as a merchant mariner because he refused to remove his kufi, a round knitted cap, for an identity photograph last year. Yet for nearly three decades Mr. Hakim's cap had posed no problem with the same New York City office of the Coast Guard.
In Brooklyn, Dierdre Small and Stephanie Lewis drove New York City Transit buses for years wearing their hijabs, or head scarves, with no protest from supervisors. After 9/11 the women were ordered to remove the religious garments. They refused, and were transferred, along with two other Muslim converts, out of the public eye - to jobs vacuuming, cleaning and parking buses, said the women, who are suing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Transit.
"I'm a U.S. citizen and I'm supposed to be protected," Ms. Lewis, 55, said with tears in her eyes. "On 9/11 I was scheduled to take policemen to that site. I felt compassion like everyone else. And now you're singling me out because I'm a Muslim?" New York City Transit officials said they would not comment because the case is in litigation.
Regardless of how their cases play out legally, Mr. Hakim, Ms. Lewis and other converts have come to view America after 9/11 through a singular lens. An estimated 25 percent of American Muslims are converts. Some came of age as Americans first and discovered Islam as adults. In the years since 9/11, many have faced a contest of loyalties they never imagined: between their nation and their faith.
They have watched events up close and from afar - the raids of mosques, the deportation of Muslim immigrants, the incendiary language from abroad and the threats made against their American homeland - with a special, if complicated brand of anger and loyalty, affection and worry...
Muslims deserve the same protection and respect the klan gets .You chose to join an anti American hate group designed to destroy freedom and liberty you get what’s coming to you, Dont like it leave the hate group.
Don’t believe it study islam. no one is to blame for you being a bad person but yourself.
One reads the sentimental and exaggerated nonsense of The New Duranty Times about the supposed (but non-existent) "plight" of converts to Islam in this country (who, admittedly, are mostly to be found among the economically or psychically marginal). One notes that the most important (not the best, but the most important) newspaper in the United States devotes column after column to the wounded sensibilities and slights, real and imagined, of which American converts to Islam complain, and which are treated with enormous respect, even though, upon close inspection, one discovers no there there.
At the same time, one may forget or overlook the fact that in no Muslim state, at no time, in no place, in no newspaper or television program or radio show, has there ever been, nor will there ever be, a sympathetic article, or any article at all, on the treatment meted out to those who, within that country, have chosen to convert out of Islam, to Christianity, or to some other belief, or to give up Islam for complete unbelief. There has never been, is not now, and never will be such an article, for such people are not regarded with sympathy. They are, in many Muslim countries, threatened with death -- and the sentence is so frequently carried out, if not by the government then by Muslims acting to ensure that "justice is done," that few dare admit to their apostasy. Even in the United States, Muslims who convert to Christianity often keep it a secret from their own families, so scared are they of the potential results.
But this, of course, is not going to be the subject of any discussion by any Muslim journalists or others. Indeed, one finds that the seemingly most worldly, relaxed, and jovial Muslim, one who enjoys making fun of Islam in front of Infidels, will -- should those Infidels bring up the little matter of how apostates are treated (as I brought up the case of the Kuwaiti Christian convert Qambar years ago with a friend of Fouad Ajami), the former openness ceases at once, and a mode of suspicious defensiveness and taqiyya about Islam immediately begins. There are strict limits as to how far even the most seemingly open and nonchalant of Westernized and worldly Muslims will go in the presence of Infidels.
We call that paper of record The New Duranty Times to remind readers that the NYTimes has a disgraceful record in covering the three great political, or politico-moral, issues of the last hundred years. Walter Duranty's name is used to remind everyone of that paper's first great failure -- its disgraceful coverage of Bolshevism and Soviet rule, right through the Purge Trials of the Old Bolsheviks and then of Marshal Tukhachevsky and his fellow officers. Had the American public been properly informed about Soviet Communism, it is possible it would, as soon as World War II was over, have quickly turned to prevent the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe through the use of the Red Army. But the public was unprepared, and precious years (1945-1948) were lost, and so was Eastern Europe, and Central Europe.
The second great failure was what Laurie Leff calls, in her study of the NYTimes's intolerable failure to report adequately on Hitler's destruction of European Jewry ("How the New York Times Buried the Holocaust"), which had consequences for American policy. The owners of the New York Times, to protect their own Harmonie-Club positions in New York society, were willing to sacrifice the Jews of Europe. As a result of their coverage, some of their readers must have not been alerted in time to move heaven and earth to save family members; blood is on the head of the Sulzbergers and on their minions. Had the New York Times coverage been different, perhaps more might have been saved, or escaped somehow to Palestine, alerted by letters from America (the mails, amazingly, did go through in 1939, and 1940, and 1941). Perhaps John J. McCloy, whose infamous refusal to bomb the rail-lines to Auschwitz are all that he need be remembered by, would have not been able to act -- to fail to act -- as he did. Perhaps Breckenridge Long would not have been able to turn back Jewish refugees and inform American consuls not to issue visas to such refugees.
And now comes the third great failure -- the coverage, or non-coverage, of what Islam actually teaches. For almost four years, the New York Times has failed to inform readers of what the Hadith and Sira are, or what passages in them, or in the Qur'an, just might possibly be what those who commit acts of terrorism in Iraq, against Israel, in the southern Sudan, in the Moluccas, in the southern Philippines, and indeed all over the world, might be relying on. For it is the terrorists who rely on the texts, the texts that justify them, and not those who try to pretend that those texts do not exist, or cannot be understood except by native speakers of Arabic, or something.
The New Duranty Times is failing before our very eyes. It is critical of the Bush Administration in Iraq, but its criticism is incooherent, because it leaves out the basis for legitimate criticism: the failure both to understand the inculcated hostlity of Islam (instead in its reporting, and in its editorials, the Times mocks those who "expected to be greeted with flowers" but does not tell us what their intelligence failure was -- it was, of course, the same failure that the Times itself exhibits, the failure to understand the nature, and teachings, and attitudes and atmospherics, of Islam -- and this is something the Times cannot bring itself to investigate).
This is it for the New Duranty Times. If, having failed with Stalinism, and having failed with the Nazi war on the Jews, it now fails on Islam, it will -- or at least it should -- come to an end. Failure after failure after major failure cannot any longer be endured, no matter how great the advertising revenues. The Sulzberger family has a lot to answer for. But it doesn't quite see it that way. Its idea of a good columnist seems to be the jejune Tom Friedman, to be praised by the slightly-less-jejune pleasing careerist Fareed Zakaria. Why not give Ibn Warraq a column? Or someone else, who actually thinks rather than compiles, in the Friedmanian manner, little anecdotes into a package of the obvious ("The World is Flat")?
Because it just can't happen. Such a move would call the whole enterprise into question. That mustn't happen.
Religious garb is for your private time.
Work require the clothing appropriate for the situation.
(Would they wear the Hijab in the operating theater?)
Your outfit is supposed to be professional, not confessional.
Boo-hoo.
Go cry to Randall Royer about it.
When will the Christians stop appeasing the unappeasable. Look at history of last 1400, Koran's most important message is to convert the non-muslims or kill him. Look at India, they tried to appease the muslims and the muslims took away half the country in 1947 by demanding a partition based on religious lines. Christians are next in line and may not learn before it is too late.
By the way, ask muslims when will they allow Christians to openly pray and build churches in their own countries (specially Saudi Arabia), just like they are allowed to build mosques and openly pray in western countries.
Well, once again, I'm willing to respect the Muslim who respects me. But, the Hassan Akbar types really need to understand that if they carry the jihad logic too far, they get the long drop, short tow, and fires of Hell.
Hugh, a big problem we have is that the business of America is business, and those who can't hack it in business get embittered, and go into teaching and journalism. That's probably why that thundering herd of independent minds called "intellectuals" are so quick to latch onto the West's malcontents and indulge in destructive fantasies.
"those who can't hack it in business get embittered, and go into teaching and journalism."
Those who go to graduate school in the United States do not normally first go into business only to discover that they "can't hack it." No profession has a monopoly on frauds. And no doubt there is a greater affront to standards, when frauds and fakes are involved in academic life, with "captive Good attending captain Ill" then in fields were merely money matters. But surely this idea that "teaching" and "journalism" are what people go into when they "can't hack it" in business is false.
All sorts of people do all sorts of things, and are mistreated, or mistreat in turn, or do things well or ill, for all sorts of reasons, in all sorts of ways.
There is no moral to be derived from this.
I really cant dredge up much sympathy. Instead of playing the victim, maybe they should ponder on how their adopted religion treats those of other faiths.
Christian beaten by Muslim gang: Attackers said to be angered by success of church members
By Michael Ireland
© 2005 Assist News Service
A Pakistani Christian who reportedly was shown kindness by his Muslim employer was attacked and beaten by a gang of Muslims.
Shahbaz Masih was attacked by a group of seven or eight Muslims from his village April 23 and left for dead, with both legs broken, according to the British charity Barnabas Fund.
The Christian human rights organization says Masih's assailants are believed to be jealous of any success within the Christian community and apparently singled him out because he was treated favorably by his Muslim boss.
Shahbaz Masih lives in a predominantly Muslim village called Chak No. 2 Mandi Baha-Uddin, south of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Barnabas Fund says there are about 20 to 25 Christian families in the village who mostly work as agricultural laborers for Muslim landowners. Shahbaz, a young man in his twenties, was a tractor driver for Mir Hussein, who treated him kindly, apparently because he was an honest and hard worker.
The Barnabas Fund report continues: "This kindness from a Muslim to a Christian caused resentment amongst the Muslim group who attacked Shahbaz last Saturday, reports a local church leader, who adds the group were also angered by two Christians doing well in their studies at school and university recently.
"According to one report, the group had tried to force Shahbaz to convert to Islam. He is now in a critical condition in hospital."
Many Muslims in Pakistan regard Christians as second-class citizens, “unclean,” and despicable, according to Barnabas Fund. There are approximately 3 million Christians in Pakistan, about 2 percent of the population.
Barnabas Fund works to support Christian communities mainly, but not exclusively, in the Islamic world where they face poverty and persecution.
It's not prejudice against Islam... ...it's an aversion to people tending to mental instability (with apologies to Thomas Haidon, whose posts indicate he is anything but flaky).
An estimated 25 percent of American Muslims are converts
Damn, are there that many African-American prison inmates who have been conned into converting to Islam?! Oh well, in a way that's encouraging because after the initial novelty wears off and the rigors of Islam become boring and restrictive, most of these converts will revert to their former lifestyles and forget all about Islam. Street thugs rarely have time to pray five times a day, don't limit their sexual liasons to wives, and likely won't renounce shooting craps while sucking down alcoholic beverages. It's hard to cast off old habits and even harder to adopt an entirely new and nonsensical lifestyle that forbids all recreational activity.
A few of the hardcore, violent types with a grudge against society might hang in there for the chance to join the jihad against whitey, but most of them will return to their old lives when they get out of jail. Who wants to get out of one prison and jump right into another one?
Susanp,
I'm against violent Islam too. But your racist stereotype of muslim American converts isn't helpful. Not every African-American convert is a gangbanger, nor are all American converts to Islam African-American. It's a good idea to know your enemy if you want to defeat him.
Roxane, just read the Qu'ran. 'Racist stereotype of muslims'
is nonsense. Muslims are of all races and nationalities. ANY convert is a suspect, and that's the message we are driving home. But the facts are also facts, and it just so happens that more blacks are converting than other races. Ironically they are converting to an Arab ideology that has enslaved them from even BEFORE they had Islam as a religion, and even now claim that slavery is their birthright.
Know your enemy! We know,,,,
Well cry me to sleep on this one. The hard and fast truth is that Islam is increasingly coming under greater scrutiny both as a religion and totalitarian ideology. Even if 9/11 had never happened, this does not change the basic equation about Islam's dark nature to which people are coming to realize. The reckoning would've come at a later date, but make no mistake, it would've come regardless. The more people know, the less the average Joe will like about Islam and it's (false) prophet. It's amazing to see that people are awakening to the idea that spiritual warfare is very real and very much a part of this physical world. Alas, Satan rules over a doomed domain and his time is running out. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Roxanne, I made my statements based upon statistics; Male African-American prison inmates are the largest segment of American society to convert to Islam. I am not a racist. I am well aware that all African-American males are not gang members or criminals, but the ones in jail are.
Believe me Roxanne, I know the enemy. And as I made abundantly clear, I don't think black, ex-con converts to Islam are a big problem because most do not remain dedicated to the Islamic farce once they are free. The recidivism rate for petty criminals is very high and their crimes tend to escalate in severity. This too, is a statistical fact, whether the criminals are black or white.
In England, there are black converts to islam who have formed 'islamic' gangs, using their concept of islam to terrorize those around them, all things being justified in the name of islam against the nonbelievers. Serious problem because it has given them an ideology to justify their actions.
Thus this sort of convert to islam is a more immediate problem to society than others.
I am sure that there are also black men who have turned their lives around for the better having converted to islam, in prison or elsewhere.
And of course, there are a variety of people who convert to islam, for a variety of reasons.
All muslims are a problem for me, because their ideology is designed to destroy the civilization i am part of and love.