It’s lovely, but really, you shouldn’t have
Jermaine Jackson says that Muslims are “the new Negroes in America.”
“Negroes”? I suppose Mr. Jackson means to evoke the bad old days of segregation and discrimination. But in the absence of “NO MUSLIMS SERVED” signs at lunch counters, or Muslims having to go to the back of the bus, or Muslims-only water fountains, or Muslim children being escorted to school by federal marshals, pardon me if I think his assertion is a bit, well, hysterical.
And what is behind this statement? “I do not agree with the U.S. government. What they are saying about Muslims and Arabs is all propaganda and brainwashing.” What has the U.S. government been saying about Muslims and Arabs except that Islam is a religion of peace? This just shows that that kind of pandering is useless, because the people to whom the pandering is supposed to appeal aren’t going to be satisfied anyway.
MANAMA, Bahrain (Reuters) – Pop star Michael Jackson’s brother, Jermaine, in the Gulf to promote understanding between Muslims and his fellow Americans, said Tuesday that Muslims are “the new Negroes in America.”
Jermaine, a convert to Islam and dressed in white Arab garb, has been speaking about Islam and U.S. “adventures” in Iraq to enthusiastic audiences at Koranic centers and universities in the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain.
“I think Muslims have become the new Negroes in America. They are being mistreated at airports, by the Immigration — everywhere,” he said.
Jermaine, also a singer, told Reuters in an interview: “I do not agree with the U.S. government. What they are saying about Muslims and Arabs is all propaganda and brainwashing.”
“I don’t think it is right for us to go to someone else’s country and tell them what to do and how to do it,” said Jermaine, who is a guest of the royal court in the pro-Western kingdom, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
He disapproved of Muslim extremism, which has been on the rise in the wake of the U.S. occupation of Iraq last year.
“I understand their feelings but do not approve of their methods. Islam is a religion of peace. They are wrong,” he said.