D.C. Watson speaks truth to power:
While many Muslims in the U.S. simply go about their business and mean no harm to anyone, many other Muslims are continually stating that they are offended by our policies and our behavior. It’s all our fault, you know. At least that’s what Geneive Abdo, in a column entitled “Islam in America: Separate but Unequal,” would seem to wish everyone to believe.
The column is extensive, yet portions of it stand out like a badly penciled-in headscarf. For example, Abdo wrote the following comments, which I will answer here.
As the U.S. relationship with the Islamic world has reached unprecedented levels of hostility since the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration has focused its attention on winning the hearts and minds of Muslims abroad. Yet, what about the six to seven million Muslims in the United States whose lives were dramatically altered by the September 11 attacks?
September 11, 2001 dramatically altered the lives of everyone. But it appears that Abdo is only concerned about Muslims, not about the 3,000 non-Muslim dead.
Also: six to seven million Muslims in the United States? Where is the evidence for this figure? Has the population of Muslims in the United States doubled since late 2002, when the figure was calculated at around 3 million?
Here’s what we’re dealing with, folks. Here are a couple of pertinent paragraphs from a survey of Muslim population claims:
The AMC also amusingly claimed that its own estimate of ‘more than 7 million’ Muslims came from the 2000 Census figures – erroneously thinking that the Census asks about religion.
Oh, and that’s the same AMC which in 1992 pressured a researcher named Fareed Nu’man to find 6 million Muslims in the country; Nu’man later testified that he counted just 3 million and was fired by the AMC when he refused to inflate his number above 5 million.
Read more about that here.
Abdo continues:
Feelings of deep alienation have caused them [Muslims] to join the global protest movement against the United States, but instead of holding flag-burning rallies, Muslim Americans are taking a different course. Muslims are becoming more organized and vocal in their demands, petitioning school boards to establish prayer rooms in public schools for their children, taking time off during the workday for prayers, and turning to the courts when they believe their constitutional rights to practice their religion have been violated. In this way, they are exercising their rights as Americans to enhance their identity as Muslims.
Yes, and while exercising their “rights” as “Americans” they’ve shown scant consideration for Constitutional law or for anyone they may have inconvenienced in the process. Church and State are separate in America, so why are Muslims petitioning school boards to establish prayer rooms? Are Christians, Jews or Hindus given prayer rooms in our public schools? If Muslims wish to pray during school hours, why don’t they attend Islamic schools? While Christmas celebrations have been all but eliminated from the American education system, Muslims are petitioning for prayer rooms at the expense of American taxpayers. As we non-Muslims still make up the overwhelming majority of voters, shouldn’t we be taking our elected representatives to task over this?
Taking time off during the workday for prayers? Again, if non-Muslims were to pull a stunt like this, they’d be out of a job. Moreover, companies would end up going out of business due to the failure of meeting their production schedules.
Simply moving to America doesn’t make someone an American.
Back to Abdo:
In an effort to distance their faith from Western notions that Islam is inherently violent, that shari’a (Islamic law) oppresses women, and that Islam is responsible for the antidemocratic tendencies of governments in the Islamic world, Muslims feel compelled to educate themselves and the outside world about the true tenets of Islam.
The ideas that Islam is inherently violent, that Shari’ah law oppresses women, and that Islam and democracy contradict one another are not just “Western notions.” They are facts. They have been proven time and time again throughout recorded history. See Qur’an 9.5, 9.29, 48.29, 4.34, etc, etc, etc.
Abdo adds:
There is no evidence to suggest a widespread rise of Wahhabism in the United States.
Really? Here’s some:
http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/Mosques.asp
http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/publications/Saudi%20Report/FINAL%20FINAL.pdfAbdo also says:
The patriot Act is a source of growing anger among Muslims against the Bush Administration.
Although this hurried piece of legislation leaves a lot to be desired, and needs some changes, it is equal across the board for everyone, and is not directed only at Muslims. If Muslims will behave themselves, then they should have nothing to worry about. Although it was a group of nineteen Islamic cretins who did their dirty deed for Allah on September 11, 2001 and prompted the implementation of the Patriot Act, everyone in America is now subjected to it. So these “angry” Muslims should only be angry with their Muslim brothers who created this mess, and no one else. Besides, both sides of the political aisle had to vote on this issue, and both sides rightfully agreed that something had to be done.
Abdo:
No evidence suggests that Muslim Americans sympathize with radical groups abroad.
I have published several times here a list of Muslims in America who have been arrested for terrorism-related offenses. I am currently working on an updated list of these Muslim problem children in America, complete with names and the crimes for which they were arrested.
The older list is here. Some of these were convicted of terror and fraud crimes. They not only sympathized with radical Islamic groups abroad, but conspired and attempted to provide them with material support and recruiting. Simply reference their names on the Internet and read their claims to fame.
Abdo again:
The U.S. must ultimately become far more educated about Islam and Muslim culture.
Actually, it’s the other way around: Muslims who live in America must ultimately become far more educated about the American way of life and American culture. How arrogant can one group of people possibly be — to expect to move to a foreign land and demand that the nation to which they’ve migrated change everything around for them and the culture they’ve brought with them?
America was built on the backs of immigrants. The U.S. is a nation of immigrants who have worked, and continue to work to keep this country moving forward. Immigrants used to come to America with the intention of becoming a part of this wonderful country. Now come the Muslims — not all, mind you, but many — who have waltzed into our house and are now attempting to redecorate.
To answer them properly: It’s not all about Islam here. Learn to live as the rest of us do, or hit the road.