Here we go yet again. Samina Ahmed says: “(People) a lot of times have so many questions. And I make them comfortable enough so they can ask them.”
Great! I have a question, Ms. Ahmed: Do you think talking to non-Muslims will really help improve Islam’s image? Might it be more effective to talk to Muslims? Wouldn’t it lessen the negative image of Islam if you were to try to convince the Muslims who are committing violence and preaching supremacism in the name of Islam to accept peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims as equals on an indefinite basis?
“Projecting Islam Image in US,” from IslamOnline, July 7 (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist):
CAIRO “” Disturbed by rising anti-Islam sentiments since the 9/11 attacks, Samina Ahmed has started a mission to educate Americans about Islam and clear misconceptions about the faith.
“(People) a lot of times have so many questions,” Ahmed told the Springfield News-Sun newspaper on Monday, July 7.
“And I make them comfortable enough so they can ask them.”
Since 9/11, Ahmed, 35, has been holding a seminar twice a year to educate people about the teachings of Islam.
This Thursday, the Pakistani-born will hold her seminar “Practicing Islam in Clark County” at the Public Library to discuss the faith as a whole.
She will also distribute free English translation of the Noble Qur’an to attendees….
Ahmed, who migrated with her parents to Canada when she was 5 and later to the US at the age of 17, says Americans are now more receptive than ever to know more about Islam.
A 2007 survey by Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum found that the majority of Americans know very little about the practices of Islam.
The poll indicated that attitudes toward Muslims and Islam have grown more negative in recent years.
There are between six to seven million Muslims in the United States, making up less than three percent of the country’s 300 million population.
Tarnished
Ahmed says her mission aims to clear the tarnished image of the Islamic faith.
“Since 9/11, whenever people hear the word Muslim, right away they think terrorist,” Ahmed said.
“But that’s not what Islam represents.”
A USA Today/Gallup poll had showed that 39 percent of Americans feel prejudiced toward Muslims.
Anti-Muslim hate crimes in the US have soared dramatically in recent years.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s recent figures, Islamophobic crimes more than quadrupled from 28 incidents in 2000 to 156 incidents in 2006….
IslamOnline doesn’t mention, of course, that anti-Jewish attacks were five times more frequent.