He doesn’t explain, of course, how exactly the aptly-named Laguerre (“Amin”) Payen misunderstands Islam. Have you ever noticed that Muslim spokesmen who make this claim never bother to explain it? We are just supposed to take their word for it — and of course, virtually everyone does. And the more learned and lionized an analyst you are, the more you are sure that this Misunderstanding of Islam is happening on a massive worldwide scale, and the more you are confident that this misunderstanding will ultimately be overcome by the adherents of the True, Peaceful Islam. Sure, you’ve never actually seen that True Islam, but you are certain it exists, certain to the marrow of your bones, as certain as Virginia was about Santa Claus after Francis Church of the New York Sun reassured her of his existence.
In this episode of our story, Hamin Rashada plays the role of Francis Church, reassuring all those jittery Virginias out there that yes, yes indeed, there is a Moderate Islam, and this silly Laguerre Payen just got it all mixed up, doncha know, like all the thousands of others.
Another update on this story. Nothing To See Here, Move Along Alert: “Mosque leader: NY terror suspect way off on Islam,” from Newsday, May 21 (thanks to James):
NEWBURGH, N.Y. – A leader of a Hudson Valley mosque says one of the suspects in a New York terrorist plot is an ex-convict who has misunderstandings on the teachings of Islam.
Hamin Rashada told the Times Herald-Record of Middletown on Thursday that 21-year-old Laguerre Payen told him he was a Muslim. Rashada says Payen occasionally attended a Newburgh mosque where his statements on Islam often had to be corrected.
Rashada, an assistant imam at the mosque, says he met Payen through a program that helps parolees reintegrate after being released from prison….