Finally, there is the argument, from toponyms, of a Muslim presence in America before there was a United States. Here John Hamed, Jr. descends into the absurd: “Islam was here even before there was a U.S.A. There are more than 500 places in the U.S. today with clearly Islamic names: Mecca, Indiana; Medina in New […]
Hugh Fitzgerald: Columbus and His Muslim Connection
John Hamed, Jr. repeats as fact several myths about Muslims. The first one, discussed in the previous piece, is the claim made by the zoologist and amateur epigraphist Barry Fell, of an Arab presence in the New World as early as 700 A.D. This was followed by the three distinct claims made by Muslim “scholars” […]
Hugh Fitzgerald: John Hamed, Jr., Barry Fell, and the Backdating of Islam in America
John Hamed, Jr.’s letter criticizing a previous correspondent’s assertions about Islam first made the point that the Qur’an is full of references to “love” and “mercy” and “peace,” that where in the Qur’an violence appears, it was merely descriptive of what the early Muslims, suffering from the “relentless onslaught” of its enemies, were forced engage […]
Hugh Fitzgerald: John Hamed, Jr. and the Misrepresentation of Islam
John Hamed, Jr. is the public relations officer of the Islamic Society of New Castle, Ohio, who wrote a letter, purporting to correct misperceptions about Islam, to the New Castle News: We write this to take exception to the letter published Oct. 4 in the New Castle News, titled “America not the place for Muslims.” […]