Radio Hoax Exposes Anti-Muslim Sentiment in U.S.

[Tyrhael]

I'm going to bring up the radio hoax in Sociology class tomorrow and see what people think; hopefully I can start a debate over perception, hatred based on irrational fear, etc. We have an Albanian Sunni Muslim girl at our school, and everyone's fine with her religion; no one introduces her as 'the Muslim girl'; everyone knows her by her name, Fatmira. She's certainly done a lot to dissociate Islam with terrorism when she's talking about it at school.

[WampusCat]

Last year when my son's classmates were ordering little symbols to go on their school annuals, my son picked the star and crescent. When I asked if he realized it was an Islamic symbol, he said, "Of course! That's why I chose it. A friend of mine is Muslim and everybody gives him a hard time. I wanted him to know I was supporting him."



So if American Muslims were really required to wear a symbol, he would probably be first in line to pin one on. In fact, a couple of years ago for a school project he dressed like a German Jew from the 1940s, complete with yellow Star of David, and then wrote about how it felt to be ridiculed by the other kids all day (his school has a high redneck quotient).

[Jnyusa]

Bravo for your boy, Wampus!

Superwizard, the problem you talk about begins at the beginning of our educational system and extends throughout. There is utter silence regarding Islam and those areas of the world where Islam prevails. The same goes for Hinduism, Buddhism, Taosim, etc. It will take a whole generation (at least) to fix this, and only if we begin now. There is also the whole huge propaganda machine and the publishing industry that you are up against. It is not in their interest for you to succeed. First they silence you by denying you any voice in the textbooks or the media, and then they point to your muteness as proof that all Moslems agree with terrorism.

But don't give up, no matter how discouraging the results may be ... will be, undoubtedly, for a long time to come. It is possible to change people's perceptions. It just take a lot of concerted effort and a lot of time.

There is a quote from James Mitchner's The Drifters that has always stuck in my head, though I read it decades ago: "The only way to change a society is to replace it one person at a time."

Jn

[Inanna]

Wampus, I am SO impressed with your little boy. As a kid, I did all I could to "fit in".... and here he is taking on the world. WOW. Please tell him I really respect him for it.

Jn... I agree.... (as usual)

[superwizard]

Um ... as a member of the st00pfid media, I must point out that the moderate Muslims speaking out against extremism are not being locked out of coverage. Personally, I have published quite a few columns about the struggle of mainstream Muslims to reclaim their faith (most written by Muslims).

We also often publish letters written by local Muslims decrying religious-based violence. And within days we always receive letters from people saying that moderate Muslims NEVER speak out against terrorism.

Being in the newspaper business for 28 years has convinced me that readers only remember what makes them mad.

Alas I guess that's just human nature. To remember what angers you and forget what doesn't. I am glad to know that you are publishing those columns Wampus it really does help!

I'm going to bring up the radio hoax in Sociology class tomorrow and see what people think; hopefully I can start a debate over perception, hatred based on irrational fear, etc.

Please tell us how it went!

Last year when my son's classmates were ordering little symbols to go on their school annuals, my son picked the star and crescent. When I asked if he realized it was an Islamic symbol, he said, "Of course! That's why I chose it. A friend of mine is Muslim and everybody gives him a hard time. I wanted him to know I was supporting him."

You have one amazing child there Wampus! You must be a wonderful mother!

But don't give up, no matter how discouraging the results may be ... will be, undoubtedly, for a long time to come. It is possible to change people's perceptions. It just take a lot of concerted effort and a lot of time.

Oh don't worry I won't give up! Luckily for me I'm living right now in a very understanding place where people really are quite open-minded. When so many people have such negative stereotypes of you it really makes no sense for you to stop fighting them!

I just want to thank all of you for your support in my struggle. I know many of you can relate to my situation because you are also part of minorities that get discriminated against yourselves (Jews, Hindus, LGBT etc) and it really is nice to hear your words of encouragement. I also want to thank the HOF community for even before people here knew that they had a Muslim in their presence they were always respectful to Islam and really quite open-minded. Really if anyone has a specific question about Islam that they would like answered please feel free to contact me with the question and I'll try my best to answer it (I'm still an 18 year old after all). You guys really have helped convince me that this world isn't worth giving up on after all...

[WampusCat]

(And thanks for saying I must be a wonderful mother, because I'm quite sure I'm not. But my son is more compassionate and kind than any teenager I've ever known, despite how I might have warped him! )

[superwizard]

(And thanks for saying I must be a wonderful mother, because I'm quite sure I'm not. But my son is more compassionate and kind than any teenager I've ever known, despite how I might have warped him! )

I'm sure you had a great role in that Wampus!

[elfshadow]

Reading that kind of story makes me sick to my stomach. I just don't understand how people can be so fearful and ignorant and intolerant. I'm lucky to be in an environment that is openly accepting and encouraging of diverse religious beliefs (Georgetown is the only school in the nation, I believe, that employs a full-time Muslim imam), but it's not enough for education to be so localized. The problem is, how do we reach those places that are the least educated about real, actual Muslims, or Buddhists, or Hindus, or Jews, or atheists, or even Christians? We can all start by spreading messages of respect and goodwill on a very personal level, such as Wampus' son did. Of course, it can't stop there and for some of us can't even start there--I, personally, can't remember ever meeting someone who voiced such disgusting opinions about the treatment of Muslims in this country. Swiz, I think you've showed a fantastic example of how people in this country can become active in encouraging respectfulness and understanding...and we should intend to follow your example as best we can.

Lord_M said on the first page that education will take years to mend these wounds, and I completely agree. So we'd better get started as soon as possible.

[Jnyusa]

I just don't understand how people can be so fearful and ignorant and intolerant.

Elsha, I think you've put your finger on the main cause of such attitudes: fear.

When I hear anti-Semites talking about Jewish control of the country, and I know that there is no aspect of our public or corporate life where the numbers support such an interpretation, I realize that what is happening is that the minute they see a "Jewish face" on TV or hear a "Jewish name" in the press, they are hyper-aware of the Jewishness of the person (often misattributed, btw) and their first reaction is fear. They are unable to slide the person back into context and hear their opinion as one among many differing opinions. They are unable to see anything but the minority status of the person and any minority voice at all is perceived to be a threat.

I have no idea what causes this kind of worldview. Referring over to yov's thread where Mel Gibson was being discussed, you'd think that someone like Mel Gibson would be beyond feeling threatened by anyone. Yet he views the world as a place where a hidden conspiracy is out to get him. This is ... crazy. It's inexplicable how someone with his wealth and fame and control over the prospects of others could be dominated by fear, but what else can you call it when a man blames his traffic tickets on a Jewish conspiracy?

Jn

[superwizard]

I completely agree with Jn. It is fear that is te main reason that people mistreat minorities. Especially in the case of Muslims. 9/11 changed everything it was an awful day for America and the whole world but I don't think people really realize how badly muslims were affected that day. As a people how can we sympathize with those who have dragged our name through the mud? To make it worse the reason that they give is our religion. The very religion where you are strictly forbidden to ever kill a civilian/innocent person! After that day muslim became a word that triggered thoughts of violence and hatred. However these people are not my concern now the people who I'm interested in is the average joe. As Elsha said we better get started in trying to change people's opinions!

[axordil]

It's inexplicable how someone with his wealth and fame and control over the prospects of others could be dominated by fear

Often such wealth and fame et al only enable someone with latent paranoia or other mental illness to express it fully and with great flamboyance. Witness Henry Ford's anti-Semitism, or that Dupont heir's thing with the tanks and the US Olympic wrestling team. Take away accountability and the result is not more self-confidence but less.

[yovargas]

The more you have, the more you have to lose, I suppose.

[Inanna]

yes... I have often seen people who have everything the ones with most insecurity.

The problem is, how do we reach those places that are the least educated about real, actual Muslims, or Buddhists, or Hindus, or Jews, or atheists, or even Christians?

Any minority, actually. In India, Christians are the minority, though present to a large extent in the East and South. However the perceptions between Hindus is hardly something to write home about. The "Conversion" accusations have produced a big rift - something we can't deny, but I doubt it is being handled the correct way.

[Jnyusa]

superwiz, I was listening on the radio this evening to an interview with Susan Hirsch, a professor of anthropology specializing in Conflict Resolution at George Mason University in Arlington, VA.

She's got a new book out and that's what the interview was about.Here's the blurb from her website:

Susan’s newly released book, titled In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief and a Victim’s Quest for Justice (Princeton University Press), is a reflexive ethnography of her experiences of 1998 East African Embassy bombings and the subsequent trial of four defendants. She and her husband Abdulrahman Abdullah were running an errand at the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, when the bombings occurred, and he was killed. As a bombings victim Susan began attending the embassy bombings trial in New York City in January, 2001, and over the next six months came to study it as a legal anthropologist. The volume highlights the difficulties experienced by a terror victim who opposes the death penalty yet seeks to participate in a capital trial. Susan’s research interests and public speaking topics include controversies over Islamic law in the post-911 era, the politics of capital punishment and victims’ rights, debates over justice in the current war on terror, and new forms of global justice, such as the International Criminal Court.

She was talking on the radio about this knee-jerk fear reaction that leads to irrational responses, and she was so soft-spoken and reasonable and articulate, it was like breathing clean air to listen to her. She said that the title of the book is taken from the Hadith, and she chose those particular words of Mohammed because her husband had referred to them at his own father's deathbed. She gave a very moving explanation of the thesis of her book: patience. It was also of particular interest to me because her name, Hirsch, is a Jewish name and her husband was a Moslem. I suspect she has a truly unique perspective on our modern conflicts.

Jn

[superwizard]

Thanks for that information Jn!
I am always encouraged when I read about people writing books about this topic and saying stuff about it. Its really nice to read about people standing up for what they believe in especially if you strongly believe in it too. I forward to reading her book! (if I ever get the chance-time doesn't seem to like me very much lately!)

[nerdanel]

From the New York Times, a Virginia Republican warns us all about the latest threat to the traditional values that all Americans hold near and dear. (And suddenly, I feel an uncanny kinship with Muslim-Americans.)

I am outraged that a Muslim, or any non-Christian, would be expected by anyone to take an oath on the Christan holy book. But in addition to my personal outrage (and really, that's too weak a word) as a non-Christian, I am also shocked that a Christian would want a non-Christian to swear by their holy book, as it seems that non-believers swearing oaths on a holy book renders the oaths toothless, and weakens the relevance of said holy book. (Christians: imagine yourself taking an oath of office on the Koran or better yet, the Vedas or Bhagavadgita, and say what meaning placing your hand on a book with no religious significance to you would have.)

I am even more outraged (though I have way too much experience with Virginia Republicans to be surprised) at the bigoted suggestion that we should adopt "strict immigration policies" to exclude those of non-Christian faiths from the United States (I thought that we had our hands fully already just to exclude primarily Christian Latin Americans from the United States), and that those of us who are "incapable" of taking an oath on the Christian Bible (I assume this would include all or most non-Christians) should exclude ourselves from running for public office (thus, conveniently, ensuring that his ilk dominate the legislature.)

Lastly, I feel further outrage that I lost twenty minutes of sleep by reading, reacting to, and posting my outrage about this. Good night.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 — In a letter sent to hundreds of voters this month, Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia, warned that the recent election of the first Muslim to Congress posed a serious threat to the nation’s traditional values.

Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., left, said Keith Ellison’s decision to use a Koran in a private swearing in for the House of Representatives was a mistake.

Mr. Goode was referring to Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat and criminal defense lawyer who converted to Islam as a college student and was elected to the House in November. Mr. Ellison’s plan to use the Koran during his private swearing-in ceremony in January had outraged some Virginia voters, prompting Mr. Goode to issue a written response to them, a spokesman for Mr. Goode said.

In his letter, which was dated Dec. 5, Mr. Goode said that Americans needed to “wake up” or else there would “likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.”

“I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped,” said Mr. Goode, who vowed to use the Bible when taking his own oath of office.

Mr. Goode declined Wednesday to comment on his letter, which quickly stirred a furor among some Congressional Democrats and Muslim Americans, who accused him of bigotry and intolerance.

They noted that the Constitution specifically bars any religious screening of members of Congress and that the actual swearing in of those lawmakers occurs without any religious texts. The use of the Bible or Koran occurs only in private ceremonial events that take place after lawmakers have officially sworn to uphold the Constitution.

Mr. Ellison dismissed Mr. Goode’s comments, saying they seemed ill informed about his personal origins as well as about Constitutional protections of religious freedom. “I’m not an immigrant,” added Mr. Ellison, who traces his American ancestors back to 1742. “I’m an African-American.”

Since the November election, Mr. Ellison said, he has received hostile phone calls and e-mail messages along with some death threats. But in an interview on Wednesday, he emphasized that members of Congress and ordinary citizens had been overwhelmingly supportive and said he was focusing on setting up his Congressional office, getting phone lines hooked up and staff members hired, not on negative comments.

“I’m not a religious scholar, I’m a politician, and I do what politicians do, which is hopefully pass legislation to help the nation,” said Mr. Ellison, who said he planned to focus on secular issues like increasing the federal minimum wage and getting health insurance for the uninsured.

“I’m looking forward to making friends with Representative Goode, or at least getting to know him,” Mr. Ellison said, speaking by telephone from Minneapolis. “I want to let him know that there’s nothing to fear. The fact that there are many different faiths, many different colors and many different cultures in America is a great strength.”

In Washington, Brendan Daly, a spokesman for the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, called Mr. Goode’s letter “offensive.” Corey Saylor, legislative director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized what he described as Mr. Goode’s “message of intolerance.”

Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, urged Mr. Goode to reach out to Muslims in Virginia and learn “to dispel misconceptions instead of promoting them.”

“Keith Ellison serves as a great example of Muslim Americans in our nation, and he does not have to answer to you, to me or anyone else in regards to questions about his faith,” said Mr. Pascrell, whose district includes many Arab-Americans.

The fracas over Mr. Ellison’s decision to use the Koran during his personal swearing-in ceremony began last month when Dennis Prager, a conservative columnist and radio host, condemned the decision as one that would undermine American civilization.

“Ellison’s doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their greatest goal — the Islamicization of America,” said Mr. Prager, who said the Bible was the only relevant religious text in the United States.

“If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress,” Mr. Prager said.

In his letter, Mr. Goode echoed that view, saying that he did not “subscribe to using the Koran in any way.” He also called for ending illegal immigration and reducing legal immigration.

Linwood Duncan, a spokesman for Mr. Goode, said the Virginia lawmaker had no intention of backing down, despite the furor.

“He stands by the letter,” Mr. Duncan said. “He has no intention of apologizing.”

[superwizard]

Ah yes I read that article only a couple of hours ago and I was really outraged. At first I was confused like Nel on why someone would want another person to swear an oath on something he does not believe in. I always thought that the whole purpose of swearing on something was to make sure that they would not break that oath. Then it seemed apparent to me that he was just implying that anyone who does not believe in The Bible should not even be allowed to hold such a position. He really is showing quite obvious extreme islamophobia! I really cannot comprehend how such opinions in today's day and age can still be expressed without there being a public outrage over it. I’m disgusted.

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

I haven't read everything in the thread in detail, but I want to say that I understand your concern, superwizard.

My younger brother's wife is from Pakistan; she is a Sunni Muslim, and my brother converted to Islam before their marriage. My nieces (see cute picture of niece #1 below) are Muslim.

In northern New Jersey, where my brother lives, there is a sizable population of Pakistani and Indian populations, and (to the best of my knowledge) they get along very well. At least, I have seen my brother's wife Samina invite many Indian friends to their house, and to family functions, and she works amicably with many Indians, as well as many persons of numerous races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations.

The group of friends of whom I am speaking may be an exception. I do not know.

I can only speak of those I know.

My oldest brother's wife is from Osaka Japan. She was raised in Buddhist traditions, and converted to Catholicism when she married my oldest brother, who is an observant Catholic

My sister's husband is English (via Canada). I think that the closest description of her beliefs would be Deist/rationalist. She has rejected the Catholicism of her youth.

I was raised Catholic, but I am not observant. My other older brother is more observant than I, but with a strong rationalist and skeptical streak.

My mother is a devoted Catholic. My father is nominally Episcopalian, but not observant; he is really more of a Deist (theologically), while holding on to very conservative traditional Christian moral principles.

I think, and I hope, that as more people meet others who are not like themselves, that they will become more accepting of the "other".

My parents (especially my mother) found it difficult to accept my brother's conversion to Islam initially. This was not out of blind prejudice, but out of the firmly held belief that the Catholic religion in which she raised him is the truth, and that turning away from it was a very real theological error. It was also a very emotional reaction.

On a lesser scale, she also disagrees with some of the cultural baggage that went along with this (as others would disagree with the cultural baggage that goes with Catholicism). For example, she (and many of my Aunts and Uncles) were offended by the notion that men and women must be separated in Mosque, as happened at the wedding of my brother and his wife.

But she accepted it as a condition of the love of her son that she would abide by that tradition, as my brother accepted his conversion to Islam as a condition of his love for the woman his wished to marry. Her parents (and tradition) made it abundantly clear that she could not marry a man who was not a Muslim, and it was important to both of them to have her parent's acceptance. They believed that my parents would more readily accept his conversion to Islam (despite initial trepidations) as a fait accompli than that her parents would permit her to marry (or even be acquainted familiarly with) a man who was not a Muslim. (The fact that they had already met at school and known each other for years was an uncomfortable fact that Samina was reluctant to reveal, since her parents would not have approved. Samina's older sister was married in an arranged marriage to a man she had never met, and her parents had begun to indicate that they had such plans for Samina, and she finally had to object and tell them about Ken. At that point, Ken was already deep in his studies at Mosque because Samina and he had determined that this was the only way.)

There were more such cultural issues that engender misunderstanding, such as the fact that dancing was prohibited at the wedding reception. It is a tradition in America that the mother dances with her son at his wedding. She never got to do this.

There are a thousand small things like this that people who are less understanding than my mother would be willing to escalate into distrust or hatred, and apart from the smaller things I have mentioned, there are larger, more substantial, concerns.

I understand that may of these things are cultural, and not necessarily a part of Islam, but many of the cultural issues are strongly bound up with religion, nevertheless.

For most people in a modern Western culture, this has to do with several issues: women's rights and roles, which are perceived as backward in most Islamic cultures, and freedom from compulsion (freedom of speech, thought and action being of paramount importance)--concepts such as jizya and Sharia law, for example, are offered as evidence against Islam.

One of the things that people fear about Islam is that many who speak (or claim to speak) for Islam present ideas such as jizya and Sharia law as things that they would wish to establish in the West--to bring the West under the submission of Islam, and all that that entails in its harshest form.

And, to be honest, I personally find the ideas of jizya and Sharia law repugnant, and I am opposed to them. However, concern about such ideas is not the same as fear or hatred of people of a certain religion. I also find many ideas in the history of Christianity repugnant--tying citizenship rights to a particular religion (akin to jizya) was not uncommon in many European countries in the past. (A relic of this still exists in name laws in some countries.) Another example is permitting religious authorities to act with the power of life and death (as with the Inquisition), which is similar in many respects to what I would find troubling about Sharia.

It is a complex issue.

In a "perfect" world, my mother should not be uncomfortable with her son's conversion to Islam.

At the same time, it should not have been necessary for him to convert to Islam due to the narrow-mindedness of Samina's parents--and Samina and Ken have acknowledged that this is the reason for their mutual decision that he convert. But they accept it, and they decided that they would rather be together and happy (inshallah) and willing to submit, than apart and unhappy.

BrianIs AtYou

PS

The following is a poem that I wrote shortly before my brother married and shortly after he had been introduced to Samina's parents. The "you" of the poem is Samina's mother. I wrote this before I had ever met Samina's mother, but the various details came from what I had heard. Also appearing or mentioned are Samina's sister, brother-in-law, niece, brother, sister-in-law and Father in various roles (somewhat fictionalized but all based on facts).

Faithful

One daughter you call sacred:
for she heeded tribal ways
and returned to Pathan hills
to meet her chosen one.
The granddaughter
she gives you
is Jasmin
wrapped in muslin,
and you teach her
of the Prophet.
She bows
and mumbles baby talk
as you turn five times to Mecca
past the towers of the skyline.

Your son you call a wayward child,
you will not think of him:
his Chinese wife laughs with the men,
and the pictures from Hawaii
show her kissing for the camera--
her bare neckline reveals
smooth porcelain and pearls;
her silken mouth
and diamond teeth
sip at cold champagne.

One daughter you call headstrong,
as she invites
a pale skinned stranger
to sit with you at table.
Quiet in the kitchen,
as (you think) befits a woman,
you pretend to read another Sura
and hide your little Jasmin in your lap.
You sneak a glance
past the well-thumbed Koran
as your husband stands
to shake the pale one’s hand;
your daughter’s fingers wander
as each hand finds the other,
her eyes upon the stranger,
no cover for her hair.

Your husband was once a village boy:
Now he speaks and he stares
at the short cropped hair
and patient stubble
of the stranger,
who rubs his chin
and nods at tales
of falling towers
and an old man’s blindness--
of a mud hut in the mountains,
and the long, long journey
from Pathan hills
to ramshackle Karachi--
to the slums of Jersey City
where the sky to the East is empty now
when the Faithful turn to Mecca.

[superwizard]

Wow Brian that really you really have quite a diverse family religiously and culturally! Indeed there are definitely barriers between Muslims and other Americans but it is mostly (as you correctly assumed) du to cultural not religion. I'm happy for your brother and his wife and I really do hope they live a long happy prosperous life together
PS: Beautiful poem

[Voronwë the Faithful]

An interesting tidbit that I just learned is that the Quran that Rep. Ellison used for his swearing in was once owned by Thomas Jefferson. Ellison said "he chose to use this Quran because it showed that a visionary like Jefferson believed that wisdom could be gleaned from many sources".

We need all the wisdom we can glean from any possible source.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/200701 ... 4B380.html