Yet Another Post About Hate Against Muslims

My apologies to all those readers who waited patiently through our brief hiatus of posts for our return, only to receive two of my posts in one week about hate against Muslims. Unfortunately, there is a lot to post about.

I was particularly bothered today when, upon reading the latest news, I found an article by the Associated Press about a Clinton staffer who resigned her position after forwarding a chain e-mail to friends and colleagues insinuating that Barak Obama is a Muslim who wants to destroy the United States by being elected to the office of the President.

That is not what bothered me, though. What bothered me was the paragraph that immediately followed, consisting of a single sentence:

"Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and has never been a Muslim."

It seems to me that the author of this article has completely missed the point. The problem with the e-mail was not that Senator Obama is not a Muslim; the problem with the e-mail is that it equated Islam with subversive behavior and treasonous activities.

Whether or not Senator Obama is or has ever been a Muslim is immaterial to his campaign. If religion must play a role in the political discussion, although I often wish it didn't, let it be the path by which candidates discuss their personal stance on controversial issues, their attitudes towards others and goals for the future, their beliefs about themselves and the world in which we live. Religion is not a tool by which we can judge others based on our personal prejudices and mass stereotypes.


Full text of the article is available here.

Is All Hate Created Equal?

In a country that discusses tolerance as a rule and acceptance as an ideal, do Americans find some hate speech more, well, hateful than others?

In a recent article published by the Christian Science Monitor, correspondent Omar Sacirbey thinks the answer might be a resounding yes.

The latest debate has been sparked by Michael Savage's comments on his nationally syndicated radio show telling listeners that Muslims should be deported, along with rude comments about what they could do with their religion.

Although a number of individuals and corporations have since pulled their advertisements from the show, the comments did not create the same furor that got radio host Dan Imus fired after he denigrated a black women's basketball team. This has led many to question whether the consequences for hate speech against Muslims is less harsh than against other groups.

As the article expounds:

Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson resigned his post as head of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York after suggesting in October that black people are less intelligent than other races. ABC executives decided this year not to invite actor Isaiah Washington back to the cast of the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy" after he allegedly used an antigay slur. When presidential candidate Jesse Jackson failed to distance himself from anti-Semitic remarks made by Louis Farrakhan in 1983, his campaign suffered. Sen. Trent Lott (R) of Mississippi resigned as majority leader in 2002 after jokingly suggesting that America would be better off today had Strom Thurmond, the late South Carolina senator, won the presidency in 1948, when he campaigned as a segregationist.

On the other hand, presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani has endured little scrutiny for touting an endorsement this month from TV evangelist and onetime presidential candidate Pat Robertson, who has called Islam "Satanic" and the prophet Muhammad "a wild-eyed fanatic."

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 35 percent of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of Muslims, and increase from 29 percent in March of 2002. The same survey shows a rise in the number of people who say Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, is tolerance a rule only for those we believe deserve tolerance?

Rabbi Speaks at Muslim Convention

At the opening of the 44^th annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention last Friday, Rabbi Yoffei, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, gave a speech encouraging Jews and Muslims to work towards an open dialogue so that “they can inspire and strengthen one another to fight fanatics and work to promote the values of justice and love that are common to both faiths.”

Educating Americans about the true nature of Islam, and fighting against the stereotypes portrayed in the media was also the focus of Yoffei’s speech. Moreover, he encourages education about Judaism in order to combat anti-Semitism.

My favorite part of his speech was when he said, “you cannot honor a religion of peace through violence; you cannot honor God if you do not honor the image of God in every human being; and you cannot get to heaven by creating hell on earth.” You can read his entire speech here.

The Union For Reform Judaism includes more than 900 congregations and 1.5 million Jews, while the ISNA convention included around 30,000 people.

Religious Books Banned in Prisons; Islam Blamed

I recently came across an article from the Jewish Week discussing the newest victims to the war on terror: prison inmates.

Prisons have enacted regulations to limit the amount of religious texts accessible to prison inmates, removing all but 150 books per religion from prison chapels. As the Jewish Week explains, prison officials are fearful that religious texts, particularly Muslim books, are used to promote violence in prisons. As a result, religious texts have been banned and removed, leaving some Jewish prisoners without access to even the Torah. As the author laments, "Jewish inmates appear to have become the unintended victims."

We must question, though, why Muslims are the intended victims of these regulations.

According to an article by FoxNews, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Feldman told U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain that the removal stemmed from a Department of Justice review done in April of 2004 of the way prisons choose Muslim religious service providers. Feldman said that the study was done because of a concern that prisons "had been radicalized by inmates who were practicing or espousing various extreme forms of religion, specifically Islam, which exposed security risks to the prisons and beyond the prisons to the public at large."

It scares me that our very own government, our own Department of Justice issues reports implying that Islam is a religion that incites violence and poses a threat to our country.

What scares me even more is that our government is in the business of limiting what we are allowed to read.

Imams in America

I read a very interesting article last week in the New York Times called “A Growing Demand for the American Imam.” The article discusses how many imams in America come from overseas, which is increasingly presenting a conflict between the imams and American society. Even though many imams barely speak English, older Muslims often find a sense of familiarity with home. However, foreign born and taught imams aren’t always meeting the needs of the younger generation.

Other imams are trying to incorporate as much American society as possible, such as discussing topics of love and relationships on Valentine’s Day. Imams in the Middle East probably wouldn’t be happy with that idea! The first generation of American-born Muslims are now graduating from college and mosques are seeking more imams who can give advice on issues such as drugs, dating, and even how to set up 401K plans for charitable purposes.

The problem is that there are no real training programs for imams in the United States. Many of the men acting as imams are volunteers who are also doctors and lawyers who have not been trained in Islamic Law or studied the Qur'an and its commentaries in depth. This has opened up a discussion about how much education one must have to be an imam in America. This is difficult, especially in light of the fact that in Sunni Islam there is no hierarchy.

Experts say the problem is exacerbated because few immigrant parents want their children to become imams, but want them to become doctors, engineers, and scientists. As Dr. Bazian comments, “If you suggested that they might want their kid to study to become an imam, they would hold a funeral procession.”

Some fear that this problem will lead to young people becoming disconnected with their own religion and will lead them to abandon it or be attracted to fringe groups.

Of course this situation is not a one new; many other religious communities have been faced this same problem, or still are.

Which group is spreading hate?

I just received an e-mail from the Horowitz Freedom Foundation inviting me to join their new Terrorism Awareness Program on April 19th, when they will stage a nationwide "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Day." They will even offer me a free copy of the movie, "Obsession: The New Documentary About Radical Islam's War Against the West," if I agree to do a screening on my campus.

It amazes me. It amazes me that there are groups out there that actually propagate such hate, and even more so, it amazes me that they believe that they are doing a service to others. It amazes me that they cannot see the beauty in a religion such as Islam, and it amazes me that instead they can only see hatred. Worse than that, it amazes me that they cannot see the hatred that exists within them. Most of all, it amazes me that they would even think to send me such an e-mail, that there might even be the slightest possibility that I would join their cause and spread their message.

To Mr. Jeffrey Wiener: I suggest you remove me from your mailing list.

British Proposal to Allow Regulations on Muslim Veils in Schools

Last month in Great Britain, a 12-year-old girl was denied the right to wear her niqab in school. Following this ruling, the British government has proposed to give the right to individual schools to prohibit the full-face veil worn by Islamic women. The reasoning behind this proposal is mostly security related (as the safety of children is the number one concern): faculty, staff and students would be unable to identify an intruder if dressed in the religious garb. Authorities also reason that the niqab may make other students may feel uncomfortable and that teachers would be unable to assertain a student's comprehension of material if her face is hidden behind a veil. Muslim organizations in Great Britain are offended as this action, on a certain level, allows descrimination against their faith. These organizations are rallying for the issue to be resolved within schools and discussed amongst the parents of all students. What do you think?

Georgia Mayor Converts to Islam

In 1999 Jack Ellis became the first African American mayor of Macon, Georgia, and now he has become its first Muslim mayor. Although raised as a Christian, Ellis has been studying the Qur’an for several years, and he says that Islam is a part of his family history, since his ancestors practiced Islam before coming to America as slaves. During a visit in December to Senegal in west Africa, Ellis went through the conversion ceremony to become a Sunni Muslim. Now he is trying to change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis. Changing one's name is favorable for new converts, but it is not a requirement.

The mayor never anticipated that his conversion would attract national media attention. His story was even covered by CNN.

Ellis is unsure how his conversion will affect his political career, considering he lives in a state dominated by Baptist churches. His term expires this year, but he does not yet have a long term plan, nor is he concerned right now about how people will react to his conversion. While Ellis is not the first Muslim to hold a political office, he may be the first one to convert to Islam while in office.

Muslim Joins Israeli Cabinet

For the first time in its 58-year history, the Israeli parliament has voted a Muslim into a Cabinet-minister position-- and by a wide margin!

Raleb Majadele was seated today after a vote of 59-23 in the Knesset in favor of his appointment. His position gives representation to Israeli Arabs who make up about 20-percent of the 7-million citizens of Israel. As Majadele told AP Television News, his goals as a Cabinet minister will be ''promoting coexistence between the two peoples inside the state, and promoting dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis toward negotiations and political agreement.''

Israel's 120-member Knesset currently includes 13 Arab members. Majadele joins only one other individual to be an Arab Cabinet minister: Salah Tarif, a Druse, was appointed in 2001 and forced to resign nine months later under a cloud of corrupt allegations.

Today's Youth: Multi-Religious

Generation Y has been characterized as “directionless, lacking in community ties and meaningful participation in community life.” Now, more people are beginning to realize that Generation Y does have a strong and often quite spiritual sense of direction, although a less traditional one than that of previous generations.

According to a recent study, the children of Baby Boomers “see themselves as having the freedom to figure out who they are, to explore their relationship with God and spirituality, and to determine their place in society. This generation is characterized by open mindedness and tolerance, believing that people should do their own thing, even if it seems strange to others.”

Gillian Siple is a perfect example. Asked to describe herself in one word, her answer is simply “spiritual.” Siple, a religion major at Davidson College in North Carolina, lived for a year in China, Thailand and India. She meditated in monasteries and ashrams, lived and studied among Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus.

Back at Davidson College, though, she attends Christian prayer and fellowship meetings. She also meditates based on the teachings she learned in Thailand. “Siple calls herself a Christian pluralist, open to the possibility of the validity of other religious traditions.”

"You do what you feel is right for your religious practice," Siple says. "I think that is what our generation is screaming for right now. People want not to be told what they should do, but to figure it out for themselves."

Are Americans Learning Hate from the Pulpit?

By Rori Picker, Associate for Interfaith Relations, RFP-USA

My last blog post spoke about Muslim Americans and the discrimination that they face in America. As I quoted, the cover story of USA Today on August 9, 2006 reported that:

Thirty-nine percent of respondents to the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll said they felt at least some prejudice against Muslims. The same percentage favored requiring Muslims, including U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID "as a means of preventing terrorist attacks in the United States." About one-third said U.S. Muslims were sympathetic to al-Qaeda, and 22% said they wouldn't want Muslims as neighbors.

And actions speak louder than words. According to 2005 Hate Crime Statistics released by the US Department of Justice, anti-Islamic hate crimes were the second most prevalent type of hate crime reported last year. Although the worst wave of violence against Muslims and Arabs subsided three months after September 11, the FBI reports a significant rise in hate crimes against these two groups compared to before 9/11.

And these numbers continue to steadily rise. According to a 2005 report on the Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States, published by the Center on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the number of incident reports of civil rights cases in 2004 rose 49-percent compared with reported cases in 2003 and marked the highest number of cases reported to CAIR in their eleven year history.

Where do we learn this hate? An article in the November 8, 2006 St. Louis Today points out that we might just be getting it from the pulpit.

The Rev. David Clippard, executive director the Missouri Baptist Covention, a fellowship of 2,000 Baptist congregations, spoke at their annual conference last week and "chose to fan the flames of intolerance and fear." Amidst applause and cheers he declared to the 1,200 convention delegates:

"Today, Islam has a strategic plan to defeat and occupy America. They are after your sons and daughters... Your freedon is on the floor with their foot on it, with their sword raised, and if you don't convert, your head comes off."

This is only one example of what has become a prevalent trend in temples of all forms of faith traditions.These messages of hate are perhaps the most frightening because of the weight that they carry. Congregants give respect to their clergy and respect to the pulpit, and when a leader of a faith community stands before a congregation and preaches hate, people listen. When those sermons are met with applause and cheers, the clergy continue to spread their message.

The American public must speak up and protest such messages. When individuals hear their spiritual leader spreading such messages, they must voice their opinions or write their concerns-- they must express their disapproval. They must make it very clear that those are not the type of messages they want preached. If the message is not heard, more congregants should be encouraged to voice their concerns. Messages of hate should never be tolerated.

The media often refers to political tensions as "religious wars" or "the clash of civilizations." Let us not get confused by the rhetoric. These wars are most often political wars fought over governmental and economic factors. They only become religious wars when we allow our religious leaders to teach us hate.

Let us not allow hate to be preached from our pulpits.

The Burden on Muslim Americans

By Rori Picker, Associate for Interfaith Relations, RFP-USA

On September 11, 2006 approximately 200 individuals from a myriad of faith and cultural traditions came together for the second 9/11 Unity Walk (the first in New York City). The walk began in Union Square Park at the Gandhi statue with a celebration of the centennial of Gandhian nonviolence and ended at the World Trade Center with a memorial for the victims of the September 11th tragedies. The message was one of peace, love, hope and unity.

Throughout the closing ceremony in St. Peter's Cathedral in downtown Manhattan I watched with a sense of awe and inspiration as one religious leader after another stepped forward to deliver a prayer or message of peace. As the Muslim representatives stood, I felt their extra burden as they tried to grieve along with their fellow attendants at the horrors of that day while trying to grapple with the discrimination they now face as a result. When a representative of the Sikh faith rose to deliver his message, he moved the audience, recounting the violence Sikhs have also faced since September 11th by individuals believing them to be Muslims. The first victim fell only five days after the planes hit.

As he spoke I could not help but look at some of the Muslims sitting around me and wonder what they must have been feeling at that very moment. What must it feel like to live with the knowledge that not only would someone harm you purely based on your faith tradition, but that others have been killed because someone believed them to be like you? Is it really possible for a group of people to live with the burden placed on them by the American public?

Thirty-nine percent of respondents to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll said they felt at least some prejudice against Muslims. The same percentage favored requiring Muslims, including U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID "as a means of preventing terrorist attacks in the United States." About one-third said U.S. Muslims were sympathetic to al-Qaeda, and 22% said they wouldn't want Muslims as neighbors.

That burden is taking its toll. According to a study of 611 adults by Mona Amer of the Yale University School of Medicine, about half of Arab-Americans had symptoms of clinical depression, an impressive number compared to the 20% in an average U.S. group.

However, the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll also indicates that Muslims in America might be treated better if Americans knew them. 58% of respondents said that they had never met a Muslim, and those who did know Muslims felt a lot better about them.

On November 16, 2006 The People Speak is going to host an online discussion of Muslim-American college students from all across the country to confront these issues and many more. You can post your question or comment any time before or during the November 16 chat.

(Please note: you must be a registered user of The People Speak site to participate in the forum. Register online today.)