- Islamophobia is alive and well in the US, starting with
the authorities down to individuals such as radio talk show host Jay Severin
who, according to the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR,) claimed that Muslims want to take over America even if it takes
centuries, adding "I've got an idea. Let's all kill Muslims."
Amazingly Severin is still in his job, although he has been forced to apologize
on air.
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- CAIR has also filed complaints over an offensive skit
on the March 10 Bill Handel show on KFI AM 640 entitled "the New Iraqi
Constitution - Handelized." In it, a voice purporting to be that of
a Muslim says: "Kill all Jews" and complains of "the infidel
custom of bathing on a regular basis."
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- The council has additionally demanded an apology from
syndicated radio commentator Paul Harvey, who when talking about cockfighting
in Iraq, said, "Add to the thirst for blood a religion which encourages
killing, and it is entirely understandable if Americans come to this bloody
party unprepared."
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- Last November, syndicated talk show host Dr. Laura, heard
by 12 million listeners, is said by CAIR to have "crossed the line
from legitimate commentary on terrorism to Islamophobic bigotry."
Her rant began when she was asked by a mother whether her 16-year-old daughter
should be allowed to attend a local mosque to learn how "Muslims are
treated" in America.
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- Answered the wizened physiologist: "...You're joking
of course. How many Americans have tortured and murdered Muslims... I think
you ought to stand up against this class and this teacher. This is despicable.
You tell him you are willing to go to the mosque only if it is one that
has done its best to root out terrorists in its midst..."
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- But such ignorance and hatred isn't confined to radio
hosts. CAIR campaigned to have US General William G. Boykin, the undersecretary
for Defense on Intelligence, removed from office last year, after he referred
to Islam as an idolatrous, sacrilegious religion against which "we
are waging a holy war." While discussing his efforts to capture a
Muslim Somali warlord, Boykin said, "I knew my God was bigger than
his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."
-
- CAIR earlier fought against George W. Bush's nomination
of "pro-Israel commentator Daniel Pipes - who many American Muslims
regard as the nation's leading Islamophobe - to join the board of the United
States Institute of Peace, a federal institution created by Congress."
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- On Oct. 21, 2001, Pipes stated before a convention of
the American Jewish Congress: "I worry very much, from the Jewish
point of view, that the presence, and increased stature, and affluence,
and enfranchisement of American Muslims... will present true dangers to
American Jews."
-
- Indeed, Pipes calls for increased surveillance of American
Muslims in an article, which appeared in the Jerusalem Post. "There
is no escaping the unfortunate fact that Muslim government employees in
law enforcement, the military, and the diplomatic corps need to be watched
for connections to terrorism," he wrote.
-
- Pipes has also been quoted as saying: "Palestinians
are miserable people... and they deserve to be," while his website,
"Campus Watch," which kept dossiers on professors thought to
be critical of Israel, has attracted controversy.
-
- The above all share a single trait and that is astonishing
ignorance. Severin, for example, complains Muslims plan on taking over
America, when it is Americans, who have, in the past three years invaded
and occupied two Muslim countries, while supporting the Israeli occupation
of another.
-
- Handel gives the impression that Muslims are shy of bathing,
when due to the fact Muslims have to perform ablutions five times a day
before prayer, they are probably among the cleanest people on earth. It
is doubtful that Handel knows about the Eastern custom of washing themselves
and their dishes in running water and using the right hand for eating,
with the left reserved for toilet functions. Harvey obviously has no idea
of the peaceful nature of Islam or that the word itself means "submission"
with the most popular greeting being "peace."
-
- And as for Dr. Laura, who asks how many Americans have
tortured and murdered Muslims, the fact that the US is responsible for
the deaths of tens of thousands of Afghans, up to 15,000 Iraqi civilians,
and the torture and abuse of detainees in Bagram, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo
must have entirely escaped her notice.
-
- It is surely ironic that Boykin refers to Islam as an
idolatrous religion when just the opposite is the case. Islam does not
allow representations of either human or animal form whether depicted in
paintings or sculpture. This is why the interiors of mosques are simple,
decorated only with geometric patterns and calligraphic designs.
-
- When it comes to Pipes, he is so bathed in discrimination,
bias and paranoia that he doesn't merit a response.
-
- But it isn't only influential individuals such as these
who have an ax to grind against Muslims. In New Jersey and Texas, mosques
have been targeted by vandals, who dumped dead fish outside the entrance
to one, and liquor bottles inside an Islamic Educational Center. Inside
a Muslim community center in Florida, was written "Kill all Muslims"
while in Missouri, a Nazi swastika and "die" were painted on
an extension to the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis.
-
- A message received by CAIR read: it may be time to "take
Muslims hostage here in America, adding: "I believe the time is coming
when Muslims will not be safe inside the US borders."
-
- Responding to this growing and deeply disturbing trend,
CAIR has published a "Muslim Community Safety Kit" containing
information "designed to equip local Islamic leaders and activists
with the knowledge necessary to protect against anti-Muslim bigotry or
attacks."
-
- However what is really required is a sea change in education
and attitudes in the US, where a mere 14 percent of the population possesses
a passport and relatively few have even met a Muslim, let alone befriended
one.
-
- Whoever said: "Fear plus ignorance equals evil"
was right on the mark. It's ignorance, more than anything else, which must
be combated if tolerance and respect for other faiths can ever reign on
our planet.
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- - Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East
affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevine@yahoo.co.uk
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rights reserved. http://onlinejournal.com/Commentary/070904Heard/070904heard.html
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