Anti-Muslim attacks on the rise in the United States
Salaam Alaikum!No, Muslims are not imagining things, no, we're not being paranoid, no we're not just inventing things because we "hate the west," no we're not panicking... Attacks on Muslims really did rise by 52% in 2004 - yes, this really did happen. This was reported in a recently released study conducted by the Muslim civil rights organization CAIR.
Particularly disturbing, but not surprising, for anyone who knows anything about police abuse, and racial profiling in the United States:
Jim Lobe writes
the number of incidents reportedly involving some form of police or law-enforcement abuse, such as unreasonable arrests, detentions, and searches, rose sharply in 2004, constituting more than one-fourth of all cases of abuse or discrimination...
While CAIR does a good job of documenting abuses, and publicizing individual cases of anti-Muslim discrimination, and attacks - they can be a bit too apologetic. Nihad Awad (executive director of CAIR) calls on George Bush (you know, the guy who attacked and invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, that resulted in the killing of at least a hundred thousand Muslims) to "speak up."
From Jim Lobe's article again:
Still, CAIR's executive director, Nihad Awad, stressed that Islamophobia remained a critical problem and called on President George W. Bush, whose public statements against Islamophobia have been widely praised by civil-liberties and Muslim activists, "to once again speak up on behalf of the rights of Muslims," if for no other reason than to make U.S. public diplomacy toward the Muslim world more credible."American Muslims are a crucial resource in bridging the gap between Americans and Muslims worldwide," said Awad. "We can't promote democracy abroad if we have such problems at home. Our community is fearful."
Well, OK - I understand the need for "diplomatic language" - but seriously, appealing to Bush on the basis of "promoting democracy"? We have seen what "democracy promotion" looks like - do Muslim Americans really want to be a "bridge" for such a "project"?
Well, maybe certain "progressive/moderate" type Muslims do...
posted by redwood at
5/12/2005 12:03:00 PM
1 comment(s):
Well many in the muslim (and other) communities still believe that the system is just misguided and if we join and help them we can lead them to the correct path.
while in certain cases or with certain individuals this may be true, the overall foundations of the system are founded on unjust grounds.
"If anyone walks with an oppressor to strengthen, knowing that he is an oppressor, he has gone forth from Islam." - Prophet Muhammad (sawaw)
By
malangbaba, at
5/21/2005 12:45:00 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home