Muslims in a Post 9/11 World
Abdul Malik
Introduction
Following
the September 11, 2001 attacks using passenger airplanes that destroyed the
twin towers in New York City, part of the Pentagon, as well as another plane
over Pennsylvania, the media highlighted isolated groups of Muslims celebrating
these tragic events, insinuating that this was representative of the Muslim
worldview even though the majority of the world’s Muslims were just as outraged
at this atrocity. Later surveys also showed that some Muslims did not believe
that their brethren were involved in the attacks. Fueling this doubt was the
fact that Building 7, which was not hit with anything, also crumbled to the
ground later that same day. Furthermore, the BBC revealed that four of the
alleged hijackers were still alive.[1] Conspiracy theories aside,
some Muslims refused to acknowledge that a few bearded extremists hanging out
in Afghan caves could have planned and actually pulled off such a spectacular
attack that took nearly 3,000 innocent American lives. The fact is that in all
nations, irrespective of religious denomination, there is a small percentage of
radicals who believe in violence to achieve their goals, but the Western media
have given Muslims a unique distinction – their extremism (associated with a
very small percentage of the world’s Muslims) has been linked with the Qur’an
and Islam as the guiding force for any heinous crimes that Muslims commit. Such
a connection was never made between Irish terrorists and Catholicism, for
example, or the Hindu extremists who rioted and destroyed the Babri mosque in
Ayodhya, India, because it was allegedly built where a Hindu temple once stood
centuries ago – a highly controversial (and possibly fabricated) claim that
nonetheless resulted in the slaughter of thousands of Muslims.[2]
Following
the 9/11 catastrophe, President Bush visited a mosque in
Deliberate Deceptions
The
administration’s first trickery involved glossing over the root cause of Muslim
grievances, which is an unfair US foreign policy towards the Muslim world,[5]
and instead conveying to the American people (and the world) that Muslim
extremists hate freedom and democracy. While terrorism (be it by individuals,
groups, or nation States) cannot be justified under any circumstances,[6]
I have yet to read or see a media report claiming that any terrorist
(regardless of religious affiliation) commits their crimes against innocents
because of a hatred for freedom and democracy. But the biggest treachery was
yet to come. With the UN as its medium, the Bush administration (using then
Secretary of State Colin Powell) claimed that the brutal Iraqi dictator (Saddam
Hussein) had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in his possession. This
preposterous claim was propagated despite more than a decade of UN inspections
and crippling sanctions (following the first Iraq war in 1991) that killed more
than a million Iraqis, many of them children – these numbers are disputed and
might just be in the hundreds of thousands, and do not include over a million
more Iraqis killed as a result of the current invasion.[7] Moreover,
the administration continuously pitched to the public the notion that Saddam
Hussein had links to “al Qaida” and a role in 9/11, which turned out to be
another blatant lie.[8] These deliberate deceptions, with the help
of nearly all of the mainstream media parroting the administration’s position
and a public salivating for vengeance, facilitated the illegal invasion of
Iraq. The hijackers who flew the planes into the twin towers were supposedly
from
Even
prior to Bush’s presidential inauguration on January 20, 2001, the embassy of
With
the fall of the former Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Project
for the New American Century (PNAC – a right-wing group of neoconservatives or
“neocons”) felt that the
Five
years after the invasion, none of the much vaunted WMDs have been found, and a
former administration official (Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan) and
the current Republican presidential nominee (John McCain) have indicated that
the invasion was really about oil.[14] It is no surprise then that
the rationale for the war keeps changing – first to stop the proliferation and
potential use of WMDs, then Saddam’s imaginary involvement in 9/11, then
bringing freedom and democracy to the Iraqis, then keeping the oil from falling
into the hands of terrorists, and so on. Prior to the
The Politics of Fear
President
Teddy Roosevelt once warned Americans that “the
only thing they have to fear is fear itself.”[16] During the more than six years since the 9/11 tragedy, the Bush administration seems to have taken a different tact, i.e., the only thing that Americans have to fear is not enough fear.[17] Arabs/Muslims who were not permanent residents or citizens were told to show up for special registration, and many were rounded up and “interned” or deported. All Muslims were treated as “guilty until proven innocent”, even though the majority of them are just “mainstream” and trying to have a peaceful life and enjoy the American dream.[18]
Since 9/11, probably no other community was scrutinized and spied upon as the
American Muslim community, and except for a few minor infractions or visa
violations, no terrorist group or plot has been uncovered. A few Muslims were
arrested for allegedly planning terrorist activities, which the media and
government officials highlighted with great fanfare, but analysis showed that
most (if not all) of these accusations were tenuous at best, and the
incarcerations were a result of them being entrapped, or given one of two
options: plead guilty and go to jail for a limited term, or refuse to plead
guilty and be treated as “enemy combatants” with no chance of a court hearing
and the possibility of being incarcerated indefinitely.[19]
With
the introduction of a color coded warning system, Americans were frequently cautioned
about terrorism so that they live in constant fear of another attack on the
scale of 9/11 being possible at any given moment from the enemy neighbor
(Muslims). With a string of
The
Europeans, not to be outdone, having previously passed laws that criminalize
Holocaust denial and the glorification of Nazism, have permitted “open season”
when it comes to the denigration of the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad under the
guise of freedom of expression (obviously selective). The double standards and
bigotry are no longer subtle.[23] The Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC), an inter-governmental group made up of 57 States, recently decided to take
action to try and stem the tide of racism, but their leadership is reactive as
usual, nothing more than symbolic, and unlikely to achieve any concrete
results.[24]
Fear of Islam
On
an almost daily basis, the American public is fed a diet of hate against Islam
and Muslims on the Internet, talk radio, and cable TV. So called “experts” on
terrorism and Islam have coined terms like “Islamofascism”, conveying that
there is some global movement for Islamic domination of the world. These “experts”
frequently quote the Qur’an as the source of everything that is evil about
Islam (the word Islam actually means peace), but they seldom provide any
evidence. Muslim organizations have in turn created their own term for this
prejudice – Islamophobia.
Outside of the print media, rarely discussed on talk radio and cable TV is the propriety and ethics of a wide range of attacks and slander heaped upon Muslim symbols, values, and religious personage – perpetrated by Western governments, conservative/right-wing political windbags, and other established media entities. These include:
·
The amendment to
the French constitution in 2004 banning “conspicuous religious symbols” in government-operated schools, a law considered by many to be specifically targeted towards the headscarf worn by Muslim schoolgirls;
·
The scornful
libel of the Danish cartoons published and re-published by European media
against Islam and its noble Prophet, an act without any social or educational
redeeming value;
·
The Pope’s disparaging
·
The
As
someone who has read and studied both the Qur’an and Bible, I have yet to find
anything in the Qur’an remotely resembling the following verses (there are many
others):[26]
… Thus were both the daughters of
… Neither left she her whoredoms brought from
… For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of
asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses… (Ezekiel 23:1-49, also see
Ezekiel 16:1-40)
… Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every
woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that
have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves… (Numbers
31:17-18)
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send
peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her
mother in law. (Matthew 10:34,35)
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)
But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them,
bring hither, and slay them before me. [Luke 19:27]
Muslim
researchers, writers, and political commentators have accorded the Bible due
respect as the sacred gospel of Jews and Christians, and have stayed away from slandering
it, even though some of their Judeo-Christian brethren seem to be following the
above-noted immoral and highly objectionable statements codified in their
religious doctrine when it comes to lambasting Islam and Muslims.
For
comparative purposes, the following few verses from the Qur’an have often been
(mis)used and misrepresented by so called Western “terrorism experts,” who
quote them freely to support the misconception that violence is enshrined in
Islam’s sacred Book:[27]
And slay
them wherever you may come upon them, and drive them away from wherever they
drove you away – for oppression is even worse than killing. And fight not
against them near the Inviolable House of Worship unless they fight against you
there first; but if they fight against you, slay them: such shall be the
recompense of those who deny the truth. (Q2:191)
They would
love to see you deny the truth even as they have denied it, so that you should
be like them. Do not, therefore, take them for your allies until they forsake
the domain of evil for the sake of God; and if they revert to [open] enmity,
seize them and slay them wherever you may find them. And do not take any of
them for your ally or giver of succour… (Q4:89)
You will
find [that there are] others who would like to be safe from you as well as safe
from their own folk, [but who,] whenever they are faced anew with temptation to
evil, plunge into it headlong. Hence, if they do not let you be, and do not
offer you peace, and do not stay their hands, seize them and slay them whenever
you come upon them: for it is against these that We have clearly empowered you
[to make war]. (Q4:91)
The
fact is that the above quoted Qur’anic verses are without doubt related to the
self-defense of the early fledgling Muslim community against a hardened,
oppressive Meccan enemy, which tried its utmost to liquidate the early
adherents of Islam. What is to be noted in these verses is that permission to
fight the enemy is temporary and only to be used as a last resort! However, the
true context of these verses has universally been ignored by Western
commentators, who deliberately select only portions from these quotes, labeled
“verses of the sword” to highlight their scholastic incompetence and prejudiced
interpretation.
One
foundation verse of the Qur’an also states:
On that
account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone slew a person –
unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as
if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he
saved the life of the whole people. (Q5:32)
This
powerful verse (and others too numerous to quote) clearly indicates the idea of
peace as the central overall message of the Qur’an. I have to strongly emphasize
here that this brief comparison of Qur’anic and Biblical verses depicted above
is not meant in any way to disparage the Bible (since the Qur’an describes Jews
and Christians as “People of the Book” who are eligible for heaven – Q2:62,
also 5:69), but to remind the “experts” that those “who live in glass houses
should not throw stones”:
"Judge not, that you be not judged, for with what judgment you
judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be
measured to you again. Why behold you see the mote that is in your brother's
eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?" [Matthew 7:1-3]
As
a result of constant fear-mongering and hyperbole, Americans now have a more
unfavorable opinion of Islam and Muslims than they did immediately following
the 9/11 attacks. Samuel Huntington proposed the idea that with the end of the
Cold War between the Soviets and US, the new enemy is the Muslim world and
there will be an inevitable “Clash of Civilizations.” Perhaps the goal of the
latest “crusade” in the
Muslim Defamation of Islam
Muslims are not blameless and have played a role in misrepresenting Islam, thus assisting with its defamation. If they do not comprehend their religion, how can they accurately present it to non-Muslims? A few areas of distortion include the barbaric punishment of stoning to death for adultery (still
practiced in some countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Iran, Saudi
Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), the death penalty for apostasy, the
second class status of women and non-Muslims in a so called “Islamic State”
under Shari’a (perceived
religious/Islamic law), promoting cultural baggage as creedal obligations, and
a general intolerance for differing viewpoints that are not in alignment with
traditional Muslim thought. The problem starts with many of the self-proclaimed
Muslim scholars who are essentially untrained. The majority of those who are trained
attend sectarian religious institutions that specialize in memorizing and
propagating medieval thought. The few contemporary thinkers and scholars, whose
academic and intellectual credentials are unquestioned, are for the most part
not popularly known. The result is that the traditional ‘ulama’ (self-proclaimed scholars) are merely repeating and passing
down today the same half-baked rulings from centuries ago, leaving the lay
Muslim population not only confused but vulnerable to inflexible and intolerant
ideas from the retrograde thinkers of the "Deoband"
and "Wahhabite" radical fringe.
For
example, one popular issue that has polarized the traditional scholars from
modern thinkers and theologians concerns the punishment for adultery. The
majority of Muslims (including jurists) believe that stoning to death is the
prescribed punishment for committing adultery, when a little research and
common sense proves otherwise. In fact, the Qur’an actually stipulates 100
lashes as the punishment for adultery. Of course there has to be four
witnesses, so this would indicate that sexual impropriety is endemic in society
for four people to witness the act (see Q24:2-4). Stoning to death is Jewish
law (see Leviticus 20, also Ezekiel
16), and derived from the hadith/Sunnah (the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings
and actions passed down verbally through several generations and then
documented about 200 years after his death).[29] Since most Muslims
have been conditioned to believe in the sanctity of the hadith, they feel that these are on par with the Qur’an. This
places Muslims in a perennial dilemma as they are always trying to find ways to
reconcile contradictions between the Qur’an and hadith, sometimes twisting the Qur’anic interpretation of verses to
harmonize them with the hadith. An
example can be seen in the plagiarized version of Yusuf Ali’s translation of
the Qur’an published by the King Fahd Holy Qur’an Printing Complex, where the
Saudis added the following commentary for the applicable verse mentioned above
(footnote 2954):
“Although
zina covers both fornication and adultery, in the opinion of Muslim jurists,
the punishment laid down here applies only to unmarried persons. As for married
persons, their punishment, according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be on
him), is stoning to death.”
The
Qur’an did not make any distinction between married and unmarried people, so it
is unthinkable that the Prophet Muhammad would have ignored the Qur’anic
dictate. The misinformation about stoning being Qur’anic legislation can be
found in Caryle Murphy’s “Passion For Islam”, Robert Fisk’s “The Great War for
Civilisation”, and R.T. Naylor’s “Satanic Purses” (to name a few works) – these
are all great books by respectable authors. One can only presume that these
authors took for granted that Muslims understood their religion, so they (the
authors) just repeated the “stoning to death” punishment verbatim as a Qur’anic
decree in their books.
On
the issue of apostasy, again there are no Qur’anic verses that mention the
death penalty for apostasy. This would be contradictory since the Qur’an
clearly states: There shall be no
coercion in matters of faith.(Q2:256) The idea of punishment for apostasy
had nothing to do with religion but with subversion of the state, or sedition,
and comes from the hadith. Until
recently, many Western countries executed spies for treason, and this is still
the case in some parts of the world.[30]
Recently,
some Muslims living in the West have been pushing for Shari’a as an alternative source of legislation in conjunction with
secular law. The Prophet Muhammad never instituted Shari’a (as it is
understood and implemented today) during his lifetime, nor did any of his
immediate successors. The evolution of Shari’a occurred centuries after
the Prophet’s death, and is now erroneously believed by many Muslims to be a
divine injunction. Contrary to popular belief, Shari’a is not divine
law, but "fiqh" or
human interpretation of what is deemed to be divine law.
Some years ago, I was listening to National Public
Radio in the
In
retrospect, Shari’a was much more
equitable and humane compared to European law up until the 18th century,
however, European/Western legislation has continued to evolve and is now
regarded as “more civilized” than Shari’a.[32]
The problem with this stagnation is that many Muslims view Qur’anic decrees as
immutable, and as such, believe that women and non-Muslims are not eligible for
equitable status in a so called Islamic state. This is not the view of some
progressive Muslim scholars, who propose that these Qur’anic rulings were meant
as a blueprint for the continuous evolution of legislation and not “written in
stone”. For example, the verses that half the inheritance for women and require
two female witnesses (as opposed to a single male) were laying the foundation
for the emancipation of women in a traditional setting, and not necessarily
permanent injunctions.[33] Many
Muslims who advocate Shari’a are probably unaware that it has not been updated for centuries
and is inherently biased against women (regardless of denomination) and non-Muslims.
The checks and balances that Shari’a
provided in the past where there was a balance of power between the scholars
and Muslim leaders no longer exist in today’s world of despotic “Muslim”
leaders. Besides, Shari’a violates
some sections of the internationally recognized UN Charter on Human Rights and
ironically, some Muslim countries that promote Shari’a are signatories
to the very same UN charter.[34]
Probably no other symbol in Islam conveys the
oppression of Muslim women (real or perceived) more than the headscarf (hijab).
In response, some Muslim women have claimed (in what would seem oxymoronic)
that they find the head-covering “liberating”. Taking “liberation” to the extreme is the face-veil (niqab). Like other pre-Islamic/Judeo-Christian
beliefs and practices that Muslims have adopted and refined throughout the
centuries (including but not limited to the second coming of Jesus, stoning to
death, punishment in the grave, and the soul as a separate entity), the
headscarf now symbolizes how Muslim women are supposed to dress. This
centuries-old dress code was given sanctity when someone alleged that the
Prophet Muhammad stated that only a woman’s hands and face must be seen when
she reaches the age of puberty. Some
believe that the primary objective of the headscarf is to make women appear
less sexually attractive to men, as hair is considered part of a woman’s
beauty. Muslim women are also required to make themselves less conspicuous as
some societies still practice “honor killings” if a female relative’s name gets
tarnished.[35]
It would seem absurd then that a Muslim woman would
take a job as a flight attendant, which requires
dealing primarily with a male clientele, and serving alcohol and pork (items
prohibited in Islam), then make a “civil rights” argument for wearing the
head-covering. The first question that comes to mind is how this woman got the
job in the first place, did she interview without the headscarf (which is
deceitful)? There was also a case of a Muslim firefighter who wanted to keep a
beard, even though for years the fire department’s code has been that beards
are hazardous in their line of work. There were also cases of Muslims insisting
on praying in the aisles of planes and restricting the movement of other
passengers and flight attendants while they carry out their religious duties,
ignoring the fact that in Islam, the safety of the majority takes precedence
over inconveniencing others.
The wearing of the face-covering even under the
guise of freedom of religion should not be permitted given its societal
implications – it should come as no
surprise that people have robbed businesses dressed this way. Muslim women who, under freedom of religion,
want to wear the headscarf as an icon of identification (like Catholic nuns), make
a political statement, or based on personal interpretation, should be allowed
to do so, especially when constitutional rights provide such freedoms. The same
goes for men with beards. However, some Muslims living in the West feel that their individual rights
supersede business and communal rules, and as such they are empowered to
endanger themselves and others, when there is no society that I know of (Muslim
or non-Muslim) that treats individual privileges as paramount to societal
rights.
Personal interpretations of religious obligations
should not be used as an excuse to force changes to established societal rules.
Muslims often ignore the historical context and reasoning behind some
traditions, and erroneously believe that
exposed hair (and in a minority of cases an exposed face) is tantamount to
promiscuity. Both the head-covering and face-veil are cultural practices that
have become ingrained in Islam as religious symbols, analogous to the
amalgamation of pagan traditions like the worship of the “evergreen tree” and
December 25th – the birthday of the Roman sun god – into Christianity during
the eight centuries that it took the Europeans to accept Christianity. But even
in the face of compelling evidence, it is difficult to discard beliefs and practices
(in any faith) that have been established for over a millennium.
There is no denying that there are legitimate cases
of discrimination and these should be aggressively pursued. But there are also
many trivial cases (as outlined above) that just serve to further demonize
Islam. Muslims (and their affiliated organizations) should be careful when
pursuing litigation that their cases are legitimate civil rights issues, and
not based on self interests or a warped interpretation of religious
requirements. More importantly, these Muslims need to carefully choose their
battles. For, while focusing on having their way, some Muslims neglect to think
about the damaging publicity and detrimental effects that their actions have on
the Muslim community as a whole, as these are the cases that the media
repeatedly focus on (especially is a post 9/11 environment). Muslims should be
careful to convey that these customs are their personal views or interpretation
of religious obligations, and not compulsory requirements in Islam, which has
negative connotations and leaves an impression of inflexibility in the name of
religion. Muslim organizations seem to
miss this point also, and instead of looking at these cases objectively, they
swallow the “civil rights” bait
wholesale, and go after businesses claiming discrimination under the guise of
Muslim women’s “religiously mandated” obligation to cover up.
Theocratic
rule may have worked in a medieval setting, but it is anachronistic today in
any pluralistic society. Religious dogma
suppresses critical thinking, results in intolerance for multiple viewpoints,
and in extreme cases internecine warfare. As the Egyptian judge/scholar
Al-Ashmawy discerned, how can you have a theocratic government when the Qur’an
(from which Shari’a is supposedly derived) states that religion cannot
be imposed on people? As expected, Al-Ashmawy has been under a death threat for
decades for his rational views, one being that the term “religiously mandated”
is somewhat of a paradox.[36] This is just one of many examples of a
lack of debate and religious intolerance from fringe extremists in the Muslim
world, and is typical of some Muslim responses to any deviation from their
perspective of the norm. Even in the West, Muslims trying to work towards an
Islamic reformation are hounded on two fronts: some of their fellow Muslims who
view any changes to the status quo as tantamount to heresy, and some non-Muslims
who treat all Muslims as suspects, albeit with tacit government and media
encouragement.
Truth and Consequences:
Retrospective on
"Make
the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe
it." – Adolf Hitler.
"Naturally
the common people don't want war; neither in
The
above quotes from the Nazi era are just as applicable today, in fact, the
evidence suggests that the same playbook might be in use and history is
repeating itself. During May 2002 through July 2005, there are at least
fourteen documented instances of the US administration playing the “terrorism”
card (including a sprinkling of Bin Laden videos for good measure) to keep
instilling fear in the public and distract attention from damaging political
issues.[37] Furthermore, the US administration issued 935 false
statements in the two years following the 9/11 attacks and leading up to the
invasion of Iraq, no ordinary feat but easily accomplished if the mainstream
media is asleep, coerced, or complicit with the government in its mendacity.[38]
While the public remains sedated under a cloud of fear and the administration
is busy chasing ghosts,[39] the national debt continues to skyrocket
at over $9 trillion and counting, the deficit is out of control, the dollar is
on a nosedive, and new estimates for the Iraq war place the cost at $3 to $5
trillion.[40] The national infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) is
disintegrating and the economy is on the verge of financial ruin. In the
“richest” country in the world, over 36 million people live in poverty, and a
recent survey found that 47% of Americans are struggling in life. Furthermore, “tent
cities” reminiscent of third world refugee camps are springing up.[41]
Meanwhile, the administration continues to incinerate trillions of dollars in a
misguided and futile war, burdening current and future generations with a
seemingly insurmountable debt.[42]
As
the 20th century approached and the
Dehumanizing
those who are to be systematically “subdued” and “immolated”, and referring to
them in derogatory terms make the carnage more palatable. Like the Native
Americans (red savages), Africans and
Filipinos (niggers), Vietnamese (gooks), and others before, the Iraqis
have been portrayed as subhuman and the soldiers commonly use racist terms like
“rag-heads” and “sand-niggers” in reference to them. Euphemisms provide a
convenient subterfuge for war crimes, so the current genocide of the
Iraqis passes under the rubric of “shock and awe”, and torture is
“extraordinary rendition” and “water-boarding”. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”, and
the present “crusade” is proof that our leaders have learned nothing from the
lessons of history.[44]
There
was a realization at the end of the 19th century that the majority of
sacrifices for wars was borne by the poor, while the few who are already rich
reap additional benefits. President Eisenhower warned Americans in his farewell
speech in January 1961 about the increasing power and influence of the
military-industrial complex.[45] To date, his warning is ostensibly
unheeded. Contractors who deal in military hardware and services have seen
profits hit the roof, and oil companies have also seen record gains.[46]
To supplement the troops and avoid reinstating an unpopular military draft,
which rapidly depleted public support for the Vietnam war, mercenaries (who
outnumber the troops) are now employed to make up for any shortfall.[47]
These steps along with declining media coverage have not prevented the war from
becoming increasingly unpopular, with 81% of the public now believing that the
nation is on the wrong course.[48] One also has to question the
vested interests of some congressional representatives in the rush to war, as
several of them have investments in defense companies and stand to make huge
profits as the war continues.[49]
Ironically,
after starting what appears to be a “war for oil” (which was supposed to be a
cakewalk with “Mission Accomplished” a mere two months thereafter, not to
mention the Iraqi welcome for US soldiers with “sweets and flowers”), it
appears that the administration and neocon cabal not only underestimated the
length of the conflict (five years and counting), but also did not have a clue
regarding the amount of oil that would be needed for maintaining a long and
drawn out occupation. There are 157,000
While
terrorism (which a tiny minority of extremists view as a viable response to
unfair policies and hubris) remains a danger, the main threat from the Muslim
world is any disruption to the free flow of oil to Western nations. Two thirds
of this coveted resource is located in Muslim lands, so any reluctance on the
part of leaders to acquiesce to Western demands presents a threat. The
perpetual “war on terror” is the perfect mechanism for ensuring that compliant
dictators remain in power, and replacing the rebellious ones with “friendly”
despots (as is being attempted in Iraq).[52] Meanwhile, the number
of US troops now killed has surpassed 4,000, and tens of thousands are
physically injured, not to mention hundreds of thousands suffering from post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other “invisible” war-related symptoms.[53]
Seldom mentioned is the enormous price in blood that the Iraqis are paying,
with over one million dead and counting. A majority of Americans now believe
that victory in
The Way Forward
The
US, once looked upon as a beacon and model for democracy and human rights, has
seen its image around the world plunge to an all time low following the illegal
invasion of Iraq, not to mention its disregard for the UN and flagrant violation
of the Geneva Conventions. The US image in the world now calls to mind places
like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay – the
gulag of our times – known for prisoner abuse and torture.[55]
Polls show that a majority of Europeans (traditional allies) view the US as the
biggest threat to world peace and global stability.[56] Whether or
not this will change will depend in large part on the next US administration,
as the current one is more enamored with its chicanery and does not seem to
care what the world thinks.[57]
There
are tens of millions of Muslims who live in North America, Europe,
Historically,
enemies are recurrent and a new one emerges every decade or two. Former Russian
President Mikhail Gorbachev believes that "The
It
is not yet absolutely clear what the latest “crusade” in the Muslim world and
especially the harassment of Muslims living in the West is supposed to achieve.
Is it all about oil, fear of Islam, enriching corporations that profit from war
and oil, the influence of the Christian evangelical right, arrogance,
stupidity, or some combination? The great civil rights leader and peace
activist Martin Luther King (whose life is commemorated annually in the
Muslims
the world over will face several challenges in the coming years. Many highlight
the contributions of Islamic civilizations from a millennia ago,[63]
and are now content with focusing their energies on minutiae and trivia
revolving around religious beliefs and practices. In the 21st century, Muslims
cannot even reach a consensus on how to start and end a lunar month. The Muslim
world is the most backward politically, economically, and scientifically.[64]
Meanwhile, the rest of the world steams ahead pushing the limits of creativity
in education and science/technology. As Muslim scholars living in the West have
observed, an Islamic reformation will have to come from “Western Muslims”
because "Muslim countries" do not provide a conducive environment for promoting such a
fundamental and much needed change.[65] Akbar Ahmed noted that the
current state of the world’s Muslims is due in large part to a failure of
Muslim leadership, both on the political and religious fronts. The West, in
particular the US, is also to blame for its missteps in foreign policy and the
latest misadventure, which could potentially lead to a “clash of
civilizations”, when what is needed instead is a “dialogue of civilizations”.[66]
Muslims
in the West have to become more self reliant and eliminate their dependency on
funding from abroad (Muslim countries) for building mosques, schools, etc.,
which usually comes with strings attached. They also need to stop looking to
“foreign scholars and imams
(priests)” for advice, as these “alien advisors” are usually unfamiliar with
Western culture and thus disconnected from reality. Recently I visited a mosque for a funeral prayer (janaza),
where the majority of the adherents were of Pakistani origin. The women were
physically separated from the men with a barrier that stretched from the floor
to the ceiling, but that wasn’t enough. Every time the women’s voices got
beyond an acceptable level, i.e., audible enough to be heard, an elderly,
bearded gentleman would bang his walking stick loudly against the barrier to
indicate that the women needed to pipe down, as their “sexy” voices were
obviously a distraction to the pious male segment of the congregation. Needless
to say, the men did not have any decibel restrictions, and were quite
boisterous by comparison. This retrogressive, Wahhabi/Taliban mentality that is
still prevalent in some countries has no place in the West (or the
Muslim world for that matter), and will hopefully disappear as these fossils
find their rightful place in a different realm and are replaced by future
generations of Muslims.[67]
The
majority of the world’s population (regardless of faith) prefer peace over
conflict. Muslims have to be patient, continue their interfaith dialogue and help educate non-Muslims about the true teachings of Islam (which some organizations started following 9/11), and work with people who have the common goals of justice and harmony. It is in the best interests of American Muslims to see the
Despite the odds being stacked against them,[70]
it is incumbent upon Muslims to build their own “Western identity” while
sticking to Islamic principles, demonstrate measurable progress towards an
Islamic transformation, and build a more just and peaceful world, following the
Qur’anic advice: O You who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in
upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though
it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk. Whether the person
concerned be rich or poor, God's claim takes precedence over [the claims of]
either of them. Do not, then, follow your own desires, lest you swerve from
justice: for if you distort [the truth], behold, God is indeed aware of all
that you do! (Q4:135)
Works Cited
1.
Wikipedia. Celebrations of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Retrieved
April 6, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrations_of_the_September_11,_2001_attacks
9-11
Research. Building 7 – The September 11th Attack. Retrieved March 9,
2008 from the World Wide Web: http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/attack/wtc7.html#leveling
(2001,
September 23). Hijack 'suspects' alive and well. BBC News. Retrieved
March 9, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm
2.
(2005, July 5). Timeline: Ayodhya crisis. BBC News. Retrieved March 9,
2008 from the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1844930.stm
3.
Unger, Craig. (2007, November 13). The Fall of the House of Bush: The Untold
Story of How a Band of True Believers Seized the Executive Branch, Started the
Walt,
Stephen M. (2006, October 5). Misreading the tea leaves: US missteps on
foreign policy. The
4.
Naylor, R. T. (2006, August 3). Satanic Purses: Money, Myth, And
Misinformation in the War on Terror. McGill-Queen's University Press.
5.
Chomsky, Noam. (2004, August 12). Hegemony or Survival:
6.
The New International Webster’s
Dictionary defines “terrorism” as follows: “The
act or practice of terrorizing, especially by violence committed for political
purposes, as by a government seeking to intimidate a populace or by
revolutionaries seeking to overthrow a government, compel the release of
prisoners, etc.” While this definition seems pretty straightforward, it
appears that the United Nations and its member States have yet to reach a
consensus on what constitutes “terrorism”.
(2005, July
26). UN seeks definition of terrorism.
BBC News. Retrieved May 4, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4716957.stm
7. Cortright, David.
(2001, December 3). A Hard Look at
Susman,
Tina. (2007, September 14). Poll:
Civilian Death Toll in
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/14/3839
8.
Strobel, Warren P. (2008, March 10). Exhaustive review finds no link between
Saddam and al Qaida. McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved March 13, 2008 from
the World Wide Web: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/29959.html
9.
Unger, Craig. (2007, November 13). The Fall of the House of Bush: The Untold
Story of How a Band of True Believers Seized the Executive Branch, Started the
10.
Risen, James. (2006, January 3). State of
11.
(2000, September). Rebuilding
Scheuer,
Michael. (2008, May 2). Douglas Feith's
War and Decision: Life in a Neocon's Parallel Universe. Retrieved May 2,
2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.antiwar.com/scheuer/?articleid=12771
12.
Follath, Erich; Goetz, John; Rosenbach, Marcel; and Stark, Holger. (2008, March
22). The Real Story Of 'Curveball': How German Intelligence Helped Justify
the
(2005,
May 1). The secret
Strong,
Morgan. (2008, March 30). PBS on
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/032908b.html
Ackerman,
Spencer. (2008, March 19). Fast and Loose With the Facts: How Two Leading
Journalists Played the Public to Help Bush Sell His War. The
13.
Lynch, Colum. (2008, March 23).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/22/AR2008032201020_pf.html
14.
Adams, Richard. (2007, September 17). Invasion of
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/17/iraq.oil
Aigner-Treworgy,
Adam. (2008, May 2). McCain:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/02/974014.aspx
Schwartz,
Michael. (2007, October 30). Why Did We Invade
Lando,
Ben. (2008, April 14).
15.
Donnelly, John. (2006, August 31). Alarm sounds on US population boom.
The
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/08/31/alarm_sounds_on_us_population_boom
16.
The White House. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Retrieved March 9, 2008 from the
World Wide Web: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html
17.
Naylor, R. T. (2006, August 3). Satanic Purses: Money, Myth, And
Misinformation in the War on Terror. McGill-Queen's University Press.
18.
Ibid.
Lobe,
Jim. (2007, May 23). Survey Finds
19.
Naylor, R. T. (2006, August 3). Satanic Purses: Money, Myth, And
Misinformation in the War on Terror. McGill-Queen's University Press.
Gage,
Julienne. (2008, April 17). 2nd Mistrial in '
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR2008041603607.html
20. Perry, Tom.
(2008, May 1). Critic accuses
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080501/en_nm/arabs_critic_dc_1
21.
Isikoff, Michael; and Hosenball, Mark.
(2008, April 30). Just Between Us:
Telecoms and the Bush administration talked about how to keep their
surveillance program under wraps. Newsweek. Retrieved May 2, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.newsweek.com/id/134930
Byrne,
John. (2008, April 8). Documents prove FBI has national eavesdropping
program that tracks IMs, emails and cell phones. Retrieved April 9, 2008
from the World Wide Web: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/FBI_linked_to_national_eavesdropping_program_0408.html
22.
Elliott, Andrea. (2005, May 13). Reported hate crimes against Muslims rise
in
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/12/news/islam.php
(2008,
April 6). Vandals desecrate Muslim graves in northern
http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/06/europe/france.php
23.
Alexander, Gerard. (2006, April 10). Illiberal
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/055sbhvq.asp
24.
Callimachi, Rukmini. (2008, March 14). Muslim Nations: Defame Islam, get
sued? Yahoo News/Associated Press. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from the World
Wide Web: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080314/ap_on_re_af/islamic_summit_islamophobia
25. Bittermann,
Jim. (2004, February 10).
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/10/france.headscarves/index.html
Spencer,
Julien. (2008, February 19). Republished Danish Cartoon of Prophet Muhammad
Ignites Tensions. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 9, 2008
from the World Wide Web: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0219/p99s01-duts.html
(2006,
September 20). Pope's speech at
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=46474
Harris,
Dan. (
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=130009&page=1
26.
The Holy Bible King James Version. (2006, February 28). Retrieved March
9, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.biblegateway.com
Fighting Against Immorality
in Religion.
Retrieved March 13, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.evilbible.com
27.
Asad, Muhammad. (2003, December). The Message of The Quran. Retrieved
March 9, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.islamicity.com/QuranSearch
28.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1593/
Huntington,
Samuel P. (January 28, 1998). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of
World Order. Simon & Schuster: 1st Edition.
29.
Naveed, Baseer. (2008, April 11). Why was a couple stoned to death? UPI
Asia Online. Retrieved April 15, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.upiasiaonline.com/Human_Rights/2008/04/11/why_was_a_couple_stoned_to_death/1280
Ahmad,
Kassim. (1997). Hadith: A Re-Evaluation. Retrieved April 18, 2008 from
the World Wide Web: http://www.submission.org/HADITH2.HTM
30.
Wikipedia. Treason. Retrieved April 20, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitor
31.
Qutb, Sayyid. (1980). Milestones. International Islamic Federation of
Student Organizations. The Holy Koran Publishing House.
32.
Feldman, Noah. (2008, March 16). Why Shariah? The New York Times.
Retrieved March 16, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
33.
Rahman, Fazlur. (1989, June). Major Themes of the Quran. Bibliotheca
Islamica; 2nd Edition.
34.
An-Na'im, Abdullahi Ahmed. (1990, May). Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil
Liberties, Human Rights, and International Law.
An-Na’im,
Abdullahi Ahmed. (2008, March 20). Thomas Jefferson, Islam and the State.
Retrieved April 15, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abdullahi-ahmed-annaim/thomas-jefferson-islam-a_b_92533.html
35.
Mayell, Hillary. (2002, February 12). Thousands of Women Killed for Family
"Honor". National Geographic News. Retrieved May 6, 2008 from the
World Wide Web:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html
36.
Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn. (2002, January 2). Against Islamic Extremism: The
Writings of Muhammad Sa'id al-'Ashmawy. University Press of
37.
Olbermann, Keith. (2007, December 26). Truth and Consequences: Special
Comments on the Bush Administration's War on American Values. Random House;
1st Edition.
38.
Froomkin, Dan. (2008, April 3). Intimidating the Press. The
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/04/03/BL2008040302203.html
Lewis,
Charles; and Reading-Smith, Mark. False Pretenses: Following 9/11, President
Bush and seven top officials of his administration waged a carefully
orchestrated campaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam
Hussein's
39.
Lawson, Guy. (2008, February 7). The Fear Factory: The FBI now has more than
100 task forces devoted exclusively to fighting terrorism. But is the
government manufacturing ghosts? Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved March
16, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18137343/the_fear_factory
40.
National Debt Clocks and Savings Clocks. Retrieved March 17, 2008 from
the World Wide Web: http://zfacts.com/p/461.html
Cowan,
Richard. (2008, March 13). Economists see long-term ills from
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=84085
Ward,
Olivia. (2008, March 16). $3 trillion is just a part of the cost. The
Schumer,
Charles E.; and Maloney, Carolyn B. (2007, November 13). War at Any Price?:
The Total Economic Costs of the War Beyond the Federal Budget. A Report by
the Joint Economic Committee. Retrieved April 6, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2007/Iraq-War-Costs-JEC13nov07.htm
Ferguson,
Nick. (2008, April 14). The true cost of the
http://www.financeasia.com/article.aspx?CIaNID=73579
41.
Schoen, John W. (2007, August 3).
Historical Poverty
Tables.
Retrieved April 7, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov2.html
Fox,
Maggie. (2008, April 29). Many Americans struggling in life, survey finds.
Yahoo News/Reuters. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080429/hl_nm/wellbeing_usa_dc_1
D'Innocenzio,
Anne. (2008, April 29). Americans unload
prized belongings to make ends meet. Yahoo News/Associated Press. Retrieved May 2, 2008 from the World Wide
Web: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_bi_ge/cashing_out_the_attic
Kelly,
David. (2008, March 18). '
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-tents18mar18,1,7073495.story
42.
Broder, John M. (2008, April 14). Views on money for
Paltrow,
Scot. (2008, May). The Pentagon's $1
Trillion Problem: The Defense Department has spent billions to fix its
antiquated financial systems. So why does the Pentagon still have no idea where
its money goes? Portfolio.com. Retrieved May 4, 2008 from the World Wide
Web:
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/04/14/Pentagons-Accounting-Mess
43.
Zinn, Howard. (2005, August 2). A People's History of the
44.
Fisk, Robert. (2008, March 19). The only lesson we ever learn is that we
never learn. The Independent. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from the World Wide
Web:
45.
Military-industrial complex. SourceWatch Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from the World Wide
Web:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Military-industrial_complex
46. Taibbi,
Matt. (2007, September 6). The Great
Rose,
David. (2007, November). The People vs.
the Profiteers. Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 2, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/halliburton200711?printable=true¤tPage=all
(2008, May
1). Exxon Mobil reports $11B in quarterly
profits.
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/othercities/dallas/stories/2008/04/28/daily44.html
47.
Scahill, Jeremy. (2007, February 15). Blackwater: The Rise of the World's
Most Powerful Mercenary Army. Nation Books.
48.
Leonhardt David; and Connelly, Marjorie. (2008, April 4). 81% in
49.
Flaherty, Anne. (2008, April 3). Lawmakers heavily invested in defense.
Yahoo News/Associated Press. Retrieved April 6 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080403/ap_on_go_co/congress_defense_investments
50.
Bryce, Robert. (2008, March 10). Oil for War. The American Conservative.
Retrieved March 16, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://amconmag.com/2008/2008_03_10/cover.html
51.
(2008, May 7). Oil price 'may hit $200 a barrel'. BBC News. Retrieved
May 8, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7387203.stm
52.
Mufson, Steven (2008, March 16). A Crude Case For War? The
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/14/AR2008031403677.html
Lauria,
Joe. (2008, April 13). The Coming War with
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-lauria/the-coming-war-with-iran_b_96428.html
Porter,
Gareth. (2008, May 5). Pentagon Targeted
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42241
53.
Morgan, David. (2008, April 17). Study says 300,000
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080417/hl_nm/iraq_usa_health_dc
White,
Michael. (2008).
Malbran,
Pia. (2008, April 14). Military Releases High Casualty Figures. CBS
News. Retrieved April 15, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/14/cbsnews_investigates/main4012249.shtml
54.
Reid, Angus (2008, March 20). Victory Impossible in
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/30201
Landay,
Jonathan S.; and Walcott, John. (2008, April 17). Pentagon institute calls
Byrne,
John. (2008, May 2). Ex-Iraq commander
accuses Bush Administration of 'gross incompetence'. The Raw Story.
Retrieved May 4, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/ExIraq_commander_says_Bush_Administration_grossly_0502.html
Page,
Susan. (2008, April 22.) Bush's
disapproval rating worst of any president in 70 years.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080422/a_pollbox22.art.htm
55.
Lobe, Jim. (2007, June 27) US Image Abroad Still Sinking. Inter Press Service.
Retrieved April 13, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38346
Norton-Taylor,
Richard. (2008, April 19). Top Bush aides pushed for Guantánamo torture.
The Guardian. Retrieved April 20, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/19/guantanamo.usa
Barstow,
David. (2008, April 20.) Behind Military Analysts, the Pentagon’s Hidden
Hand. The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/washington/20generals.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
56.
Reid, Angus. (2006, September 05). Europeans See
57.
Fisk, Robert. (2008, April 12). Semantics can't mask Bush's chicanery.
Retrieved April 13, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fisk/robert-fisk-semantics-cant-mask-bushs-chicanery-808171.html
58.
Zeitvogel, Karin. (2008, February 27). Major survey challenges Western
perceptions of Islam. Yahoo News/AFP. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the
World Wide Web: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080227/ts_alt_afp/usislamreligionethics
Esposito
John L.; and Mogahed, Dalia (2008, April 3). Muslim true/false.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-esposito2apr02,0,5220274.story?track=rss
59. Blomfield, Adrian and
Smith, Mike. (2008, May 7). Gorbachev: US
could start new Cold War. The Telegraph. Retrieved May 8, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
Margolis,
Eric. (2008, March 9). Another ‘red scare'. Khaleej Times. Retrieved
March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
Zaracostas,
John. (2008, April 18).
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/china/article3767910.ece
Havely,
Joe. (2005, May 5). Giant aspires to superpower status. Retrieved April
13, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/04/29/eyeonchina.superpower/index.html
60.
Corn, David. (2008, March 12). McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam.
Mother Jones. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
Raimondo,
Justin. (2008, February 11). The Madness
of John McCain: A militarist suffering from acute narcissism and armed with the
Bush Doctrine is not fit to be commander in chief. The American
Conservative. Retrieved May 2, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.amconmag.com/2008/2008_02_11/cover.html
61. Potter,
Joseph. (2008, May 1). War and the
Morality of Americans. LewRockwell.com. Retrieved May 2, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/potter5.html
Vance,
Laurence M. (2008, May 2). Christianity
and War:
http://www.antiwar.com/bandow/?articleid=12767
62. Amadeo, Kimberly. The
(2008,
March 20). Rank Order – Current account balance. Retrieved April 13,
2008 from the World Wide Web:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2187rank.html
63.
Vallely, Paul. (2006, March 25). How Muslim inventors changed the world.
Retrieved April 7, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/science/archive/060325/science3.htm
1001 Inventions:
Discover the Muslim Heritage in our World. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from the World Wide
Web:
http://www.1001inventions.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=309
64.
Hoodbhoy, Pervez. (1997, December 23). Why didn’t the Scientific Revolution
happen in Islam? Retrieved April 7, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.chowk.com/articles/4091
Hoodbhoy,
Pervez. (2007, August). Science and the Islamic world: The quest for
rapprochement. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from the World Wide Web:
http://ptonline.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_60/iss_8/49_1.shtml
65.
Arkoun, Mohammed. (1994, July1). Rethinking Islam: Common Questions,
Uncommon Answers. Westview Press.
66.
Ahmed, Akbar S. (2003, August 15). Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in
a Post-Honor World. Polity; 1st edition.
67.
Butt, Riazat. (2008, April 21). Our dirty little secret: The way women are
treated in
68.
Herbert, Bob. (2008, April 22). Clueless in
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/opinion/22herbert.html?th&emc=th
69.
The Prophet Moses is referenced in the Qur’an about 136 times, more than any
other Prophet.
70.
Miller, Lisa. (2007, August 15). American Dreamers: Muslim Americans are one
of this country's greatest strengths. But they're vulnerable as never before.
Retrieved April 14, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.newsweek.com/id/32868
Webmaster’s note: Some of the Internet references may no longer be
available, however, an Internet search on the title(s) referenced may produce
similar material. Articles are posted at this website (based on our selection
criteria) in order to educate visitors and promote discussion and critical
thinking. Since this website features multiple viewpoints, some of the opinions
expressed in some articles may not be congruent with those in other articles
posted here.
Posted May 9, 2008