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We must not let fear deaden our hearts; Alfonso Saahir; Beaver County Times; September 16, 2010.
In two previous letters [“Look to the Constitution,” 2/27/05; “Muslims are obligated to pray,” 12/1/06 (I didn’t critique them.)] from Mr. Saahir, he appeared to believe American Muslims weren’t being treated fairly. I would have included links to the letters, but the Times changed its website and material published before late-August 2009 is no longer available.
In the first letter, Mr. Saahir asked, “Is there any case history where American Muslims have committed any ‘terrorist’ attacks against the U.S. government?” Bad question, Mr. Saahir. In the days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar murdered two officers at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait and wounded 14 other soldiers, the result of his gunfire and throwing hand grenades into a tent where the soldiers were sleeping. In his diary before the murders, Mr. Akbar wrote, “I may not have killed any Muslims, but being in the Army is the same thing. I may have to make a choice very soon on who to kill.” Mr. Akbar was found guilty and sentenced to death. It happened again on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, TX. We also need to remember Islamist attacks thwarted over the last several years, like the planned attack on Fort Dix, NJ, in 2007 by the “Fort Dix Six.”
A more recent letter from Mr. Saahir appeared to lobby for a government-run healthcare monopoly and another was entitled “Christian radicals have gone too far.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“The Sacred Sight, which is what the Islamic Culture Center in New York City will be called, is supported by what Americans call the sacred Constitution of the United States.”
[RWC] A Google search returned no hits confirming the Ground Zero mosque will be called “The Sacred Sight” (or “The Sacred Site”). The project is currently called the Cordoba Initiative. The significance of Cordoba? After Muslims conquered southern Spain in the 10th century, they established an Islamic caliphate and its capital was Cordoba. After Muslims conquered Jerusalem, they built the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. See the pattern? Intentional for some supporters, the symbolism of the proposed mosque in such proximity to the WTC site will become a recruiting tool for Islamist “radicals.” In other words, the Cordoba Initiative is really about building a shrine for the 9/11 murderers.
Mr. Saahir writes of “Americans” as if he is not an American himself. To the best of my recollection, I don’t recall hearing anyone refer to the Constitution as “sacred.” In any case, the Constitution doesn’t “support” building any alleged place of worship. The Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
“The issue is not location. Whether the center is built or not built, there will be no closure regarding Muslims for families who lost love ones at Ground Zero until they can get a clear understanding of Islam and Muslims.”
[RWC] On its website, the Muslim Canadian Congress says, “Many Muslims suspect that the idea behind the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation, to thumb our noses at the ‘infidel.’ We believe the proposal has been made in bad faith and, in Islamic parlance, is creating ‘fitna,’ meaning ‘mischief-making,’ an act clearly forbidden in the Qur’an.”
U.S. Muslims aren’t helping their cause. Time and time again, Muslims (U.S. citizens and not) attack this country in the name of Islam and kill our citizens. Despite this, there appears to be no widespread serious denunciation of the attacks by U.S. Muslims, or have I just missed the massive Muslim demonstrations against Islamist violence against the U.S.? At least some of this is out of fear. When a Muslim Student Association member was asked “Will you condemn Hamas … As a terrorist organization. Genocidal organization?”, she responded “Are you asking me to put myself on a cross?” Most of what we get is an accusation of Islamophobia by groups like CAIR and writers like Mr. Saahir (see below).
“I pray the families would take the time to visit a mosque in their location; all mosques welcome the public.”
[RWC] This is not true. Some mosques allow non-Muslims to enter and others do not. In Saudi Arabia, Islam is even more restrictive. Saudi Arabia does not permit the public practice of any religion but Islam (meaning no churches or synagogues), non-Muslims aren’t even allowed in Mecca and Medina, and the distribution of Bibles is illegal.
“The Islamophobes like to spread fear, bigotry and misinformation to deaden people’s hearts so that we will continue to have discontent for each other.”
[RWC] Now Mr. Saahir launches into name-calling. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines phobia as “an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation.”
“Islamophobes’ talking points, with the help of media, using words such as radical, extremist, terrorist and moderate as adjectives to describe Islam, makes them hijackers of the real meaning of Islam.”
[RWC] As I noted above, Mr. Saahir wrote a letter entitled “Christian radicals have gone too far.” Mr. Saahir appears to subscribe to the philosophy of “Do as I say, not as I do.”
“Words make people.
“The more we know each others’ differences and appreciate what God blessed us with separately, the richer we will be in knowledge of human worth.
“It is ignorance that causes us to work against each other more than any other thing.”
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