I do not expect Muslim Americans to denounce the attacks *more* than other Americans, but I would be much more comfortable with them if they would denounce the groups and the philosophy that support the attacks. Rauf refuses to do this, and that makes him - and his proposed mosque - suspect in my view.
Meanwhile we have a Nigerian who tried to blow up an airplane coming in to Detroit, a Pakistani who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square, and an educated nut case of Palestinian descent on a rampage in Ft Hood. What is it about Muslim religion or culture that produces these homicidal maniacs?
The police are still looking for a Texas cab driver who shot his two teenage daughters in an apparent "honor killing" - they had apparently dated "infidels" in their high school. The 911 call from the 15-year old as she was being killed is very difficult to listen to, especially for those of us who love our children. The cabbie promptly disappeared, and the suspicion is that he is being hidden by friends and/or relatives somewhere along the east coast. Is it really irrational for the rest of us to suspect all Muslims until such time as they individually demonstrate that they oppose this behavior?
I have no problem with Islam as a religion, but I have a serious problem with those who defile the religion by insisting that it must include barbaric tribal customs that have no place in our civil society.
Is it really irrational for the rest of us to suspect all Muslims until such time as they individually demonstrate that they oppose this behavior?
If you suspect all Muslims are terrorists and are your enemies before they are your friends against terror, then there is a problem. I recently read the Muslim population is 7 million in USA. This site says it's between 5-8 mill, so that is a lot of Muslim people considering how rare those occurrences of honor killings are in America.
Muslim Population In The USA
The largest segment of Muslims are Arabs, and the Middle Eastern Muslims seem to be the focus of the all the bad attention.. Radicalism is more of a problem in the the Middle East, for reasons that are perplexing but deserve more attention and study than they get.. or at least for. When I have time, I will try to learn more in this area.
I remember when those girls were killed, and I remember that times square attempt... and my reaction and my family's was the same to 9/11. Those girls dying was especially horrible, they were so intelligent and beautiful.. had so much going for them. For my dad and every other Muslim I know, there was no feeling of a religious connection to that father, there was no understanding at all.. It was condemned as it was in Christian, Jewish, and atheist households.
The religious teachings of those Muslims and others are not the same.
Who are the moderate Muslims? Muslims think they know and they have opinions. As somebody as else pointed out,Wahhabist teachings have a lot of influence on the radicals and terrorists.. the extreme segments. It's pretty much based in Saudia Arabia. I should know more about the specifics and it's reach, but the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabist movement started in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has some old teachings in schools still being indoctrinated and taught to children.. The practice is shunned by other Muslims, and Wahhabist consider those Muslims some form of infidels.
I know there are orgs and leaders strongly opposed to the tradition, but there is a lot of politics and dogma holding back reforming the entanglement of Saudi Arabian government, education, and the favoritism of Wahhabism.
Some organizations and leaders even say the Wahhabist are heretics because of some teachings. Off the top of my head: Wahhabist say to not be part of the disbelievers.. and that goes against teachings of Mohammad. He said Jews and Christians are friends and people of the book. Wahhabist even go aginst fellow Muslims.. they are all infidels. The language of infidels and the religious superiority comes out of Wahhabism IMO, and it also goes against the teachings of Mohammad and the Quran..
The Imam is against Wahhabism and those views.. He supports innerfaith community building (extremely against Wahhabism), and so does his wife. The radicals and terrorists hate that..
Imam's ideology is even directly in conflict with Wahhabism, because he follows Sufism. They have been in conflict since the beginning..
Imam Abdul Rauf's Critics Don't Understand Islam - Newsweek
Concerning Hamas.. this is from his website
Hamas is both a political movement and a terrorist organization. When Hamas commits atrocious acts of terror, those actions should be condemned. Imam Feisal has forcefully and consistently condemned all forms of terrorism, including those committed by Hamas, as un-Islamic.
In his 2004 book, he even went so far as to include a copy of the Fatwa issued after 9/11 by the most respected clerics of Egypt defining the 9/11 attack as an un-Islamic act of terror and giving permission to Muslims in the U.S. armed forces to fight against those Muslims who committed this act of terror. Imam Feisal included this in his book to prove that terrorism must be fought even if Muslims have to fight fellow Muslims to stop it.
Has he condemned terrorism?
Here are his words from his 2004 book, What’s Right with Islam is What’s Right with America: “The truth is that killing innocent people is always wrong – and no argument or excuse, no matter how deeply believed, can ever make it right. No religion on earth condones the killing of innocent people; no faith tradition tolerates the random killing of our brothers and sisters on this earth. God does not want us to kill each other.”
Frequently Asked Questions | Cordoba