Posted on 09/04/2004 1:39:22 PM PDT by pilgrim
Pro-Bush Booth Stirs Anger at Convention
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- They stop abruptly when they see the 5-foot-tall photo of President Bush, with "muslimsforbush.com" above his head.
Then come the outbursts.
"Disgusting," said one onlooker. "Take that down," said another.
At the largest annual convention of American Muslims, a pro-Bush booth has stirred anger among attendees who believe the president's actions since Sept. 11, 2001, have hurt more innocent Muslims than terrorists.
"I think President Bush has misled not only the United States, but the world," said Noor Maciael, an educator who called the booth "disgusting" and planned to vote for Democrat John Kerry. "He has put us in a situation where the whole world is hating this country."
The display was funded by Muhammad Ali Hasan and his mother, Seeme, who recently created the group "Muslims for Bush." Seeme Hasan said in a phone interview that she and her husband Malik, a Colorado physician who earned his wealth in the health care industry, have donated more than $1 million to Bush and Republican causes since the 2000 campaign.
"The reason we are doing this is that Muslims don't have a lobbyist," Seeme Hasan said. "We want to be there. We are going to give contributions at the highest level."
Bush has other supporters in the Muslim community. Some are Iraqi-Americans overjoyed that Saddam Hussein has been ousted. Others are entrepreneurs who view the GOP as more friendly to business interests. And many devout Muslims prefer the Republicans' conservative stand on social issues such as gay marriage.
But many Muslims at the nonpartisan Islamic Society of North America convention were not grateful for the Hasans' activism.
An older man gawked at the photo of the president with his arms wrapped around Muhammad and Seeme Hasan, and said, "I'm numb. I'm speechless." He then joined a group that had cornered a conference official, demanding that the display be taken down. A volunteer staffing the booth said some people were taking campaign material and throwing it out.
Asma Gull Hasan, the elder Hasan's daughter, who was also at the booth, said she had expected negative remarks. However, she said she was encouraged that some passers-by had quietly told her they would vote for the president.
Bush has a complex relationship with American Muslims.
He declared Islam a peaceful religion when some other U.S. leaders were condemning the faith, and honored Muslim holidays in the White House.
After Sept. 11, the president made a gesture of enormous significance for the community when he visited a Washington-area mosque and warned the public that anger over the suicide hijackings should not be directed toward U.S. Muslims.
However, his subsequent policies have caused deep resentment.
Muslim leaders say the domestic war on terror and the USA Patriot Act, which extended controversial law enforcement powers, have cast so wide a net that all Muslims and their institutions have become suspect. Many also saw the war in Iraq as the extension of a misguided U.S. policy in the Mideast that foments terrorism instead of stopping it.
Leading American Muslim organizations endorsed Bush in 2000 over Democrat Al Gore, expecting the Texas governor would be more sympathetic to their concerns. But Muslims have said since that they regretted their decision.
Surveys of U.S. Muslims indicate a majority will vote for Kerry, even though they fear he will not go far enough in repealing parts of the Patriot Act. Volunteers at a Kerry booth at the convention, in a far corner of the vendors' hall away from the Bush display, were busily distributing campaign stickers.
Both candidates have been reaching out to Muslim voters. Muslims are concentrated in some battleground states, such as Ohio, Michigan and Florida, and they hope their presence in those areas will help them gain political visibility.
Muhammad Hasan said that since the convention began Friday evening, critics who have approached him have been more open to hearing his views. He said he was not discouraged by the response so far.
"I have a lot of faith in the fact that the Muslim vote is up for grabs," he said.
You're the guy who's always pushing Peroutka, right?
Ha-ha...That's great!
I said a year ago that if I didn't live in the US and all I saw from the US was what Hollywood put out - I wouldn't have a high opinion of the US either. Think about it. Kruschev said we would be destroyed from within and Hollywood is making him out to be a soothsayer. Yes, I blame Hollywood/media for the mistaken image of the US abroad.
Thanks for posting the photo of the painting and artist. I wonder if he will be doing a print run?
Frank Frazetta meets Ichabod Osama?
Why don't they take a look at the Muslims in Iraq who are no longer living under the yoke of tyranny before passing judgment?
Oh...right...I forgot...that would hurt their "Muslim pride."
Well boys, I got news for you: you can't save face and save your ass at the same time. You're going to have to pick one and live (or die) with it.
Fine. Then quit whining about the Patriot Act and do something about all the anti-Second Amendment laws that have been passed since the 1960s.
...or is your outrage only directed at trendy causes?
Alrighty then, in the words of Ta Raise Ah, Shove it.
Pilgrim, I thank you for posting this! I've been discussing this for a few months, the convention 15 min from my house. I've been completely beside myself that they can still do what Emerson, Anonymous and Jayna have warned about for over a decade, the fact these conventions in Chicago have been going on to incite radical islam, raise terror funds and we still let them congregate right under our noses to do it!
BTTT!
I had to dang near get into a dogfight over an earlier thread about this topic.
http://www.muslimsforbush.com/
American Muslims for Bush Announce
http://paknews.com/specialNews.php?id=3046&date1=2004-08-14
Muslim Organizations to Endorse Bush After Debates, New Group Predicts
http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000988.php
Muslims endorse Bush for president
http://www.sptimes.com/News/102400/Worldandnation/Muslims_endorse_Bush_.shtml
It took guts to do it at this convention of all places, read Anon's Book and you'll see how scared she was to go incognito to these things, the threats it posed. As did Steve Emerson. Those two books are major eyeopeners!
I can see where a picture of a non-Muslim carrying the head of a Muslim would cause a stir. Nothing else matters to Muslims. They might disapprove of a Muslim. But a non-Muslim is not allowed to do anything about it. Domestic and worldwide attitude adjustment is in order.
Those were some good links. These are great to see!
The artist with the picture of Bin Laden was in NYC for the Republican convention.
I was comparing both instances as showing Bush getting support from two factions never expected. An artist in NY and Muslims willing to proclaim their support at a public convention.
Ah. That explains why he's not bloody. The picture is Muslim blasphemy.
That painting/picture puts me in the mind of The Count of Monte Cristo and Paul Revere's midnight call.
That's true, but usually any blasphemy in NY artist circles usually has to deal with Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. That is what is so very ironic about the picture of this artist's deviation. When such "art" blasphemizes Christ the liberals cry artistic freedom. Now the shoe is on the other foot.
"This story show how some Muslims are supporting the President. We should all be applauding this. These ignorant comments are surely turning off Muslims who visit this site and making them less likely to vote for Bush."
This is the problem with many conservatives nowadays.
Why would you want to sell yourself to Satan (Allah) just to get a few more votes? Is winning an election so important to you that you would subvert this war on terror to buy a little political favor from it's very perpetrators
Many others have stated what I will state more eloquently, so I'll keep it simple here.
If this is the way you truly feel about the Muslims, then fine. Good for you. But you are too blind to see, or too deaf to hear the truth about Islam's (over) 1400-year war against civilization itself. You have received some well-intentioned, but DEADLY naive information on Muslims, which you have apparently taken to heart.
It is not "a minority" of Muslims we are talking about here. The terrorists are not "bad apples", rather They have the sympathy of the vast majority of the Muslim population. The so-called moderate Muslims are the HERETICS of their religion. The insane ramblings of Mohammad himself in the Koran indicate that the murder of the infidel is a basic tenet of this so-called religion.
Would I kill or imprison all Muslims, as some on this sight have suggested? No, not in America I wouldn't. It is not illegal or unconstitutional to be a sympathizer of evil and hatred. Physically non-violent Nazi's are not imprisoned, and similar communists are not executed, so the same liberties should be extended to equally malicious, but NON-VIOLENT Muslims. Anybody who takes up arms in the name of Allah against Americans, Jews, or any other religious group should be killed, however. That's my domestic "policy" on this issue.
Now, my personal, non-policy opinion is that anybody who worships this bloodthirsty, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-Buddhist, and anti-Hindu "religion" can get f***ed.
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