"I do not apologize, and I do not retract my letter,"
Damn, ain't that comforting in these insane times.
This controversy has really divided many Freepers. As far as I can see, If you perceive Islam as just another religion, than Goode is out of line. But if you perceive Islam as an "enemy combatant," than it is not entitled to the same protections afforded other religions as guaranteed by our Founding Fathers. I'll leave it to the rest of you to discern the difference.
Even Sen. Macaca had more sense than this bigot. Goode was pandering to his KKK base. Maybe he's worried about migration to his district by people like, say, doctors, educators, and business people who are a little more open and tolerant and educated about other cultures-it would mean Goode has a better chance of losing his next election.
DANVILLE - A leader in Danville’s Muslim community says U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode should apologize for discriminating statements about Islam.
Goode, R-5th, responded to a series of constituent e-mails regarding Rep.-elect Keith Ellison’s decision to use the Quran at his ceremonial swearing-in. In a letter sent to hundreds of constituents, the congressman said more Muslims will get elected and demand the use of the Quran if immigration is not restricted.
The Muslim community says it sees Goode’s words as “seeds of hatred.”
“This is a country of immigrants,” said Sarwat Ata, chairman of the board for the Danville Masjid Islamic Center on Floyd Street. Ata said he voted for Goode in the November election.
Ata said Goode should sit down with local Muslims and learn more about them if he won’t apologize.
Ata said Muslims are peaceful and law-abiding. They want to be free and share many of the values Goode supports, such as the Ten Commandments, he said.
“We implement these values in our everyday lives,” Ata said.
There are about 1.4 billion Muslims in the world. In the United States, there are about 7 million Muslims.
“Imagine if all were terrorists,” Ata said.
The criticism of Goode’s letter has extended to Congress. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said the congressman should apologize.
Goode said Wednesday he has no intention of apologizing. A spokesman for Goode could not say if the Rocky Mount Republican would meet with Muslims from his area.
He has said too many illegal immigrants are getting into this country. Goode’s campaign focused on stopping illegal immigration and reducing the number of immigrants who come to the U.S. to prevent a draining of resources.
“I believe that illegal immigration of Islamists or others should be completely stopped, and that continued mass immigration into this country will tax our resources and weaken the country,” Goode wrote in an e-mail sent to the local newspaper.
Virginia’s senior senator, John Warner, does not appear to support Goode’s view and said he doesn’t object to using the Quran during swearing-in ceremonies.
“As we continue to seek new strategies to protect our nation, I feel strongly that America must continue its outreach to the majority of moderate, peaceful members of the Islamic faith, as partners in combating terrorism,” Warner wrote in a prepared statement. “I respect the Constitutional right of Members of Congress, indeed, of every U.S. citizen, freely to exercise the religion of their choice, including those of the Islamic faith utilizing the Koran in accordance with the tenets of their religion.”
But don’t think Goode’s stock has suffered in Southside. He has supporters who say he’s right about Islam and immigration.
“The world would be better off if this so-called religion were not around. There is no peaceful co-existence with these people and now Congress will probably have to wait for this new congressman to bow and praise five times a day,” E. Wyatt Moore of Danville said in an online response.
Jay Neal of Danville, however, said Goode was off base with his letter.
“All terrorists are not Muslim. Remember Timothy McVeigh,” Neal said in an online comment. “Mr. Goode’s letter is an embarrassment to us all and serves only to represent the close-minded attitudes and bigotry that have and will continue to keep Southside Virginia from realizing its full potential.”
http://www.registerbee.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=DRB/MGArticle/DRB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149192303957
When the people that say we are racist finally have to bow down to the Muslim religion or get their stupid heads cut off then maybe they will listen to Virgil H. Goode Jr or the ones trying to keep these Muslims out of our country..If you want to be Muslim go home..I will tell you the truth I had never heard of Virgil H. Goode Jr until all of this started about this idiot wanting to use the Koran to be sworn in..I did however hear about the idiot Muslim that should have never been allowed to hold office in this country..I felt the same as Goode did but I had not heard about this man before...He has balls and like I said on another thread there should be more that stand up like he did and say what we want them to say after all they are working for the American people not the Muslim Terrorist..As for the person that said not all Muslims are terrorist then I say this..Why the H didn't they stand up against these animals when 9/11 happened instead of jumping up and down praising the terrorist..Then is when the government should have rounded ever last one of these people up and shipped them back where they came from.. God gives us the ability to know when to take up for ourselves and I feel it is time we all here in America did just that..I will not go alone with the Jones I will make up my own mind and this is not right not at all..
I have a simple sollution to all this "Are American Muslims moderates or not?" debates.
Let all the Muslim organizations and Mosques in America open up their financial records to the govt, which should have been done after 911 anyways. Let's see where the money's coming from and where it's going. This is obviously not an end-all sollution, but it would at least solve the problem of financial connections. Any institution financially connected to any terrorist organization or govt. could then be classified as an enemy combatant. This will probably happen in some way after the next attack anyway, and the govt. already acknowledges the existence of sleeper cells. Why wait?
I'm all for restricting immigration, but Goode's incoherent blather undermines the cause by making us look like idiots.