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To: DustyMoment

"Would I be justified DEMANDING that you turn in Neo-Nazi skinheads in Eastern Pennsylvania based on the fact that you are an American and they are Americans too (on paper, if not in spirit)?

Wow. There are mismatches and there are mismatches. Yours are off the planet. First, I'm neither a skinhead, a neo-nazi, nor do I live in eastern Pennsylvania. American to American, absolutely I would turn them in if I knew that they were neo-nazi skinheads who were perpetrating evil or criminal deeds. The difference is that Dr. Jasser has positioned himself as a Muslim apologist who attempts to get us to ignore the man behind the curtain."




I know it was a mismatch and I agree with you that you should and would turn in known Neo-Nazis "who were perpetrating evil or criminal deeds". However, just as it is unfair for me to EXPECT you to turn them in based on your shared citizenship and (if I may assume, for the moment, that you are Christian) a shared PROFESSION OF Christianity (although you and I would never consider them to be Christians, they think they are and they say that they are), it's unfair for you to EXPECT Dr. Jasser to turn in Muslim terrorists simply because he is an Arab Muslim.

His being Muslim does not mean he knows terrorists, just as your being American does not mean that you know neo-Nazis.

I can't see how you call Dr. Jasser a Muslim apologist. He's a Muslim against terrorism and he's saying terrorists and murders who act in the name of Islam are not truly Muslims and, by associating themselves with the faith of Islam, they do it harm.

Could I call you an American apologist if you said "not all Americans are skinheads. Skinheads' racist message is not what America is about." Of course not -- it's clear that skinheads don't represent America and that the overwheliming majority of Americans abhor the racism, violence and murder committed by skinheads in the name of our country.

BUt I understand that the United States is a big country and I can't hold you personally reponsible for the skinheads' presence. Likewise, there are millions of Arabs and Muslims and you can't hold Dr. Jasser responsible for the existence of Arab or muslim criminals.


67 posted on 06/29/2004 1:42:44 PM PDT by zimdog
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To: zimdog
it's unfair for you to EXPECT Dr. Jasser to turn in Muslim terrorists simply because he is an Arab Muslim.

When did I evert say I expected him to turn them in because both he and they are Arab Muslims? What I suggested was that he should be calling on "moderate" Muslims to identify and turn in the extremists. Instead, what he is doing is lecturing to Americans that we should not consider all Muslims to be terrorists because only the hooded ones are the terrorists. The problem with this argument is that he needs to be calling on the so-called "moderates" to turn in the extremists. Somebody knows who they are. I may not know any skinheads, but if I were just to lecture to blacks that only the skinheads are racists, I would be lying. Racists come in all colors and all religions; with and without hair. In essence, this is what Dr. Jasser is doing - he's still telling us to ignore that man behind the curtain.

I can't see how you call Dr. Jasser a Muslim apologist. He's a Muslim against terrorism and he's saying terrorists and murders who act in the name of Islam are not truly Muslims and, by associating themselves with the faith of Islam, they do it harm.

He's a Muslim apologist because he is trying to say that only the "hooded" Muslims are bad; in the same vein that your argument about skinheads tries to suggest that only those who have no hair on their heads are racists. Neither argument is totally true. People see things that go on in their neighborhoods - good things and bad things. That's one of the reasons that "America's Most Wanted" is so successful - people see the things going on around them. In my neighborhood, we are all a little nosy and, as a result, crime is exceptionally low to non-existent. Dr. Jasser doesn't have to personally know any terrorists and turn them in to be a good Muslim, but he can use his position to call upon Arabs who see things that look suspicious to notify the authorities.

Instead, what he does is try to segment the Muslim population into "hooded" and "non-hooded" and lecture to us that we should address our outrage on the "hooded" ones. Well, that's real convenient, isn't it? It's much like a wife who takes her anger out on the "other woman" her husband has been having an affair with for 7 months instead of her husband who was having the affair! If the "hooded" Muslims walked around in hoods all the time, it would be easy to spot them and turn them in - but they don't. What makes him an apologist is that is trying to segment the Muslim community so we only see the bad ones wearing hoods on TV, rather than calling on the so-called majority of "moderate" Muslims to rise up against the terrorists and take their religion back from them. As a voice for Muslims, Dr. Jasser is doing nothing but lecturing to the wrong people and trying to divert attention away from the problem which is getting Muslims to reclaim their religion from the extremists instead of being passive bystanders. In essence, what Dr. Jasser would have us believe is that Islam is loaded with Sgt. Schultz's who all turn their heads and say "I see NOTHING!!" Well, I don't buy it!

If the "moderate" Muslims are feeling the heat, they should be doing more to oppose the extremists instead of saying "it's not me, it's those guys." It just doesn't wash.
69 posted on 06/30/2004 4:58:48 AM PDT by DustyMoment (Repeal CFR NOW!!)
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