Finally, in the wake of the barbaric killing of innocent children in Russia, the blinders that have kept the Muslim world from seeing the cancer within its midst are coming off. The killers at the children's school in Beslan were not Chechen "separatists." They were not Muslim "militants." They were "Islamo-fascist killers," pure and simple.

Such killers revel in death. They pick the times when they can kill the most people on the subways, in their offices, in restaurants, in schools or on buses. They slit throats, shoot children in the back or blow themselves up, trying to create as much blood and carnage as possible.

We must call them by their true name, but that alone is not enough. More is required.

Across the Muslim world the past several weeks have finally seen a clear and long overdue change in Islamic _expression. There is a realistic introspection unseen before. Abdulrahman al-Rashed wrote in an editorial titled, "The Painful Truth: All of the World's Terrorists are Muslim" in the pan-Arab daily, Asharq Al-Awsat: "Self-cure starts with self-realization and confession. We should then run after our terrorist sons, in the full knowledge that they are the sour grapes of a deformed culture."

Russian Muslims - granted, aided by state-controlled media assistance and a workers union endorsement - impressively brought out upwards of 40,000 Muslim faithful to a Rally Against Terror in Moscow. But as we know here in Phoenix, rallies are only a start in creating a new consciousness.

Every time I have the privilege of praying with my Muslim brothers and sisters in devotional prayer, I feel a perfect harmony and solace of thought and movement as we bow and say God's praises together. While my faith is very personal, without that group energy, my religion is not complete.

But with spiritual enjoyment and fulfillment comes equal responsibility. Moderate, moral Muslims may see these Islamo-fascists as far removed from our reality; however, the unforgiving reality of this world is that we are responsible as a group for our weakest as well as our most corrupt and deranged.

These killers are committing incomprehensibly evil acts in the name of my religion across the world, and because of that, I and my fellow Muslims should atone for their actions.

I think it would be totally fitting for Muslims to erect a monument to stand eternally in memorial like that which was done for all those who lost their lives in Vietnam and other wars. On it would be the names of every man, woman and child who has lost their lives due to Islamo-fascism. The only tie that would bind the lives memorialized therein would be the fact that they were all lost at the hands of Islamo-fascists.

A memorial is more lasting over generations in its impact than any editorial, speech, sermon or rally. With our effort, we could show the world and ourselves that those names from all around the globe are not forgotten. They would be remembered and honored as innocent souls whose lives were snuffed out by barbaric, un-Islamic - in fact, anti-Islamic - cruelty. The memorial would remain as living testimony to the search for forgiveness from the non-Muslim world of the Muslim faithful for the actions of its deranged criminal few. Denial and blinders are checked at the door, with atonement gained within.

[M. Zuhdi Jasser is a Phoenix physician and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. He can be reached at Zuhdi@aifdemocracy.org or at www.aifdemocracy.org]

M. Zuhdi Jasser

Apr. 4, 2003 10:00 AM

Name: M. Zuhdi Jasser

Occupation: Physician (Internist)

Year born: 1967

Last president voted for: George W. Bush

People most admire:

(1) Thomas Jefferson - one of our founding fathers with principle and character and a champion of representative democracy and the rights of man. He was not only a powerful advocate for liberty, but wrote the Declaration of Independence and authored the Act on Religious Freedom in Virginia in 1786 which is a model for legislation for the security of religious freedom.

(2) Sir William Osler - As the "father of internal medicine in America," Osler led a generation of young doctors away from only the textbooks and directly to the bedsides of the sick. He was the master of the science and the art of medicine, and he engrained into internal medicine the humanitarian, the academic, the egalitarian, and the devoted love of healing.

(3) Secretary of State Colin Powell - the son of Jamaican immigrants and a product of public education, Secretary of State and former Army General Powell served America for greater than 35 years in the military and serving as national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and chair of multiple volunteer organizations prior to currently serving as Secretary of State.

Favorite columnists: Robert A. Levy, Cato Institute; Pete du Pont, The Wall Street Journal, Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review.

What most people don't know about me: In one of my tours of service of my 11 years as a physician in the United States Navy, I served as medical department head aboard the U.S.S. El Paso (LKA-117) which took part in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1993.

During my last tour of duty as an internist at the Office of the Attending Physician at the U.S. Capitol, I happened to be the physician on duty when Russell Weston, Jr. shot his way into the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 1998, ultimately killing two U.S. Capitol police officers. Four corpsmen and I were the first responders providing CPR and first aid to the two Capitol police officer victims of the gruesome gun battle that occurred immediately down the hall from our Capitol clinic offices.

Favorite restaurant: Tutti Santi ristorante Italiano and Ruth's Chris Steak House

A dish to die for: Stuffed grape leaves

Favorite place in Arizona: Sedona

The books I'll read again: Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville; The Law, by Frédéric Bastiat; What's so Great about America, by Dinesh D'Souza, The Prophet by Kalil Gibran.

The movie I'll never see again: The Siege (2001). While dramatically engaging and generally humanizing, the movie portrays how terrorist incidents result in the suspension of civil rights. This leads to the herding of Arab-Americans into barb-wired detention areas where they are held without trial all in the name of "military necessity." The whole "fictional scenario" is just too painful to ever watch again.

The movies I have to watch at least once a year:

(1) Patriot (2000), starring Mel Gibson.

(2) Patch Adams (1998), starring Robin Williams.

(3) Braveheart (1995), starring Mel Gibson

(4) Glory (1989)

Bury me with my ... wedding ring, my stethoscope, my laptop, my Peter Gabriel CDs, my copy of the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, the Holy Koran and the American flag which had flown above the U.S. Capitol and was given to me upon completion of my tour of duty as an internist with the United States Congress in 1999 and my 11 years of service with the U.S. Navy.

Quotes to live by:

(1) E pluribis unum - "from many one," the American motto.

(2) "The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time." - Thomas Jefferson.

(3) "Be kind to those on earth and He who is in heaven will send you His blessings." - Prophet Mohammed

(4) "Live as if to die tomorrow. Learn as if to live forever" - Mahatma Gandhi

(5) "In seeking absolute truth, we aim at the unattainable and must be content with finding broken portions." - Sir William Osler

(6) "My dream is of a place and time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth." - Abraham Lincoln

Moderate Muslims March in Phoenix
by Daniel Pipes
FrontPageMagazine.com
April 30, 2004

When the American Islamic Forum for Democracy organized "A Rally against Terror" on April 25 in Phoenix, its head, an Arizona physician named Zuhdi Jasser, said his goal was to give Muslim moderates "an opportunity to speak out publicly." And Jasser presented the rally as a robust response to the many criticisms that American Muslims had not produced a "groundswell of condemnation" against terrorism. In fact, he asserted,

The killing of innocent people out of revenge, out of hate or out of retribution is against the absolute laws of Islam. Suicide is against the absolute laws of Islam. People can justify their actions all day long, but we as Muslims are here to say clearly their actions are against everything we believe.

Jasser wrote an oped in the Arizona Republic where, as a Muslim, he took responsibility for the mistrust directed toward American Muslims, rather than merely blow this off as prejudice:

It is impossible as an American not to feel the growing palpable distrust toward the Muslim community. With attacks targeting innocent civilians across the globe, it has sadly at this time gone far beyond the initial prideful question of "Why are Muslims being singled out?" It is time now only to rally and provide an unmistakable resounding reply.

With this in mind, he set out two goals for the rally:

We want to reassure the American public that the great majority of Muslims condemn the targeting of innocents by virtue of the tenets of our faith. We also want to give hope and inspiration to faithful Muslims all over the country that this type of rally is possible.

Jasser found support for his efforts as close as the Arizona Republic, which correctly judged this event to be "the nation's first Muslim rally against terrorism," and as far away as the country's capital, where a Washington Times editorial ended with, "We salute Dr. Jasser, American patriot."

The Muslim community of Phoenix is estimated at 50,000 persons; Jasser worked strenuously to reach out to the Valley Council of Imams, Valley mosques and major Valley Islamic organizations; and the Arizona Republic, the leading newspaper of Phoenix, gave the rally its full-fledged support. A head of steam behind him, Jasser optimistically predicted that 500 to 1,000 people would attend the event.

But then the event was held (an audio of the 50-minute long event can be heard online) and reality set in. Estimates vary. The Arizona Republic counted 250 in attendance, the police 400. The number of Muslims, I heard, was between 30 and 100 persons. Most participants were not Muslim but (the Arizona Republic recounts) "people like Michael Fischer, 18, of Glendale, who wanted to denounce the stereotyping of Muslims; and Grace Clark of Apache Junction, who wanted to promote peace." One correspondent of mine judged the event "a total disaster."

But that is too severe. It was a humble beginning that can grow into something large and strong. Jasser points out to me that "The beginnings of every great movement in our great nation's history of freedom began in a small way." He notes also that American Muslims, being predominantly first-generation immigrants, are still getting grounded. With time, he expects, "the vast majority of American Muslims will listen to the message of our rally and find complete agreement with its statement of faith."

Until then, however, there is the stark reality that very few Muslims did show up. And those who did held up "peace" and "anti-war" signs, not anti-terror or anti-Islamist signs. Two factors help explain this disappointing result.

First, the message of the event did not fit the thinking of most Muslims. Unfortunately, the mood in this community is a radical one, and not inclined to stand up and condemn terrorism.

Second, Zuhdi did not pander to the Islamist establishment – such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations – in planning the event. These extremists no doubt could have brought out a larger crowd – but to rail against Israel or U.S. policy.

The Phoenix rally points to the current reality of American Muslim opinion. This problem needs to be dealt with. If not, I can imagine the United States will hear the same overt calls for jihad and Islamic rule that Western Europe is now experiencing.

May 16, 2004 update: Interestingly, CAIR could not muster much more of a crowd than did Zuhdi Jasser. A triumphalist CAIR e-mail blast after its "Muslim Americans for Human Rights and Dignity" rally on May 14 claimed 200 people; the Arizona Tribune counted "about 150"; and the Arizona Republic located just "close to 75."

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040423-081808-7299r.htm

Muslim and American patriot

Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser is an American patriot. He is also a Muslim. And he is trying very hard to prove to his fellow Americans that these two central features of his life are as compatible as they are self-reinforcing. In fact, Dr. Jasser, who is a Phoenix physician, is trying so hard that he has taken it upon himself and his organization, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD), to stage a rally tomorrow in downtown Phoenix. Appropriately, it will be held at Patriots Square Park.
    Summoning Muslims and other members of the interfaith community, Dr. Jasser and AIFD implore their neighbors to "stand with Muslims against the targeting of innocent civilians and to denounce those who would exploit religion to do so." In a recent essay he penned for the Arizona Republic, Dr. Jasser explained why he felt compelled to organize the rally. In an era characterized by increasing attacks targeting innocent civilians across the globe, Dr. Jasser lamented that "[i]t is impossible as an American not to feel the growing, palpable distrust toward the Muslim community." What is especially disturbing to him is the hate-filled rhetoric emanating from Muslim groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations, whose executive director has declared he is "in support of the Hamas movement," which the U.S. government has condemned as a terrorist organization.
(none)
    "What increasingly troubles Americans," Dr. Jasser perceptively observed, "is the absence of any palpable mass movement in the American Islamic community condemning outright the targeting and killing of innocent civilians." It is that void that the Phoenix rally seeks to fill. Dr. Jasser's organization seems perfectly poised to meet that challenge.
    While Phoenix may be thousands of miles from Washington, AIFD's Web site (aifdemocracy.org) is only a few clicks away. For an enlightening message, we invite our readers to peruse the organization's core principles and goals. AIFD's gratifyingly positive mission declares: "We proud citizens of the United States of America join together as devoted and patriotic citizens and as devout Muslims in this forum in order to serve as a vehicle for the discussion and public awareness of the complete compatibility of America's founding principles with the very personal faith of Islam which we practice."
    We salute Dr. Jasser, American patriot.

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M. Zuhdi Jasser

Moderate Muslims March in Phoenix
by Daniel Pipes
FrontPageMagazine.com
April 30, 2004

Zuhdi Jasser

The most heinous and barbaric crime in this world would be to stop an individual from thinking freely. And when such a crime is "legalized" in the form of a "religion," one can easily imagine how disastrous it can be.

Islam is such a "religion" !!!

an individual's ability to think individually and act accordingly !!!

M. Zuhdi Jasser

Moderate Muslims March in Phoenixby Daniel PipesFrontPageMagazine.comApril 30, 2004

Zuhdi Jasser

The most heinous and barbaric crime in this world would be to stop an individual from thinking freely. And when such a crime is "legalized" in the form of a "religion," one can easily imagine how disastrous it can be.

Islam is such a "religion" !!!

an individual's ability to think individually and act accordingly !!!

Moderate Muslims March in Phoenix
by Daniel Pipes
FrontPageMagazine.com
April 30, 2004