Posted on 07/24/2005 4:30:19 PM PDT by CO Gal
When U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., suggested that bombing Mecca might be an appropriate response to the terrorist threat, he sent shock waves around the world.
And he thrilled many of his supporters.
I heard from dozens of nuke-happy Tancredo fans, though not all of them had the courage to sign their names.
From Don MacEwan: "Islam was and is the religion of terror. ... Putting forth a warning to Islam that mutually assured destruction means their holy city of Medina is nuked if they do not curb their terrorist urges seems to be a prudent step."
From Cynthia J. Starks: "The problem is with the religion of Islam. ... These people are EVIL!!"
From John M. Conway: "I think Mr. Tancredo is right. ... These people are barbarians and it's bed-wetting cowards such as yourself who somehow think they can be reasoned with."
From Margaret Wilmott: "Tancredo hit a nerve. Good for him. I'd prefer a first strike. Why wait?"
The State Department, meanwhile, was in full-on damage control. "These remarks are offensive and unacceptable and do not reflect U.S. policy," it said in a statement. "We unequivocally reject the idea of targeting Mecca or any other civilian or religious site by anyone. The U.S. respects and honors all the great religions of the world, including Islam."
News organizations from Australia to Russia responded with their own criticisms of Tancredo's remarks.
"The lack of understanding for Islam in the United States is disturbing," said Spiegel Online of Germany. "One gets the impression that, were the Constitution not clear about the separation between church and state, the country might rapidly turn into a Christian theocracy. And Muslims would be the first to go. ... Is it any wonder that many Muslims are skeptical of the United States?"
As the controversy roiled, Muslims in Colorado became increasingly frustrated and frightened.
Rafaat Ludin, president of the Colorado Muslim Society, said he has received hate-filled, threatening calls and e-mails at the Muslim Society and on his private phone and private e-mail account in the wake of Tancredo's remarks.
On Tuesday, a car raced through the grounds of the Colorado Muslim Society, endangering people who were there to study and pray. "The schoolchildren were very frightened," he said.
Muslims here and around the world have been vocal and forthright in their condemnation of terrorists for years, Ludin said, but the message seldom is heard. "We had a huge demonstration in Washington, D.C., against terrorism a year and a half ago and even that didn't get any media coverage," he said.
That's why the Muslim Society has hung five banners outside the mosque along Parker Road to try to communicate directly with people who don't understand Islam. They say: "Islam = peacemaking," "Muslims condemn terrorism," "Islam values life," and other messages.
"The position of the Koran is very clear about this," Ludin explained. "The taking of life of innocent people is not only condemned, it is a major sin. For a Muslim person who does this, there is no chance of going to heaven."
All religions have extremists who ration alize violent behavior through some distorted interpretation of their faith, he said. "Eric Rudolph is one of those radicals who went out and started bombing places because he thought he had a religious duty to do that. You don't go out and bomb the Vatican to stop that."
He said the misunderstanding of Islam among Americans - especially people in positions of power - is appalling.
"That someone in Congress on the International Relations Committee is able to make such statements ... and have no shame whatsoever, no understanding whatsoever of the emotions of the more than 7 million Muslims in the U.S., that's what shocks us, that's what angers us and scares us," he said.
"It's such a high level of ignorance of our beliefs," he said. "It's such a message of hate
Then it's settled: THEY DIE!
a car raced through the grounds of the Colorado Muslim Society, endangering people who were there to study and pray.
Man, that could be dangerous - cars can contain explosives!
I suggest you get some barracades & vehicle proof walls and surround the grounds. Top the walls with razor wire. Then, hire yourself alot of expensive security, 24/7, get yourself some metal detectors and screeners, and start a program of full body searches for everyone who goes in or out of the facility.
Of course you will need a full array of CCTV equipment, and the staff to man it. Also, an armored bus is essential for the kids field trips.
Also, you might want to have some classes on what to do in case of attack (duck & cover); how to properly dispose of numerous, unidentifiable body parts; proper procedure to approach a checkpoint; and tips on how to ride the subway without being pinned to the floor by your fellow riders.
Attacks from out of the blue are possible - Westerners are clever, techno-savvy people. I'd keep a survailance team on the roof. Americans are not much into suicide bombing, but watch out for bomb-laden R/C cars, planes, etc. Also, suicide dogs, cats, squirrels, birds, etc. are a distinct possibility. To be safe, I'd shoot early, and often.
One final suggestion: In the interest of safety, I would avoid wearing destinctively muslim clothing - burkas, jilbabs, head scarfs (unless they are partially covering curlers), white or checkered rags on your head, or explosive vests in public.
it just shows that in Iraq they have another hobby besides murdering americans.
Same here, but rest assured, if (or when) they do come, I will not go down easy, and I will not go down alone.....
Any Moslem "extremists" helping us in the WOT?
NOW STOP MAKING SENSE!
A rattle snake in your bed is still a rattle snake. A scared muslim getting away from scarier muslims still believes. 1. all apostates from islam should die. 2. no non believer is equal to a muslim. 3. it is ok and mandatory to lie to non believers. 4. dying while killing nonbelievers gets the fast tract into heaven when ok'ed by the local imam.
My oh my, you nailed it right!
A Myth havent you heard the car bombs mostly kill shiitesbecause they are not yet good muslims.
Uh, why don't all these "peaceful Muslims" speak out? I'd love to hear from them.
Illegals should leave the country, no matter what their religion.
Osama bin Laden is a huge folk hero in the Muslim world. His popularity rating among ordinary Muslims surged to nearly 80 percent in the aftermath of 9/11. It has plunged (but not among the youth) lately only because he hasn't been able to pull off an encore. Thank God for the Marines, Rangers, and Special Forces.
But make no mistake about it. If al Qaeda manages to detonate a nuke in an American city and kill hundreds of thousands or millions of US citizens there will be nonstop mass jubilation in Muslim countries around the world, and bin Laden's popularity among ordinary Muslims will surge through the stratosphere again.
There will be official lip service denouncing the attacks as a betrayal of "true" Islam, but the majority of Muslims worldwide will be beside themselves with joy, just as they were on 9/12/2001.
Islam is not a religion but a Nazi like political party
Well maybe I overstated my case, ...apologies. However, isn't it about time that the Muslim leadership (i.e. clerics) started getting into the game a bit more and make it clear that they condem this s**t on a broad basis and make the population understand it?
If 80% of Muslims are pro-Jihad how is it that virtually every single expert on the mid-east [Michael Ledeen, Micheal Rubin, Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich] say that Muslim Iran is the most pro-American country in the region if not the entire world.
Polls show Iranians are far more pro-US than most European nations.
The whole thing illustrates just how boxed in we are with political correctness. We can't go and annihilate any country that would have had a hand in this nuke business because it would be like "Dresden" and we are supposed to be ashamed of Dresden. We can't purge the profile from the homeland so as to avoid the disaster for which we can't respond because that would be "ethnic cleansing" like Milosevic's actions that caused us to go to war against him or the Japanese internment camps during WW2 and we all know we are supposed to be horrified by those things.
They can't criticize Tancredo for long without having to answer some questions themselves and that is when they will wish they never criticized his remarks. I hope that this controversy doesn't fade away anytime soon.
It is a tenet of Islam that the Muslims' Dar es-Salaam is destined to displace the infidels' Dar al-Harb everywhere in the world. In that day the Qu'ran will be the supreme law, and only Islam will be allowed to be freely practiced. All faithful Muslims believe this. You would be wise to understand it. Your life could depend on it.
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