ROTFLMAO
Passion and emotion are fine. But think before you write.
What diaspora?
For Jews, diaspora is all lands other than Israel. The term arose from the Biblical description of G-d granting them that land. This use of the word "diaspora" is religious, with well-identifiable foundations.
Armenians, who are also one of the most scattered peoples, use this term to designate inhabitants of lands other than Armenia proper. This use of the word "diaspora" is nationalistic, with well-identifiable national boundaries.
Christians and Buddhists do not have a diaspora because none of their holy books speak of any designated land. So, what is the Islamic diaspora?
All religions have places holy to them. Thus, Muslims have Mecca and Madina. But which land exactly is "Muslim land?" Are Turks in the diaspora too? What about Albanians?
That is where your problem lies. You have heard this all your life that being an American is "being abroad," being "torn away" somehow. You are not more abroad than a Swedish or Italian American --- unless you choose to view yourself as foreigner in America.
What kind of conflicting feelings arise when YOUR country is attacked? What other feelings besides “I am going to get those bastards!” could you possibly have? Why do you think of them as Muslims rather that “bloody bastards?”
I can tell you why: because you have been indoctrinated to accept the double standard, namely, a Muslim has lesser moral obligations to a non-Muslim than to his fellow co-religionist. You know it perfectly well: to take virginity from a non-Muslim woman is not much of a sin (“she is a whore anyway” --- you have heard this many times). To take a life of an infidel is not as big of a crime as to kill another Muslim, etc. As part of this double standard, you feel conflicted to side with a non-Muslim against a Muslim.
And this is the source of anguish for many Muslim Americans. You feel that the rest of the Americans accuse you unfairly; you sometimes you don’t even understand what they want. And these misunderstood criticism you view as anti-Islam prejudice. Indeed, what else?
Here is what else: in the modern Western World, we side with what is right against what is wrong, regardless of the identity of the actors. This is what we mean by saying that we are a nation of “laws not men.” You should know as an American. Even more so as a law student.
To determine whether a deed is right or wrong, we us the Judeo-Christian system of values, which I believe you generally accept as well. Once this is decided, it does not matter whether the person who perpetrated the deed is Christian or not. Thus, a Christian will have no problem siding with a Muslim or a Jew against another Christian who committed a wrong. Similarly, your non-Muslim neighbors expect you to be appalled by and angry with the September attackers. But you cannot be: you cannot side with a Christian against a Muslim. You have been told so since childhood.
But this is precisely what makes your neighbors angry with you because they would have never done so. Had a Christian or a Jew viciously attacked a mosque, your Christian and Jewish neighbors would have no problem whatsoever coming to your defense: the attacker was wrong and his religion is irrelevant. Think about that.
If you need, you will find many examples in the lives of ordinary Americans. As a nation, too, we came to the defense of Muslim Kosovars against Christians. The Russians opposed us at the time: like Arabs, they are taught from childhood to defend another Slav. This mentality will explain to you why the Muslim world is not shocked by a slaughter of 20,000 people by Asad in Syria; Saddam Hussein’s killing of thousands of Kurds by nerve gas; or, murder of schoolchildren in Algeria by the fundamentalists. For as long as the killing is between Muslims it is a question of politics, whereas a killing of a Muslim by an infidel is a moral issue and causes outrage.
With the exception of a few ignorami, Americans have no anti-Islamic feelings. But they were shocked to find their Mohammedan fellow Americans to be "conflicted" about the attacks. Indeed, it is hard to find a clearer wrong then the atrocity of September 11, yet you do not side against it. Observe that even in this post, having quite some time to reflect on the issue, you complain about the treatment you receive from non-Muslim Americans, yet say nothing about the Muslim attackers.
I am afraid you are no longer conflicted. Whereas a conflicted person is searching for the truth, you found it. It lies with the Muslims, regardless of what they have done, currently do, or may do in the future.
In this great country, you a free to think what you want. But the rest of us are also free to view your position as anti-American.
===============
P.S. In case I am wrong and your mind is not entirely closed, I'll add a few words. Every single immigrant and the child of immigrants has gone through the feelings you now have: how much loyalty do I ow to my Irish (Italian, Jewish, Colombian, Jamaican) heritage, and how much of the English traditions should I adopt. In most cases, the immigrants came from less tolerant countries and cultures, from less democratic cultures, from less open cultures.
For centuries, the greatest gift that America gave to those who arrive to her shores has been this: a chance to understand fully that some things absorbed with mother's milk are wrong; that you do not want to pass them to your children. It is in this way that we udnerstand and discard the prejudices with which we grew up in the "old country." As a result of this reflection, you remain a Catholic, Jew or Muslim; you remain Italian or Vietnamese in customs and the second language; but you become an American. And all the feelings of conflict go away.
I wish you success on that yourney.
Notice he is still making apologies, still trying to spread the lie that the Mecca deity of the Arabs has something to do with YHWH, God of Jews and Christians.
Every word of this reeks with insincerity and the demonic and Satanic breath of the Mecca cult.
It's funny.
At a time when liberal Christians are disowning Jesus (look at some of the Unitarians), some Muslims are waving him around like their "messiah" (he was only a minor prophet to Islam), and the Mormon church is increasing his importance to them.
Are you an Arafat shill?
Nice try...you worship the moon god..your prophet was an insane man that could neithor read nor write...murder is a sacrament to you.....I don't care where you were born or how many ball games you go to you are NOT like us....
You are heathans ...500 year behind the rest of humanity ..right where your moon god needs to keep you....
WRONG!!
"We revere Jesus as a great prophet and the messiah of God."
Impossible statement. IF moslems revered Jesus at all, they would believe His claim to be God incarnate. IF he were not God incarnate, He would be a liar and not worthy of any reverence at all.
I have a question for the author - "When an islamic mullah sends out a dictum for all moslems to rise up and kill Americans, is the mullah speaking to him?"
Then stand up and recognize that muslims ARE suspect right now- deal with that by trying to help.
The constant "leave us alone" is not the message that will help you. You are not a victim- you must realize that.
Do the things that show you reject terrorism- believe it or not, muslims aren't out there rejecting terrorism. Can you believe that?
Remember that you must diferrentiate yourself from the muslim terrorists. No muslims are out there doing that. Can you believe that?
I frankly do not have time for crybabies like you- you don't sound a bit American. Buck-up boy! Make an opportunity.
Sorry, EclipseVI. I am not aiming this at you! Just ranting.
Sure. Do you want to tell them about mutaa? Or should I? Muslims don't even try to achieve faithfulness in marriage, for that they can have as many wives as they can afford to buy, adultery is only when a married woman cheats, but a man can have as many wives and concubines as his little heart desires. And those temporary marriages worked very well for the Muslim students on US campuses so they can sit in judgement of fornicators while they are far worse themselves.
bzzzt...oops...wrong answer...thanks for playing though...we have some lovely parting gifts for you.
Sure, that's why muslims in half a dozen countries are executed if they convert to another faith, why they can be sentenced to death for merely "blaspheming" the name of Mohammed, why so many muslims believe in a "convert or die" philosophy, why non-believers are second class citizens, why one can be beaten in Saudi Arabia if caught not praying during designated times, why Christians are murdered daily in Indonesia, Sudan, Sierra Leone...