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Muslim leaders stress tolerance
Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 07/02/02 | Kate N. Grossman

Posted on 07/02/2002 2:02:03 PM PDT by What Is Ain't

A delegation of high-ranking Muslim leaders from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt stopped in Chicago on Monday to offer a voice of "tolerance and moderation" after the Sept. 11 attacks and urge an end to Muslim stereotypes, particularly in the media.

"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims," said Dr. Al-Shieck Ahmad Lemu, president of the Islamic Educational Endowment in Nigeria. "Don't define Muslims according to them," he said, referring to the terrorists.

Lemu is one of a dozen Muslim leaders, scholars and lawyers on a four city "goodwill" tour organized by the Muslim World League, a non-governmental group based in Saudi Arabia. The 40-year-old league is an "observer member" of the United Nations and is a member of two UN affiliate organizations.

The group is meeting with law enforcement, academics, interfaith groups and the media in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles "to extend a hand of friendship and create a dialogue among Muslims and non-Muslims," Abdullah al-Turki, secretary general of the league, said during a news conference at a downtown hotel.

The group met with FBI, Immigration and Naturalization Service and police officials Monday morning and was assured that "all citizens will be treated equally," said Mustafa I. Siric, the Grand Mufti of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"We notice a positive wind of change," Lemu said. "There is clearly a better understanding of Muslims."

Still, there is much work to be done, the delegates said.

"This is just one drop in a sea of efforts to meet this crisis," said Ahmad Abulmagd, with the Arab League in Cairo.

Several delegates decried the continued association between Islam and the terrorists in the media and elsewhere.

"You're giving them a label they don't deserve to represent," Siric said. He and others were particularly disturbed by the term "Islamic fundamentalist," saying the word "fundamentalist" in Arabic simply describes someone who adheres to fundamental principles of Islam.

"Fundamentalist is understood as something intolerant, irrational and leading to violence," said Muzamil Sidiqi, the former president of the Islamic Society of North America. "All of those things aren't Islamic."

One Chicago leader said Muslims share some blame for confusion around defining Islam.

Imam Wallace D. Mohammed, leader of the Muslim American Society, at the meeting to support the delegation, said Muslims should have spoken out earlier against extremists.

"No one expected that any one human being would do those sick things, but we did know about extremists who gave us a bad name," said Mohammed, the son of deceased Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. "We should have been dealing with this all along."


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: istherehope; moderates; muslims; taqiyyalist
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1 posted on 07/02/2002 2:02:03 PM PDT by What Is Ain't
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To: What Is Ain't
"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims,"

Denial is not a river in Egypt.

2 posted on 07/02/2002 2:05:05 PM PDT by TADSLOS
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To: What Is Ain't; *Taqiyya list
A delegation of high-ranking Muslim leaders from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt stopped in Chicago on Monday to offer a voice of "tolerance and moderation" after the Sept. 11 attacks and urge an end to Muslim stereotypes, particularly in the media.

I know I keep repeating myself on this, but

I WISH THESE PEOPLE WOULD STOP EDUCATING US ABOUT THE TRUE, "PEACEFUL" NATURE OF ISLAM AND START EDUCATING THEIR FELLOW MUSLIMS.


3 posted on 07/02/2002 2:05:58 PM PDT by denydenydeny
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To: What Is Ain't
"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims," said Dr. Al-Shieck Ahmad Lemu, president of the Islamic Educational Endowment in Nigeria. "Don't define Muslims according to them," he said, referring to the terrorists.

Only if they stop defining all Americans as satanic liberal extremists. We're not all Democrats, either.

4 posted on 07/02/2002 2:08:14 PM PDT by concerned about politics
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To: What Is Ain't
"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims,"

And the Inquisition had nothing to do with Roman Catholicism.

You can recognize that an action or group is not representative of what your religion stands for and still see that it does indeed have "something to do with" it.

5 posted on 07/02/2002 2:09:23 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: What Is Ain't
Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims

This guy is in TOTAL denial. Muslims need to be taking responsibility for Islamic terrorism -- not dodging it. There are too many Muslim sypathizers with terrorism for this guy to say that terrorism has NOTHING to do with Islam.

Maybe once they step up to the plate and acknowledge the size of the violent Muslim "lunatic fringe" -- if that's what it is -- then they can do something constructive by encouraging their fellow Muslims to condemn this behavior in no uncertain terms.

It is not non-Muslims who need to have their consciousness raised about Islam. These so-called Muslim leaders ought to spend less time telling westerners to reject the evidence of their own lying eyes, and more time trying to whip up angry Muslim hostility against the purveyors of Muslim terror.

6 posted on 07/02/2002 2:16:09 PM PDT by Maceman
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To: What Is Ain't
Tell em what they wanna hear..just to get that camel's nose in the door...
7 posted on 07/02/2002 2:28:02 PM PDT by joesnuffy
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To: joesnuffy
Hey that aint no camel thats my wife...badump pump!
8 posted on 07/02/2002 2:28:40 PM PDT by joesnuffy
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To: What Is Ain't
When Christians and Jews are free to openly practice their faith and foreign national women can walk uncovered in their countries, then we can discuss the lack of tolerance in the United States. Until then, "NUTS"
9 posted on 07/02/2002 2:28:58 PM PDT by Jimmy Valentine's brother
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To: What Is Ain't
They got it backwards somehow. There is plenty of tolerance on this end. Intolerance is something they need to work on. America is the most tolerant country on earth.
10 posted on 07/02/2002 2:31:46 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: What Is Ain't
Muslim leaders stress tolerance

LOL, yeah, right.

"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims,"

LOL, yeah, right.

11 posted on 07/02/2002 2:36:04 PM PDT by Mark17
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To: What Is Ain't
"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims,"

Except that they were all Muslims that did it for Islam, but that is a minor point!

12 posted on 07/02/2002 2:41:33 PM PDT by KansasConservative1
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To: What Is Ain't
"A delegation of high-ranking Muslim leaders from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt stopped in Chicago on Monday to offer a voice of "tolerance and moderation" after the Sept. 11 attacks and urge an end to Muslim stereotypes"

Wonder how they feel about tolerance of and moderation toward Israelis and Americans? Of COURSE they want us to express tolerance and moderation toward them, and they may actually give lip service to same toward Israelis and Americans. But in reality, no such thing will be extended by the "high-ranking Muslim leaders".

13 posted on 07/02/2002 2:50:24 PM PDT by MEGoody
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To: Mark17
I actually thought the title meant that they were stressing tolerance BY other muslims. Imagine my shock (oh my, oh my) when I realized they meant we needed to be more tolerant TOWARDS muslims.
14 posted on 07/02/2002 2:51:59 PM PDT by Optimist
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To: What Is Ain't
The Muslims want tolerance, but most mid eastern Muslims do NOT want to give tolerance.
15 posted on 07/02/2002 2:58:48 PM PDT by Texbob
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To: denydenydeny
WELL PUT!!!
16 posted on 07/02/2002 3:00:44 PM PDT by crusher999
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To: What Is Ain't
The polygamist Mohammad married and copulated with a nine-year-old while initiating and encouraging the spread of Islam by warfare. And we're supposed to see some sort of moral equivalence in this?

What parts of NEVER! does anyone not understand?

17 posted on 07/02/2002 3:02:45 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: Optimist
I thought the same thing as you did. Amazing isn't it?
18 posted on 07/02/2002 3:03:00 PM PDT by Mark17
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To: What Is Ain't
mam Wallace D. Mohammed, leader of the Muslim American Society, at the meeting to support the delegation, said Muslims should have spoken out earlier against extremists.

"No one expected that any one human being would do those sick things, but we did know about extremists who gave us a bad name," said Mohammed, the son of deceased Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. "We should have been dealing with this all along."

Well, at least one guy has figured it out.

19 posted on 07/02/2002 3:06:52 PM PDT by B Knotts
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To: TADSLOS
"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims,"

Not at all. Must have been all those Mormon hijackers, right?

20 posted on 07/02/2002 3:15:40 PM PDT by white trash redneck
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