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U.S. Muslims struggle over Islam's image
AP ^ | April 5, 2003 | BOB LEWIS

Posted on 04/06/2003 5:21:00 AM PDT by sarcasm

Mahdi Bray paced the floor, hands in motion, preaching with righteous fervor.

"We have nothing to be ashamed of," he thundered. "All our religion has to offer America is good - our ethics, our values, our beliefs."

Bray and the Muslim American Society are trying to undo the damage caused by Osama bin Laden and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by offering nationwide seminars to teach Muslims what they can to do to change Islam's image in America.

"From our side, we did not do enough to break out of isolation," said M. Imad Damaj, a Lebanese immigrant who is vice president of the Virginia Muslim Coalition and a pharmacology researcher at Richmond's Medical College of Virginia. "There are good people, law-abiding Muslims in this city, and they've never engaged in civic action."

His wife, Amal Damaj, accuses bin Laden of hijacking the religion.

Bray, a former Baptist who converted to Islam 27 years ago and now heads the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation, urges Muslims to become active in their communities to show Americans all the good they have to offer.

Misconceptions about Muslims have been aggravated by some U.S. media, particularly radio talk shows, Imad Damaj said. And Christian leaders such as Franklin Graham, the Rev. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have attacked Islam as a violent or evil religion, although Falwell has apologized for his remarks.

To change the misconceptions, the Falls Church-based Muslim American Society has held seminars to teach Muslims basic civics in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Falls Church and Charlotte, N.C. Others are scheduled in coming months in Detroit; Boston; Raleigh, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Phoenix; Cleveland; Germantown, Md.; and St. Paul, Minn.

A session in Richmond last month included tutorials on writing press releases, holding news conferences, writing letters to the editor and the techniques of being interviewed.

"We don't get the kind of coverage we want because we don't play the game as well as they play the game," said the Muslim American Society's communications director, Ismail Royer. "Know how the media works. And a lack of positive coverage is not a Zionist conspiracy."

The Richmond training session's discussion of courts, the Constitution and civil rights revealed Muslim anger over the 2001 Patriot Act, passed weeks after the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. The law gave federal authorities broad new powers to obtain personal information about U.S. citizens in an attempt to prevent similar attacks.

"We see that our rights seem to be eroding," said Raeed N. Tayeh of the Muslim American Society. "They're raiding Muslim organizations, they're raiding people's homes, they're taking people's property, and it doesn't seem reasonable."

Yvonne Haddad, who has tracked Muslim assimilation into U.S. culture for 30 years as a professor at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, said she isn't sure how effective the seminars can be because of the level of fear in wartime America among Muslims, most of whom came to America in the past four decades.

However, Anjum A. Ali, who works for a Richmond-area law firm, is one Muslim taking a public stand. She appears with her toddler in a public service announcement that is part of a campaign called "The True Face of Islam."

"It's a chance for people to see a Muslim who is not a monster, to see that Muslims are people who have children, who are compassionate and caring," she said. "They work at jobs like you and me. They're human."

ON THE NET

Muslim American Society: http://www.masnet.org/

New Dominion PAC: http://www.ndpac.org/


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: americanmuslims; americnmuslims; islam; obl
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1 posted on 04/06/2003 5:21:00 AM PDT by sarcasm
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To: sarcasm
Well, if they want to live peacefully with us, I'm all for that. We've made our share of mistakes over the years.
2 posted on 04/06/2003 5:34:28 AM PDT by The Other Harry
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To: sarcasm
imo It's logical conslusion has been demonstrated over and over again...
PR is like pouring perfume ona pig
3 posted on 04/06/2003 5:35:00 AM PDT by joesnuffy (Moderate Islam Is For Dilettantes)
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To: joesnuffy
Click on pic to read online book,
Why I am Not a Muslim, by Ibn Warraq:


4 posted on 04/06/2003 5:37:37 AM PDT by ppaul
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To: sarcasm
Boooo...freakin'...Hoooooo
5 posted on 04/06/2003 5:38:12 AM PDT by chasio649
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6 posted on 04/06/2003 5:38:46 AM PDT by ppaul
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To: sarcasm
It's always unfortunate when the actions of certain individuals within a group coop group's image and reputation. However, I don't recall many examples of Islamic groups loudly and vocally decrying the religion's fanatic leadership or the actions of its suicide bombers, whether those bombers were in Israel or NYC on 9-11.

So much violence from one religion and so little condemnation within its ranks. Best they can do is to make a relativity comparison of Islam to old Testament Christianity to say that there's no real difference between them and anyone claiming that there is is being hypocritical. Ain't making it with me.

7 posted on 04/06/2003 5:40:12 AM PDT by GBA
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To: sarcasm
Bray and the Muslim American Society are trying to undo the damage caused by Osama bin Laden and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
 
While you're at it, you may want to throw in the first WTC bombing, the '72 Olympics, Asan Akbar, The Cole, The Kohbar Towers, the Embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, John Muhamed and Lee Malvo...
Heck, let's just leave this open ended, shall we? 

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

8 posted on 04/06/2003 5:43:48 AM PDT by End Times Sentinel (Involve the U.N. in reconstruction- Perhaps they can turn a bombed out Baghdad into a Gleaming Gaza.)
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To: sarcasm
RICHMOND, Va.Mahdi Bray paced the floor, hands in motion, preaching with righteous fervor.

"We have nothing to be ashamed of," he thundered. "All our religion has to offer America is good - our ethics, our values, our beliefs."

Bray, a former Baptist who converted to Islam 27 years ago and now heads the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation..........

A convert. They're the worst. He has a huge personal investment in Islam. If Islam is harmful to him and harmful to America he can write off his life as a Muslim. He wasted his time. Is this clown a Black Muslim by any chance?

9 posted on 04/06/2003 5:45:39 AM PDT by dennisw
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To: sarcasm
I am puzzled by the headline.

Islam has a bad image? What gives?

10 posted on 04/06/2003 6:43:40 AM PDT by San Jacinto
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To: dennisw
Mr. Mahdi Bray was named new national political director of MPAC in December, 2001. Bray worked in the 1960s in coalitions with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other activist groups. He currently serves as a political adviser and activist in the American Muslim society (MAS) and is specifically focused on freedom and civil liberties.
11 posted on 04/06/2003 7:02:34 AM PDT by sarcasm (Tancredo 2004)
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To: The Other Harry
" ... show Americans all the good they have to offer."

I can live with them, too. But if they're serious, they must themselves pull the apostate Muslims out by the roots, and turn them over to law enforcement. I've seen precious little evidence of that.
12 posted on 04/06/2003 7:14:00 AM PDT by AngrySpud
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To: The Other Harry
if they want to live peacefully with us

They are

13 posted on 04/06/2003 7:15:14 AM PDT by ArneFufkin
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To: sarcasm
Where is the clamor among these people to form an American Muslim equivilant to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, so that they might join the fight against terrorism, and convince the rest of us of thier sincerity?

I'm not holding my breath waiting for such a movement, either.
14 posted on 04/06/2003 7:22:21 AM PDT by Living Stone (Some get it, others don't.)
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To: sarcasm
You to can join the religion of peace. For your free indoctronation contact:

Minister Louis Farrakhan
c/o Mosque Maryam
7351 Stony Island Avenue
Chicago, IL 60649
(773) 324-6000
(773) 324-6409 FAX

These people got a long row to hoe. The west is on to them.
15 posted on 04/06/2003 7:39:03 AM PDT by schaketo (Mexico is part of the “Axis of Evil”)
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To: ppaul

16 posted on 04/06/2003 7:45:27 AM PDT by Alouette (Why is it called "International Law" if only Israel and the United States are expected to keep it?)
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To: schaketo
The Honorable Minister
Louis Farrakhan

The Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is the catalyst for the growth and development of Islam in America. Founded in 1930 by Master Fard Muhammad and led to prominence from 1934 to 1975 by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam continues to positively impact the quality of life in America.

Minister Louis Farrakhan, born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933, in Roxbury, Massachusetts was reared in a highly disciplined and spiritual household.

Popularly known as "The Charmer," or (“Calypso Louie”) he achieved fame in Boston as a vocalist, calypso singer, dancer, and violinist. However, February 1955 marked a turning point in the life of Louis Walcott. While headlining a show in Chicago entitled "Calypso Follies" the young virtuoso received rave reviews. During this engagement one of his friends from Boston invited him to attend the Nation of Islam's Saviours' Day Convention, to be held at the newly purchased Muhammad's Temple No. 2 at 4335 S. Greenwood Avenue.

And the leader of the religion of peace found his nitch. These people would have to stone Calypso Louie and his kind before I would EVER consider their whining as deserving.



17 posted on 04/06/2003 7:47:19 AM PDT by schaketo (Mexico is part of the “Axis of Evil”)
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To: sarcasm
Your religion whether you want to accept it or not was born and spread by teh sword.... it is NOT a religion of peace. I have no doubt there are millions of peaceful muslims around the world, but don't dillude yourself for one minute into the nonsense that a "religion" founded by a fanatical warrior who believed he was the avenging hand of god, spread under penalty of death is a religion of Peace.

Mohommed was the equivalent of a Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton of his time, an oportunistic hethen... to portray him as anything else is purely self dillusion. Killing thousands, stealing your own sons wife... etc etc... Yes, he is such a role model for peace. Islam is a cult of personality at best, the world religion of satan at worst... but it is not at its core a peaceful "religion"
18 posted on 04/06/2003 7:49:57 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: sarcasm
Where were these people on that cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran? This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign US embassy set the stage for the events to follow for the next 23 years.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued. In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it explodes, it kills 63 people.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut. 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.

Did these people condemn these acts? I didn’t hear them and still don’t.

Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gates of the US Embassy in Beirut.

Did these people condemn these acts? I didn’t hear them and still don’t.

Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid.

Did these people condemn these acts? I didn’t hear them and still don’t.

Then in August a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

Fifty-nine days later a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed.

Did these people condemn these acts? I didn’t hear them and still don’t.

The muslim terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259. America wants to treat these terrorist acts as crimes; in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These are acts of war.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

The following month, February 1993, a group of muslim terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These attacks were planned with precision. They kill 224.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors.

Did these image conscious American muslims condemn these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 by muslims.

Have these image conscious American muslims condemn ANY of these acts? We didn’t hear them then and we still can’t hear their outrage.

The President is right on when he says we are engaged in a war. I think we have been in a war for the past 23 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough. I think we have decided and you know what? These image conscious American muslims condone not condemn these acts? The only outrage we hear from them is the fact that we’re on to them.
19 posted on 04/06/2003 8:11:40 AM PDT by schaketo (All muslims are part of the “Axis of Evil”)
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To: dennisw
"A convert. They're the worst. He has a huge personal investment in Islam. If Islam is harmful to him and harmful to America he can write off his life as a Muslim. He wasted his time. "

He's also clouded by his Baptist upbringing. He learned early on under Christianity that murder in the name of religion is wrong. But he wasn't born and raised under Islam where it is commonly accepted practice.

20 posted on 04/06/2003 8:50:01 AM PDT by Bob Mc
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