Posted on 05/23/2003 11:07:21 PM PDT by Stultis
Immediately following this introductory paragraph is the relevant portion of an email received (5/22/03) from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Their emails contain news clippings and links, commentary, press releases and/or "action items". This one had many news stories on other topics, but carried the subject line, "CAIR-NET: Cal Thomas Echoes Nazi Propaganda":
IMPORTANT NOTE: Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas recently published a commentary portraying Muslims as "enemies" within America's border and smearing any Islamic group that promotes political activism and participation. If you see this editorial in your local newspaper (his column is published in hundreds of papers), please submit the reply below on CAIR's behalf, or use the talking points to write your own response. Just go to the newspapers website and search for the editorial department, "feedback" or letters to the editor. Give CAIR's contact information to the newspaper. Please let us know which newspaper receive the response. E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
---
CAL THOMAS ECHOES NAZI PROPAGANDA
WORD COUNT: 447
By Ibrahim Hooper
Cal Thomas' latest commentary would have been more at home in the Nazi-era publication Der Sturmer than in a respectable American newspaper.
Thomas, echoing 1930s Nazi propaganda against the Jewish community in Germany, warned of the "dangers" posed by increased Muslim political participation in North America. Thomas wrote: "You don't have to be paranoid to fear where this can lead in Canada and in the United States - where immigration and births are dramatically increasing the Muslim population…If politicians succumb to pressure from Muslim activist groups and equate Islam with the religious and political heritage of this country, we will know that an important beachhead has been attained by our enemies."
He also decried the fact that Muslims "are organizing voter-registration drives and political consciousness-raising events," as if these otherwise praiseworthy efforts are made nefarious solely by Islamic involvement.
This is the same conservative pundit who in a past column said Muslims "take their faith in a false god more seriously than we take our faith in the true one." He also called for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians when he wrote: "Israel should declare its intention to transfer large numbers of its Palestinian residents to Arab nations...Eviction is a better avenue to stability."
Thomas not only attempts to disenfranchise American Muslims and label them as "enemies" of this country, he smears our organization by recycling a bogus quote falsely attributed to CAIR's board chairman saying Islam must dominate other faiths and that the Quran "should be the highest authority in America."
The alleged statement about Islam and the Quran, which is in contradiction to CAIR's nine-year history of mainstream civil rights and political advocacy, was not in fact a quote. It was a paraphrase of remarks that were either reported inaccurately or wrongly attributed by a reporter at a small California newspaper. CAIR is seeking a retraction from that newspaper.
Thomas also quotes Daniel Pipes as saying CAIR is on the "wrong side in the war on terrorism." Pipes is another right-wing Islamophobe who has repeatedly refused to condemn the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and who warned of the "true dangers" posed by "the presence, and increased stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of American Muslims." Birds of a feather…
If anyone wishes to learn what CAIR and the American Muslim community really stand for, they should visit the web site for our "Islam in America" ad campaign at www.americanmuslims.info. In those ads, ordinary American Muslims discuss their views on topics such as family values and ethnic diversity, and express their condemnation of religiously-motivated terrorism.
The United States is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic society. That is the American heritage Thomas seems determined to reject.
- END -
Ibrahim Hooper is communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group.
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS HAVE THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE
Chris Day, Times Picayune, 5/22/03
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/letterstoeditor/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1053584394117470.xml
In this country, founded on the principles of religious freedom and separation of church and state, people of all faiths have the right to participate in politics. Yet Cal Thomas, in his May 20 column, decries the fact that "Muslims, by their own admission, are organizing voter-registration drives and political consciousness-raising events."
He refers to Muslims throughout his column as "our enemies."
Muslims are not our enemies. Terrorist groups that promote violence and hatred, some of which claim to operate under the banner of Islam, are our enemies. But they comprise a tiny percentage of Muslims worldwide.
Mr. Thomas criticizes specifically the political activities of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Looking up CAIR's web site for myself (www.cair-net.org), I see a peaceful, ecumenical organization. Check out their statement on the terrorist acts of Sept. 11: The group expresses grief for the victims and their families, praises the heroes of the rescue effort and states that "American Muslims unequivocally condemn these vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism."
In fact, Muslim friends of mine, some born here, others from such diverse countries as Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt and Lebanon, are among the kindest, fairest and most peace-loving people I know.
Mr. Thomas laments that we non-Muslims "fear being labeled bigots if we oppose Muslims' political activities. Clearly Mr. Thomas doesn't fear that label; he wears his bigotry on his sleeve.
---
Tiny percentage? Gosh! That makes me feel so much better now that I know that the 19 moslems that caused the 9/11 mayhem were only a "tiny percentage of Muslims." (/sarc.)
Funny how the allies of those who want to "drive the Jews into the sea" think they get to complain about "Nazi propaganda." Especially when it's not "propaganda" but truth, carefully sourced and well-presented.
Yeah, and I just thought of this: You want to talk about hate propaganda? Compare these cases:
Case A: Two or more Americans conspire to blow up the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 195. The President blames it on talk radio, and the press takes up the call, portraying the militia movement and other 2nd Amendment supporters as a source of home-grown terrorists.
Case B: Two men who were not members of any church beat a young gay man to death. The media immediately blames Christian organizations who have spent decades preaching that homosexuals deserve to be loved and prayed for.
Case C: Nineteen Muslims hijack four airliners. The resulting mayhem claims 3,000 American lives. The media and the President rush to tell us that the "religion of peace" is not the problem here.
Now, McVeigh wasn't a militia guy or a subscriber to the Limbaugh Letter. The guys who beat Matthew Sheppard to death weren't Christians. But for the sake of argument, let's say they were. If millions of Americans involved in Talk Radio, Militias and Christianity were painted with the black brush because of the actions of four men, shouldn't Islam get "credit" for the millions of Muslims who call for American and Jewish extinction?
Islam is a religion that you can practice peacefully, but it is not a religion of peace, and "moderate" Muslim leadership has been anything but moderate. Too bad CAIR will never own up to that.
So, what? You don't want the behind the scenes machinations of CAIR and the Wahhabi Lobby exposed to FReepers? Here's a clue: My opinions are to be found in the messages that I write, not (necessarily) in the artices that I post.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.