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To: inkling
Arab Nations Defend Islam's Image

I am not much interested in hearing what they have to say. I know Islam is evil, why should I listen to someone defending it?

10 posted on 10/24/2001 12:58:41 PM PDT by Mark17
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To: Mark17

My Thoughts....a simple letter...some simple questions....

TO: Gulf Cooperation Council Information Ministry
SUBJECT: Your English-language satellite television channel
promoting a better image of Islam and Arabs to viewers in the West
FROM: A potential viewer in the West

Dear Information Ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council,

Your idea to reach all media in the Western world to explain your position that all Muslims and all Arabs are against terrorism sounds like a bold and interesting initiative, especially since the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States were done by people who were both Arab and Muslims. That's a rough Public Relations job.

You've got to understand, many of us here in America get confused pretty easily when 18-Arab guys hijack airplanes full of ordinary people and crash them into buildings full of ordinary people, and tell us that they did it for Allah and Islam - it's pretty convincing for us to believe that they did it, well, for Allah and Islam. Now you come along and say it isn't true? I mean, these guys were about to die, why would they lie? You can understand our confusion, can't you?

I realize that your assistant secretary-general of political affairs for the Gulf Cooperation Council, accused the Western media of connecting Islam with terrorism. That's not exactly a stretch; I mean it is a reasonable conclusion to make, given the terrorists had Islamic prayers and instructions along with quotations from the Koran with them? Honestly, if these hijackers left behind letters that said they took down the WTC and the Pentagon on instructions from their grandmothers- we'd probably suspect a connection to dear old granny. We just need some clarification - were these terrorist Muslims and Arabs or not?

I must admit though, I've heard some people make the excuse that these terrorists; including Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda have gone out and 'hijacked' Isalm. Wow, these guys do get around; planes, trains, mail and an entire religion, all hijacked. You do have a PR problem. A really BIG one.

I can see why you want to set up an English-language satellite television channel promoting a better image of yourselves. Your PR people aren't doing too good of a job right now. You are probably scratching your heads about why most Americans link Arabs and Muslims to terrorisim. You had to there; I mean, it's an American thing, you probably wouldn't understand.

Well, perhaps I can help you out of this PR dilemma. I'd like to ask some simple questions that you could address in one of your first 'setting-the-record-straight' television shows about Islam and Arabs. Okay?

Just relax, take deep breath and be yourselves and answer these as honestly as you can and I'm sure that a lot of the confusion about Muslims, Arabs and Terrorists can be cleared up, pronto!

QUESTION #1: Are there two versions of the Koran floating around out there. If so, what is the difference between the Koran that the Terrorists are reading, and the Koran that the rest of the Muslim world is reading? Is there an Original Koran and Revised Koran? If so, who is reading which version? I mean, someone has to have the Koran right and someone else has to have it wrong! Right?

QUESTION #2: There seems to be no shortage of Muslims who agree with Bin Laden and other Terrorism Inc. members, et. al. Maybe millions. Shouldn't you have a program for these 'wayward' Muslims and their followers who have 'hijacked' Islam about the true meaning of the Koran and Islam?

QUESTION#3: Does Islam means peace, or does it mean surrender or submission as I've read in Arabic?

QUESTION#4: Why are you making such a large effort to convince Christians and other non-Muslims in the West that Islam is a peaceful, tolerant, kind, and respectful religion, but there is no such direct effort to convey the same messages into the Mosques and the Arab Muslim world; especially to those Muslims in Gaza, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Tajikistan, the Philippines, the West Bank, Sudan, Chechnya, etc.?

QUESTION#5: Why are Christian churches, Christian worship and Christian preaching banned in so many Islamic nations if Islam is so tolerant of all faiths?

QUESTION#6: Why don't you have a T.V. show, where you tell Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, the Taliban and other Muslims who agree with them, that they have the Koran and the Prophet Mohammad all wrong?

QUESTION#7: Do you guys remember the author Salman Rushdie? Your religious leaders didn't waste anytime putting a price (FATWA) on his head and all he did is write a book that broke Islamic Law. Why don't you put a price on Osama Bin Laden directly and condemn him and other terrorist organizations as apostates for going against the 'peaceful, tolerant' Muslim Religion?

QUESTION#8: This is a very hard question that you may not want to answer. It is about Israel. Why haven't Muslims everywhere; including you'all (that's Southern for - All of You; up north we pronounce it Youse Guys), condemned the bombings of Disco's, Pizzeria's, or the killing of civilians and of school children in Israel?

QUESTION#9: Just what does the word 'innocent' mean in your language or the religion of Islam. This answer could clear up a lot of uneasiness for many of us in the West. Like, is a U.S. Postal worker 'innocent'? How about a 3-year old baby on a plane with his parents? How about a fireman trying to save lives in a burning building, even if they are Muslims and he is a Christian - is he an 'innocent?'

QUESTION#10: If Jihad; by definition does not include the concept of a violent 'Holy War', why do so many Islamic clerics and followers of the Muslim religion keep using it for justification of their killing of other people of other faiths or nations? Can these millions of readers of the Koran have it that wrong?

QUESTION#11: This is a personal kinda question but, I'm still not sure as a Christian, if I'm considered a non-believer that Muslims should live in peace with or if I am an infidel that should be killed for my corrupt life style, or my religious belief of Jesus Christ and the Trinity of God. I'd sure like to know.

QUESTION#12: Finally, I do watch a lot of T.V. and I am looking forward to your programs. But, just who were those people and children out into the streets in your area of the world that cheered the deaths of thousands of our innocent people on September 11th. They couldn't have been Muslims and Arabs could they?

Sorry for the long list of questions; my friends here in Ameican have told me that they have many more, but this should be enough to make at least one or two good T.V. shows. I would suggest some direct and specific answers that would help all of us in the West to gain a new understanding of Arabs and the Muslim world.

Not that I'm in a position to give you any tips, but most Americans like straight talk - not spin - so I would recommend that you avoid a history about the Crusades, or the U.S. foreign policy crap, or the rage of Muslims, or the Palestinians claims to the same lands as the Israelis, or comparisons to Christianity and Judaism, or stories of poverty or hunger, or the CIA, or other 'look-behind-you' answers. Just straight talk goes over real big here in the United States.

I have to hand it to you though, you fellas in the Gulf Cooperation Council are dead on target - Most of what has been said in the American Media has been either pure bull or a lesser mix of lies and rumors. You must have watched Oprah's show of Islam 101 or the evening news with Dan Rather or Peter Jennings.

Anyway, good luck with this enterprise. Us Americans would like nothing better than the truth about Islam and Arabs and your 'official' position on terrorism.

Oh by the way; while you are at it, perhaps you can broadcast some shows in your area of the world to help set the record straight for some of your people: You might consider instructing 'wayward' Muslims and their followers who have 'hijacked' Islam about the true meaning of the Koran and Islam. The bottom line is, I really don't care about your religion. Tell them about their religion! Just tell the Muslims who have their Koran and the Prophets' message all wrong - that they have it backwards and inside out. They seem to be the ones who need to understand the 'true' meaning of the Koran and Islam.

I am looking forward to watching your programs.

thank you,


Van Jenerette
Joe Average American Citizen; who drives a Dodge Pick-Up Truck
Major, Infantry, RA, U.S. Army(ret)
Ph.D. Candidate, University of South Carolina

Duty - Honor - God & Country

 
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79 posted on 10/24/2001 7:22:26 PM PDT by Van Jenerette
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