Posted on 09/03/2006 7:00:27 PM PDT by voletti
WASHINGTON: Ihsan Saadeddin is proud to be an American. But he's tired of having to prove it just because he's a Muslim too.
The Palestinian grocery store owner in Phoenix has called the United States home for 25 years and feels as American as the next guy. He met his wife in Arizona, sent his three children to public school and has a weakness for McDonald's.
But Saadeddin says the September 11 attacks were a tragic watershed which turned US Muslims from ordinary citizens into objects of suspicion and discrimination overnight.
He believes it is why he was questioned at the airport for 45 minutes last month and asked repeatedly if he supports terrorism.
"Being born in another country does not make me less American than the secretary of homeland security," Saadeddin said.
Estimates of the number of Muslim Americans vary between three and seven million, including Arabs, Iranians, South Asians, African Americans and many other communities.
News of domestic wiretapping, monitoring of mosques, immigration crackdowns, public support for racial profiling and bans on some Muslim scholars visiting the United States has made many Muslim Americans feel like targets of racism.
Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi from Dearborn Heights, Michigan, speaks for many when he complains that officials including President George W. Bush use terms such as "Islamo-fascism" to describe the militant threat. They say such terms are inflammatory and liken their faith to dictatorships.
"This type of thing really hurts," said Elahi, an Iranian-born Shi'ite religious leader.
Outreach efforts
US officials deny they unfairly target Muslim Americans and say community leaders have better access to top US officials than ever before. Outreach efforts include townhall meetings with law enforcement officers and training courses for officials by community members.
"It's obvious that Muslim Americans face civil rights challenges now that they never faced before," said Daniel Sutherland, who heads the civil rights and civil liberties office at the Department of Homeland Security.
"As the government, we need to engage better with Muslim Americans. And we're trying hard within our department and you'll see it with state and local governments," he said.
So are KKK members and their families!
I wonder how many 'fairminded, trusting' Americans would be ok with people who have KKK beliefs next door? How much benefit-of-the doubt would someone who identifies themselves with the KKK get? How many would frequent a store owned by them, or be ok with their children playing with theirs?
We know the answer.
Yet people who openly admit they belong to a cult that considers only Muslims 'human' and that has the world embroiled in violence, should be less reviled based on what?
Their sheer numbers? Fear?
Why isn't it understandable and moral to reject and vilify a massive group that has hatred, prejudice and violence as its core belief just as we(rightfully) reject and vilify those who call themselves white supremacists?
Why can't members of the humongous group be judged by their group affiliation just as members of the smaller group are?
I'd really like to see someone defend social rejection of one and not the other.
Thank you for the info.
Then they should shut up and stop whining and prepare for "the consequences" if something really bad happens.
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