GraniteStateDad wrote: "Where is the national voice of the pro-family, peace-loving Islamic community in America?"
What's a "national voice" in the first place? The MSM considers Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton national spokesmen for black people, but are they? Conservative black organizations, on the other hand, seem to get very little airtime. Perhaps the problem isn't the lack of peaceful Muslim organizations but the laziness of the MSM to contact anyone other than CAIR.
No - I will hasten to criticize the "SlimeStreamMedia" when they are guilty of something - and certainly laziness is one of their most prevalent attributes - but in this case, the simple truth is what is most hurtful to the moslem cause...is the moslems themselves and their "religion".
Granted, the media are complicit in continually "anointing" raving nutters like Jackson, Sharpton, Farrakhan, and others - you are right.
But there is no peaceful, forthright, tolerant monolithic moslem presence out there speaking up for respect towards Christians and Jews, respect for the laws of their adopted host countries...
All "credible" entities speaking for moslems are busily trying to increase others' understanding of THEM, others' respect for THEIR traditions...etcetera. Basically, their agenda is to co-opt other people's agendas to be favorably disposed toward moslems, without first conceding anything themselves.
They are engaged in nothing short of a public relations offensive, concentrated upon whitewashing their own image, changing the subject anytime the behaviour of adherents of their "prophet" engage in mayhem, and on crying foul every time one of their own is questioned or even mildly scrutinized.
A prime example was the situation in Portland/Hillsboro Oregon about three or four years ago surrounding one Maher Hawash.
The local paper repeatedly referred to him by his Americanized name, "Mike" - but they were only following the lead of CAIR and locally prominent moslem leaders.
There was an all-out campaign to portray Hawash as a simple humble, soft-spoken, completely gentle family oriented man who gosh! golly! gee whillikers! would never, ever do anything against the US, never do anything to jeopardize his wife or kids.
He was everybody's perfect neighbor next-door - except you couldn't get any pork spareribs at his barbecues!
I had some inside information about why he had been detained on a "material witness" warrant, so all I could tell the Liberals {who run rampant on the streets of Portland} I came into frequent confrontations with, was "Just keep your eyes on the news in coming weeks. There is more to this than meets the eye. You're stupidly swallowing this entire PR whitewash whole. He is not an innocent man. Just wait and you'll see..."
Wish I had been able to see all their faces when the truth came out. Google the story essentials if you want - it is involved...
Well over 80% of the moslem organizations in the USA contribute resources to CAIR, and identify/align themselves with CAIR - generated public statements. CAIR press releases become de facto talking points for moslems in public policy debates and "ecumenical" dialogues in community after community across the USA.
Whenever an incident erupts in Palestine or Syria or Lebanon, Iraq, or Israel - the general public waits for mohammadans and their "spokesmouths" to issue apologies, to utter vehement condemnations, to voice full, unqualified, and patriotic support for the United States.
We are greeted by the figurative sound of [crickets chirping]...
Followed closely by explanations, rationalizations, and justifications that would make a juvenile delinquent caught red-handed at mischief blush in shame...
Immediately couched by blame-shifting, a la "They felt they had no choice because," [choose one or more] a) America b) Israel c) "the West" d) Christians e) poverty brought about by a),b),c), or d) "left them with no other choice to draw attention to their plight"
Just because they are not openly warring with us in the streets {yet} does not mean they are in fact 'peaceful' by definition.
Just because many choose to be 'peaceful' now does not give us a reliable assurance they will continue to be so into the indefinite future.
They need a national voice of stature who will speak truthfully, forcefully, and unequivocally as to their peaceful intentions, their patriotism and loyalty to America, their unqualified contempt for all the violence occurring in the name of their "religion".
Like many here, I shan't hold my breath...
Like many here, I do not trust them. At all.
A.A.C.