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In a Shift, Muslim Groups Cast Themselves as Loyal Critics
NY Times ^ | October 25, 2001 | GREG WINTER

Posted on 10/25/2001 1:37:53 PM PDT by white trash redneck

October 25, 2001

In a Shift, Muslim Groups Cast Themselves as Loyal Critics

By GREG WINTER

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 24 — Ever since terrorists razed the World Trade Center, Michel Shehadeh says, his tongue has grown sore from biting it so much. He is being only somewhat facetious.

In speeches at businesses, police departments and schools in recent weeks, Mr. Shehadeh, the West Coast director of the Arab-American Anti- Discrimination Committee, had tiptoed around contentious topics like Israel or Iraq, careful not to enrage the very audiences he was appealing to for tolerance.

Then, on Oct. 11, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York rejected a $10 million gift from a Saudi prince who chastised American foreign policy, and Mr. Shehadeh decided it was time to weigh in on the subjects he tried so hard to avoid.

"It's not politically correct to talk about the grievances people have against the United States," Mr. Shehadeh said. "So we're going out there and trying to fill that vacuum."

Racing to prove their loyalties to the nation, Arab-American and Muslim groups have praised President Bush's handling of the crisis, promised to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation unearth terrorist cells and even circled religious edicts, called fatwas, that cite their right to fight fellow Muslims overseas.

Now, however, many organizations in California and elsewhere say they are shifting gears.

Whether preaching in mosques, lobbying Congress and the Bush administration or debating on nationally televised talk shows, the groups are swiftly returning to the positions they have long held: that military aid to Israel and sanctions against Iraq create the ideal atmosphere for recruiting terrorists.

"We kept quiet on that in the initial stages, not wanting to be seen as insensitive or political opportunists," said Aslam Abdullah, editor of The Minaret, North America's top-selling Muslim magazine, based in Los Angeles.

This month's issue of The Minaret condemned the Sept. 11 attacks and mourned its victims.

The next issue will argue that anti- American sentiment, born of the United States' support for undemocratic governments in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, is partly to blame for the attacks.

"People are asking why this is happening," Mr. Abdullah said. "We are telling them."

In a sign of the renewed criticism of American foreign policy, one organization, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, started running advertisements on a Los Angeles radio station last week, saying United States intervention in the Middle East had inflamed anti-American sentiment in the region.

Within minutes of broadcasting the advertisement, the radio station, KNX 1070, was inundated by angry calls, as was the Muslim council. Fearful of a sustained backlash, the council pulled the spots a day later so that they could be toned down.

The shift in pronouncements is opening deep rifts in a community struggling to present a united — and, above all, benevolent — face to the American public. Angered by the suggestion that American policies could provoke terrorist attacks, some Muslim and Arab-American groups are condemning what they call the misguided and irresponsible positions of their peers.

"The terrorism was the result of a suicide death cult that was hellbent on killing a lot of people," said James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. "It simply wasn't edifying in the face of the horror and the shock to discuss any of these grievances. There's not a connection."

Other organizations point out that the Bush administration has already expressed support for an independent Palestinian state, making criticisms of its policies inappropriate, if not inflammatory.

"This is a defining moment for the community," said Aly R. Abuzaakouk, director of the American Muslim Council. "There are issues of concern for our community, and we will get to them. But for now, the country is in crisis, and we need to show our loyalty to it by standing by the administration. We need to build bridges, not break them."

And despite the anti-Muslim hate crimes that appear to have been committed in the nation since Sept. 11, many Muslim and Arab-American groups say they have been most deeply moved by the outpouring of tolerance and openness most Americans have shown, and are wary of alienating the many supporters who have recently come to their defense.

"Of course, we're worried about it," said Sarah Eltantawi, spokeswoman for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles.

Ms. Eltantawi continued: "Bringing up grievances can very easily be misconstrued as justification for terrorism. But you can't think about addressing this problem without talking about human rights in the Middle East."

For some, taking on American foreign policy means venturing into political territory where they rarely went before.

Hussam Ayloush, the director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee's Southern California chapter, spent most of the year choosing educational books about Islam for local libraries and making sure vendors who claimed to sell kosher food really did. Now Mr. Ayloush is touring churches and college campuses, passing out leaflets and debating international politics with whomever will listen.

"After the attack," he said, "there was a need for differentiating between Islam as a religion and the terrorist attacks. Now that we've done that, we need to look at how our foreign policy, intentionally or not, breeds frustration among many people.

"It's not a favor we do for the terrorists. It's a favor we do for ourselves."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
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Loyal critics? I'd say that's a half truth.
1 posted on 10/25/2001 1:37:53 PM PDT by white trash redneck
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To: Sabertooth; BoPepper
Ping
2 posted on 10/25/2001 1:43:54 PM PDT by TopDog2
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To: white trash redneck
This is an interesting article. I would like to believe them but am not sure if I should.
3 posted on 10/25/2001 1:49:02 PM PDT by Chicago Guy 2
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To: white trash redneck
I'm not buying it for a second. Looks like they are taking the same approach as the Saudi Government...sticking their fingers in the air to see which way the wind is blowing.
4 posted on 10/25/2001 1:49:41 PM PDT by TADSLOS
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To: white trash redneck
that military aid to Israel and sanctions against Iraq create the ideal atmosphere for recruiting terrorists.

BULL....They will find an excuse.
Our support of Israel has nothing to do with the murdering of Christians in Indonesia, Sudan, Nigeria and other countries by Moslems.

If the Moslems want to prove their loyalty to America, root out and turn over the terrorist cells. The terrorists are living among them and they know who they are.

5 posted on 10/25/2001 1:50:52 PM PDT by Vinnie
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To: white trash redneck
1. I don't see Muslims coming forward w/ any info on terrorist cells. If they are the authorities are keeping very quiet about it.

2. They must know where these cells are; they are afterall in the Muslim community.

3. I don't care a flying fig about their "greivances". I read the news & I study history; all of the problems in the middle east are home grown. Problems we can't straigten out dispite our best intentions.

4. If this anthrax poisoning doesn't abate soon I'm in favor of mass deportations and containment camps. They can issue their press releases through a barbed wire fence.

6 posted on 10/25/2001 1:51:36 PM PDT by Pietro
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To: Vinnie
To me the question isn't just IF something will make us a target for terrorism, the question is whether it's the right thing to do. FDR's decision to target Japan's oil supplies made war with Japan all but inevitable -- but that doesn't mean we were at fault for Pearl Harbor. So it is with the Arabs -- we've helped the Israelis and Turks establish the only decent governments in the history of the Middle East, so we're hated by all the crazies who'd like to be the top officials in some Pan-Islamic Caliphate. I would continue to back Israel even if I knew as a 100% certainty it would cause more attacks -- to do otherwise is to lead civilization into retreat.
7 posted on 10/25/2001 1:56:11 PM PDT by American Soldier
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To: white trash redneck
Bad PR move, given a) the barely tolerant anthrax-weary mood in this country; b) that many Americans have had time to study and read about not-so-peaceful Islam; and c) their lack of a clear and unified statement condemning the atrocities of 9/11.

The Muslims are trying to position themselves as a "major religion" in the US, by vitue of population, but some dispute their statistics:

Group: Muslim Population Overstated

8 posted on 10/25/2001 2:03:48 PM PDT by browardchad
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To: Pietro
Allow me the indulgence of changing the gentleman's remarks. This is what was printed: Ever since terrorists razed the World Trade Center, Michel Shehadeh says, his tongue has grown sore from biting it so much. He is being only somewhat facetious. In speeches at businesses, police departments and schools in recent weeks, Mr. Shehadeh, the West Coast director of the Arab-American Anti- Discrimination Committee, had tiptoed around contentious topics like Israel or Iraq, careful not to enrage the very audiences he was appealing to for tolerance. This is how it could be changed: Ever since terrorists razed the World Trade Center many Americans say their tongues have grown sore from biting it so much. In speeches at businesses, police departments and schools in recent weeks, loyal Americans, the people who love what this country stands for, have tiptoed around contentious topics like why the muslim community in the United States has not seen fit to support their country unequivocally and vocally instead always doing the "yes, but" routine, careful not to enrage true bigots who unfortunately reside everywhere. These loyal Americans are appealing for tolerance for everyone despite the outrage they feel for the total lack of support.
9 posted on 10/25/2001 2:04:56 PM PDT by AZFolks
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To: white trash redneck
If these folks want to live in an Islamic state, they are welcome to leave. Here, we prefer the Constitution to the barbaric code of sharia.
10 posted on 10/25/2001 2:09:50 PM PDT by atafak
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To: white trash redneck
These people have the political timing of Hillary Clinton.
11 posted on 10/25/2001 2:11:54 PM PDT by McGavin999
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To: white trash redneck
Bringing up grievances can very easily be misconstrued as justification for terrorism.

There is nothing misconstrued about it!!

12 posted on 10/25/2001 2:12:05 PM PDT by Lucius Cornelius Sulla
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To: white trash redneck
They didn't hide their true colors for long.
13 posted on 10/25/2001 2:24:04 PM PDT by Sunburnt in Seattle
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To: McGavin999
An ironically true.. LOL
14 posted on 10/25/2001 2:25:28 PM PDT by Vinnie
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To: white trash redneck
These people have the worst timing. They think we have gotten over WTC. We haven't even begun to get into it let alone get over it. Its like they dont even live here and have no idea what is going on. All they think about is their grievances. Its like they cant even step outside of themselves for a second and try to understand what someone else is going through.
15 posted on 10/25/2001 2:25:57 PM PDT by Dialup Llama
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To: white trash redneck

The next issue will argue that anti- American sentiment, born of the United States' support for undemocratic governments in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, is partly to blame for the attacks.

YOU BETCHA! THAT'S WHY THEY SUPPORT THE TALIBAN, SYRIA, IRAN, SUDAN, AND IRAQ!

16 posted on 10/25/2001 2:31:59 PM PDT by Timmy
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To: white trash redneck
"After the attack," he said, "there was a need for differentiating between Islam as a religion and the terrorist attacks. Now that we've done that, we need to look at how our foreign policy, intentionally or not, breeds frustration among many people.

He hasn't quite got the understanding of the situation to explain to the American people why hatred towards the US and Israel is so widespread among the Middle Eastern subjects. Like many others, this fellow ignores the fact that these people live in totalitarian nations which promote anti-US and anti-Israel hatred as a means of supporting their governments. The only real flaw in respect to US foreign policy in this regard is in allowing such anti-US propaganda to be continued. I hope that is a change we will make to our foreign policy.

17 posted on 10/25/2001 2:54:24 PM PDT by TheDon
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To: Dialup Llama
They just can't suppress their hatred of Jews for more than a couple of weeks, can they?
18 posted on 10/25/2001 2:55:40 PM PDT by ikanakattara
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To: Vinnie
If the Moslems want to prove their loyalty to America, root out and turn over the terrorist cells. The terrorists are living among them and they know who they are.

Nuff said. That is exactly it.

19 posted on 10/25/2001 3:07:57 PM PDT by xJones
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To: white trash redneck
. . . the groups are swiftly returning to the positions they have long held: that military aid to Israel and sanctions against Iraq create the ideal atmosphere for recruiting terrorists.

Barbra Streisand! Who are they to tell us that we can't have a friend like Israel that we support! And Saddam Hussein has created the problem with sanctions, NOT the US.

20 posted on 10/25/2001 3:10:10 PM PDT by DallasDeb
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