According to the article:
'Some Muslims say conveying a peaceful image of Islam is tougher now than it was after the Sept. 11 attacks, and they blame a daily barrage of negative media images.'
Would that be images of hijacked jetliners crashing into the Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands of civilians? Or maybe images of bombs going off in London or Madrid during rush hour? Surely not images of Muslims sawing off the heads of captives, right? And I know they couldn't be referring to images of the aftermath of one suicide bombing after another, from Iraq to Israel. Definitely not images of rioting Muslims pissed off by a series of cartoons, throwing rocks and sticks, burning flags, and chanting 'Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to the Infidels and so on.'
The rest of the article goes on to sound like an Islamic apologetics piece, blaming the negative view of Islam not on the actions of terrorists, (or the nature of the Koran) but on American's failure to understand the nature of the middle east.
Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of Dearborn is quoted as saying:
"How is it that when Pat Robertson calls for the murder of the president of a sovereign country that nobody said Christianity is promoting violence and murder?"Pat Robertson, as I've mentioned before on at least one occasion is a total moron and a disgrace to the Christian faith. Nevertheless, his comments to that effect are the exception in Christianity, not the rule. I've lost count of how many named and un-named 'Islamic Clerics' who have been spotlighted in the media calling for violence on a daily basis in the Mosques of the world.
Rana Abbas, deputy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Michigan said to USA Today:
"It's really hard right now for moderate Muslims to get their message out."I have to disagree. It's not hard. Speak up. When there's a suicide attack, a bombing, a beheading, a threat, or whatever, simply speak up. Denounce it, call for an end to it, do what a real 'Moderate Muslim' should do. Work internally and externally to end the problem. Don't just sit back and complain about how sad it is that we (being the non-Muslim majority) don't understand you, and how we unfairly think of you all as terrorists. If Islam is peaceful, take it back from the terrorists in the name of peace. Whining and complaining about bad PR isn't going to solve anything.
Do something about it.
Technorati Tags:
Islam, Muslim, Mosque, terrorism, Mohammed, Christianity, religion, Arab
