It's become a pattern now. Every time September comes around, our society pulls the bandages off our collective wounds and insists on poking sticks in it. The self-torture has come to the point where some news outlets are broadcasting their original footage from that fateful morning, uncut, in order to ensure that everyone relives the horror at the same time. Surveys of all kinds show that each year, hope for a normal life diminishes, and anger at "the other" continues to grow. Far from being healed, the wound is infected, and threatens to spread to areas previously healthy.

Some of us want to forget the nightmare and move on. Others indulge themselves, wanting to recharge the batteries of anger in order to prepare for another year of war, whether virtual, verbal, or very much real. As Muslims, we've been caught in the middle for five years now - unable to escape responsibility for actions of people far away who claim to share our faith, and incapable of stemming a tide of increasing hatred being directed at our community. When I look into the eyes of my non-Muslim friends, I see honest people trying very hard to separate what they see and read about from the person standing before them. I can only wonder what goes through the mind of those who don't have the benefit of having a Muslim friend to create some restraint against the natural impulse to blame a collective enemy.

I'm naturally an optimistic person. Each year, I think to myself that I've seen the worst of it. And each year, I recall events from the past 12 months that tell me otherwise. Muslim extremists emerge from the shadows, poking around our defenses for an unreinforced soft spot. Anti-Muslim extremists, fresh from mining our religion and history for any piece of information that can be used to defame and incite, grow bolder in their calls for the removal of Muslims from their midst. This year, I saw a first: a call for an all-out war on Islam and Muslims, even if millions of innocents die in the process. I'm reminded of the history of European Jews and Rwandan Tutsis, of how entire populations were desensitized in advance of genocide using similar campaigns. Could it happen again?

Five years later, jihad-minded Muslims such as al-Qaida still have the nerve to think of themselves as some sort of vanguard of defense for Muslims. In fact, their actions have done more to bring curses upon the Prophet and hatred toward our faith than anything in the history of the religion. It is a powerful form of anti-dawah, something for which I pray they will be held accountable for in this life and the next. The central problem for Muslims is that some of the disaffected among us are unable to express dissent in a constructive, nonviolent, and lawful manner. As small a group as they might be, they have caused, and continue to cause, incalculable damage.

Still I hear the refrains: "Where are the moderate Muslims? Where is the condemnation of terrorism?" I and many other Muslims involved in public service feel like we've been screaming in the middle of the ocean. How are we expected to compete with 24-hour TV news and a blogosphere that gives Muslim malcontents a magnitude of PR that money can't buy? How are we supposed to respond when a community of 25 million Muslims in the West is served by institutions that have a relative handful of full-time advocates, most still trying to learn how to defend themselves against a media onslaught? One example of our inability to properly respond to the trauma inflicted upon the American psyche was the way the "Islam is a religion of peace" refrain, so common among Muslim spokespeople in the days after 9/11, was chewed up and spit back in our faces. We needed to address very real fears of Islam, but could only offer up only simplistic platitudes.

None of this is to say that the decline is irreversible. There is still hope that we can stem this decline. Recent surveys suggest that even though hostility towards Muslims has increased since the days of 9/11, those numbers drop significantly for those Americans who count Muslims among their friends. Rather than funding multi-million dollar public relations campaigns, a grassroots effort, it seems, is in order. If everyone in America had a Muslim friend, the poll numbers and attitudes towards Islam would be very different than they are now. And we need friends now, more than ever.

The recent involvement of Muslims in the West in directly stopping planned terror attacks should be an example for those who continue to think that mainstream Muslims do not care about our collective safety. We should be emboldened by this. We can be self-critical and vigilant about extremism without falling into the trap of apologetics or being ashamed of who we are. I believe that non-Muslims are very interested in seeing that we are acknowledging and working on our problems, which counters the impression that we are thoughtless automatons following orders from beyond. Perhaps in traditional Muslim countries, airing of internal issues and problems is seen as a sign of weakness. In the West, it is seen as a strength. Muslims living here should take note of that.

Next year, we will might find ourselves again wringing our hands about the escalation of tensions between the West and the Muslim world. It's also possible that we may finally decide to leave the bandage on the wound so that the real healing can begin. Our actions between now and then will determine that outcome.

An Islamist or Christianist or Maoist or is one who:

1. Places no confidence in the idea of a robust distinction between public and private, and as a result:

2. sees no useful distinction between the personal and the political, and therefore:

3. sees no categorical difference between religious and civil discourse, and thus:

4. places no value on the separation of church/mosque/Party and state.


I fail utterly to see any relationship between countenancing the idea of Islamism and being a neoconservative. One can be a left liberal Christian Socialist, a paleoconservative, a moderate Muslim, or of any other political or religious stripe and still value the separation of religious organisation and state organisation. I personally know at least one individual in each of those categories who does so, and would not quarrel with classifications such as "Islamist" or "Christianist."

OmarG's questions about the matter of defining way of life are, actually, quite good and useful questions.

Incidentally, Peace4All, the term Christianist is not one i made up, and is in fact being thrown around with increasing frequency, for good reason.

I probably want to add that underlying all of these is the first step:

0. A loss of the distinction between one's subjective perception of life and the social forces that shape that perception.

Should also throw adherents of Scientism into this pot as well. (Still out there, OpenSkeptic?)
At root, it's all about an inability to take seriously the limits of one's own knowlege.

>Ha, troll! Shame for trying to paint me as a supporter of the Mahmudiya incident when I called for thier execution if found guilt several times here and you know it.<

Wrong as usual Chester. You know as well as I do that the last time a US soldier was executed for rape was back in the 1960s. All we've seen so far are light jail sentences and acquitals. The culture of impunity in the military is well known and documented, this is why the chimp and his predecessor sought to keep these war criminals immune from prosecution in the International Criminal Court. You are a supporter of this illegal war(the only one here) yet you claim to oppose the atrocities of war. Thats the reason why you were spinning the story of what happened to Abeer Hamza and her family the moment the story was posted here weeks ago. Your background as a racist exceptionalist and a supporter the fascist neocon terror against the peoples of the Middle East are well known so dont pretend you give a damn about the "hajis." Sorry gumby but you've played this card a little too often for others not to notice the smoke coming out of your skirt.



If he ever had a bright idea it would be beginner's luck.
- William Lashner "Veritas"

>ts OK if you tell us you want to defer to sheikh so and so or maulana so and so<

You mean like your citation of Imam Shakir whose words you were playing with, and a traditionalist imam at that. Talk about a twisted game of footsie.

>distract us with false attributions and pseudo-takfir.<

As in making fake terms and not giving us their definitions? I dotn need takfir for a transparent neo-kharijite munafiq of your ilk
Is it any wonder that other reverts find you to be a charlatan...

>I'll understand that you're not up to the challenge.<

This coming from the same right wing chicken who has spent the last two dozen posts evading a single question. Just as the strength of a solitary brick will not save a poorly built structure, your bold typeface does not redeem your craven incoherent words.

>Now, I asked many questions above that any reasonable theory and practice of "Islam as a singular way of life" would have to answer. I had hoped that you, as a proponent of this, would be able to answer at least some of them since you seem to know so much...<

I'll be more then happy to indulge your tiny intellect once you give me a definition of the big bad Islamist you predictably bring out in each of your ever irrelevent posts. We're not playing 20 questions here Trailmixalot, If you cant answer the question, I suggest the next time that you feel an urge to embarrass yourself and bore others, that you summon all your might, and resist.


Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?
- Mark Twain

Answers... Hello, anyone out there? Your ability or inability to clarify what you mean by a way of life is not dependent on me. I'll be charitable: start with Abu Amriki's definition. You contested his definition and derided it; now its up to you to clarify it, but can you possibly disprove my assertion that "al-islamu, huwa al-hall" is dangerously hollow. Show us that your own assertion is more than just an emotional attachment and that you actually know what you're talking about. It has nothing to do with Aber, with Bush or me; it has to do with showing you know what you're talking about. Come on.

I would submit that there's plenty for you to chew on in both al-Amriki's and my own posts, Doc.

That is, if you're actually interested in the discussion instead of the endless blood-feud with OmarG. Which seems not to be the case.

>I'll be charitable: start with Abu Amriki's definition.<

Is there a gibberish translator in the house? I can't make head nor nail of that uber-babble you flung onto the screen during your latest spasmodic seizure. I asked for your definition not abu al-amrikis, who it seems you log in as to bail yourself out whenever you're put on the spot. Is English your second language? Are you so emotionally attached to your fake terminology that you resist defining it for fear of having it demoloshied like all your other pathetic arguments? It would seem so. It's just as well you can type, for if you had to speak your mind, you'd be speechless. I'll toss you a bone, just tell us what an Islamist is and I'll be more then happy to entertain your neocon idiocy.

>I would submit that there's plenty for you to chew on in both al-Amriki's and my own posts, Doc.<

Right you are Biomuse, but my "blood-fued" isnt with you. I've asked this right wing misanthrope a very simple question. The rest you know....I dont think even the Road Runner makes tracks like this.



America is a melting pot, the people at the bottom get burned while all the scum floats to the top.
- Charlie King

Are you stalling for time or something? If all that was gibberish to you, then what in the hell use was any of that edu-ma-cation you got?! Its OK to say you ahve nothing to offer on this one; no human being is expected to be all things all the time. You can accept your limits and so will I.

Here, just to call your bluff, I'll adopt Abu Amriki's definition as my own for now, it works for me. Now, GO!

(I think we are seeing the results of him having to actually *think out* his positions!)

>Are you stalling for time or something?<

Nope, just waiting for you to come clean, 500 plus posts and counting. What a disgrace.

>I'll adopt Abu Amriki's definition as my own for now, it works for me.<

I'm asking for YOUR definition gumby, dont slag of others who conviniently turn up every now and then. You're certainly thoughtless, I just wish that you were keyboard-less, too. I want a definition by YOU under YOUR log in. No excuses, fake aliases, wild goose chase antics("Oh its online somewhere, google it"). Put down the testosterone syringe and come clean.

"DrM" is not interested in discussion. His strong suit is static. It is an effect rhetorical device because there can be no position to which he will allow himself to be tied. He doesn't lose arguments. This is not based on the strength of his ideas but on the inability of anyone, himself included, to articulate what exactly his ideas are.

First off, excellent article, Shahed. Yours is precisely the voice of reason that open-minded, non-Muslim Americans like myself want to hear but have been unable to find amid all the hateful & murderous radical ranting that appears in almost everything we read, hear or watch. Certainly, radical rants make for better selling headlines in our press than the rational dialogue of the few, however, I think the existence of moderate pro-American Muslims (I didn't say pro-administration, just pro-American) IS news to quite a few of us. Here's why:

Many Americans, myself included, are ignorant of your faith. Ignorance is not to be mistaken for stupidity; it just means we don't know much about Islam... yet. Keep in mind that the MarkBrandons among us are angry and full of anxiety. Consider the possibility that based on the most readily available data, people like Mark may be voicing reasonable concerns, given the circumstance. By "readily available data", I don't mean info we have to look under a rock to find, I mean the constant barrage of news stories about car bombings, bus bombings, cafe bombings, arson, assassinations, hate rallies, beheadings, ad infinitum, etc. that are conducted by some in the name of your religion. Pardon the pun, but we are bombarded with these stories in the traditional media. In the absence of a preponderance of moderate Muslim voices like yours in the news, is it not understandable that we might be at a loss to arrive at any conclusion other than "all Muslims hate us, want to kill us & destroy our way of life"? Keep in mind, most of us don't have ties to other countries as many in the Muslim-American community do. We're geographically isolated from the Middle East and Europe. We generally only speak English due to the fact that we can't travel an hour or two in any direction and arrive in France, Germany, Spain or England and practice the lingo with the locals. Again, we're not stupid, we're just not exposed to all the data.

2...

Ignorance is a temporary condition when those afflicted have the desire to learn and believe me, given the current state of world affairs, we do. We haven't heard much in the way of friendly Muslim voices in the press so please don't be too upset with those of us who might prematurely conclude that there might not be any. To be fair, before i found this site and several others like it, I could really only suspect that you existed. How many are you? Are you a tiny fraction or a silent majority?

Like MarkBrandon, we're scared. We want to understand. When people are scared, they blame. When people blame, they generalize. Then they some become dangerous & attempt to rationalize something utterly stupid like "Let's just nuke 'em". Yes, there are people like that in every country and there always will be. We can seriously mute that dialogue, however, when the level-headed among us seek each other out and form a dialogue.

Some of us have seen the movie "Islam" which purports that the goal of Islam is global conquest in the form of imposing an Islamic government on all the nations of the world. Is it true? Is it BS? Propaganda? Without a direct communication channel to moderates in the Muslim community, we really don't know. Again, we're scared. We become angry when we can't seem to find a powerful & loud voice condemning terrorism from within the Muslim community as a counterpoint story to the all-day carnage & loss of innocent life during the rebroadcast of 9/11 on CNN, for instance. Trust me, we're looking... maybe not in the right places, but we are looking. With all due respect, it isn't enough for you to be a pro-American, anti-terrorist Muslim. You have to find a way to let us know you're out there. Americans need to know you exist. Granted, I realize that won't be easy for you. Iím sure it will make more than a few in your community fairly unhappy. I doubt Fox News is going to read the above article on air, no matter how excellent. You'll have to find a way, though. Those of us who are non-Muslims will also have to do our part and spread the word to our friends.

3...

For those of you who berated MarkBrandon instead of debating him, I would ask you to consider the outcome you wished to achieve. Did you want to assure him that you understand how he could feel this way but assure him that not all Muslims are his enemy? Did you want to break down his generalization of Islam? His idea of "Me good, Muslims bad?"...maybe help him understand the distinction between Radical and Moderate Islam? Or would you just prefer to piss him off & confirm his suspicions so he's even more vocal in HIS community, resulting in more anti-Muslim sentiment? If the latter, you probably accomplished your goal with the name calling and the pointless "my religion is better than yours" banter. If your goal was the former, then please consider a moratorium on the mudslinging and unchecked emotion and just objectively talk to people like him. You may not sway them but you just might plant a seed. Just as Mr. Amanullah spoke of the importance of education for change in the Islamic countries, the same applies for us non-Muslims, here. Education is the mortal enemy of ignorance. Never condescend. Never underestimate. Never confuse ignorance with stupidity. Doing so defeats your purpose, assuming that purpose is letting us know we have friends in the Muslim community. Unless you speak up, most of us are just going to hear the evening news and what kind of opinion do you think weíll form then? What would you think if you were us? If thereís a reason for us to be optimistic about the American Muslim community, speak up. If you know something we donít, talk to us. Make some friends.

4...

At any rate, I'd like to continue my education & would kindly appreciate any links & information any of you could provide to point me in the direction of other rational, intelligent reasonable voices of moderate Muslims such as Mr. Amanullah and some of the members of this discussion group, like OmarG. If there are any websites, organizations or large groups of moderate Muslims who clearly articulate an anti-terrorist, anti-radical, pro-communication, pro-respect for others agenda, then I would love to bone up so I can inform my friends when this topic inevitably arise just as it always does every time we hang out now.

Cmon Gomer, you can do better then that. Retire your multiple aliases and come clean.







No one can have a higher opinion of him than I have, and I think he's a dirty little beast.
- W. S. Gilbert

Doc, you have verifiably come unhinged.

Take a week off from work when you get a chance, ok?


P.S.: I'm not OmarG.

P.P.S.: Or maybe i am!!!

P.P.P.S.: Nope, i'm not.

P.P.P.P.S: But then... who knows?? ? ?

>Take a week off from work when you get a chance, ok?<

I think the only one sent to the funny farm has been our multi-faceted AWOL right wing supremascist. Cmon gomer, just let it out.

>P.S.: I'm not OmarG.<

I know you're not. But does he? LoL