Anniston Star (3/24/06) Salt Lake Tribune (3/25/06)
Distributed by Progressive Media Project
Muslim-bashing has become socially acceptable in the United States.
A new Washington Post /ABC News poll found that 46 percent
of Americans hold negative perceptions of Islam, 7 percentage points
higher than after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The poll
also discovered that a third of the respondents have recently heard
prejudiced comments against Muslims. Even more depressing is that
one in four openly acknowledges harboring prejudice toward Muslims.
Is this surprising? Unfortunately, it's not. The vilification of Islam
and Muslims has been relentless among segments of the media and political
classes for the past five years.
The dangerously popular right-wing columnist Ann Coulter, for example,
routinely drums up racist diatribes against Muslims. She questioned
the ''personal hygiene and grooming'' of Muslims in a recent column.
What other group can be so openly and maliciously maligned in American
mainstream discourse today?
During the whole Dubai ports deal debacle, even Democratic leaders
engaged in unfounded scare mongering to score political points.
And it continues. Colorado Rep. Jim Welker, a Republican, was recently
discovered to have sent an e-mail to his constituents titled: "Beware
of Islam in America." The text of his e-mail read, in part, "Can a
devout Muslim be an American patriot and loyal citizen? Politically,
no. Because he must submit to the mullah, who teaches annihilation
of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan."
This is rubbish, of course, but such bigoted ideas continue to thrive,
leaving many American Muslims politically fatigued.
''In the aftermath of 9/11, Arab and Muslim Americans have been compelled,
time and again, to apologize for acts they did not commit, to condemn
acts they never condoned and to openly profess loyalties that, for
most U.S. citizens, is merely assumed.'' That is the conclusion of
Sally Howell and Andrew Shyrock, two professors from the University
of Michigan who have studied the Arab and Muslim communities of Detroit.
We need to tap into American traditions of tolerance to help us differentiate
between a religion and its extremists. We can engage the philosophical
school of American pragmatism to dismiss bigotry and opt for real
analysis.
But in times of political turmoil, Americans have historically turned
inward. Borders close, populism rises and demagoguery takes off.
''The goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or
not, is world domination,'' said televangelist Pat Robertson recently.
This is not just wrong. It's dangerous. And this kind of demagoguery
must be resisted before it gains even more traction. Otherwise, the
noble American tradition of tolerance will be the next casualty in
the war on terror.
--
Moustafa Bayoumi is a professor in the English Department at Brooklyn
College, City University of New York, an editor of Middle East
Report and co-editor of The Edward Said Reader (Vintage,
2000) .
MERIP
OP-EDS
A Country at a Crossroads The Austin-American Statesman (Austin, Texas) November 9, 2007
Kamran Asdar Ali
"A
very frank discussion"— so President Bush described
his Nov. 7 telephone
conversation with Pervez Musharraf, four days after the Pakistani
general
imposed a state of emergency and dissolved the high court expected
to rule
his continued presidency unconstitutional. And frank the discussion
probably
was: In the face of spirited protest in Pakistan, and a querulous
press in
Washington, back-channel pressure succeeded in persuading Musharraf
to
promise parliamentary elections. Yet the generous U.S. aid earmarked
for
Pakistan — on top of nearly $10 billion since 2001 — is
quite evidently not
at risk.
What may be at risk is Musharraf's tenure as head
of the military government. Full
story>>
The
war debate in Washington is bogged down. Partisan rancor is one
reason why, and bipartisan desire for US hegemony in the oil-rich
Persian Gulf is
another. But many Americans are vexed by a nobler concern: that
a
“precipitous” US departure from Iraq would leave intensified
civil war,
ethnic-sectarian cleansing and massive refugee flows in its wake.
This
concern is legitimate. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that Iraq’s
civil war
and humanitarian emergency have grown steadily worse as the US
military
deployment there wears on. Full
Story>>
Should
the United States, seeking to recalibrate the balance between
security and liberty in the "war on terror," emulate
Israel in its treatment of Palestinian detainees? That is the position
that Guantanamo detainee lawyers Avi Stadler and John Chandler
of Atlanta, and some others, have advocated. That people in U.S.
custody could be held incommunicado for years without charges,
and could be prosecuted or indefinitely detained on the basis of
confessions extracted with torture is worse than a national disgrace.
It is an assault on the foundations of the rule of law. Full
Story>>
There
is an oft-told Palestinian allegory about a family who complained
their house was small and cramped. In response, the father brought
the farm
animals inside -- the goat, the sheep and the chickens all crowded
into the
house. Then, one by one, he moved the animals back outside. By
the time the
last chicken left, the family felt such relief they never complained
of the
lack of elbow room again. Full
Story>>
