[An excerpt from a german blog post noting that extremists are angered by our recent condemnation of Ayman Al-Zawahiri. These are people I do not mind upsetting.]
Monday, December 1, 2008
Some Welcome Hate
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
"I Will Go to My School Even if They Kill Me."
The AFP reports, “An Afghan teenager -- whose face was burned in an acid attack by suspected Islamic extremists -- vowed on Saturday to continue going to school even if it put her life in danger.
“Men on motorbikes used a water pistol to spray acid into the faces of Shamsia and around dozen other girls as they arrived at school wearing all-covering burqas in the southern city of
“Shamsia, 17, was the most badly wounded and had some acid enter her eyes. She was transferred to a military hospital in
"’I will go to my school even if they kill me," she told reporters. "My message for the enemies is that if they do this 100 times, I am still going to continue my studies.’"
Monday, October 20, 2008
Colin Powell's Encouraging Words
During his endorsement of Sen. Obama, former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell made several points that I found encouraging:Referring to attempts to link people to terrorism, Powell said, “And I’ve also been disappointed frankly by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign has, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that’s been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign, but Mr. McCain says he’s a washed out terrorist—well, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that because of this very, very limited relationship, that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, now Mr. Obama is tainted. What they’re trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings, and I think that’s inappropriate.”
I cannot think how many times this tactic of finding some six degrees of separation link and using it to discredit someone. It was certainly done to Mazen Asbahi.
Referring to American Muslims Powell said, ""I'm also troubled by...what members of the party say, and is permitted to be said, such things as, ‘Well you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is, 'He is not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian.' But the really right answer is, 'What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?' The answer's 'No, that's not America.'
Powell continued, "Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion he's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture, at the tail end of this photo essay, was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave, and as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards, purple heart, bronze star, showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old, and then at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have a Star of David, it had a crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Ushad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11. And he waited until he could go serve his country, and he gave his life."
Friday, September 26, 2008
USA Today: Group reports less anti-Muslim violence, but more profiling
Ashley Gipson, Religion News Service, 9/25/08
As published in USA Today
WASHINGTON — Anti-Muslim discrimination reached an all-time high in 2007, according to a report released Wednesday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The District of Columbia and just nine other states account for 80% of the civil rights complaints. California leads with one in five complaints, followed by Washington, D.C., and Illinois. The prime factors for discrimination are an individual's ethnicity, religion or "Muslim name," according the report.
The report said incidents of due-process issues, physical violence, denials of service or access, and verbal harassment decreased last year, but passenger profiling reports increased by 340%. Claims of workplace discrimination increased by 18%, the report said.
The council recently got involved in a case of religious accommodation for workers at JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plants, and has produced a pamphlet entitled "An Employer's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices" for distribution.
Corey Saylor, CAIR's national legislative director and author of the report, said the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes — defined as any crime against property or person where the victim is selected because of a perceived faith — decreased in 2007.
"We are cautiously optimistic," said Saylor. "We hope the wave of anti-Muslim hate crimes we've seen through the years is starting to level off."
Given the results of this year's report, Saylor recommended asking elected officials and other public officials to condemn anti-Muslim bias.
"When authority figures are sending positive messages about Islam," he said, "we find that people are less inclined to go out and commit anti-Muslim discrimination."
As published in USA Today
WASHINGTON — Anti-Muslim discrimination reached an all-time high in 2007, according to a report released Wednesday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The District of Columbia and just nine other states account for 80% of the civil rights complaints. California leads with one in five complaints, followed by Washington, D.C., and Illinois. The prime factors for discrimination are an individual's ethnicity, religion or "Muslim name," according the report.
The report said incidents of due-process issues, physical violence, denials of service or access, and verbal harassment decreased last year, but passenger profiling reports increased by 340%. Claims of workplace discrimination increased by 18%, the report said.
The council recently got involved in a case of religious accommodation for workers at JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plants, and has produced a pamphlet entitled "An Employer's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices" for distribution.
Corey Saylor, CAIR's national legislative director and author of the report, said the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes — defined as any crime against property or person where the victim is selected because of a perceived faith — decreased in 2007.
"We are cautiously optimistic," said Saylor. "We hope the wave of anti-Muslim hate crimes we've seen through the years is starting to level off."
Given the results of this year's report, Saylor recommended asking elected officials and other public officials to condemn anti-Muslim bias.
"When authority figures are sending positive messages about Islam," he said, "we find that people are less inclined to go out and commit anti-Muslim discrimination."
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Bush on Islam
"During Ramadan, we are reminded of Islam's long and distinguished history. Throughout the centuries, the Islamic world has been home to great centers of learning and culture. Muslim thinkers and scientists have advanced the frontiers of human knowledge. People of all faiths have benefited from the achievements of Muslims in fields from philosophy and poetry to mathematics and medicine."
-President George Bush, speaking at the 2008 White House Iftaar Dinner, 9/17/2008
-President George Bush, speaking at the 2008 White House Iftaar Dinner, 9/17/2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Mourning Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Statement on the Passing of Imam W. Deen Mohammed, leader of the largest Muslim
Movement in America (Chicago, IL, 9/09/08)
[Saylor note: Distributed by a member of Imam Mohammed's family who is also a friend of mine.]
The leader of the largest constituent of Muslims in America, Imam W. Deen Mohammed, son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad leader of the Nation of Islam, passed away today, he would turn 75 in October.
In 1975 he succeeded his father, leader of the Nation of Islam opening the movement to all races. He was a public servant who stood up against racial oppression, and worked continuously for peace, unity, and reconciliation. He maintained his father's legacy of economic and political empowerment for the Muslim community.
His passing today was confirmed in a statement released by the late leader's family, "Imam W. Deen Mohammed a follower of Prophet Muhammad - on him be peace- and Muslim leader passed away today at his home in Markham, IL. He trusted and he believed in the One G-d the Creator of all systems of Knowledge. We ask that you pray for our father and leader." - The Family of Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Movement in America (Chicago, IL, 9/09/08)
[Saylor note: Distributed by a member of Imam Mohammed's family who is also a friend of mine.]
The leader of the largest constituent of Muslims in America, Imam W. Deen Mohammed, son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad leader of the Nation of Islam, passed away today, he would turn 75 in October.
In 1975 he succeeded his father, leader of the Nation of Islam opening the movement to all races. He was a public servant who stood up against racial oppression, and worked continuously for peace, unity, and reconciliation. He maintained his father's legacy of economic and political empowerment for the Muslim community.
His passing today was confirmed in a statement released by the late leader's family, "Imam W. Deen Mohammed a follower of Prophet Muhammad - on him be peace- and Muslim leader passed away today at his home in Markham, IL. He trusted and he believed in the One G-d the Creator of all systems of Knowledge. We ask that you pray for our father and leader." - The Family of Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Friday, September 5, 2008
AFP: US mega-mosques: Muslim tradition with US convenience
WASHINGTON (AFP, 9/04/2008) — As Islam makes inroads in the United States, American Muslims are setting up mega-mosques that combine religious tradition with typical American convenience.
Modelled on the huge, non-Catholic churches that offer their congregations of at least 2,000 members several different sites for worship, US mega-mosques have become a necessity in some places.
"Frequently, we have buildings designed for the Friday prayer, which is the largest, for 1,000 people and you have 2,000 to 3,000 show up," said Corey Saylor of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
To accommodate the overflow, which also results in traffic jams when prayer is over, US Muslim congregations have set up satellite places of worship, again following the lead of the Christian mega-churches.
That is just one way in which US mega-mosques are decidedly American.
They also offer worshippers a progressive form of Islam, in line with the profile and desires of many Muslim Americans.
While more than two-thirds of Muslim Americans are immigrants, mainly from the Middle East, they are also "decidedly mainstream in their outlook, values and attitudes," a report published last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life said.
They have embraced what is often called the Protestant work ethic and believe, as do many Americans, that hard work pays off.
And Muslim Americans reject Islamic extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in western European countries, the Pew report said.
One mega-mosque in Virginia even rents space from a synagogue.
"This mosque, this branch, is part of a synagogue. Where have you seen that, a synagogue and a mosque? It's a completely American experience," Muslim prayer leader Mohamed Magid said.
That "completely American experience" is particularly attractive to young Muslim Americans, who like the way religious traditions and US efficiency and convenience are married in their places of worship.
In a message to Muslims around the world on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, US President George W. Bush singled out for praise "the men and women of the Muslim community for their contributions to America."
"Your love of family, and gratitude to God have strengthened the moral fabric of our country," Bush said.
"Our nation is stronger and more hopeful because of the generosity, talents, and compassion of our Muslim citizens," he said.
During Ramadan, which in the United States started on September 1, according to calculations by the Islamic Society of North America, observant Muslims eat a light pre-dawn meal and fast until sunset, a practice aimed at fostering self-discipline, sacrifice and empathy for the poor.
Mosques tend to be heavily frequented during Ramadan, with some remaining open 24 hours a day.
Modelled on the huge, non-Catholic churches that offer their congregations of at least 2,000 members several different sites for worship, US mega-mosques have become a necessity in some places.
"Frequently, we have buildings designed for the Friday prayer, which is the largest, for 1,000 people and you have 2,000 to 3,000 show up," said Corey Saylor of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
To accommodate the overflow, which also results in traffic jams when prayer is over, US Muslim congregations have set up satellite places of worship, again following the lead of the Christian mega-churches.
That is just one way in which US mega-mosques are decidedly American.
They also offer worshippers a progressive form of Islam, in line with the profile and desires of many Muslim Americans.
While more than two-thirds of Muslim Americans are immigrants, mainly from the Middle East, they are also "decidedly mainstream in their outlook, values and attitudes," a report published last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life said.
They have embraced what is often called the Protestant work ethic and believe, as do many Americans, that hard work pays off.
And Muslim Americans reject Islamic extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in western European countries, the Pew report said.
One mega-mosque in Virginia even rents space from a synagogue.
"This mosque, this branch, is part of a synagogue. Where have you seen that, a synagogue and a mosque? It's a completely American experience," Muslim prayer leader Mohamed Magid said.
That "completely American experience" is particularly attractive to young Muslim Americans, who like the way religious traditions and US efficiency and convenience are married in their places of worship.
In a message to Muslims around the world on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, US President George W. Bush singled out for praise "the men and women of the Muslim community for their contributions to America."
"Your love of family, and gratitude to God have strengthened the moral fabric of our country," Bush said.
"Our nation is stronger and more hopeful because of the generosity, talents, and compassion of our Muslim citizens," he said.
During Ramadan, which in the United States started on September 1, according to calculations by the Islamic Society of North America, observant Muslims eat a light pre-dawn meal and fast until sunset, a practice aimed at fostering self-discipline, sacrifice and empathy for the poor.
Mosques tend to be heavily frequented during Ramadan, with some remaining open 24 hours a day.
Stupid is as Stupid Believes Hysterical Internet Rumor
["Stupid is as Stupid Does" is yet another anti-Muslim e-mail circulating the internet. It pushes a vision of sterotyping, profiling and Obama is a Muslim. You can find it with you nearest search engine. Normally, I disregard such message, but this was was forwarded to me, with concern, by a family member so I felt obligated to write a response.]
The kind of casual stereotyping in the “Stupid Is As Stupid Does” is troubling at best, bigoted at worst.
If I were to base even an iota of my vote on “Stupid Is As Stupid Does” then maybe I should report to the nearest government office and insist that they revoke the privilege due to my intellectual apathy, indifference and undernourishment. (See why Thomas Jefferson agrees with me below.)
Basic American values reject profiling. In America, the idea of profiling people based on race, religion or ethnicity got thrown out when the clause “…three fifths of all other Persons." (a reference to slaves) was sliced from the U.S. Constitution in 1865.
If our basic values and the Constitution are not enough for you, the Department of Justice, President Bush and former Attorney General John Ashcroft also reject profiling.
Unfortunately, it is easy to assemble a list of violent radicals from almost any background.
Not one of us would conclude that Americans are somehow more inclined to violence and terrorism than others because of the relatively recent acts of the following individuals:
*Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City, 1995)
*Terry Nichols (Oklahoma City, 1995)
*Eric Rudolf (Olympic Park bomber, Atlanta 1996, grew up in the Christian Identity movement)
*Ted Kaczynski (The Unabomber)
*Sean Gillespie (convicted in 2005 for firebombing an Oklahoma synagogue)
*Buford Furrow “went on a shooting rampage at a Jewish day-care center in Southern California.” (Washington Post, 6/05/2005)
The post-9/11 anthrax case that recently garnered a new flurry of media coverage does not point to a Muslim. We all, regrettably, know the name of the town of Columbine. The rape camps where primarily Bosnian Muslim women--at least 20,000 of them-- were violated in the early 1990’s were crafted by Serbians.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in its “Terrorism 2002-2005” report concludes, “Eight of the 14 recorded terrorist preventions stemmed from right-wing extremism, and included disruptions to plotting by individuals involved with the militia, white supremacist, constitutionalist and tax protestor, and anti-abortion movements.”
Voting for or against any candidate for public office must be a matter of objective study of character, positions and experience.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote, "A democratic society depends upon an informed and educated citizenry."
“Stupid is as Stupid Does” fails the “informed and educated” test, rather it fits Jefferson’s more dire concern: "The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment."
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Republish: How St. Valentine Led Me to Islam
[Saylor's note: Originally distributed February 14, 2008.]
How St. Valentine Led Me to Islam
By Corey Saylor
Twenty years ago today I gave a girl a Valentine's Day card. Her name was misspelled. We were high school seniors.
I was a mere month out of drug rehab, where I was placed due to a daily concoction of marijuana, alcohol, LSD, PCP and other chemicals.
During the previous four years, I had developed a bad habit of breaking into cars and generally taking other people's things. A former girlfriend had carved my initials into her wrist with a razor blade and then cut the veins. She lived. On more than one occasion I had woken covered in my own blood, urine and vomit with no clue where I was or what had led me there.
The girl, who I had known since the tenth grade but not really interacted with, had her own history. She was from Afghanistan. She was in Kabul, the capitol city, when the Soviets invaded. She went to school one day to find a whole new set of teachers, who idolized communism. She threw rocks at occupiers and had assault weapons pointed her way. Her core memory of her family's escape from the war is looking at her longtime nanny running after their car begging for a chance to say goodbye. For security, her parents had told no one of their plan.
She responded to my card with a book on Islam, her faith. I tossed it aside with a comment about religion being for weak people.
When I later read the book I found it appealing. Islam's approach to life, essentially do your daily prayers then go live your life and try to make the world brighter was pragmatic and simple.
I embraced Islam two years later.
I went alone to her parents to ask their permission to marry her. During the dinner- an intimidating setting of her mother, father and me-I was served lasagna (not expected Muslim world dish) with superheated cheese in the center. I managed not to spit it out as it inflicted second degree burns on the inside of my mouth.
My culinary heroics worked and I received their blessing.
We had a religious marriage ceremony while we were still in our teens. Shortly after the ceremony, her father had me in their backyard digging a ditch with a pickax in the cold. He was illustrating the consequences of anything less than my best when it came to his daughter.
My wife’s first encounter with my world involved meeting a friend of mine whose father had just been angrily ramming this friends head into the family ceiling. The stream of cursing was impressive. The idea of a father inflicting that kind of abuse on a child was totally alien to my wife. It was common among my friends.
One of my first encounters with her world was at a dinner party in her parent’s home. Men and women were in separate rooms. I saw the men eating while my mother-in-law and a couple other women cooked. I drew my own conclusions and vocally refused to eat until the women did. I was taken aside and made to understand that the women had already eaten.
Giving her that card has opened me up to a number of such assumption changing encounters.
I have been told go back to your country, on the assumption that any Muslim must be a foreigner. I have been complemented on my excellent English, following the same assumption. My life has been threatened, on the assumption that as a Muslim I must have had advance notice of the 9/11 attacks.
I have been identified for extra security screening because of who I was traveling with, on the assumption that someone who looks foreign is more likely to be a threat than white Americans such as Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City bombing), Terry Nichols (Oklahoma City bombing) or Eric Rudolf (Olympic Park and abortion clinic bomber).
Embracing Islam probably saved my life; I had a rather wide range of unreasonably self-destructive behaviors that faded under the faiths message of respect for life. Certainly it made me a better citizen, if you do not count speeding, I am law-abiding. I no longer steal. I no longer abuse people. I do work I believe serves the public good.
That is not the image of the Muslim convert you get on television these days.
Today, I will give my wife the exact card I gave her twenty years ago, misspelled name and all. This time, I am Muslim and not asking her to be my Valentine. I am expressing my appreciation that in response to that very card she helped me to a faith that gave me back my life.
How St. Valentine Led Me to Islam
By Corey Saylor
Twenty years ago today I gave a girl a Valentine's Day card. Her name was misspelled. We were high school seniors.
I was a mere month out of drug rehab, where I was placed due to a daily concoction of marijuana, alcohol, LSD, PCP and other chemicals.
During the previous four years, I had developed a bad habit of breaking into cars and generally taking other people's things. A former girlfriend had carved my initials into her wrist with a razor blade and then cut the veins. She lived. On more than one occasion I had woken covered in my own blood, urine and vomit with no clue where I was or what had led me there.
The girl, who I had known since the tenth grade but not really interacted with, had her own history. She was from Afghanistan. She was in Kabul, the capitol city, when the Soviets invaded. She went to school one day to find a whole new set of teachers, who idolized communism. She threw rocks at occupiers and had assault weapons pointed her way. Her core memory of her family's escape from the war is looking at her longtime nanny running after their car begging for a chance to say goodbye. For security, her parents had told no one of their plan.
She responded to my card with a book on Islam, her faith. I tossed it aside with a comment about religion being for weak people.
When I later read the book I found it appealing. Islam's approach to life, essentially do your daily prayers then go live your life and try to make the world brighter was pragmatic and simple.
I embraced Islam two years later.
I went alone to her parents to ask their permission to marry her. During the dinner- an intimidating setting of her mother, father and me-I was served lasagna (not expected Muslim world dish) with superheated cheese in the center. I managed not to spit it out as it inflicted second degree burns on the inside of my mouth.
My culinary heroics worked and I received their blessing.
We had a religious marriage ceremony while we were still in our teens. Shortly after the ceremony, her father had me in their backyard digging a ditch with a pickax in the cold. He was illustrating the consequences of anything less than my best when it came to his daughter.
My wife’s first encounter with my world involved meeting a friend of mine whose father had just been angrily ramming this friends head into the family ceiling. The stream of cursing was impressive. The idea of a father inflicting that kind of abuse on a child was totally alien to my wife. It was common among my friends.
One of my first encounters with her world was at a dinner party in her parent’s home. Men and women were in separate rooms. I saw the men eating while my mother-in-law and a couple other women cooked. I drew my own conclusions and vocally refused to eat until the women did. I was taken aside and made to understand that the women had already eaten.
Giving her that card has opened me up to a number of such assumption changing encounters.
I have been told go back to your country, on the assumption that any Muslim must be a foreigner. I have been complemented on my excellent English, following the same assumption. My life has been threatened, on the assumption that as a Muslim I must have had advance notice of the 9/11 attacks.
I have been identified for extra security screening because of who I was traveling with, on the assumption that someone who looks foreign is more likely to be a threat than white Americans such as Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City bombing), Terry Nichols (Oklahoma City bombing) or Eric Rudolf (Olympic Park and abortion clinic bomber).
Embracing Islam probably saved my life; I had a rather wide range of unreasonably self-destructive behaviors that faded under the faiths message of respect for life. Certainly it made me a better citizen, if you do not count speeding, I am law-abiding. I no longer steal. I no longer abuse people. I do work I believe serves the public good.
That is not the image of the Muslim convert you get on television these days.
Today, I will give my wife the exact card I gave her twenty years ago, misspelled name and all. This time, I am Muslim and not asking her to be my Valentine. I am expressing my appreciation that in response to that very card she helped me to a faith that gave me back my life.
Republish: Eight Points for Political Empowerment of American Muslims
[Saylor's note: Originally distributed in January 2008.]
Eight Points for Political Empowerment of American Muslims
"Peace hath her victories No less renown'd than war."- John Milton
By Corey Saylor
The model of advocacy used by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) connects the vigilance and expertise of paid professionals with the energy of a volunteer community. Thanks to God Almighty, CAIR's method of unified action has a record of results.
"... (T)he Council on American-Islamic Relations has emerged as a vigilant force against discrimination against Muslims."
(Source: East Valley Tribune, 1/19/2008)
"It was overwhelming, their support."
-Host Gator Co. President Brent Oxley after CAIR supporters "swamped" the web host with "literally thousands" of complaints about Right Wing Howler, a blog whose author expressed support for the sentiment "...we need to kill all Muslim kids. Starting now." The web site was shut down.
(Source: St. Petersburg Times, 12/20/2006)
"Already fighting on behalf of American Muslims is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, as it is commonly known. The organization...has developed a reputation for being something of a pit bull in protecting the civil rights of Muslims."
(Source: The Indianapolis Star, 9/04/2005)
This advocacy model encourages Muslims to use the system to stand for their rights, values and to inject their voice into our national political dialogue.
Point 1: Hold Fast to Your Faith
Do not compromise your ideals. Hold fast to your values. Good civic works involves compromise, but know and adhere to your moral and ethical "red lines."
Point 2: Prove that You Can do the "Heavy Lifting"
Each local community should prove to its neighbors that it can turn out Muslims to interfaith banquets, political rallies on issues of mutual concern and on Election Day. This is action. People respect it.
Point 3: Form More PACs, Connect these PACS
A Political Action Committee (PAC) is a group organized to elect or defeat public officials or to oppose legislation or policy. America's Muslims will benefit from forming more PACs that can participate in local and national elections. While these PACs should have the independence to act as they choose, a coordinating body that can help connect the organizations to share best practices and, when wanted, assist in paralleling work on issues of national concern will be empowering.
Point 4: Insist That Elected Officials Do More Than Simply Show Up
Friendships are welcome and beneficial. However, your bottom line with elected officials must be a track record of action - votes, hearings, public statements - in support of your issues. Substantive support for your issues is more important than face time, number of visits to a mosque or something done a long time ago. Civic work is about making things better for you and your neighbors. This can range from negotiating a less expensive trash collection contract to opposing warrantless eavesdropping. If everyone is smiling at the meetings, but the trash still sits uncollected on the corner, you have not achieved your purpose.
Point 5: Connect with a National Muslim Organization of Your Choice; Support Local and National Muslim Public Affairs Organizations Financially
Our growing institutions are understaffed. Consider giving them more financial support. Your contributions should be tied to the organization providing you with professional service, results and incorporating you into a unified body of activists.
Point 6: Don't Expect an Immediate Place at the Table; Don't Accept a Permanent Seat Away From it
When you are new it is perfectly reasonable for others to "sound you out." They will see if you deliver on promises. They will frequently hold back to ensure that partnering with you will generally reflect well on them and help advance the issues they advocate. However, once you have accommodated this then you have the right to be part of the policy making process.
Point 7: Pursue a Career in Public Affairs
Our community needs more journalists, people working on Capitol Hill, in state government or any number of other places of civic service. Try volunteering for a political campaign.
Point 8: Seek Mentors
Japanese Americans have an experience that in many ways directly parallels ours: they were blamed for an attack on this nation. The civil rights movement is immensely important to understand effective advocacy and draw inspiration. The list is endless. Seek to learn from those who have succeeded already; it cuts the learning curve immensely.
Eight Points for Political Empowerment of American Muslims
"Peace hath her victories No less renown'd than war."- John Milton
By Corey Saylor
The model of advocacy used by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) connects the vigilance and expertise of paid professionals with the energy of a volunteer community. Thanks to God Almighty, CAIR's method of unified action has a record of results.
"... (T)he Council on American-Islamic Relations has emerged as a vigilant force against discrimination against Muslims."
(Source: East Valley Tribune, 1/19/2008)
"It was overwhelming, their support."
-Host Gator Co. President Brent Oxley after CAIR supporters "swamped" the web host with "literally thousands" of complaints about Right Wing Howler, a blog whose author expressed support for the sentiment "...we need to kill all Muslim kids. Starting now." The web site was shut down.
(Source: St. Petersburg Times, 12/20/2006)
"Already fighting on behalf of American Muslims is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, as it is commonly known. The organization...has developed a reputation for being something of a pit bull in protecting the civil rights of Muslims."
(Source: The Indianapolis Star, 9/04/2005)
This advocacy model encourages Muslims to use the system to stand for their rights, values and to inject their voice into our national political dialogue.
Point 1: Hold Fast to Your Faith
Do not compromise your ideals. Hold fast to your values. Good civic works involves compromise, but know and adhere to your moral and ethical "red lines."
Point 2: Prove that You Can do the "Heavy Lifting"
Each local community should prove to its neighbors that it can turn out Muslims to interfaith banquets, political rallies on issues of mutual concern and on Election Day. This is action. People respect it.
Point 3: Form More PACs, Connect these PACS
A Political Action Committee (PAC) is a group organized to elect or defeat public officials or to oppose legislation or policy. America's Muslims will benefit from forming more PACs that can participate in local and national elections. While these PACs should have the independence to act as they choose, a coordinating body that can help connect the organizations to share best practices and, when wanted, assist in paralleling work on issues of national concern will be empowering.
Point 4: Insist That Elected Officials Do More Than Simply Show Up
Friendships are welcome and beneficial. However, your bottom line with elected officials must be a track record of action - votes, hearings, public statements - in support of your issues. Substantive support for your issues is more important than face time, number of visits to a mosque or something done a long time ago. Civic work is about making things better for you and your neighbors. This can range from negotiating a less expensive trash collection contract to opposing warrantless eavesdropping. If everyone is smiling at the meetings, but the trash still sits uncollected on the corner, you have not achieved your purpose.
Point 5: Connect with a National Muslim Organization of Your Choice; Support Local and National Muslim Public Affairs Organizations Financially
Our growing institutions are understaffed. Consider giving them more financial support. Your contributions should be tied to the organization providing you with professional service, results and incorporating you into a unified body of activists.
Point 6: Don't Expect an Immediate Place at the Table; Don't Accept a Permanent Seat Away From it
When you are new it is perfectly reasonable for others to "sound you out." They will see if you deliver on promises. They will frequently hold back to ensure that partnering with you will generally reflect well on them and help advance the issues they advocate. However, once you have accommodated this then you have the right to be part of the policy making process.
Point 7: Pursue a Career in Public Affairs
Our community needs more journalists, people working on Capitol Hill, in state government or any number of other places of civic service. Try volunteering for a political campaign.
Point 8: Seek Mentors
Japanese Americans have an experience that in many ways directly parallels ours: they were blamed for an attack on this nation. The civil rights movement is immensely important to understand effective advocacy and draw inspiration. The list is endless. Seek to learn from those who have succeeded already; it cuts the learning curve immensely.
Republish: Time for a Home Front Surge?
[Saylor's note: Originally distributed prior to the 2008 Presidential election's primaries.]
Time for a Home Front Surge?
An American Muslim asks presidential candidates: How will you wield your greatest asset, the American people, in our conflict against extremism?
By Corey Saylor
In 1941 Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mind behind the Pearl Harbor surprise attack, was asked about the course of a possible Japan-U.S. conflict. He replied: "I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years."
Responding to Japan's Pearl Harbor attack President Franklin Roosevelt, in his famous "date which will live in infamy" speech the day after the attack, said, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."
In August, 1996, Osama bin Laden showed considerably less respect when outlining his thoughts for an Al-Qaeda-U.S. conflict. Referring to a 1993 firefight in Mogadishu, Somalia, he said: ".you left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal."
Bin Laden followed his taunts with attacks on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the U.S.S. Cole and, another date which will live in infamy, September 11.
Responding to the 9/11 attack President George Bush, in an address to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001, said to the nation, "Americans are asking, 'What is expected of us?' I ask you to live your lives and hug your children."
This response is not working, this is not the second or third year-it is the sixth. Bin Laden still runs wild. The righteous might of the American people was channeled into "living your lives."
Bush's recommendation unfairly places the burden of winning the struggle against extremism primarily on the shoulders of our military and their families. Finding the struggle less of a burden are several corporations which profit greatly from armed conflict.
So here is a simple, yet unaddressed question to those who wish to lead us: what will you do to better tap the time, treasure and talent of your greatest asset in the war against extremism? Is it time for a home front surge?
An American Muslim asks presidential candidates: How will you wield your greatest asset, the American people, in our conflict against extremism?
By Corey Saylor
In 1941 Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mind behind the Pearl Harbor surprise attack, was asked about the course of a possible Japan-U.S. conflict. He replied: "I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years."
Responding to Japan's Pearl Harbor attack President Franklin Roosevelt, in his famous "date which will live in infamy" speech the day after the attack, said, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."
In August, 1996, Osama bin Laden showed considerably less respect when outlining his thoughts for an Al-Qaeda-U.S. conflict. Referring to a 1993 firefight in Mogadishu, Somalia, he said: ".you left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal."
Bin Laden followed his taunts with attacks on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the U.S.S. Cole and, another date which will live in infamy, September 11.
Responding to the 9/11 attack President George Bush, in an address to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001, said to the nation, "Americans are asking, 'What is expected of us?' I ask you to live your lives and hug your children."
This response is not working, this is not the second or third year-it is the sixth. Bin Laden still runs wild. The righteous might of the American people was channeled into "living your lives."
Bush's recommendation unfairly places the burden of winning the struggle against extremism primarily on the shoulders of our military and their families. Finding the struggle less of a burden are several corporations which profit greatly from armed conflict.
So here is a simple, yet unaddressed question to those who wish to lead us: what will you do to better tap the time, treasure and talent of your greatest asset in the war against extremism? Is it time for a home front surge?
Thinking About Gaza
[Saylor’s note: I have asserted many times my belief that America playing a lead, balanced role in solving the Israel-Palestine conflict is vital to our national security. It is far to easy for Al-Qaeda and other anti-American forces to point at the Enormous suffering of average Palestinians and then try to exploit the very natural human response from any person of conscience to their own nefarious ends. Read the below opinion and decide for yourself if the situation in Gaza helps or hurts America’s cause.]
Gaza's shocking devastation
A Canadian Jew's visit to the territory left him ashamed by what he saw
By Harry Shannon, Special to the Hamilton Spectator
Aug 14, 2008
I had expected conditions in Gaza to be bad, but I was still shocked at the devastation when I went there in July.
Last month my companion and I entered Gaza at the Erez crossing through a modern building reminiscent of an airport terminal. After questioning by the Israeli border police, we left the building and had a kilometre walk to pick up transportation.
It was as if we had travelled to another planet. The sandy track is surrounded by the blown-up remnants of Gaza's former industrial district. Rubble stretching for hundreds of metres lines the route.
Even on the main road through Gaza, driving is a slalom course around potholes. The air reeks of burnt oil and stale food from exhaust fumes (cars rely on used cooking oil for fuel.)
There are not many cars on the road, anyway. Donkey carts are common.
Despite the 35 C temperatures, drivers don't use air conditioning in cars so they can save fuel.
Every so often, the smell of sewage fills the air. Lack of treatment facilities means that much of it is dumped raw into the Mediterranean.
We went first to a children's hospital on the edge of Gaza City. The hospital director and doctors described the conditions. Of 100 beds, 40 were occupied by children with bacterial meningitis, an extremely serious disease.
There's a shortage of basic medicines and supplies, even simple things such as alcohol swabs.
The hospital has three ventilators; only one is working. Israel won't let in spare parts for the others.
The working machine is for a "hopeless case" who can't be taken off. Meanwhile, patients who could benefit have no working machine.
There are many cases of malnutrition -- for example, children nearly a year old weighing 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds). Their families can't afford the special formula they need to improve.
Because of lack of equipment and qualified personnel, there is no radiotherapy and limited chemotherapy in Gaza.
Treatment for many conditions can only be obtained in Israel. Physicians for Human Rights -- Israel reports that, despite the ceasefire in the last few weeks, emergency medical cases are still refused entry into Israel, where they could have life-saving treatment. PHR has documented many cases of people dying before they are treated.
Indeed the proportion of patients denied exit from Gaza for treatment has increased since last year.
PHR will soon release a report on "medical extortion." Some sick Palestinians are interrogated at the Erez crossing and asked to become informants or collaborators as a condition of permission to leave Gaza for medical treatment.
After leaving the hospital, we travelled to the southern end of Gaza. We stopped at the Rafah crossing, the border with Egypt. It was closed, as it is most of the time.
A cluster of people were waiting, hoping against hope that they would be allowed to cross. Egypt is under pressure from both Israel and the U.S. not to open the border, and in any event, they do not want large numbers of refugees to flood in.
We drove into the city of Rafah, which has come under bombardment by the Israeli military. A huge number of buildings have been severely damaged or completely destroyed.
For street after street, barely any building is untouched. Makeshift shacks of corrugated metal and cloth sheets are now homes for those who have lost their housing.
We returned north along the coast road. The beauty of the sea view contrasted sharply with the rest of what we had seen.
After passing the Ash-Shati refugee camp, we went by modern hotels. They wait in vain for customers. The Gazan economy, devastated by Israel's border controls, continues to languish.
My sister and her husband are Orthodox Jews living near Tel Aviv. They are outraged at Israel's behaviour, especially the restrictions on sick patients needing to leave Gaza. My brother-in-law, a former chair of family medicine at Tel Aviv University and a specialist in medical ethics, has complained publicly about this.
As a Jew, I, too, am ashamed and disgusted at what is happening. Yes, Israel needs security. But what is happening goes far beyond security needs.
Israel's actions amount to collective punishment, forbidden under international law.
I am ashamed that the Harper government has tilted toward unconditional support for Israel against the Palestinians.
The current policy is unconscionable, as anyone who visits Gaza can see only too well.
Harry Shannon is a professor of clinical epidemiology and bio- statistics at McMaster University, and a member of Independent Jewish Voices. He lives in Dundas.
**********************************************************
As an addition, here is an excerpt from an article written by my former colleague, Arsalan Iftikhar. It matches my own sense of the current state of affairs in Gaza:
I have condemned the knuckleheads of Hamas for targeting innocent civilians and
not laying down their arms (a la The Irish Republican Army) to highlight the
moral impurity of Israel's occupation. Instead, their own moral impurity is transparent as we sadly watch these knuckleheads and the crooks of Fatah resorting to bloody fratricide where each throw another off high-rise buildings causing bloody mayhem on the streets of Gaza, whilst their poor women and children go hungry.
Furthermore, targeting a 9 year-old child in a Sbarro pizzeria is always wrong, period. Two wrongs do not make a right.
I have condemned the knuckleheads of Israel's government. Like our own American right-wing, the Likudnik extremists have completely monopolized the sociopolitical discourse from the majority of peace-loving Israelis. Even American conservative grand-daddy Robert Novak
recently echoed Nelson Mandela's sentiment by calling the situation 'worse than apartheid' in
The Washington Post. I doubt that anyone would dare call Robert Novak an 'Anti-Semite' or that Nelson Mandela lacks moral authority to designate anything as 'apartheid'; especially since his 27-year imprisonment effectively introduced the term to our human collective.
Gaza's shocking devastation
A Canadian Jew's visit to the territory left him ashamed by what he saw
By Harry Shannon, Special to the Hamilton Spectator
Aug 14, 2008
I had expected conditions in Gaza to be bad, but I was still shocked at the devastation when I went there in July.
Last month my companion and I entered Gaza at the Erez crossing through a modern building reminiscent of an airport terminal. After questioning by the Israeli border police, we left the building and had a kilometre walk to pick up transportation.
It was as if we had travelled to another planet. The sandy track is surrounded by the blown-up remnants of Gaza's former industrial district. Rubble stretching for hundreds of metres lines the route.
Even on the main road through Gaza, driving is a slalom course around potholes. The air reeks of burnt oil and stale food from exhaust fumes (cars rely on used cooking oil for fuel.)
There are not many cars on the road, anyway. Donkey carts are common.
Despite the 35 C temperatures, drivers don't use air conditioning in cars so they can save fuel.
Every so often, the smell of sewage fills the air. Lack of treatment facilities means that much of it is dumped raw into the Mediterranean.
We went first to a children's hospital on the edge of Gaza City. The hospital director and doctors described the conditions. Of 100 beds, 40 were occupied by children with bacterial meningitis, an extremely serious disease.
There's a shortage of basic medicines and supplies, even simple things such as alcohol swabs.
The hospital has three ventilators; only one is working. Israel won't let in spare parts for the others.
The working machine is for a "hopeless case" who can't be taken off. Meanwhile, patients who could benefit have no working machine.
There are many cases of malnutrition -- for example, children nearly a year old weighing 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds). Their families can't afford the special formula they need to improve.
Because of lack of equipment and qualified personnel, there is no radiotherapy and limited chemotherapy in Gaza.
Treatment for many conditions can only be obtained in Israel. Physicians for Human Rights -- Israel reports that, despite the ceasefire in the last few weeks, emergency medical cases are still refused entry into Israel, where they could have life-saving treatment. PHR has documented many cases of people dying before they are treated.
Indeed the proportion of patients denied exit from Gaza for treatment has increased since last year.
PHR will soon release a report on "medical extortion." Some sick Palestinians are interrogated at the Erez crossing and asked to become informants or collaborators as a condition of permission to leave Gaza for medical treatment.
After leaving the hospital, we travelled to the southern end of Gaza. We stopped at the Rafah crossing, the border with Egypt. It was closed, as it is most of the time.
A cluster of people were waiting, hoping against hope that they would be allowed to cross. Egypt is under pressure from both Israel and the U.S. not to open the border, and in any event, they do not want large numbers of refugees to flood in.
We drove into the city of Rafah, which has come under bombardment by the Israeli military. A huge number of buildings have been severely damaged or completely destroyed.
For street after street, barely any building is untouched. Makeshift shacks of corrugated metal and cloth sheets are now homes for those who have lost their housing.
We returned north along the coast road. The beauty of the sea view contrasted sharply with the rest of what we had seen.
After passing the Ash-Shati refugee camp, we went by modern hotels. They wait in vain for customers. The Gazan economy, devastated by Israel's border controls, continues to languish.
My sister and her husband are Orthodox Jews living near Tel Aviv. They are outraged at Israel's behaviour, especially the restrictions on sick patients needing to leave Gaza. My brother-in-law, a former chair of family medicine at Tel Aviv University and a specialist in medical ethics, has complained publicly about this.
As a Jew, I, too, am ashamed and disgusted at what is happening. Yes, Israel needs security. But what is happening goes far beyond security needs.
Israel's actions amount to collective punishment, forbidden under international law.
I am ashamed that the Harper government has tilted toward unconditional support for Israel against the Palestinians.
The current policy is unconscionable, as anyone who visits Gaza can see only too well.
Harry Shannon is a professor of clinical epidemiology and bio- statistics at McMaster University, and a member of Independent Jewish Voices. He lives in Dundas.
**********************************************************
As an addition, here is an excerpt from an article written by my former colleague, Arsalan Iftikhar. It matches my own sense of the current state of affairs in Gaza:
I have condemned the knuckleheads of Hamas for targeting innocent civilians and
not laying down their arms (a la The Irish Republican Army) to highlight the
moral impurity of Israel's occupation. Instead, their own moral impurity is transparent as we sadly watch these knuckleheads and the crooks of Fatah resorting to bloody fratricide where each throw another off high-rise buildings causing bloody mayhem on the streets of Gaza, whilst their poor women and children go hungry.
Furthermore, targeting a 9 year-old child in a Sbarro pizzeria is always wrong, period. Two wrongs do not make a right.
I have condemned the knuckleheads of Israel's government. Like our own American right-wing, the Likudnik extremists have completely monopolized the sociopolitical discourse from the majority of peace-loving Israelis. Even American conservative grand-daddy Robert Novak
recently echoed Nelson Mandela's sentiment by calling the situation 'worse than apartheid' in
The Washington Post. I doubt that anyone would dare call Robert Novak an 'Anti-Semite' or that Nelson Mandela lacks moral authority to designate anything as 'apartheid'; especially since his 27-year imprisonment effectively introduced the term to our human collective.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Emerson Lawyers Up, Part 2
A few days after I sent my letter to Steven Emerson, the “anti-terrorism” expert with a history of getting it wrong detailed in my previous post, I received a letter from his lawyer, Mr. James Lake of Thomas & Locicero.
We definitely agree that Emerson is entitled to his opinion. Mr. Lake is also respectful, which I personally appreciate.
After that, though, we diverge.
Lake writes, “Mr. Emerson correctly quoted your observation that Osama bin Laden ‘sought to exploit legitimate Muslim grievances.’ Use of the word ‘legitimate’ clearly indicated you believe the ‘grievances’ Bin Laden sought to exploit were valid.”
Lake does not address my actual concern: that Emerson then goes on to characterize my recognition of such grievances as “a rationalization of the violent attacks against the U.S.”
I’m not alone in recognizing that Bin Laden uses legitimate grievances in the Muslim world to further his twisted and un-Islamic agenda. The entities whose opinions parallel mine--the 9/11 Commission, White House and Department of State—certainly cannot be accused of rationalizing violent attacks against the U.S.
No wonder Emerson lawyered up the second I challenged him.
The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, aka the 9/11 Commission Report, notes, “[Bin Laden] also stresses grievances against the United States widely shared in the Muslim world…. He spoke of the suffering of the Iraqi people as a result of sanctions imposed after the Gulf War, and he protested U.S. support of Israel.”
This reality also gets an indirect nod in September 2002’s National Security Strategy of the United States, which can be viewed on the web site of the White House, when it reads: “In many regions, legitimate grievances prevent the emergence of a lasting peace. Such grievances deserve to be, and must be, addressed within a political process. But no cause justifies terror.”
Also, the U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, in a discussion about breaking apart Al-Qaeda, notes, “Disaggregation [Saylor’s note: to separate into its component parts] breaks the links in the chain that exploit ordinary people’s grievances and manipulates them into becoming terrorists. It seeks to provide those who are already radicalized with a way out and to create pathways for alienated groups to redress their legitimate grievances without joining the terrorist network.”
Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations on May 10, 2006, Former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and close associate of President Bush, Karen Hughes said, “We must do the same for terrorism and make the notion of killing oneself in order to kill others a matter of shame - never honor. Decent people throughout the world must be of one voice in clearly stating that no grievance, no matter how legitimate --- and there are many legitimate grievances in the world - but none of them can ever justify the targeting and killing of innocents.
To deny that many in the Muslim world feel that America’s Israel-biased role in the Israel-Palestine conflict is a legitimate grievance simply proves that the 1991 New York Times Book Review author who said that Emerson’s work was "marred by factual errors...that betray an unfamiliarity with the Middle East and a pervasive anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias" was—and remains--right on the money.
Recognizing these legitimate grievances as such does not weaken us or justify attacks upon our nation or citizens. As the National Security Strategy says, “… no cause justifies terror.”
However, by recognizing these grievances we present ourselves with the opportunity of working to fix the problem. Thus, we could deprive Al-Qaeda and other anti-American forces of one tool they use to recruit people to their mindset.
I think that would be a good thing.
We definitely agree that Emerson is entitled to his opinion. Mr. Lake is also respectful, which I personally appreciate.
After that, though, we diverge.
Lake writes, “Mr. Emerson correctly quoted your observation that Osama bin Laden ‘sought to exploit legitimate Muslim grievances.’ Use of the word ‘legitimate’ clearly indicated you believe the ‘grievances’ Bin Laden sought to exploit were valid.”
Lake does not address my actual concern: that Emerson then goes on to characterize my recognition of such grievances as “a rationalization of the violent attacks against the U.S.”
I’m not alone in recognizing that Bin Laden uses legitimate grievances in the Muslim world to further his twisted and un-Islamic agenda. The entities whose opinions parallel mine--the 9/11 Commission, White House and Department of State—certainly cannot be accused of rationalizing violent attacks against the U.S.
No wonder Emerson lawyered up the second I challenged him.
The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, aka the 9/11 Commission Report, notes, “[Bin Laden] also stresses grievances against the United States widely shared in the Muslim world…. He spoke of the suffering of the Iraqi people as a result of sanctions imposed after the Gulf War, and he protested U.S. support of Israel.”
This reality also gets an indirect nod in September 2002’s National Security Strategy of the United States, which can be viewed on the web site of the White House, when it reads: “In many regions, legitimate grievances prevent the emergence of a lasting peace. Such grievances deserve to be, and must be, addressed within a political process. But no cause justifies terror.”
Also, the U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, in a discussion about breaking apart Al-Qaeda, notes, “Disaggregation [Saylor’s note: to separate into its component parts] breaks the links in the chain that exploit ordinary people’s grievances and manipulates them into becoming terrorists. It seeks to provide those who are already radicalized with a way out and to create pathways for alienated groups to redress their legitimate grievances without joining the terrorist network.”
Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations on May 10, 2006, Former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and close associate of President Bush, Karen Hughes said, “We must do the same for terrorism and make the notion of killing oneself in order to kill others a matter of shame - never honor. Decent people throughout the world must be of one voice in clearly stating that no grievance, no matter how legitimate --- and there are many legitimate grievances in the world - but none of them can ever justify the targeting and killing of innocents.
To deny that many in the Muslim world feel that America’s Israel-biased role in the Israel-Palestine conflict is a legitimate grievance simply proves that the 1991 New York Times Book Review author who said that Emerson’s work was "marred by factual errors...that betray an unfamiliarity with the Middle East and a pervasive anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias" was—and remains--right on the money.
Recognizing these legitimate grievances as such does not weaken us or justify attacks upon our nation or citizens. As the National Security Strategy says, “… no cause justifies terror.”
However, by recognizing these grievances we present ourselves with the opportunity of working to fix the problem. Thus, we could deprive Al-Qaeda and other anti-American forces of one tool they use to recruit people to their mindset.
I think that would be a good thing.
Emerson Lawyers Up, Part 1
Steven Emerson is a self-proclaimed “terror-expert.”
As far back as 1991, The New York Times Book Review characterized his research and conclusions as being "marred by factual errors...that betray an unfamiliarity with the Middle East and a pervasive anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias." (New York Times, 5/19/91)
After the 1995 terror attack in Oklahoma City led by Timothy McVeigh—not a Muslim--Emerson concluded, “It was Islamic extremists who mounted this attack.” (CNBC’s Riviera Live, 4/19/1995)
Yet another false assertion Emerson made in 1998 resulted in him being compelled to pay California journalist Reese Erlich $3,000 and issue a statement characterizing his own “statement” as “incorrect.”
With that history, it was no surprise that when Emerson mentioned me recently on Capitol Hill, he drew a conclusion that was way, way off mark.
Here is the letter a sent to him, which contains his quote about me:
Mr. Emerson:
I am writing to request that you correct a serious factual error in your July 31, 2008, testimony before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.
While you are entitled to your opinion, characterizing my statement to Ambassador Hughes as “a rationalization of the violent attacks against the U.S.” is a creative leap rivaling the imagination of the greatest authors of fiction.
In reality, I concur fully with the August 2005 anti-terror fatwa endorsed by CAIR and many other Muslims groups, which reads in part: “Targeting civilians’ life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram – or forbidden - and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not ‘martyrs...’ Further, I concur with an October 4, 2003 CAIR news release that describes a suicide bombing in a Haifa restaurant that killed at least 19 people, including three children as “particularly loathsome.”
On pg. 25 of your testimony, you assert: “Saylor stated that Bin Laden ‘sought to exploit legitimate Muslim grievances.’ [Ambassador Karen] Hughes did not challenge Saylor’s rationalization of the violent attacks against the U.S. by referring to the motivations of blood thirsty terrorists as ‘legitimate Muslim grievances.’ The only way these Muslim grievances could be considered ‘legitimate’ would be if one equated the failure of the U.S. to become a Muslim country as ‘legitimate.’”
Callously inserting such patently false allegations into your testimony diminishes the integrity of the record of the U.S. Congress.
It is well known that Al-Qaeda and other anti-American forces exploit Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory to further their own twisted and un-Islamic agenda. As recently as June 3, 2008, Secretary of State Rice acknowledged the occupation when speaking to attendees of an American Israel Public Affairs Committee banquet, stating: “…the only responsible policy is to work with decent Palestinians who want and should be able to end the occupation that began in 1967….”
It is also well-established that many in the Muslim world perceive America’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as favoring Israel.
My assertion, which I believe to be fully in America’s national security interest, is that, if our nation takes a leading role in guiding the Israelis and Palestinians to finalizing a just and lasting peace, this will deprive Al-Qaeda and other anti-American forces of a tool they use to bring people into their murderous mindset: the allegation that Americans do not care about Palestinian suffering.
The last line of your above quoted testimony statement is obscure, but seems to question my allegiance to my nation and its Constitution.
I refer you to an op-ed I authored for July 4, 2005 in which I wrote:
“I and many other Americans are deeply disturbed by events in Iraq, by reports of torture and desecration of the Quran in Guantanamo Bay, by Patriot Act abuses, by the rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in our society, and by domestic and international policies that seem to create more problems than they solve.
“But my love for America is not diminished because it is sometimes flawed. I love my nation because, despite its flaws, the majority of its people remain committed to tolerance and respect for one another, whatever their faith or viewpoint.
“After the 9/11 attacks, my neighbors could have turned their anger on me as a Muslim. They did not. They came to me and offered both support and their horror that someone would twist my faith in such an evil manner.
“But of greatest inspiration to me are the words written in 1998 by a Muslim 10th grader living in California. Following the attack on the USS Cole, he wrote a letter to Osama bin Laden. In that letter he wrote: ‘If you are keen to murder Americans, kill us before you kill non-Muslim Americans. Bomb our mosques and Islamic Centers. We are Americans as much as others.’”
Your prompt action in issuing a public retraction and apology on this issue is appreciated. I am BCC’ing appropriate congressional staff to ensure that they are aware of your error.
Sincerely,
Corey P. Saylor
As far back as 1991, The New York Times Book Review characterized his research and conclusions as being "marred by factual errors...that betray an unfamiliarity with the Middle East and a pervasive anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias." (New York Times, 5/19/91)
After the 1995 terror attack in Oklahoma City led by Timothy McVeigh—not a Muslim--Emerson concluded, “It was Islamic extremists who mounted this attack.” (CNBC’s Riviera Live, 4/19/1995)
Yet another false assertion Emerson made in 1998 resulted in him being compelled to pay California journalist Reese Erlich $3,000 and issue a statement characterizing his own “statement” as “incorrect.”
With that history, it was no surprise that when Emerson mentioned me recently on Capitol Hill, he drew a conclusion that was way, way off mark.
Here is the letter a sent to him, which contains his quote about me:
Mr. Emerson:
I am writing to request that you correct a serious factual error in your July 31, 2008, testimony before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.
While you are entitled to your opinion, characterizing my statement to Ambassador Hughes as “a rationalization of the violent attacks against the U.S.” is a creative leap rivaling the imagination of the greatest authors of fiction.
In reality, I concur fully with the August 2005 anti-terror fatwa endorsed by CAIR and many other Muslims groups, which reads in part: “Targeting civilians’ life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram – or forbidden - and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not ‘martyrs...’ Further, I concur with an October 4, 2003 CAIR news release that describes a suicide bombing in a Haifa restaurant that killed at least 19 people, including three children as “particularly loathsome.”
On pg. 25 of your testimony, you assert: “Saylor stated that Bin Laden ‘sought to exploit legitimate Muslim grievances.’ [Ambassador Karen] Hughes did not challenge Saylor’s rationalization of the violent attacks against the U.S. by referring to the motivations of blood thirsty terrorists as ‘legitimate Muslim grievances.’ The only way these Muslim grievances could be considered ‘legitimate’ would be if one equated the failure of the U.S. to become a Muslim country as ‘legitimate.’”
Callously inserting such patently false allegations into your testimony diminishes the integrity of the record of the U.S. Congress.
It is well known that Al-Qaeda and other anti-American forces exploit Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory to further their own twisted and un-Islamic agenda. As recently as June 3, 2008, Secretary of State Rice acknowledged the occupation when speaking to attendees of an American Israel Public Affairs Committee banquet, stating: “…the only responsible policy is to work with decent Palestinians who want and should be able to end the occupation that began in 1967….”
It is also well-established that many in the Muslim world perceive America’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as favoring Israel.
My assertion, which I believe to be fully in America’s national security interest, is that, if our nation takes a leading role in guiding the Israelis and Palestinians to finalizing a just and lasting peace, this will deprive Al-Qaeda and other anti-American forces of a tool they use to bring people into their murderous mindset: the allegation that Americans do not care about Palestinian suffering.
The last line of your above quoted testimony statement is obscure, but seems to question my allegiance to my nation and its Constitution.
I refer you to an op-ed I authored for July 4, 2005 in which I wrote:
“I and many other Americans are deeply disturbed by events in Iraq, by reports of torture and desecration of the Quran in Guantanamo Bay, by Patriot Act abuses, by the rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in our society, and by domestic and international policies that seem to create more problems than they solve.
“But my love for America is not diminished because it is sometimes flawed. I love my nation because, despite its flaws, the majority of its people remain committed to tolerance and respect for one another, whatever their faith or viewpoint.
“After the 9/11 attacks, my neighbors could have turned their anger on me as a Muslim. They did not. They came to me and offered both support and their horror that someone would twist my faith in such an evil manner.
“But of greatest inspiration to me are the words written in 1998 by a Muslim 10th grader living in California. Following the attack on the USS Cole, he wrote a letter to Osama bin Laden. In that letter he wrote: ‘If you are keen to murder Americans, kill us before you kill non-Muslim Americans. Bomb our mosques and Islamic Centers. We are Americans as much as others.’”
Your prompt action in issuing a public retraction and apology on this issue is appreciated. I am BCC’ing appropriate congressional staff to ensure that they are aware of your error.
Sincerely,
Corey P. Saylor
The Taliban and Educating the Future
Yesterday, a piece titled “Militancy Spills Over into Pakistan’s Swat Valley” was aired on National Public Radio.
This particular line in the report stood out to me: “Nearly 100 girls' schools have been torched by the Taliban in the same period.”
While there is much criminal about the Taliban, this act of keeping girls uneducated is particularly vile and out of line with Islam.
The Prophet said: "Indeed are you not all guardians? And each of you is responsible for your flocks. So the leader who is in authority over the people is a guardian, and he is responsible for his flock, and a man is guardian over the members of his house, and he is responsible for his flock, and the woman is a guardian over the members of her husband's household and his children, and she is responsible for them... "(Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
This responsibility for children is part of why a mother is three times more important than a father. When asked who was most important in a family the Prophet said "Your mother, next your mother, next your mother, and then your father." (Sunan of Abu-Dawood) He also said that paradise is at your mother’s feet. The Quran, Islam's revealed text, states: "And revere the wombs that bore you, for God is ever watchful over you." (4:1)
So the Taliban’s vision is to keep the primary guardian of the children, a person three times more important than a father, uneducated.
One wonders how they intend to keep their society going when their children are being brought up by illiterate guardians.
"Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim,” said Prophet Muhammad. The first revealed word of the Quran is “Read.”
Educating girls, not burning their schools, must be a Muslim’s priority. I look forward to the day the Taliban is a badly written footnote in a history textbook being read by the woman who cured cancer.
This particular line in the report stood out to me: “Nearly 100 girls' schools have been torched by the Taliban in the same period.”
While there is much criminal about the Taliban, this act of keeping girls uneducated is particularly vile and out of line with Islam.
The Prophet said: "Indeed are you not all guardians? And each of you is responsible for your flocks. So the leader who is in authority over the people is a guardian, and he is responsible for his flock, and a man is guardian over the members of his house, and he is responsible for his flock, and the woman is a guardian over the members of her husband's household and his children, and she is responsible for them... "(Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
This responsibility for children is part of why a mother is three times more important than a father. When asked who was most important in a family the Prophet said "Your mother, next your mother, next your mother, and then your father." (Sunan of Abu-Dawood) He also said that paradise is at your mother’s feet. The Quran, Islam's revealed text, states: "And revere the wombs that bore you, for God is ever watchful over you." (4:1)
So the Taliban’s vision is to keep the primary guardian of the children, a person three times more important than a father, uneducated.
One wonders how they intend to keep their society going when their children are being brought up by illiterate guardians.
"Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim,” said Prophet Muhammad. The first revealed word of the Quran is “Read.”
Educating girls, not burning their schools, must be a Muslim’s priority. I look forward to the day the Taliban is a badly written footnote in a history textbook being read by the woman who cured cancer.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Detroit Free Press: Amendment to bill could serve terrorists' interest
Amendment to bill could serve terrorists' interest
By Corey Saylor
[As published in the Detroit Free Press on 8/01/2008.]
U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, recently attached an amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act that may unintentionally legitimize Al Qaeda and other anti-American forces.
Passed by a vote of 249-180, Hoekstra's amendment says that "none of the funds ... appropriated by this Act may be used to prohibit or discourage the use of the words or phrases 'jihadist,' 'jihad,' 'Islamo-fascism,' 'caliphate,' 'Islamist,' or 'Islamic terrorist' by or within the intelligence community or the Federal Government."
This amendment needs to be removed.
Many experts, including the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, find it misguided, and Hoekstra's arguments for it unsupported.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties published a guide called "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims," and in March, the National Counterterrorism Center produced a similar publication called "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counterterrorism Communication."
According to these recommendations, by using phrases such as "Islamic terrorism," U.S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesman (sic) for ordinary Muslims." The report also urges "caution in using terms such as 'jihadist,' 'Islamist,' and 'holy warrior' as grandiose descriptions," to avoid associating acts of violence or terrorism with religious concepts.
On the House floor, Hoekstra bitterly complained that "the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Department of Homeland Security have issued memos imposing speech codes."
The DHS document actually "outlines recommendations," and the NCTC document says its suggestions are "not binding."
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote a letter to other members of Congress opposing Hoekstra's amendment, saying, "These are precisely the terms that Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders use routinely to describe their actions against the United States. We should not let them define this debate and claim a false mantle of legitimacy."
So this argument is not, as Hoekstra asserts, about creating "speech police" or "the politically correct politicization of our nation's intelligence community." It's about having America's spokespeople and soldiers smartly use language that defines Al Qaeda and other groups as thugs and criminals. This is done not because we worry about offending sensitivities, but because it serves the strategic purpose of isolating extremists and removing the false cloak of religiosity that they use to justify their barbarism.
COREY SAYLOR is national legislative director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil liberties organization. He may be contacted at: csaylor@cair.com.
********************************
Two additional points that were edited to save space:
*A May 23, 2006 National Defense University paper written by Dr. Douglas E. Streusand and LTC Harry D. Tunnell concurs says, “Calling our enemies jihadis and their movement a global jihad thus indicates that we recognize their doctrines and actions as being in the path of God…”
*The Department of the Army’s counterinsurgency field manual supports considering how our words and actions impact the goals we are trying to accomplish noting that “cultural awareness” is an “important competency.” It then goes on to say, “Effective small-unit leaders adapt to new situations, realizing their words and actions may be interpreted differently in different cultures.”
One additional point I learned after I wrote the op-ed:
*"How Terrorist Groups End" a paper published by RAND corporation on July 28, 2008 recommends: "Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors."
Another Update:
* Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in September of 2007 former CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid: “I mean, even adding the word Islamic extremism, or qualifying it to Sunni Islamic extremism, or qualifying it further to Sunni Islamic extermism as exemplified by government such as Bin Laden, all make it very, very difficult because the battle of words is meaningful, especially in the Middle East to people. And so, I do think, and I had a chance to get to know many of the regional leaders out there. They clearly understand that we, collectively, are fighting a problem that they don’t want to win, that we don’t want to win. The problem that we have to face is how do we work together to keep this problem from becoming mainstream.”
The video is available here and on C-Span’s website.
By Corey Saylor
[As published in the Detroit Free Press on 8/01/2008.]
U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, recently attached an amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act that may unintentionally legitimize Al Qaeda and other anti-American forces.
Passed by a vote of 249-180, Hoekstra's amendment says that "none of the funds ... appropriated by this Act may be used to prohibit or discourage the use of the words or phrases 'jihadist,' 'jihad,' 'Islamo-fascism,' 'caliphate,' 'Islamist,' or 'Islamic terrorist' by or within the intelligence community or the Federal Government."
This amendment needs to be removed.
Many experts, including the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, find it misguided, and Hoekstra's arguments for it unsupported.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties published a guide called "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims," and in March, the National Counterterrorism Center produced a similar publication called "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counterterrorism Communication."
According to these recommendations, by using phrases such as "Islamic terrorism," U.S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesman (sic) for ordinary Muslims." The report also urges "caution in using terms such as 'jihadist,' 'Islamist,' and 'holy warrior' as grandiose descriptions," to avoid associating acts of violence or terrorism with religious concepts.
On the House floor, Hoekstra bitterly complained that "the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Department of Homeland Security have issued memos imposing speech codes."
The DHS document actually "outlines recommendations," and the NCTC document says its suggestions are "not binding."
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote a letter to other members of Congress opposing Hoekstra's amendment, saying, "These are precisely the terms that Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders use routinely to describe their actions against the United States. We should not let them define this debate and claim a false mantle of legitimacy."
So this argument is not, as Hoekstra asserts, about creating "speech police" or "the politically correct politicization of our nation's intelligence community." It's about having America's spokespeople and soldiers smartly use language that defines Al Qaeda and other groups as thugs and criminals. This is done not because we worry about offending sensitivities, but because it serves the strategic purpose of isolating extremists and removing the false cloak of religiosity that they use to justify their barbarism.
COREY SAYLOR is national legislative director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil liberties organization. He may be contacted at: csaylor@cair.com.
********************************
Two additional points that were edited to save space:
*A May 23, 2006 National Defense University paper written by Dr. Douglas E. Streusand and LTC Harry D. Tunnell concurs says, “Calling our enemies jihadis and their movement a global jihad thus indicates that we recognize their doctrines and actions as being in the path of God…”
*The Department of the Army’s counterinsurgency field manual supports considering how our words and actions impact the goals we are trying to accomplish noting that “cultural awareness” is an “important competency.” It then goes on to say, “Effective small-unit leaders adapt to new situations, realizing their words and actions may be interpreted differently in different cultures.”
One additional point I learned after I wrote the op-ed:
*"How Terrorist Groups End" a paper published by RAND corporation on July 28, 2008 recommends: "Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors."
Another Update:
* Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in September of 2007 former CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid: “I mean, even adding the word Islamic extremism, or qualifying it to Sunni Islamic extremism, or qualifying it further to Sunni Islamic extermism as exemplified by government such as Bin Laden, all make it very, very difficult because the battle of words is meaningful, especially in the Middle East to people. And so, I do think, and I had a chance to get to know many of the regional leaders out there. They clearly understand that we, collectively, are fighting a problem that they don’t want to win, that we don’t want to win. The problem that we have to face is how do we work together to keep this problem from becoming mainstream.”
The video is available here and on C-Span’s website.
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