Saturday, November 21, 2009

Hatred against Arabs and Muslims answered

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Hatred against Muslims and Arabs answered
By Ray Hanania -- 
Below are two columns you should read both. The first reflects the growing racism and hatred among a growing number of uneducated and uninformed Americans. The second represents the facts, responding to the hatred and bigotry. As an American Arab military veteran from a family of American Arab military veterans, I am proud to present this debate that is the heart of America's misguided conscience today.
MUSLIMS A PART OF OUR HERITAGE.....ALWAYS......I THINK NOT
By Terry L. Sheldon
[President] Obama said, in his Cairo speech: "I know, too,  that Islam has always been a part of America's story.
Dear  Mr. Obama:
Were those Muslims that were in America when the  Pilgrims first landed? Funny, I thought they were Native  American Indians.
Were those Muslims that celebrated the  first Thanksgiving day? Sorry again, those were Pilgrims and  Native American Indians.
Can you show me one Muslim  signature on the United States Constitution? Declaration of  Independence? Bill of Rights? Didn't think so.
Did Muslims  fight for this country's freedom from England? No.
Did  Muslims fight during the Civil War to free the slaves in  America? No, they did not. In fact, Muslims to this day are still  the largest traffickers in human slavery. Your own 'half brother'  a devout Muslim still advocates slavery himself, even though  muslims of Arabic descent refer to black muslims as "pug nosed  slaves." Says a lot of what the Muslim world really thinks of your  family's "rich Islamic heritage" doesn't it Mr.Obama?
Where  were Muslims during the Civil Rights era of this country?  Not present. There are no pictures or media accounts of Muslims  walking side by side with Martin Luther King Jr., or helping to  advance the cause of Civil Rights.
Where were Muslims  during this country's Woman's Suffrage era? Again, not  present. In fact, devout Muslims demand that women are subservient  to men in the Islamic culture. So much so that often they are  beaten for not wearing the 'hajib' or for talking to a man that is  not a direct family member or their husband. Yep, the Muslims are  all for women's rights aren't they?
Where were Muslims  during World War II? They were aligned with Adolf Hitler.  The Muslim grand mufti himself met with Adolf Hitler, reviewed the  troops and accepted support from the Nazi's in killing  Jews.
Finally   Obama, where were Muslims on Sept. 11th, 2001? If  they weren't flying planes into the World Trade Center, the  Pentagon or a field in Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people on  our own soil, they were rejoicing in the middle east. No one can  dispute the pictures shown from all parts of the Muslim world  celebrating on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other news networks that  day. Strangely, the very "moderate" Muslims who's asses you bent  over backwards to kiss in Cairo, Egypt on June 4th were stone cold  silent post 9-11. To many Americans, their silence has meant  approval for the acts of that day.
And THAT,  Obama,  is the "rich heritage" Muslims have here in America.
And now we can  add November 5, 2009-- the slaughter of American soldiers at Fort  Hood by a muslim major who is a doctor and a psychiatrist who was  supposed to be counselling soldiers returning from battle in Iraq  and Afghanistan.  That,  Obama is "muslim heritage" in  America.
THE RESPONSE WITH FACTS AMERICANS SIMPLE DO NOW KNOW
By Jamaal Badaani
President Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in the Military (www.APAAM.org)
Dear Mr. Sheldon;
I read your impassioned piece below to our President and Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Hussain Obama regarding Muslims in America titled "MUSLIMS A PART OF OUR HERITAGE.....ALWAYS......I THINK NOT"......., and as a Patriotic American who has fought for this country since June 1981 - your characterizations regarding Muslims in your writing needs to have some facts clarified.  I sent you attachments to you personally via email to support my point.
As a Muslim American Marine, I have lead Marines in combat on numerous occasions and since 9/11, I participated in counter-terrorism operations to pursue those terrorist bastards who attacked our country - I didn't wait for my country to call, I asked to be deployed, and waited for six months with home and personal possessions in storage by moving out of my home, and waited by renting a room from a friend, so when my turn was called I would not waste valuable time preparing - I was prepared and deployed at a moments notice.
The terrorists used Islam to justify their horrific and cowardice acts on 9/11.   As Americans, Arabs and Muslims packed their bags, as I did, to get some pay back against the terrorists who struck our country.  The attack on our country was not a Christian thing, it was not a Muslim thing, it was not a Jewish thing, and surely it wasn't a white, black, yellow, or brown thing.
It was terrorists who hated us for a multitude of reasons that struck our country on 9/11 - all which transcended color, race, religion, and nationality.  In doing so, the terrorist killed those who were from over 87 countries in the deaths at the World Trade Center, and my fellow brothers and sisters in Arms lost their lives in the Pentagon.  Muslims were among the dead both in the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.
The first documented Arab American immigrant - Private Nathan Badeen - from Syria died in the revolutionary war on May 26th, 1776, Private Nathan Badeen was with the 18th Continental Army of Massachusets.  He died fighting for a cause of freedom - two months prior to seeing the Declaration of Independence issued to the British.  So yes, there were Arab Americans and Muslim Americans who also died in the revolutionary war, as documented in the attachments - in addition to Private Nathan Badeen.
Over 5,000 Muslim and Arab Americans fought on both sides of the civil war - can you imagine Arab and Muslim Americans who were rebels, and on the other side Arab and Muslim Americans with the Union fighting to end slavery.
Over 15,000 Arab Americans fought in WWII to help rid the world of a Tyrant.
Since 9/11 Muslim and Arab Americans have given their life serving in the US Military in Iraq and Afghanistan - Captain Khan saw the threat of a vehicle in Iraq approaching dangerously towards the check point manned by his fellow Army Soldiers - Captain Khan ran outside of the wire to a safe distance away from harms way to his soldiers and jumped in front of the vehicle so it could detonate before it got to his troops.  Captain Khan was months away from his Doctoral Degree when 9/11 happened, but held off getting his degree so he could join the US Army and serve his country in time of need.
end

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Is the Goldstone Report being used merely as a weapon of continued conflict by extremists on both sides?

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Many are arguing that Palestinians who fail to denounce Israel for its conduct in Gaza, as cited by the Goldstone Report, is an indication of failed leadership and they are using the Goldstone Report not as a review of Israeli war crimes (and Hamas war crimes, too) but rather as a political weapon to attack Israel and moderate Palestinian leaders who support two-states. It is the typical manner in which extremists exploit Palestinian suffering, not to end the suffering but to continue the conflict to an end they seek but that is impossible to reach.

The Goldstone Report is an unprecedented action in Arab-Israeli history, meticulously detailing the war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza during the War Israel started in November 2008. But it also details war crimes committed by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is no different than the settler terrorist organization which is slowly choking moderates out of Israel's government.

But the Goldstone Report is not the real priority for Palestinians and the blame game, which Palestinians and Israelis play well through years of experience, is an exercise in futility when it comes to achieving justice.
The only answer to the tragedies, war crimes and violence is peace, peace based on two-states and peace based on non-violence by both sides.

As Palestinians and Arabs, we can continue to scream at Israeli atrocities to no avail, or, we can work towards a genuine peace based on compromise. Any other goal besides compromise is not possible and only prolongs the conflict and prolongs the suffering mainly for Palestinians.

Supporters of the One-State agenda, a nightmare plan for the continued mental occupation of the Palestinian people embracing an impossible goal, argue that only Israel should be criticized because they killed more Palestinians than Hamas killed Israelis.

How can we Palestinians have fallen so low morally to make that argument when every life is worth fighting for in a moral and principled world. Crime and criminals should be punished through the court of law not through vigilante justice nor through emotional screaming that feeds irrational rejectionism.

If we achieve peace then the tragedies and sufferings will end. The Goldstone Report and the terrorism of the Israeli military and the Hamas fanatics are a symptom of the failure to achieve peace, a result that has been played over and over during the past 61 years. The history of Palestinian and Israeli relations are pock marked by repeated tragedies of similar circumstances and those tragedies will continue.

Rejectionists and one-staters insist that the PLO and the Palestine National Authority have failed to prosecute the case for the Goldstone Report, saying they are not leaders.

But the truth is that those fanatics are using the Goldstone Report not to achieve justice for the victims but as a weapon in their continued efforts to block peace and provoke more conflict. The rejectionists and fanatics want more violence and they want more atrocities so they can point a finger at the enemy -- Israelis and Palestinians -- and blame someone to score political points. It makes them popular among the emotion-distraught Palestinian population and public. Screaming hate is always the easy road to leadership. But real leadership is to recognize the reality of the Goldstone Report, argue for its adjudication through a process of the Rule of Law, but not use it to prevent peace. Real leadership comes from those Palestinians who stand up to the fanatics in our community and who demand that we have a two-state solution and an end to the conflict.

The real failures are among the fanatics and extremists and Hamas terrorists who use violence and suffering to keep the cauldron of tragedy stirring so they can artificially lift themselves up to self-proclaimed positions of leadership while allowing our people to sink into a lifetime of tragic hell.

Their dream of continued conflict is a nightmare for the Palestinians that we continue to live, exploited and fueled by Israeli extremists and settler terrorists, but one that we help to make happen through rejection.

Two-states and peace are the only real answer to the atrocities committed in the Gaza Strip by Israel's military and by the settler fanatics.

Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com