Attack on Canada, U.S. is attack on Muslims: imams
Sat Jan 9, 10:47 PM
MONTREAL (CBC) - A group of Canadian and U.S. Islamic leaders on Friday issued a fatwa, or religious edict, declaring that an attack by extremists on the two countries would constitute an attack on the 10 million Muslims living in North America.
The 20 imams associated with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada said this marked the first fatwa by the Muslim clergy declaring attacks on Canada and the U.S. to be attacks on Muslims.
"In our view, these attacks are evil, and Islam requires Muslims to stand up against this evil," the imams said in their fatwa.
Calgary Imam Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, said attacks on Canadian or U.S. soil are essentially attacks on Muslims.
"We are part of this society," he said. "This is my home, and if anybody attacks on Canada, in fact, attacks on my home."
Hey, don't bother looking for your free Publix calendar.
The coupon-loaded calendar, which had been a yearly giveaway for the past five years, was yanked this past week from all of the chain's South Florida supermarkets.
Why? Collateral damage of today's political climate.
On Dec. 7, the 2010 calendar lists Islamic New Year, not Pearl Harbor Day.
There are two ways to react:
1. To get into a xenophobic tizzy while weaving this into a narrative of a vast anti-American conspiracy that leads right up to the subversive undercover-Muslim, Kenyan interloper in the White House.
Or …
2. To assume that the grocery store chain has no reason to offend people, and that Publix, in an effort to be inclusive, inadvertently became a victim of a synchronicity of dates and an unconscious omission.
Publix pointed out that Pearl Harbor Day had never been listed in the store's calendars . And the Islamic New Year had been on the Publix calendar since 2006.
LoonWatch.com, recently published a devastating rebuttal of chapter four of Robert Spencer’s book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades.
The article no doubt knocked Spencer flat on his backside. In one swift move, LoonWatch completely neutralized one of his main lines of argumentation against Islam and Muslims–his pet issue of “dhimmitude” which he recurrently brings up to fear monger. One cannot underestimate the importance he gives to this issue–after all, he registered DhimmiWatch[dot]com! It is arguably his favorite topic.
Spencer issued a half-hearted (non)reply to the rebuttal. LW immediately counter-replied, completely pummeling Spencer.
And now…silence. Spencer, who has no real job other than this, has suddenly become as quiet as a mouse. What happened, Spencer? Cat got your tongue? Where did all the bravado go?
It’s not like Spencer is averse to going twelve rounds in debate…In fact, he had a debate with Omer Subhani on this very issue, and Spencer churned out not one but three (!) articles rebutting Subhani. (See here, here, and here.) Notice the blustering confidence Spencer exudes in those articles. Unfortunately, Subhani was by his own admission very busy during the time that he wrote his rebuttal (he’s a law student) and therefore was unable to do the in-depth research that we did.
Notice how detailed Spencer’s replies to Subhani are (complete with photographs that Spencer took of his own personal library and rotund self). It is clear that Spencer’s multiple replies took a lot of effort and time (he doesn’t have a real job like Omer Subhani does). So how come LoonWatch doesn’t get just one article rebutting our article on the same exact topic that Spencer was earlier willing to write three rebuttals of? Well, we all know the answer to that: Spencer has been defeated in debate, is boxed in, and has no possible way to respond to the points raised. And so the once ferocious Muslim eating tiger has turned into a cowardly chicken.
Muslim Jurists Denounce Irresponsible Statements on Fort Hood Attacks
The Fiqh Council of North America Denounces Irresponsible Statements on Fort Hood Attacks
We, the Fiqh Council of North America, have become aware that statements by some individuals and groups around the world have been issued on the internet and elsewhere praising the brutal killings and attacks last week at Fort Hood in Texas and condemning the American Muslim community and major American Muslim organizations of "betrayal of Islam and of hypocrisy" for denouncing the massacre committed by the suspect Major Nidal Malik Hassan. These statements are shocking to us and are totally unacceptable.
We at the Fiqh Council of North America emphasize adherence to Islamic values and principles of peace, justice and fair dealing with all people in every situation. We are deeply saddened with the death and injury of many people in the Fort Hood attack. We express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and pray for the health and well being of the injured. We denounce such acts of violence and consider them against the teachings of Islam.
The Fiqh Council of North America as a body of Muslim jurists supports the denunciation of this violence as stated by major American Muslim organizations and considers it in keeping with the spirit and values of Islam. Islam teaches that all Muslim wherever they live must respect the life and property of all people, whether Muslims or non-Muslims. Muslims must also abide by their pledges. Those who serve in the army should abide by the rules that they have pledged to follow within the general principles of justice and fair dealing as ordered and mandated by God. God Almighty says in the Qur'an:
"O you who believe! Fulfill your contracts..." (Qur'an, 5:1)
"... if anyone kills a person -unless in retribution for murder or spreading corruption in the land- it is as if he kills all mankind, and if anyone saves a life it is as if he saved the lives of all mankind..." (Qur'an, 5:32)
"O you who believe! Uphold justice, being witnesses to Allah, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives; whether the person is rich or poor; Allah can best take care of both. Refrain from following your own desire, so that you can act justly - if you distort or neglect justice, Allah is fully aware of what you do. (Qur'an, 4:134)
Horror at Fort Hood Inspires Horribly Predictable Islamophobia
Thursday's shootings at Fort Hood army base in Texas -- which have left at least 11 people dead and 31 others wounded -- were of course the "horrific outburst of violence" that President Obama bemoaned and condemned Thursday.
But, because a soldier identified as the gunman had a name that led to the presumption that he was Muslim, the incident inspired an all-too-predictable outbreak of Islamophobia.
News reports named the man who used two handguns in the assault on his fellow soldiers at a base that is a prime point of departure for troops headed to Iraq and Afghanistan as Major Malik Nidal Hasan. The major, who was wounded during the incident, was reportedly a psychiatrist who had served in the Department of Psychology at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Bethesda Naval Facility in Bethesda, Maryland, before his transfer to Fort Hood. Hours after the incident, and hours after news anchors and politicians cited his religion as an explanation for the shootings, a family member told reporters Major Hasan was indeed a Muslim.
But that was hardly the only relevant detail about the major.
For instance, according to Texas Senator Bailey Hutchison, preparing to deploy to Iraq. However, the senator said, "I do know that he has been known to have told people that he was upset about going (to Iraq)." Several new reports suggested that the major saw a deployment to Iraq as his "worst nightmare" and recounted how he had treated victims of combat-related stress and was upset about the war.
Robert "Spin Master" Spencer is at it again, always willing and ready to spread his half-truths when it concerns Islam, but deceitfully ignore such actions by his own faith adherents and others.
He states, "She has converted to Christianity from Islam - bringing to the fore once again the prevalence within Islamic communities in the West of attitudes and beliefs that foster honor killings and the murder of apostates from Islam."
You will notice that throughout all of Spencer's videos and books, he'll make a subtle but direct links between the behavior of some Muslims and a correlation with the teachings of Islam, when in reality, not all Muslims practice Islam as it should be. This is not untrue for any other faiths, such as Christianity and Judaism. Each member of their respective faith oftentimes practice their faith according to their own interpretations or at some level, obtain their practices from their families, friends or spiritual leaders, which may or may not be in conformity with the actual teachings from their respective scriptures.
Ask Senators For Balance In MidEast "Dear Colleague" Letter
On July 23rd, a "Dear Colleague" letter was written by Senators Evan Bayh (D,IN) and James Risch (R,ID) urging President Obama to press Arab nations to take dramatic steps to normalize relations with the people and the government of Israel. This letter, which has the support of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has been circulated through the Senate since last Friday. While there certainly are many positive ideas in this letter, it appears to be one-sided. According to Americans For Peace Now's (APN), Lara Friedman:
The letter, which is the top item on the "Take Action" page on the AIPAC website, focuses exclusively on President Obama’s call for Arab states to take steps to normalize relations with Israel, making no mention of the president’s call for Israel to stop settlement activity (and implying that steps Israel has already taken - like removing some checkpoints and PM Netanyahu’s belated support for the two-state solution - are sufficient demonstration of Israel’s commitment to the peace process).
I urge readers to support President Obama's call for a balanced approach on Israeli settlements and normalization of relations by Arab nations. Please contact your Senator through the Capitol toll-free switchboard, (800)828-0498 or (877)762-8762, and ask them to hold off signing the Bayh-Risch letter until it reflects this idea. You could also e-mail them through the Senate website, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom link, or the Churces For Middle East Peace link.
Religious Affairs Directorate to teach Europe about Islam
The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs will open an office in Brussels next month to teach Europe about Islam, in accordance with a decision made during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey in 2005.
During the pope's visit it was decided that Turkey's presence in Europe proves the possibility of the peaceful coexistence of Islam and Christianity. Starting from there, it was concluded that Turkey, with its secular state and Muslim identity, could be a good reference for Muslims living in Europe. In order to block efforts to create misunderstandings about Islam and stir up Islamophobia in the continent, the Directorate of Religious Affairs decided to open a bureau in the European capital. This decision was supported by the pope, too.
A remarkable thing happened at the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) nominations in February 2007: The normally highbrow and tolerant group nominated for best book in the field of criticism a work widely viewed as denigrating an entire religion.
The nomination of Bruce Bawer’s While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West From Within didn’t pass without controversy. Past nominee Eliot Weinberger denounced the book at the NBCC’s annual gathering, calling it “racism as criticism’’ (New York Times, 2/8/07). NBCC board president John Freeman wrote on the group’s blog (Critical Mass, 2/4/07): "I have never been more embarrassed by a choice than I have been with Bruce Bawer’s While Europe Slept. . . . Its hyperventilated rhetoric tips from actual critique into Islamophobia."
