Was I a little rough on the Muslims in Denmark? I don’t think so and I want to explain why.
I live in Canton, Michigan, a very diverse suburb. Construction has just finished on a new SIKH Temple here and a small HINDU Temple is being demolished to make room for one three times as large.
Our shops ate filled with products from all over the world and we shop side by side with people of all nationalities, dressed in a variety of national garbs including Muslim scarves and the occasional full burqua – not a problem.
Dearborn, another suburb of Detroit, has the largest ARAB population in the U.S. The Arabs are not all Muslims with many CHALDEANS who are from Lebanon, Syria and Iran and CHRISTIAN.
The Muslim Arabs have their own temples and actually a “Arab Town” like other areas here that are dubbed “Pole Town”, “Little Italy”, “Mexican Town” etc. The area is really cool with all the specialty shops and bakeries. They even hold a festival in the summer.
Muslims here also want to part of the community and have open house at their temples to answer questions about their faith and customs; they fear that ignorance of Islam leads to wild speculation and they don’t want that.
In our local media, especially the newspapers, Muslim representatives, usually IMMAMS get to opine about various topics including topics like the Muhammad cartoons in Denmark.
They tell us that their faith teaches them that images of Muhammad and Allah are not allowed and especially irreverent images. They tell us they are saddened and feel insulted by the cartoons. They don’t seem to address the message the cartoons are trying to present (killing in the name of religion) or that the Muslims trying to kill the cartoon artist are somehow in the wrong and the Muslims involved in the riots in Denmark because of the cartoons are also somehow in the wrong.
The Denmark Muslims are basically from Tunisia and Morocco and probably less sophisticated and therefore prone to more barbarian behavior but still a Muslim is a Muslim. Are they afraid to criticize a fellow Muslim? Christians criticize and even battle with fellow Christians – what’s different?
Shia Muslims kill, torture and maim Sunni Muslims and visa versa. Is this something like Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland?
Many non-Muslim Americans say that unless American Muslims start differentiating themselves from the Muslim crazies out there by speaking against their terrorist ways, Americans will lump them into the group they consider radical Islamists bent on destroying the West (infidels) and treat them accordingly.
I think if the Muslims want to partake of the good life that America and the West offers, they will somehow have to stand up for the country they now call home and defend it against the radicals trying to destroy it. After all, it is their home now – right?
I live in Canton, Michigan, a very diverse suburb. Construction has just finished on a new SIKH Temple here and a small HINDU Temple is being demolished to make room for one three times as large.
Our shops ate filled with products from all over the world and we shop side by side with people of all nationalities, dressed in a variety of national garbs including Muslim scarves and the occasional full burqua – not a problem.
Dearborn, another suburb of Detroit, has the largest ARAB population in the U.S. The Arabs are not all Muslims with many CHALDEANS who are from Lebanon, Syria and Iran and CHRISTIAN.
The Muslim Arabs have their own temples and actually a “Arab Town” like other areas here that are dubbed “Pole Town”, “Little Italy”, “Mexican Town” etc. The area is really cool with all the specialty shops and bakeries. They even hold a festival in the summer.
Muslims here also want to part of the community and have open house at their temples to answer questions about their faith and customs; they fear that ignorance of Islam leads to wild speculation and they don’t want that.
In our local media, especially the newspapers, Muslim representatives, usually IMMAMS get to opine about various topics including topics like the Muhammad cartoons in Denmark.
They tell us that their faith teaches them that images of Muhammad and Allah are not allowed and especially irreverent images. They tell us they are saddened and feel insulted by the cartoons. They don’t seem to address the message the cartoons are trying to present (killing in the name of religion) or that the Muslims trying to kill the cartoon artist are somehow in the wrong and the Muslims involved in the riots in Denmark because of the cartoons are also somehow in the wrong.
The Denmark Muslims are basically from Tunisia and Morocco and probably less sophisticated and therefore prone to more barbarian behavior but still a Muslim is a Muslim. Are they afraid to criticize a fellow Muslim? Christians criticize and even battle with fellow Christians – what’s different?
Shia Muslims kill, torture and maim Sunni Muslims and visa versa. Is this something like Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland?
Many non-Muslim Americans say that unless American Muslims start differentiating themselves from the Muslim crazies out there by speaking against their terrorist ways, Americans will lump them into the group they consider radical Islamists bent on destroying the West (infidels) and treat them accordingly.
I think if the Muslims want to partake of the good life that America and the West offers, they will somehow have to stand up for the country they now call home and defend it against the radicals trying to destroy it. After all, it is their home now – right?
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