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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 09:09 AM
Original message
muslim democrats, please check in
i am not a religious person, but as an american, i support the american idea of freedom of all religions, strongly.

and it seems we don't hear from our muslim democratic brothers and sisters enough. i wish we could hear more. i suspect that many are afraid to even speak at all, considering the rampant racism of this administration, which keeps reminding us, that they respect islam.

are you afraid to speak out, because you're surrounded by a sea of not too bright americans?

are you a new american citizen, or have your people been here for decades?

do you think that certain christian fundamentalists would like to see a new crusade with certain islamic fundamentalists?

or do you think bushco would like a full scale cleansing of all muslims in the middle east?

do you fear bush's own born again rants, and ideals?

what can we do to bring peace in the world between islam and christianity and judaeism?

don't these three religions all worship the god of abraham?

arent' all the people in this region semmites? i don't know, i'm just asking, cause that's what i'm given to understand.

how does the american support of israel over palestine affect you?

how do you feel about the fact that there is almost no representation of arab americans in our government?

what about our strange relationship with the saudi royals?

feel free to say anything you want regarding being a muslim american, i'm ate up with curiosity, and i think we should reach out to level headed fellow americans with islamist background.

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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 09:20 AM
Response to Original message
1. kick
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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 09:33 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. ........
.......
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minkyboodle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 09:41 AM
Response to Original message
3. kick
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SmileyBoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 09:49 AM
Response to Original message
4. First one checking in!!!
:hi:
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Nicholas D Wolfwood Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 10:00 AM
Response to Original message
5. in response
Firstly, I am NOT a muslim. I feel like I should get this out of the way immediately. I am, however, very entrenched in Palestinian affairs and Arab culture, so I will give you answers as best I can, but I do not, in any way, seek to speak for anyone here. I will note that you tend to mix your questions a little, using "muslim" and "arab", and even "Palestinian" interchangeably, which is going to account for the differences in the pronouns I use here.

Yes, they are very afraid to speak out. Hate crimes against arabs have skyrocketed since 9/11. They are very paranoid, to the point where I've had to have a former ambassador speak on my behalf so that I might be included in their meetings.

In my dealings (and again, I speak for no one, but am trying to give you insight as best I can), they are concerned about Bush's evangelical background and do see that as a reason for his anti-Arab policies. As you may know, evangelist believes the second coming of Christ will only occur once all non-believers are removed from the Promised Land, and let's face it, there are only two ways to do it: conversion or removal. Bush seems to be trying to do both. I wouldn't say this is first and foremost on their minds, however. I think this answer takes care of your next 3 questions, so I'll skip down a bit.

What can we do to bring peace? Either stay the hell out of their affairs or at least be even handed in dealing with all sides.

Abraham is not a god, he's just a prophet, and a lesser one at that. You see, he's a big deal in Judaism, but then Christianity came along and diluted it with more prophets, taking the focus away from Abraham. Islam came along with even more prophets, and you see the pattern here.

Yes, we're all Semites, even though most people don't understand at all the meaning of the word. Unfortunately, the word "semite" has been hijacked to mean "jewish". Thank you again, Anti-Defamation League.

US support of Israel over Palestine is a huge thorn in the side of most Muslims, but the extent of that anger varies. Some people assign equal blame to the U.S. for Israel's actions while other Palestinians are just desperate for help and wish for some even handedness. You'll find few who don't think anything badly of the U.S.-Israel connection.

I haven't heard hardly anything at all about underrepresentation in the U.S. government, however, we are very proud of the presence we do have and definitely seek to increase our influence. I don't think we expect much, being as small a minority as we are.

As for the Saudi Royals... I haven't heard much on this topic at all, except that a lot of people believe its another example of being exploited for oil.
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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 10:25 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. Either stay the hell out of their affairs or at least be even handed in de
i agree. there's a lot to be said about staying out of other nation's affairs. we've got our noses in EVERY nation's affairs.
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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 10:44 AM
Response to Original message
7. ...........
...........
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LiberalEconomist Donating Member (293 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 11:07 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. To answer you some of your quesions:
Jews and Arabs are both semetic. I find it amusing and annoying to have Euro-American journalists refer to Arabs as anti-semetic. While, self-loathing may be an individualistic affliction, as a people the Arabs do not hate themselves.

It would be hard for many Muslims to identify themselves on this board, particularly given some of the apparently "extremists" views associated with DU in the mainstream press. It is all perception. And, sometimes perception is enough, regardless of how unfair.

Not all Muslims base their political position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Muslims from India, Indonesia, and othe non-Arab countries, may have humanitarian concerns about Palestinians. However, they are not at anti-Jewish--yes there are Wahabi trained extremists who hate the Jews. As a matter of fact, Islam teaches that Christians and Jews are people of the book--in other words, they are to be protected. They all have Abramic roots.

Islam is not monolithic to say the least. Just as Christianity is not monolithic. There are various interpretations of Islamic law, some of which deviate widely. In a particular Islamic sect, women are allowed to pray in the Mosque at the same time as the men, while in many others men and women praying together is clearly forbidden.
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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 11:12 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. thank you
i appreciate the input. there are good and bad people, in all groups and nations. only the fanatics bring out the worst in them all. i wish that these 3 religions could find common ground, and reasons to be better people. at least enough to stop all the slaughter.

i cannot hate a whole group of people. the only people i can muster up hatred for, are those who have 'personally' given me a good reason. no muslim has ever offended me. and i hope to do the same.
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 11:13 AM
Response to Original message
10. Listen to the Minister On CSPAN


He was masterful IMO.
There is another thread about his speech this morning!
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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 11:14 AM
Response to Reply #10
11. i watched it
and found myself agreeing with lewis almost 100%
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anarchy1999 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 11:21 AM
Response to Original message
12. MoPaul, This discussion belongs, I think, in another forum.
There is a lot of passion over these issues and many have been thrown off and out over heated discussions. Let us not let it happen again, okay?
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LSdemocrat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-03-04 11:35 AM
Response to Original message
13. I'm a Muslim.
:hi:
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mopaul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-04-04 06:02 AM
Response to Original message
14. kick
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JCMach1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-04-04 06:23 AM
Response to Original message
15. Unitarian living in a Muslim society...
with many Muslim friends...

Peace is an inherrent part of the religion MO... that's not just BS.

Terrorism is much more about economics and politics... don't believe the hype.
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