Miss USA Rima Fakih on the Ground Zero Mosque
The first Muslim Miss USA, Rima Fakih, made comments about the Ground Zero Mosque during an interview with Inside Edition on Thursday.
"We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion," said Fakih.
"I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on Constitutional rights of freedom of religion. I also agree that it shouldn't be so close to the World Trade Center"
These comments give us an insight into the many faces of Islam in America. There are Muslims who support the building of the Park 51 Center (the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque") on the basis of religious freedom while others believe the project lacks cultural sensitivity. These opinions are telling in that they reflect the rest of America.
When watching the interplay between Muslims, Arabs, and the rest of America, it's as though one is watching a play whose actors have all changed. Every culture and religion entering into the American mainstream has been looked upon with suspicion by the established America. It wasn't too long ago, for example, when we were concerned if John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic President of the United States, would be taking orders from the Pope.
America is once again struggling with who she is. I'm confident she will, as always, emerge for the better in the play's next act.
24% of Americans believe Obama is Muslim
According to a poll by Time Magzine, 47% of Americans believe President Obama is a Christian while 24% believe he is Muslim.
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of Americans who believe Mr. Obama is a Muslim was at 18% prior to his remarks about the Ground Zero Mosque. This number is also up from 2009 when only 11% of Americans believed the President was Muslim.
The White House, however insists Obama is a devout Christian. "He prays every day. He communicates with his religious adviser every single day. There's a group of pastors that he takes counsel from on a regular basis," said spokesman Bill Burton.
Christianity Today: The Dispute in Dearborn
Yesterday, Christianity Today published an article about Acts17 in Dearborn. I am quoted in the piece along with David Wood, Nabeel Quershi and Haytham Abi-Haydar (an Arab Pastor in Dearborn). Christianity Today doesn't take a position on the arrests (not that CT should be expected to) but rather points out the differing perspectives.
In the article, Nabeel Qureshi responds to criticism about Acts17's aggressive style by saying those who label Acts17's approach "confrontational" lack knowledge of Arab Culture. He says:
"If you just go and talk to people in the Middle East, that's how they talk," said Qureshi. "You approach someone, and you say, 'Hey, what do you think about this?' …Here in the U.S., that might seem confrontational or aggressive. That's how things are done in the Middle East."
It should be pointed out Nabeel Qureshi is a Pakistani born and raised in California and the UK. Two Arabs who lived in the Middle East and in Dearborn, and who are part of the Arab culture (i.e. myself and Abi-Haydar), do not agree with his assessment of how Arabs communicate.
My concerns also go beyond communication styles to how Acts17 is representing Dearborn's Arab and Muslim communities. Dearborn is simply not a bastion of Sharia Law persecuting Christians.
I very much hope to have the opportunity to speak to Nabeel. I think there's an opportunity to mend bridge with Arabs, Muslims, and the Dearborn community. Perhaps we can work out these differences. In the meantine, Christianity Today points out our areas of disagreement.
Jews, Arabs, and Government Officials: Power Relations Inside Israel
Thought provoking lecture by Dr. David Wesley, speaking at the UCLA Center for Near East Studies, on the topic of government structures within Israel as they affect Israel's Arab citizens.
Dr. Wesley immigrated to Israel in 1955 to participate in the rebirth of the Jewish people and lived on a kibbutz as a citrus grower for over 30 years. His research is an outgrowth of his personal experiences and observations of governmental structures inside Israel.
I would like to get some feedback from my Israeli-Arab and Israeli friends on this lecture. Please keep in mind this is a controversial subject (one I post with some trepidation) and, if you prefer, you may contact me directly instead of posting in the comments.
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If you prefer to listen to the talk on iTunes, you can download it here.
Audio: The Middle East Peace Process: European-US-Greater Middle East Efforts for Progress
Below is audio of a talk by Asher Susser, Director of External Affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center For Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Susser gave this talk in December, 2007 at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Even though the audio is from 2007, it is still well worth the listen as Dr. Susser offers perspectives on the different players in the Middle East while reflecting on the prospect of peace and past missteps.
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If you prefer to listen to the talk on iTunes, you can download it here.
Mother of Israeli Killed by Suicide Bomber Reminds Israel of its Security Needs
Frimet Roth, whose fifteen year old daughter Malki was killed by a suicide bomber at a Sbarro's in Israel nine years ago, writes an impassioned article scolding the Israeli left and reminding Israel of its need for security.
Link to Jerusalem Post article.
Libya to Fund Reconstruction of Gaza Homes
Libya has agreed to release an Israeli photographer in exchange for
the ability to underwrite the rebuilding of 1,250 Gaza Strip homes destroyed by Israel last year.
Full article from Reuters.
Time Magazine on the “Ground Zero Mosque”
Time Magazine recently posted two articles about the "Ground Zero" Mosque.
The first profiles Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf- the man behind the project. Time points out he, despite his reluctance to condemn Hamas, is a Sufi Muslim who espouses moderate views (e.g. his book titled "What's Right with Islam Is What's Right with America.")
In the second, Time gives a brief history of Muslims in the United States and highlights Mayor Bloomberg's support for Abdul Rauf's "Cordoba House" (Cordoba was a city in Spanish Andalucia where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in harmony for centuries.)
Ten Aid Workers Killed in Afghanistan
Ten volunteers providing eye-care and health services with the International Assistance Mission in Afghanistan were killed as they were making their way to Kabul.
A Taliban spokesman told The Associated Press in Pakistan that the team were killed because they were preaching Christianity and spying for Western forces.
The International Assistance mission denies the charges of proselytizing and dismissed accusations of spying.
See the LA Times article for the full story.
Dearborn and Islam: an open letter to Newt Gingrich
Mr. Gingrich,
I write to you today as an American, Evangelical Christian, former Muslim, and an Arab who lived in Dearborn, Michigan for over 10 years. I also write to you as someone who lived through a civil war in the Middle East and now dedicates his life, through his work in the name of Christ, to reconciliation and understanding between Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians.
Mr. Gingrich, I believe you have legitimate concerns about the rise of Radical Islamic Fundamentalism and I am grateful we live in a country where you and I can directly address the citizenry.
In your letter today, you identified the arrests of four Christians in Dearborn as "a clear case of freedom of speech and the exercise of religious freedom being sacrificed in deference to sharia’s intolerance against the preaching of religions other than Islam."
I respectfully believe your analysis of this incident to be incorrect, and your characterization of Dearborn to be inaccurate.
As someone who lived in Dearborn for many years and visits the city regularly, I can tell you Dearborn's community is comprised of Christians, Muslims, and many agnostics and atheists. Like any other place in the world, Dearborn is also home to individuals who exist on the far right and left of the bell curve of inter-cultural and inter-religious tolerance. Notwithstanding, Dearborn is a city where cultures meet, interact, and live peacefully side-by-side.
Indeed, at the festival you referred to, there were many Christian ministries represented. These included the highly respected Josh McDowell, as well as, many of Dearborn's Christians. If Christians are being silenced in Dearborn, these followers of Christ would not have been allowed a voice. It is worth noting some of these individuals were distributing the same materials the individuals arrested possessed.
Moreover, the arrests in Dearborn did not occur in contextless space. In 2009, the individuals arrested came to Dearborn to imply Sharia was taking hold. These individuals came to the 2009 festival armed with cameras, were confrontational, verbally aggressive, sarcastic, and haughty. They were not a priori unwelcome in the city because of their faith- they made themselves unwelcome by their behavior. It was a result of their behavior that they were escorted out from the festival- not because of the dictates of Sharia.
In addition to the group's behavior at the festival, this group later published a video titled: "Sharia in the US". This is a title Dearborn's residents (Muslims and Christians) reject as inaccurate and a far cry from the reality of life in the city.
Consider this, the Mayor, Police, City Council, the local Christian population, and the vast majority of Dearborn's residents oppose the Christians who raised the ire of the city. It is not merely Muslims who oppose the characterization of the city, but the city at large.
This history is the precursor to this year's events and it critical to understanding the current events.
When the Christians arrested arrived in Dearborn this year, they were immediately identified and faced the anger of the city. The question for the police was: "Is the presence of these individuals, and their behavior, a danger to the public peace?" not "How do we stop Christians from proselytizing in Dearborn?"
Christians who seek to compete in the marketplace of ideas with other faiths must reflect the God whom they serve- they cannot, on the one hand, say "We love Muslims" while in the presence of Muslims then make the most of every opportunity to denigrate Muslims when they are absent. This is not discourse, it is accusation.
Mr. Gingrich, in America we have the freedom of speech but we also have the expectation of the virtues of honesty and civility. When these virtues are bypassed, anger, fear, and hatred are not far behind. One cannot enter a city, attack its residents, then inaccurately portray the city and label such behavior evangelism.
Finally, I hope you know I bear you no ill will. You have many detractors who do not treat you with respect and I hope you do not construe me an enemy but one who, like you, loves our great nation but has an opinion contrary to yours in this matter. I hope we can reason together and I pray you will consider what I have offered when you speak about Dearborn, its citizens, and the recent events there.
Respectfully,
Ali Elhajj
