Are you Extremist or Moderate?
Defining Today’s Moderate Muslim: You are “Extremist” if you support Palestine and/or anti-Zionists and/or don’t dissent Islam. Not only that, read this LA Times article… [Hat tip: Robin]
Wow!!! Does this article speak out of both sides of its mouth?
Well, I think you guessed it. This article sounds like the litmus test is for defining a “moderate Muslim”, or to put it right, defining “extremist Muslim”.
The test is very simple and straight forward. If you support Zionism, you are in good shape, in other words “moderate”. If not, you are an “extremist, mother f**ker”.
Cool, this means that I’m an “extremist-uprooted-Palestinian-Arab-Muslim”, and all supporters here (regardless of your faith) are “extremists”, and so are all Arab-Palestinian-Christians and all their supporters all around the world. Guys, you are “extremists”.
If any one likes to post something pro-Palestine, anti-Zionism is and extremist, and watch out, you won’t be nominated for any awards anytime soon by the American Jewish Congress. Not only that, if you happen to be an American and you are anti-Zionist, you are un-American, for Americanism is a value gained by your support to your administration’s foreign policy. So, remember, you are American because you support Zionism!!
What the hell? Why is it that you can’t be a “moderate” without going to the EXTREME of being pro-Zionist such as Nonie Darwish who founded Arabs for Israel? Oh, you should denounce Islam (or at least criticize it) and convert to some other religion and support Zionism to be a “moderate”.
I can’t understand, cannot Muslims HATE Zionists? Do all they can do peacefully to protest to be “moderates”? Cannot it be understood that the occupations have driven Muslims AND Christian Palestinians (and non Palestinians) to desperate acts, including but not limited to denouncing Zionism and its supporters?
Well, now the “thought police/faith policy” have determined that any Muslim (or non Muslim) who voices dissent against Zionism or tries to dissect the problem is “extremist”.
I warned you!
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8 Comments on “Are you Extremist or Moderate?”
Being born supposidly Jewish and Danish, I find myself an extreemist.
I support the Palestinians, Hamas, Hezbollah and everyone else vying for freedom.
The Israelis are the terrorists from everything I have read.
Over here in the West all we get are the lies given to us by the Bush Admin. and the Jewish Congress.
The truth is being hidden just like Hitler did before and during WWII.
Maher Hathout and any other active American Muslim is facing a witch hunt and smear campaign from the pro-Israel community. But I think most Americans are beginning to see through these dispicable campaigns.
Wafa Sultan? No comment…
i dont think the non-muslim world believes that Islam has anything to offer other than extremists. so zionism is not the litmust test of extremism or moderation…being a muslim by default is considered extremism. i once had someone call me “hardcore” because i told them i pray the 5 prayers.
The article from the LA Times states the following: (concerning moderation) “Despite the dissent, Muslims, Christians and Jews named similar attributes when asked to define religious moderation. They included problem-solving without violence, affirmation of human rights, religious freedom and other Western values, and respectful attitudes toward women”
Yet in their “search for the moderate Muslims” only those who support Israel need apply for approval.
1. Problem solving without violence:
June 27,2006 “Israel invades Gaza”
electronicintifada.net/bytopic/442.shtml - 60k -
UN Human Rights Council Condemns Israel
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0813-06.htm
2. Affirmation of human rights
“Israel, Gaza Beach Probe Ignores Evidence”
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/06/20/israb13595.htm
Israel Criminal Procedure Bill
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/15/israb13002.htm
“Civil Liberties in the Occupied Territories”
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/internationalhumanrights/p/israel1
Too many more to cite.
3. Religious freedom.
US State Department report on Israel and the occupied
territories
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13997.htm
4. Women’s rights
“Women Forced to Give Birth at Israeli Checkpoints”
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/updates_news/updates/mother_qalandia.htm
5. I refuse to include so called “Western values” because values
should be communal, human rights on the other hand are
universal.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/updates_news/updates/mother_qalandia.htm
I agree with the above statement concerning religious moderation and I’m sure most everyone else does here too
(except for the Western values which I too don’t agree with) Oh, and so do these people http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/ and http://www.nkusa.org/
So there, my question is “WHO is the one defining what a ‘moderate’ Muslim is”? THAT is the key to the fallacy of this article. And as for Israel being attacked, did anyone ever wonder why other than to take their word for it? I am a pacifist, but if I were attacked, I would NOT turn the other cheek. And as for speaking in loud voices against Zionist apartheid, I say, do so
in EXTREME measure. Signed, a Catholic American (uh-oh :))
That is why I love your comments, Robin.
I don’t have the time to research that you do.
I spend too much time finding (or confirming) ways to hate Bush.
I believe that if we can separate church and government we can get out of this mess.
Up here in Canada we have a mini-me Bush.
Try http://thinkprogress.org/
My president
just moments ago finished his speech at the UN. If you saw it you would have heard him dedicate the last portion directly to addressing the people of the Mideast” He clearly stated, “America has chosen to stand witht the moderates of the Middle East”. THIS is where the problem of the lable “moderates” comes to bear it’s fruit. By submitting to the definition of “moderate” to mean those who support Israel, every one else’s goose is cooked according to Bush. The danger of using the term “moderate” in this fashion is that it “sells” to unwitting people and targets those who disagree as something “other than” moderate. Interesting. Propaganda. Now what?
Kimmy, I read an interesting quote about hate today, “Those who have just enough religion to hate do not have enough to love” No arguement with the separation issue from me. Thanks for the link.
Robin,
Go to the link and you will find that Bush (for the time being) will stop saying Islamic Fascists.
What is Fascism?
When a government and corporations controll the country and the economy!
Now tell me who is the Fascist Regime?
Keep lying and twisting the words to meet your needs and the masses will eat out of your hand.
Bush has created the largest terrorist threat in the world through his pollicies and at the same time he says that we have to trust him to controll these threats.
Soon your economy will collapse because of his economic descisions that has driven your defecit up by trillions of dollars.
And he studdied economics at Harvard, or where-ever. What a joke!
Sorry, I digress.
Update on Maher Hathout, on Monday, the LA City Council voted to reaffirm the granting of the John Allen Buggs Humanitarian Award awarded to Dr. Hathout for his work in interfaith relations in Los Angeles. You can find the article here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-muslim19sep19,1,5066150.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage
As Moi stated, there was a concerted campaign to strip Dr. Hathout of the award. The final vote was only four out of fourteen in favor of reaffirming but they DID reaffirm although it is frought with contraversy. Here you can see a video of Dr. Hathout speaking in 2000 which was used as part of the campaign against him http://youtube.com/watch?v=n6_LwJ4Dd_o On a site which was campaigning against him the following was stated “His use of language would certainly intensify problems and not helped anything. He calls Israel Apartheid and Racist… knowing that this is painful to a large segment of the Los Angeles Jewish community. He does not respect the sensitivities of the Jewish community.”
So, there you go, say it like it is and you are not a “moderate Muslim” worthy of any award.