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Business News
Independence, MO —
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of Islam, and it is rampant in the West, including Independence. The latter is best illustrated by last year’s choice of a radical anti-Islam speaker at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.
I just received again the “Wake Up America” email that has been going around for years. It shows a sign in the window of a store in the Harwin Central Mall in Houston falsely intimating that the Muslim owner closed his store in order to celebrate the death of one of the perpetrators of the 9/11 Twin Tower destruction. Senders of this and similar emails are sick, sick, sick.
A recent poll shows that 57 percent of Republicans view Muslims unfavorably, and a July 2012 Pew Research reports that one in three Republicans still believes President Obama is a Muslim. Even if it were true, which it isn’t, it is pure ignorance for anyone to use such a hate-mongering tool to try to convince people that being a Muslim is a bad thing.
Ninety-two percent of Muslims, more than any other faith group in the United States, have no sympathy for al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. In fact, right-wing hate groups, not Muslims, have carried out 56 percent of all terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 1995.
Muslims, like immigrant groups before them, integrate very well into the social tapestry of America with income and educational levels at or above those of the rest of the United States. The claim that Muslims prefer Sharia law over the Constitution is another big fat lie. A study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding shows that almost no Muslim wants Islamic laws to apply to non-Muslims.
Doug Saunders, in his book “The Myth of the Muslim Tide,” points out that immigrating Muslims quickly mirror their American counterparts when it comes to the number of children or their participation in religious activities. By 2030 Muslims are estimated to number around 6.2 million; about the same as Jews or Episcopalians. It is quite obvious that Muslims have more to fear from Christians than the other way around.
The intent of this article is not to glorify any faith over any other, or even to defend Islam. My point is that all nationalities, all faiths, all colors – indeed, all humans – are very much alike. For any person to attempt to demean another person by irrational faith arguments only reflects negatively on the person doing the demeaning.
James A. Everett lives in Independence. Reach him at jaeverett3@comcast.net.
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of Islam, and it is rampant in the West, including Independence. The latter is best illustrated by last year’s choice of a radical anti-Islam speaker at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.
I just received again the “Wake Up America” email that has been going around for years. It shows a sign in the window of a store in the Harwin Central Mall in Houston falsely intimating that the Muslim owner closed his store in order to celebrate the death of one of the perpetrators of the 9/11 Twin Tower destruction. Senders of this and similar emails are sick, sick, sick.
A recent poll shows that 57 percent of Republicans view Muslims unfavorably, and a July 2012 Pew Research reports that one in three Republicans still believes President Obama is a Muslim. Even if it were true, which it isn’t, it is pure ignorance for anyone to use such a hate-mongering tool to try to convince people that being a Muslim is a bad thing.
Ninety-two percent of Muslims, more than any other faith group in the United States, have no sympathy for al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. In fact, right-wing hate groups, not Muslims, have carried out 56 percent of all terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 1995.
Muslims, like immigrant groups before them, integrate very well into the social tapestry of America with income and educational levels at or above those of the rest of the United States. The claim that Muslims prefer Sharia law over the Constitution is another big fat lie. A study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding shows that almost no Muslim wants Islamic laws to apply to non-Muslims.
Doug Saunders, in his book “The Myth of the Muslim Tide,” points out that immigrating Muslims quickly mirror their American counterparts when it comes to the number of children or their participation in religious activities. By 2030 Muslims are estimated to number around 6.2 million; about the same as Jews or Episcopalians. It is quite obvious that Muslims have more to fear from Christians than the other way around.
The intent of this article is not to glorify any faith over any other, or even to defend Islam. My point is that all nationalities, all faiths, all colors – indeed, all humans – are very much alike. For any person to attempt to demean another person by irrational faith arguments only reflects negatively on the person doing the demeaning.
James A. Everett lives in Independence. Reach him at jaeverett3@comcast.net.
