*American Zionist are spreading a message: Muslims are a threat* On Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at 7:16:43 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > BULLSHIT! They are a bigger threat than the Warsaw Pact EVER was! > > > > *American Muslims are spreading a message: We are not a threat * > > - By Joanne Kimberlin > The Virginian-Pilot > > <https://pilotonline-dot-com.bloxcms-ny1.com/users/profile/joanne%20kimberlin> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Other than ugly phone messages left at the Norfolk mosque (*“You want a > war? We’ll give you a war!”*), local Islamic worship houses say they’re > faring OK in these days of anti-Muslim backlash. > > But the people are still spooked. Terrorist attacks in Paris and > California have ratcheted suspicion and resentment to levels not seen since > 9/11. > > Things were so bad then, recalls Rajeeb Islam, a paramedic in Virginia > Beach, that his last name and brown skin prompted a man who was having a > heart attack to refuse Islam’s help. > > “So I stayed with him until someone else came,” Islam said. “I couldn’t > leave my patient.” > > The flames died down in time. People started looking at each other like > simple neighbors again. Christians, Muslims, Jews, whatever. > > But now, local Muslims – about 4,000 live in Hampton Roads – say the hard > looks and sidelong glances have returned. National headlines tell of > virulent anti-Muslim protests, calls for a registry and an immigration ban, > and mosques being defaced. Two weeks ago, a gun-toting college president in > Lynchburg made threatening remarks before a cheering crowd. > > Ordinary Muslims are tempted to keep their heads down. Leaders of the > faith say the vast majority of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims follow a > moderate form of Islam. They say fanatics have hijacked their religion, > murdering innocents in its name. > > “What they’re doing is so terrible we *have* to come out of our shells,” > said Rachid Khould, the imam – or pastor – of the Crescent Community Center > on Lynnhaven Parkway in Virginia Beach. > > “Many Muslims,” Khould said, “have been speaking out, but not enough. Not > loud enough. We don’t even know who these terrorists are, but they’re > twisted in the head. Islam is a religion of the middle. There are 6 million > Muslims in the U.S. If they all believed in killing people, can you imagine > the murders?” > > *Khould, 53, hails* from Morocco but has lived in the U.S for nearly 30 > years, most of it in Virginia Beach. Lately, he’s become part of an > American Muslim movement to get the word out: We are not a threat. > > Khould goes to churches, synagogues, civic groups – just about anywhere > he's invited. He gives a "Muslim 101" speech, then answers questions. > > At a recent meeting of the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission, Khould > reported that members of his flock have twice called authorities on men who > visited the mosque spouting an “aggressive” brand of Islam. > > “We are all citizens here,” he said. “Our children go to school with your > children. We ride the same buses. Shop at the same stores. We are on your > side. Whatever hurts you, hurts us.” > > Every time a mass shooting unfolds: “I’m watching the news and thinking, > ‘Please, *please* don’t let it be a Muslim.’ When it is, I’m so angry. I > don’t want to believe anyone from my faith could do such a thing. No > prophet ever came to create havoc and slaughter people. But here we go > again.” > > To combat radicalism in its own ranks, the mosque in Hampton has put its > young people to work building an interactive website that teaches “true > Islam” and keeps them connected with rational minds. > > “As we know, groups like ISIS are recruiting through social media > networking,” said Ahmed Noor, a trustee of the Mosque and Islamic Center of > Hampton Roads, near Langley Air Force Base. “So we have to do something > that older people might not find traditional.” > > Lessons at the mosque emphasize community service, optimism, hope and > critical thinking. > > “We don’t just teach you to pray, but why you pray,” Noor said. “Faith > does not mean blind faith. Question everything. If ISIS says to blow > yourself up, remember that your life is worth something. And the Holy Book > is very explicit against such things.” > > The Hampton mosque, opened in 1984, invites non-Muslims to drop in any > time and hosts regular get-to-know-us sessions. > > Words like “jihad” and “radical Muslim” are too easy “for people to just > repeat without thinking,” Noor said. “That doesn’t help any of us.” > > *Fear and hysteria* feed on the unknown, says Andrew Arroyo, an associate > professor at Norfolk State University with a specialty in religion. > > “It’s easy for that to be exploited – fear-mongering – for some political > or other gain,” Arroyo said. > > As for terrorists, they’re more like gang members – “the power-hungry > corrupting a religion in order to gain more power,” Arroyo said. “They > equally go after their so-called own people. That’s who's bearing the true > brunt of all this: Middle Easterners and Muslims.” > > American Muslims, in particular, are called “coconuts” by the extremists. > > “Brown on the outside, but white on the inside,” said Islam, the Virginia > Beach paramedic. > > Islam, 35, has roots in Bangladesh but has lived in Hampton Roads since he > was 2. A captain with Virginia Beach’s Emergency Medical Services > Department, he serves on a national disaster response team and has two > master’s degrees – one in homeland security and preparedness. > > After 9/11, he remembers rushing up to the Pentagon, where he was placed > in charge of a detachment of ambulances: > > “I’ll never forget the silence when they said ‘Commander Islam.’ You could > have heard a pin drop in that room.” > > Now: “It does feel like post-9/11 times again.” > > One of his daughters – he’s a father of four – had her first brush with > anti-Muslim sentiment at middle school the other day. > > “Another student told her, 'I don’t like your religion.’ She told him he’s > entitled to his opinion and she’s entitled to hers.” > > Islam said he does believe the moderates must mobilize, or “the word > ‘extremist’ will be synonymous with ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’ for generations to > come. > > “We need to pipe up and stop being the quiet person. I’ve seen quiet. All > it does is give substance to the fringe groups who are doing all these > acts.” > > *At the Norfolk* mosque on 49th Street near Old Dominion University, the > man who answered the phone didn't want his name used in this story. > > "I have a family," he said. "I worry about them." > > After the latest terrorist attacks, someone threw a cup of soda out a > truck window as he and his wife were locking up the mosque's front door one > evening. It landed just a few feet away from them. Accident or intentional? > > "Who knows?" he said. > > A half-dozen or so nasty messages have been left on the mosque's answering > machine. Mostly profanity-laced rants: "*Go back to your 7th-century > country where you belong."* > > But an equal number have been "messages of goodwill. Non-Muslims who > called to offer support. To ask if there's anything they can do." > > One was from a serviceman. "He said a lot of people in military are > disgusted by the anti-Muslim stuff being circulated." > > Another was from a woman who wants to get a solidarity campaign rolling. > She hopes to persuade non-Muslim women to wear the traditional headscarves > of Muslim woman in a show of support. > > "I can't imagine she'll have much luck," said the man at the mosque. "But > I certainly admire her heart and courage." > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdjI5ZDEyBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NTA3MzE0Nzc-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlMnE2NWloBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQ1MDczMTQ3Nw--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of Use > <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > >
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