Exactly what one would expect a Muslim to say about a non-Muslim attack on Muslims. Bruce
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060214/wl_nm/religion_islam_yusuf_dc US Muslim scholar says Iran attack would be insane By Talal MalikTue Feb 14, 11:48 AM ET A prominent American Muslim scholar who advised President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks said any U.S.-led attack on Iran would be crazy and throw the Middle East into political turmoil. "I think it's insane," 45-year-old Hamza Yusuf told Reuters late on Monday. "Iran is a huge country and it can potentially set the entire region in flames." Referring to Iran's nuclear program, which is at the heart of its dispute with the United States and other countries, Yusuf said if other countries were allowed to have nuclear power then Tehran should be allowed to develop it too. Western countries suspect Iran is secretly aiming to build a nuclear bomb and have persuaded the International Atomic Energy Agency's ruling board to report Tehran's nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council. Iran says its nuclear facilities are intended to produce only electricity. The United States and its ally Israel have said they would prefer the dispute to be solved through diplomacy but have not ruled out military action. "The Iranians are not going to use nuclear weapons, but they have a right to nuclear energy in terms of their infrastructure," said Yusuf. "I'd just like to see nuclear energy removed from the planet -- but if France has a right to illuminate its homes with nuclear energy, Iran has that right." Born Mark Hanson, Yusuf converted to Islam at 17 before training under traditional Islamic scholars in the Middle East and founding his own seminary in California. He came to prominence after September 11, 2001, when he advised Bush of the consequences in the Islamic world of attacking Afghanistan, which was harboring al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Yusuf is visiting Britain as part of a Muslim scholars' roadshow to help ease tensions among disaffected young Muslims, the result of a British government initiative in the aftermath of the July 7 attacks in London. Yusuf said the dispute over cartoons of Prophet Mohammad published in European newspapers, which sparked violent protests, had degenerated into a brawl and said both Muslims and free speech supporters had been insensitive. "Criticize Islam all you want - but don't denigrate sacred symbols and sacred beliefs," he said, adding that the response of some Muslim protesters had been no better. "Stomping on the Danish flag was no response -- the flag has a religious symbol on it. So, it has just become reduced to a brawl," he said. Yusuf advocates renewed dialogue between Islam and the West and says there is still a chance to avoid a clash of civilizations. "We're at a crossroads. We can either go the way of dialogue, conciliation and peace or we can go the way of clashing, mutual enmity and increased hatred which will inevitably end in conflict. It's our choice." Copyright C 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. FAIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. "Fair Use" legally eliminates the need to obtain permission or pay royalties for the use of previously copyrighted materials if the purposes of display include "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." 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