nyoung@desire.wright.edu (Nils R. Bull Young) (01/19/91)
One hears constantly of late about various acts taken by certain obviously ignorant americans against members of the Islamic community. These acts, one must remember, are acts of ignorance. They are the acts which are driven by the lack of realization that Kuwait is also a Muslim area. Outside of whether it is right for American troops to be there, outside of the debate over who should be there at all, and outside of any question of whether any actions of a political nature are right or wrong, this much should be remembered: those who do not understand Islam and those who do not want to understand Islam will always act out of their ignorance. It oncerns me when these things happen, because I am a non- Muslim. I do not want anyone to feel that all gringos are as insenstive to another person's religion. And, above all, I do not waothers to be harrassed or victimized for their beliefs. To this end, it may be necessary for Muslims in the U.S. to try and matheir non-Muslim neighbors understand their religion. And, if at all possible, to avoid the politics. (Knowing full well how hard that is to do in these times.) (If many Americans took the time to read the Koran, this post would be unnecessary. If President Bush had taken the time to read the Koran, this war would not be necessary -- at least on the religious perspective. My own opinions, crack-brain as they may be, of course.) As-salaam aleikum. Nils Young
mucit@slate.cs.rochester.edu (Bulent Murtezaoglu) (01/25/91)
In article <1991Jan19.063112.14345@wpi.WPI.EDU>, nyoung@desire (Nils R. Bull Young) writes: [stuff deleted] > Outside of whether it is right for American troops to be there, >outside of the debate over who should be there at all, and outside >of any question of whether any actions of a political nature are >right or wrong, this much should be remembered: those who do not >understand Islam and those who do not want to understand Islam will >always act out of their ignorance. Same goes for supposedly Muslim people of course. > It oncerns me when these things happen, because I am a non- >Muslim. I do not want anyone to feel that all gringos are as >insenstive to another person's religion. And, above all, I do not >waothers to be harrassed or victimized for their beliefs. I symphatize with what you are feeling. I must add that I have never felt any harrassment whatsoever during my 3 years here. (I'm from Turkey). And it wasn't because people I was dealing with (including some serious church-going folk) were trying hard to avoid that either. So it isn't as bad as you seem to think it is. > To this end, it may be necessary for Muslims in the U.S. to >try and matheir non-Muslim neighbors understand their religion. >And, if at all possible, to avoid the politics. (Knowing full well >how hard that is to do in these times.) I don't think this is very feasible in any sort of times. Most people aren't interested in finding out about Islam, and some others have deep rooted taboos about trinity to get past what IMHO isn't a terribly major point life style wise. I think tolerance is what's called for, but sometimes especially in some Muslims I have met over here, certain -- possibly justifiable -- resentments towards the west manifest themselves as militant convictions. > (If many Americans took the time to read the Koran, this post >would be unnecessary. If President Bush had taken the time to >read the Koran, this war would not be necessary -- at least on >the religious perspective. My own opinions, crack-brain as they >may be, of course.) Your opinions are fine :). I don't think the war being fought is a religious one. I don't see how Bush's reading of the Koran would have changed Saddam's attitude or American interests. Besides Arab and Iranian despots of the middle east are hardly the representatives of all muslims. >As-salaam aleikum. Wa aleikum salaam. I don't think this exchange needs to be in Arabic though :). >Nils Young cheers -B.M.