Posted on 09/04/2004 1:39:22 PM PDT by pilgrim
Pro-Bush Booth Stirs Anger at Convention
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- They stop abruptly when they see the 5-foot-tall photo of President Bush, with "muslimsforbush.com" above his head.
Then come the outbursts.
"Disgusting," said one onlooker. "Take that down," said another.
At the largest annual convention of American Muslims, a pro-Bush booth has stirred anger among attendees who believe the president's actions since Sept. 11, 2001, have hurt more innocent Muslims than terrorists.
"I think President Bush has misled not only the United States, but the world," said Noor Maciael, an educator who called the booth "disgusting" and planned to vote for Democrat John Kerry. "He has put us in a situation where the whole world is hating this country."
The display was funded by Muhammad Ali Hasan and his mother, Seeme, who recently created the group "Muslims for Bush." Seeme Hasan said in a phone interview that she and her husband Malik, a Colorado physician who earned his wealth in the health care industry, have donated more than $1 million to Bush and Republican causes since the 2000 campaign.
"The reason we are doing this is that Muslims don't have a lobbyist," Seeme Hasan said. "We want to be there. We are going to give contributions at the highest level."
Bush has other supporters in the Muslim community. Some are Iraqi-Americans overjoyed that Saddam Hussein has been ousted. Others are entrepreneurs who view the GOP as more friendly to business interests. And many devout Muslims prefer the Republicans' conservative stand on social issues such as gay marriage.
But many Muslims at the nonpartisan Islamic Society of North America convention were not grateful for the Hasans' activism.
An older man gawked at the photo of the president with his arms wrapped around Muhammad and Seeme Hasan, and said, "I'm numb. I'm speechless." He then joined a group that had cornered a conference official, demanding that the display be taken down. A volunteer staffing the booth said some people were taking campaign material and throwing it out.
Asma Gull Hasan, the elder Hasan's daughter, who was also at the booth, said she had expected negative remarks. However, she said she was encouraged that some passers-by had quietly told her they would vote for the president.
Bush has a complex relationship with American Muslims.
He declared Islam a peaceful religion when some other U.S. leaders were condemning the faith, and honored Muslim holidays in the White House.
After Sept. 11, the president made a gesture of enormous significance for the community when he visited a Washington-area mosque and warned the public that anger over the suicide hijackings should not be directed toward U.S. Muslims.
However, his subsequent policies have caused deep resentment.
Muslim leaders say the domestic war on terror and the USA Patriot Act, which extended controversial law enforcement powers, have cast so wide a net that all Muslims and their institutions have become suspect. Many also saw the war in Iraq as the extension of a misguided U.S. policy in the Mideast that foments terrorism instead of stopping it.
Leading American Muslim organizations endorsed Bush in 2000 over Democrat Al Gore, expecting the Texas governor would be more sympathetic to their concerns. But Muslims have said since that they regretted their decision.
Surveys of U.S. Muslims indicate a majority will vote for Kerry, even though they fear he will not go far enough in repealing parts of the Patriot Act. Volunteers at a Kerry booth at the convention, in a far corner of the vendors' hall away from the Bush display, were busily distributing campaign stickers.
Both candidates have been reaching out to Muslim voters. Muslims are concentrated in some battleground states, such as Ohio, Michigan and Florida, and they hope their presence in those areas will help them gain political visibility.
Muhammad Hasan said that since the convention began Friday evening, critics who have approached him have been more open to hearing his views. He said he was not discouraged by the response so far.
"I have a lot of faith in the fact that the Muslim vote is up for grabs," he said.
I maintain that any Muslim who cares for the future of their children must vote for Bush.
I would maintain that any Muslim who cares for the future of their children would stop being a Muslim.
The whole problem with the middle east is that Muslims hate Jews and infidels more than they love their own children. Always have. Always will.
Truth hurts.
AP is the source, sounds like they left out the qualifier, "some". Small detail, like the crowd "booed".
They'd better be careful or their co-religionists might cut their heads off. It's been known to happen.
The fifth column
Islamirat mouths Demonrat talking points. Turds of a feather, vote together.
Artist Scott LoBaido stands in front of his painting called 'Have Faith,' a portrayal of President Bush web on horseback, triumphantly clutching the severed head of Osama bin Laden by the turban, at the Tribute Gallery Monday, Aug. 30, 2004, in New York. 'I wanted to let the Republicans know there are some creative people in this city who are on their side,' the 39-year-old artist said last week as his exhibit opened just before the Republican National Convention.
Al-Arabiya GM: Muslims are main perpetrators of terrorismThe Associated Press Egypt - Muslims worldwide are the main perpetrators of terrorism, a humiliating and painful truth that must be acknowledged, a prominent Arab writer and television executive wrote Saturday, as Middle East media and officials expressed horror at the bloody rebel siege of a Russian school.
“Our terrorist sons are an end-product of our corrupted culture,” Abdulrahman al-Rashed, general manager of Al-Arabiya television wrote in his daily column published in the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. It ran under the headline, “The Painful Truth: All the World Terrorists are Muslims!” Al-Rashed ran through a list of recent attacks by Islamic extremist groups — in Russia, Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen — many of which are influenced by the ideology of Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi-born leader of the al-Qaida terror network.
“Most perpetrators of suicide operations in buses, schools and residential buildings around the world for the past 10 years have been Muslims,” he wrote. Muslims will be unable to cleanse their image unless “we admit the scandalous facts,” rather than offer condemnations or justifications.
"Disgusting," said one onlooker. "Take that down," said another.Yep, it's more "news you can use" from the official wire service of the Democratic National Committee. |
Sure, the world just LOVED us in the 70's when they took American hostages in Iran and hijacked American planes. They LOVED us in the 80's when they were blowing up Marines in Saudi. They LOVED us in the 90's when they were blowing up our embassies in Africa, more Marines in Saudi, assassinating ambassadors in Labanon, blowing up the USS Cole, trying to blow up the WTC the first time and laid the plot to hijack US airliners and use them to divebomb US buildings in 2001. Yeah, they LOVED us right up until September 10, 2001.
I'd buy that, but I got a GREAT deal on the Brooklyn Bridge and am therefore a bit short this week.
Bless you and thank you, members of American Muslims for Bush. Thanks to our military, you have the right to support whomever you want to lead us and the right to say WHY.
What is with these morons? I don't need to see Bush hauling OBL's head while riding a horse in dogs playing poker technique. A terribly violent culture they fester in........
I'm numb and speechless that anyone who would come to America would be "numb and speechless" that here you actually don't get your ass beat for being female and not riding in the back of the car or not wearing a veil.
Were I female and Muslim and ever thought I deserved to not
be treated worse than a goat, I'd vote for Bush.
Forget this US feminist "stay out of my womb" stuff. How about just not being shot in the head for doing horrible things like ,say, wanting to vote?
That's incredible.
I think that's the first time I've ever heard an Muslim start to place blame where it belongs.
I sincerely hope there are more Muslims out there who feel the same way!
LOL, damn republican-supporting artists. (/sarcasm)
Darn, there are just too many great statements in that to pick one.
BUMP! And hope Mr. Rashed lives a LONG life in good health.
Enough said
If people think it takes guts to freep liberals on a street corner they should see some folks who are doing pretty much the same thing at an Islamic convention.
Um. The painting isn't for YOU, it's for American Muslims. The image in the artwork - and just the fact that it IS art is extraordinary, since strict Islam represses any creativity, showing this man has thrived in freedom and appreciates it - is a cultural icon. He's got President Bush depicted in a way that Muslims can culturally relate to. Very 16th century. But powerful for the audience it was intended for.
The press IS NOT going to report news that is favorable to the WOT and/or our President by Muslims. However, that doesn't mean the information isn't getting out there.
If you take the time and look you can actually find numerous posts to FR that are quoting directly from our troops in or coming back from Iraq. What they say is totally different from the far more popular type of Muslim threads...and the positive threads get very few hits and comments.
Last night on FR these posts were made:
- I wonder how many more Ameriacn dead it will take until we are forced to implement the final solution to the "Islamic" problem.
- The bottom line is that it will be necessary have to eradicate Islam and its subhuman adherents to preserve the human race.
- There is only one way to solve the "Islamic" problem and its what the left calls "genocide". It will be extremely difficult for these subhuman monsters to perpetrate anymore bestial acts if they are all dead. It will be no loss to the human race and make the world a better place. Eventuallty the ragheads will get what they have been asking for. (This post was on four different threads.)
When was the last time the world heard the words "subhuman" and "final solution"?
Bin Laden should be boiled in a big pot.......very slowly, videotaped and distributed via Al Jezeera to the middle east as a warning to all Muslims.
what percentage do voting muslims have?
What disgusting sentiments. Though wretten by a few wackos, they make us ALL look bad. Maybe that was the real intent. To make the maintream look like the drooling Nazis the left and their Islamist terrorist allies SAY we are.
"Leading American Muslim organizations endorsed Bush in 2000 over Democrat Al Gore, expecting the Texas governor would be more sympathetic to their concerns. But Muslims have said since that they regretted their decision."
This is all code for "we wouldn't vote for Gore because he had a Jew as a running mate."
I know how you feel. In private debates, I jump down the throat of anyone who makes any reference to lower level humans. To group and class an entire race as evil, stupid, deserving of death or any other reference to what the Nazis called 'untermenchon' drives me nuts. Don't these fools realize that once that precedent is set in America, anyone is eligible for that treatment?
That is why I am so dismayed by the Bush Administrations treatment of prisoners, both foreign and domestic.
People, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION. None!!! Once we find an excuse to keep Jose Padilla in jail without trial, no one is safe from the same treatment. Bush deserves defeat and prison just for that one act.
Boiled in a vat of pig lard maybe
You don't want to look to deep into those threads.
Boiled in a vat of pig lard maybe
TRULY truly IGNORANT. Why have so many parents raised a society of idiots? It didn't happen overnight, and we can't fix it overnight..if ever. This is what the hippie generation has wrought in their children.
This is funny!!! They don't even know they're screwed up
What I'm getting at is that it serves nobody loyal to any religious faith to go about showing works of art which promote the very sickness within the nation of Islam. That painting could just as well have saddam on the horse with Bush senior with his head severed. He probobly got the idea from the side of some building in Baghdad or Tehran.
Hey, Noor, let me know when the whole world gets to elect our President. Until then: STFU...!
This is getting really tiresome seeng these anti-muslim comments whenever Islam or Muslims are mentioned. This story show how some Muslims are supporting the President. We should all be applauding this. These ignorant comments are surely turning off Muslims who visit this site and making them less likely to vote for Bush. This who post these things are making it harder for these few couragous people to change minds. Great job ignoramouses!
what percentage do voting muslims have?
No idea. There were some Arabs living down the street and about three or four months ago they DISAPPEARED!! One day they were there and the next..............gone and the house for sale. Made me wonder.
By the way you need more links to the loonies website?
"If people think it takes guts to freep liberals on a street corner they should see some folks who are doing pretty much the same thing at an Islamic convention." piasa
Would that be an understatement?
I've wound up on a few of those threads and got into flame wars with the "Nuke 'em all, nits make lice" crowd.
Yeah, and both Licoln and FDR should have been prosecuted for curtailing liberties during the Civil War and WWII.
I just can't help but think that in some dark corner of Hell Hilter is smiling.
The rule says that, if you're not quite stupid enough to be a Scientologist, you have to be a Moo.
That's not creativity. That's the sort of work that makes any criminal profiler tracking a serial killer stand up and take notice when they find it when they find it while searching some out of the way house.
It's only "celebrated" because the Pan Arab word doesn't have anything else to push onto the public. When studying a culture, you don't just study their politics, you study their literature, humor, artwork and music. No original humor, literature, artwork or music has been produced by the Pan Arab world. And to the Islamophiles out there, no, the occaisional "invention" of motifs doesn't count.
Pan Arabism (it's now al Qaeda) is a farce, a lie, a fallacy, a foreign culture superimposed on the ancient cultures subsumed by Muhammad's was of attrition against the world. The only way to keep control is through dictatorship, the total control of the physical lives, hearts and minds of the conquered. Because it's not a real cuture, it's already stagnated and now we're suffering through it's death throws. Unless the Islamic world is allowed the freedom to evolve and grow by being able to speak without fear and represent their own interests in their government, it's dead. Done. Dust. I support the president's plan to spread freedom and representative government to the Islamic world.
I've been listening to Iraqi and Pakistani rock groups, some of which are VERY good. THESE represent are the true hope of the Islamic - NOT THE SO-CALLED PAN ARAB - world. They want freedom. The freedom to create, to sculpt, to play IN PEACE, without being banned, shot or tortured.
Pay attention to people like them. They want the same things as you and me. They deserve your encouragement and your insight, not your contempt.
Muslims care about the future of their children just like Christians do. The one big difference is that Muslims want their children to grow up as Muslims--living in a Muslim world--not one dominated by infidels.
So Muslims who "care about their children will decidedly NOT vote for George W. Bush. They will vote for the guy who gives their side the best chance for victory--kerry.
Thanks for posting a photo a Osama Bin Laden. The clock is ticking, and future photos of him will be hard to find when we kill him. It will happen shortly. Remember, you heard it here first!!
Too bad his art isn't as good as his sentiment.
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How fortunate we are that the Associated Press reporter arrived at this booth just in time to catch the action...