American Muslims Are Americans. Let's Act Like It

Opinion Journal ^ | September 14, 2001 | Tarek E. Masoud

[jokemoke]

Are Americans.

Let's Act Like It.

Friday, September 14, 2001 12:01 a.m. EDT There's a famous photo of a Japanese-owned grocery store in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor with these words emblazoned across the front: "I AM AN AMERICAN." It accurately encapsulates the way many of us in the Islamic and Arab community feel at this hour. As it becomes ever more apparent that our co-religionists have visited slaughter upon our compatriots, so many of us want to declare from the rooftops our allegiance to this great nation, to show our solidarity with our fellow citizens, and to join the fight against our common enemy.

[headsonpikes]

A little proactivity would not be out of place from Muslim-Americans.

And maybe there is more of that than we think; especially intelligence info over the last week.

[Republican Party Reptile]

*** It is time for the Muslim community to join this country, or they will be forever seperated. Unfortunately, at times it appears that this is what they want. ***

The irony of such a statement is that by making such a statement, we are in fact re-inforcing the view that they are separate. By demanding that they make a collective GROUP showing of loyalty and alligence, we are in fact singling them out as different from the rest of us and that "they" whom we (the rest of us who are not like "them") have conspicously picked out as different from us group must now demonstrate to the rest of us that they are not different.

Why can't the Muslim in this country be like just everyone else in the country,(I mean, this is what we are asking, right?) - to behave as each individual may choose - some do more and care more, some do less and care less - as oppose to having to come to the fore as a separate "group" and make some collective statement representing their group - and we then accuse them of being cliquish and not willing to become part of the rest of us.

[willyboyishere]

It's not American Muslims that worry me---it's the continuing presence of enemies of this country who may be the shock troops of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism who may be planning for a series of sporadic attacks who knows how, who knows where, as soon as ANY military action takes place in the Middle East, whether initially in Afghanistan or elsewhere. I think enough of them are still here to do serious damage, and I don't know what's being done to root them out and detain them.

[droberts]

I heard that every Muslim, as part of the practising of their faith, is obliged to pay a 'tax' ('Khums' - meaning 1/5th), the proceeds of which are to the further the interests of the religion. I would be curious to know whether any of this money provided funding for the events of 9/11.

[Whilom]

hat else can we do to help?"

Mr. Masoud has asked the right question. Our country needs the help of all its patriots in this time of need and peril. Millions of Muslim-Americans are good and true citizens. There are special ways that Arab-Americans, indeed all Muslim-Americans can help defend America. This may be one: Arab-Americans should take a central role in identifying effective ways of eliminating Arab terrorists from our midst without injuring the rights or feelings of good and true citizens. Those terrorists swim among us, using the freedoms of our open society to commit atrocities. They must not be allowed to goad us into striking out blindly at good and true citizens of the Muslim faith or Arabic descent. Your country needs you, Mr. Masoud, and all those like you. Help us.

[Publius6961]

Perhaps I'm over-sensitive right now but it really ticks me off.

Nah. You're not off base.

But I can assure you that you'll be hearing from losers who also don't give a s**t about their country asking: what's the big deal?

They will fail to note the difference in behavior between groups.
We have our own share of domestic idiots.

[semaj]

In actuality, if you did a microfiche search of local California newspapers within the San Joaquin Valley area for that period, you would soon realize that there were sound reasons for interning the California Japanese population. During that period there were discovered numerous caches of weapons and explosives secreted on farms throughout the area. A friend of mine recounted how his father in-laws' family reported one such cache to the authorities and meritoriously recognized for their duty to the country after the war.

[randog]

Just one man's opinion.

Probably the opinion of many. Bravo.

[splint]

Yur makin' no sense!

[semaj]

"There's a difference between the Cross of Christ and the Sword of Mohammed."

I would say the difference is like the deep chasm that separates heaven from hell.

[petuniasevan]

Exactly. And thank you for spreading that "bint" (daughter of" instead of "bin" (son of) that I mentioned in my own thread.

[crystalk]

There is no such thing as a Muslim American. This is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms.

Such an expression can be used only by those who do not know the definition of one or both of the terms in it.

[TheDon]

I keep hearing this but, I am not convinced it was a travesty. Unfortunate, yes. I hope the people weren't mis-treated but, I understand the percieved need to do this.

I have received a lot of responses to my post that are quite disappointing. Yours was actually the most resonable.

To clarify my position regarding this issue, I'm very much for profiling. It is a rational thing to do, whether in war time or not. Not only from the gov'ts operation, but from a personal point of view. If a Middle Easterner (ME) is acting strangely, report them to the authorities, and certainly keep an eye on them.

In this matter, I'm referring to the fact that the majority of ME Americans are loyal U.S. citizens and should be treated as such. The guy you buy gas from, the dentist, the local store owner, these men and women don't deserve your hostility, threats, or attacks. This is foolishness and does nothing to help the war effort. It was a waste of resources in WWII with the Americans of Japanese descent, and is a waste of effort in this war.

The fact that you admit your lack of knowledge about what the Americans of Japanese descent went through during WWII, speaks to your honesty and open mindedness. I suggest you educate yourself in this matter, because it was a travesty. If you happened to be on the receiving end of it, you would know how much of a travesty it was. These American citizens were mistreated. They lost all of their property, and lived in miserable camps during the war. The most decorated American unit in WWII? A unit of Japanese descended Americans fighting in Europe.

People often use war as an excuse to trample on the rights of American citizens, not this time though.

If the ME Americans are a little quiet, perhaps its because they are receiving multiple death threats daily, and fear to leave the house thinking they might be killed by some idiot mistaking bigotry for patriotism.

[TheDon]

Was it located on FR?

[willyboyishere]

"It is disturbing that the Muslim-American community is behaving like any special-interest racial group in America"
*****We seem to be among the few who have noticed this, and it is disturbing. "Don't stereotype us,etc.etc.". I've seen no genuine grief or anger, just this kind of whining and even from some a tone of warning and lecturing us on how we should be responding to the event and to them. We should have expected this: most have lived here through the Clinton Years, which now look like the Golden Age of Political Correctness, Victimhood, and Special Pleading for Entitlement and Empowerment. Maybe in a few generations they will seem like authentic Americans. For now, the only genuine grief I expect from a "good" Muslim will probably come from one who lost a friend or loved one at WTC.

[neutrino]

Truly a pleasure, and my compliments on a great idea!

[BenF]

NO. The day that American Muslims condemn an attack against Jews without equivocation is the day I will believe they are Americans. Not before.

[CatoRenasci]

It's very interesting. I grew up in California, my father was a native Californian (4th generation) and my mother a native Oregonian. They knew Japanese-Americans before the War and after. My uncles in Oregon had contact with Japanese at an internment camp not far from their ranches.

Their perspective was that with the anti-Japanese hysteria after Pearl Harbor, and the uncertainty people felt about the loyalty of Japanese in this country, the internment was not irrational, perhaps even reasonable. The also said the Japanese were a lot safer in the camps than they'd have been out loose.

I later worked with a Japanese-American who had been yanked from college at UCLA into one of the camps and who later served in the Niesi battalion in Italy. Wounded, decorated for valor. His comments on the internment camps were illuminating. He said that until he got to the camps (which he said sucked, BTW), he'd never met so many Japanese-Americans who he was worried about their loyalty to America. He said knowing what he knew about them from contact in the camps, if he'd been making the decision, he'd have rounded up a lot of 'em and put 'em on a freighter bound for the Far East. He said that, of course, the round-eyes couldn't tell who was who, so, on the whole, he thought the round-up was reasonable. Interesting perspective.

[marbren]

What happened to German Americans during WWII