(vanity) Invitation issued to "Muslims Against Terrorism"

self | 20 dec 02 | self

[demosthenes the elder]

http://www.matusa.org

Ms. Yasemin Saib,

I was both surprised and pleased to learn of you and the organization to which you belong last night while watching a part of the PBS series on Islam currently being broadcast by Georgia Public Television. I was impressed by your evident commitment to your faith and your willingness to openly address what has become a major issue or bone of contention in Islamic-Western relations - that, for some Muslims, islamicism and militant jihad and terrorism ARE articles of their faith, that for these people the global conflict between nationalistic Islam and all other systems of belief is indeed a religious war of absolutes and fanaticism.

That required courage, and painful honesty. I respect courage and honesty wherever and in whomever I find them. You also impressed me quite favorably as intelligent, articulate, compassionate, and essentially reasonable - all qualities which seem in sadly short supply on all sides of this issue. Judging from your brief biography on the matusa.com "about us" page, I would be willing to state that you and I would disagree on many specific points on many issues, but I would also hazard the guess that we could do so amicably and mutually profit from reasonable discourse on the topics.

For these reasons, I hereby invite you specifically and MAT in general to make your voice heard at Free Republic ( http://www.freerepublic.com ). This is a conservative news and opinion forum, of which I am a recent and active member. I believe that we at FR would benefit from this interaction, this chance to get to know real Muslims who are actively working against terrorism, as an anodyne to the constant media barrage of simplistic apologia for the sins of an extremist minority and the irritating silence and the seeming tacit complicity of the majority. I also believe that you and your organization would benefit from this interaction, as the cross section of opinions - good and bad, informed and ignorant, moderate and extreme - to be found on Free Republic are much more representative of the mainstream of America than, perhaps, is the case in New York City. Certainly we would provide a better understanding than could be obtained through conventional media sources.

Do, please, drop by.

Sincerely, Gordon M.Promish (demosthenes the elder)

[demosthenes the elder]

as noted above, I caught this young lady on TV last night and was impressed in many ways. I went to the website and was again impressed. I decided to issue an invitation into the lions' den, for reasons listed above. we shall see what, if anything, comes of it.

[demosthenes the elder]

this organization/website might interest you (and your pinglists)

[Godel]

The meeting for muslims against terrorism could be held in a phone booth.

[WSGilcrest]

Please ping me to any developments regarding this thread.

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From http://www.matusa.org/ :


Yasemin Saib - Interfaith Coordinator
interfaith@matusa.org

Yasemin Saib, born on April 3rd, 1974 in Saudi Arabia to Dr. Kanan and Gulsay Saib, parents of Arab and Turkish decent. Ms. Saib and her family moved to the United States in 1990 and became a US Citizen in 1993. She earned a BA in Political Science from the University of South Carolina in 1995, and an MA in International Development from North Carolina State University in 1997. Ms. Saib also studied at Oxford University, England; Bosphorus University, Turkey; and at Trier University, Germany. Ms. Saib speaks English, Arabic, Turkish, and German fluently. For 11 years, Ms. Saib has been a human rights activist. She has worked as a volunteer for UNICEF. She has helped found the Iraq Action Coalition to end UN sanctions on Iraq. She has been involved in legislation to grant political asylum on the grounds of Female genital mutilation, she has worked with a Muslim mission to bring 147 Bosnian students to the US to receive university education; she is currently the Executive Director for Muslim Charity Networks (MCN), a non-profit Charity Portal based in New York City. She is an active member of the American Sufi Muslim Association (ASMA Society). She is also one of the founding members of MAT and is directing the organization’s interfaith outreach program.

[demosthenes the elder]

will do.

[demosthenes the elder]

I understand your disaffection for the faith, Godel, but that statement is inaccurate.

[Diogenesis]

Islamic response to murders and terror.

[demosthenes the elder]

ha ha.
Look, y'all, if you have read my commentary on various threads on the topic of Islam and terrorism, you know that I am not fond of islamicism and jihadis.
On the flip side, however, I know a fairly large number of Muslims, both native-born Americans and naturalized immigrants to America. They are generally fairly conservative, moral, ethical people. One of them is hands-down one of the best friends I have ever had. He is from Iran.
Point being: There is a difference between the average layman Muslim and a jihadi or one of those rabid sheiks or mullahs or imams. I am not going to go all soft and mushy and endorse the "religion of peace(tm)" crap, but I will not sit back and not contest such broadside attacks.
It'd be like saying that all Christians are abortion clinic bombers.
Equally inflammatory, and equally untrue.

[Dudoight]

But can she influence the fanatics of her religion any more than one can influence the David Dukes, killers of abortion Dr's, or fanatics of the Christian faith? Remember the Moonies, Manson's followers? The extremist thinkers, (rather 'non-thinkers')are not reached by reason. Something else is driving them. Unfortunately, in the present situation, it appears thousands have been mobilized, if not hundreds of thousands.

[demosthenes the elder]

whatever she and her group can do with/against the fanatics of her creed, it is a start.
moreover, by standing as a counterexample for US to see, she helps to prevent US from committing the sin of genocidal extermination which, without such a counterexample, would certainly become an attractive option.

[Diogenesis]

Many are waiting those sentients in Islam to speak up against the systematic atrocities and murders.

Have YOU heard them speak up?

So far, when the phone does not ring, when the keyboard does not type,
it is them.

[joesnuffy]

[demosthenes the elder]

yes, actually, I have. in unambiguous and unequivocal terms, too. many times. but not, oddly, on the news.
which is why I was so pleased to learn of this lady and this organization.
btw: the pics cannot shock me, and I had KINFOLK working at the Pentagon on 9/11, so knock it off.

[Dudoight]

I too, have muslim friends, (along with hindu). I know they are not all extremist. It seems the extremist faction of Islam will not be content until Islam rules the world. How can western thought confront this with reason? This fanaticism is going to destabilize the entire world, not just the ME.

[demosthenes the elder]

the first step in separating the wheat from the chaff is to recognize that there exists wheat among the chaff.

[Dudoight]

Do you really think the US wants to commit genocidal extermination? I don't. It is my opinion that the past 10 years of weak responses to terrorist acts have emboldened the fanatics. Taking a strong stand in response to the fanatics who murder at will, whose own desire to commit genocide upon the west is the only option. Bin Laden is not going to 'parley' with us. He wants nothing from us except our death. Hamas and Hezbollah do not desire 'negotiaions'. These factions want Americans and Jews dead.

[AppyPappy]

Moderate voices are never heard because the media can't sell them.

[demosthenes the elder]

some Americans DO favor a genocidal response.
I support strong and lethal response to attacks against America, so long as the targets are selected and excised with a reasonable degree of precision.

[Dudoight]

Moderate muslim voices might be fearful of repercussions in today's climate. It would take courage for the thousands of moderate muslims to form a group and take a stand against the jihad mentality. If they could take a fervent stand enmasse, the media would listen. However, might they be putting themselves and families at risk from the fanatics? I think so. Whether here in the USA or in their native lands, they would be targeted.

[AppyPappy]

That's really true and the nature of Islam means that Muslims are slow to "buck the system". It's a religion that discourages examination.