December 19, 2015

  • Should I be Scared?

    I haven’t been on Xanga or Word press for several weeks. So much has happened in these past three weeks. First the Paris bombing. Then the California massacre.

    When Paris was bombed a day after Beirut was bombed, I was shaken to my roots. All over the country, there was just one mantra being chanted. “Do away with the Muslims. Islam is a violent religion. Vandalize the mosques”. I, in my own way, wanted to reach out to our community and tell them that out of the 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, less than 0.1 % have bombed and killed people here in this country. There have been more deaths from white non Muslim people in this country  (Aurora CO, Sandy Hook, Killing of three Muslim Students in North Carolina by their neighbour, because he didn’t care for their religion or the fact he had issues with the parking spots, and of course the young man who killed nine people in a church earlier this year) than by Muslims. I am not defending the killers. Whoever they are. They are murderers, and they are extremists… mentally stable or otherwise.

    I have got off on a different tangent. My fear after the Paris bombing made me decide that I should write a letter to the local newspaper, and if possible have a Forum about Islam and ask people to come and listen to us. The letter I wrote was very well received, and the Islamic Forum was a block buster. People were hungry to know about Islam, and I thought the best thing to do was to educate. Ignorance causes fear, and that leads to hatred. So on the 5th of December three of us from the Islamic Center spoke to the community. There was a lot of news paper and TV coverage, and the public was extremely receptive to what we had to say. We all spoke against ISIS, which is not an Islamic organization. A true Muslim will never kill an innocent person. If he did, it would be like he killed the entire mankind. No Muslim can kill a woman, a child, destroy plants and crops… all very specifically detailed in the Quran. There is nothing Islamic about ISIS. Those savages are rabid animals, and should never be called Muslims.

    On the morning of our talk, I saw that our sign to the mosque, was missing. It was there for so many years, and suddenly, sometime between the Friday worship services and the morning of Saturday, somebody had removed the sign that said “Islamic Center”, with an arrow pointing to the driveway of the mosque.

    This is getting too long. I have a lot more to say  about this, so I shall post the rest of the story in a day or two.

    I hope you all are doing well and are very happy in the preparation of Christmas.

Comments (10)

  • I read some about this on FB. You are a very brave, kind, wise woman. With the world as it is today, we should probably all be scared, but that's not a good way to live. Being cautious and watchful without being scared is like walking a tightrope.

  • I am worried. On Dec. 7, 1941, my best friend was Japnese. All the wonderful Japnese Americans were hauled to detainment camps during WW2 and came back after the war to blind hatred. My mom kept our small grocery store open late at night so our Japnese friends could buy food safely.

    I wish you well in trying to educate Americans.

    • How sad and wretched to go through such a horrible part of the history. I am so happy your mother was so kind hearted and took care to serve these people.

  • I think you are one wise woman. I suspect that the media coverage had made some member of the mosque a little nervous. I can't say I'd blame them for taking the sign down. the idea that it might make it more difficult for someone bent on causing harm to find their target seems prudent. On the other hand it shouldn't be so. There are extremists in every group... I hope you can walk without fear gripping your heart - a kind and generous heart.

    • The members of the mosque did not take the sign down. The Quincy Police Department found the kids who had stolen the sign. (read about that on xanga later today). These five kids all seniors and one junior were from the local parochial high school, Quincy Notre Dame. The people of the Islamic Center are very proud to have that sign there, regardless of all the negative hype going on in the country.

  • Can we get partisan for a moment? Trump is spreading poison throughout this campaign, and if he gets power, we will surely get fascism. Most Americans reject his brand of hatred -- although it will take months to see the question settled. Hillary and Bernie each took a strong stand against Trump's demagoguery in the Saturday debate. So in the end, Trump must lose.

    • Trump is the biggest bully. He is spreading poison and causing hatred resulting from fear. Thank you for your comment John. made me feel good.

  • @ZSA_MD: I went to church near Detroit, Mich. The old mayor there where the the church was located many years ago was trying to hassle the peaceful Muslin community even then. Our church started bussing in mostly black children from the some Detroit poor areas, and the mayor had one of our exits blocked. The Muslims never hurt anyone. This small town mayor is typical of some bigots today.

    • Unfortunately the people who do not have the real education and live in ignorance, will always be the ones who will distribute fear and hatred among the others who are not well informed. I am sure that mayor is not the official of that place anymore.

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