InterFaith21

Last Sunday I committed to provide documentation of Muslim condemnation of 9/11 and terrorism during our always engaging News Talk session at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches. We won’t hear such denunciation documented on Faux News — quite the contrary. But one need only Google these things. In fact, in a search for “Muslim condemnations of 9/11,” the first link returned was a page titled…

Muslim Condemnations of 9/11.

That site reports:

In the aftermath of the violence and horror of 9/11, criticisms were made that Muslim leaders and organizations were not outspoken enough in denouncing acts of terrorism. Muslims are constantly perplexed by this accusation, as we heard (and continue to hear) nothing but unequivocal and unified condemnations by the leaders of our community, both in the United States and worldwide. But for some reason, people are not listening.

For the record, the inhuman attacks of September 11 were condemned in the strongest terms by virtually all Islamic leaders, organizations, and countries. Thethe Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Judicial Council summarized that, “Islam rejects such acts, since it forbids killing of civilians even during times of war, especially if they are not part of the fighting. A religion that views people of the world in such a way cannot in any sense condone such criminal acts, which require that their perpetrators and those who support them are held accountable. As a human community we have to be vigilant and careful to preempt these evils.”

What follows that is a comprehensive list of such condemnations.

The search’s second link includes more of the kind of info that our “fair and balanced” news media rarely provide, such as the links to:

9/11 Anniversary Observances in U.S. Mosques

….and the names of the dozens of the shamefully disregarded:

*** Muslim Victims of September 11 Attack ***

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, these pages abound, for anyone who bothers to check, before parroting the shameful accusations of demagogues, and slandering the sincerity of an entire faith community.

The third Google link connects to hundreds more such pages, including U. of Michigan Professor Juan Cole’s criticism of New York Times columnist Tom Friedman’s recurring duplicity:

Muslims Condemn Terror Attacks

If that is not enough, still more strenuous Muslim rejection of terrorism, from the  BBC, International Herald Tribune, YouTube, ad infinitum, at:

Facts Not Fear: More Muslim Condemnation of Terrorism & Violence

Here at my InterFaith21 site, I too highlighted Juan Cole’s “Muslim Denunciations of al-Qaeda and Terrorism” and his spanking of the misdirection from Friedman:

Juan Cole: Following Quranic logic to its logical conclusion

If I seem inpatient with having to address info that our ratings-driven, so-called news media all too often bury — or worse, are complicit in distorting —  one reason is that as a professional journalist, I think our media should be called out for feeding our low inclinations to stereotype and scapegoat.

“Islam, by definition, rejects terrorism,” declared the headline of one of my columns years ago in The Palm Beach Post. Yet, when a violent extremist fringe element acts in obvious contradiction of the book of guidance for Muslims, the Quran, some folks, parroting the professional haters, cite that behavior to paint an entire billion-plus group of people. It’s like characterizing all Christians by the actions of the Bible-toting, cross-burning Ku Klux Klan.

Thus my focus on education. Getting quality information on board. Sharing resources such as the links above. One thing I love about us as Americans, and as human beings generally,  is that when we get good information, we usually get it right.

As always, I thank all my friends for your support, encouragement and patience with me, as I continue to learn and grow with all of you.

— C.B. Hanif