Nine Years Later

Nine years after 9/11, the emphasis seems less on the victims of the attacks than on the state of Islam within the United States and the world today.

"We are not at war against Islam. We are at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam."
-President Barack Obama, September 10, 2010

"We are all Americans, we stand together," Obama said. "I think it is absolutely important now for majority of Americans to hang onto that thing that is best in us: a belief in religious tolerance. We have to make sure we don't start turning on each other."
-President Barack Obama, September 10, 2010

"One of the things I most admired about President Bush was after 9/11, him being crystal clear about the fact that we were not at war with Islam, we were at war with terrorists and murderers who had perverted Islam ... to carry out their acts."
-President Barack Obama, September 10, 2010

"I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George go and end the tyranny in Iraq,' and I did."
-Former President George Bush, June 2003

"I'm surely not going to justify war based upon God. Understand that. Nevertheless, in my case, I pray that I will be as good a messenger of His will as possible. And then of course, I pray for forgiveness."
-Former President George Bush, as told to Bob Woodward in Plan of Attack, 2004

Muslim. In a country in which 49 percent of the population holds an unfavorable view of Islam, "Muslim" has become a pejorative term.

Muslim Muslim Muslim Muslim Muslim.

Oh crap, did I just say that out loud? Will I be able to keep my job over this? Can I say stuff like that on my blog? You bet I can, Muhammad! [No, come on, I'm just kidding, that was just for shock value.]

Somehow in this nation we have combined our ideas of Islam and radical Islam so that many believe that all Muslims are radicals that hate America. This is simply not true, Muhammad. Seriously. I have created a syllogism in an attempt to convey the current trend in American thinking:

1. Radical Muslims attacked America on 9/11
2. ?????
3. All Muslims are radical and hate America

That makes perfect sense, right? From there it's just plug and play, Muhammad:

1. Some Christians in the KKK hate blacks and Jews
   
2. ?????
3. All Christians hate blacks and Jews
   

Holy Martin Luther King, Muhammad, why did he hate himself?

Part of the problem is that a good deal of rhetoric distances "America" from "Muslims" when, in fact many Americans are Muslim. That's why I keep addressing you as Muhammad, Muhammad. America allows all religions to be practiced within its borders, even the peaceful ones in which jihad means an interior spiritual struggle and Islam means "submission." I know it's terrible, Muhammad, that we allow such awful people to practice religion in this country. I mean, Islam is one of the greatest orthopraxic religions around. You want faith? Try praying 5 times a day facing Mecca. Try fasting during daylight hours for an entire month - whether summer or winter. Oh, and your sacred text is non-translatable because to translate it would be to confuse the language.

Muhammad, is this not a pious faith?

News coverage of 9/11 today covered three topics:

1. Honoring the victims
2. The Park51 community center and mosque
3. Asshat Pastor Terry Jones and his Quran-burning stupidity
   

In the same way that Muslims have all become radical, these topics were all combined into the same idea, so that preventing the mosque honored the victims, burning the bible put a barb into Islam (which therefore honored the victims) and burning the bible challenged Park 51. I don't get it. The Muslims that are building the mosque are not the ones that attacked on September 11. Likewise, the Christian president that leads our nation today is not of the same type as the Christian Nazis that killed millions of Jews, gays, Catholics, etc.

But, Muhammad, you tell me President Barack Hussein Obama was born in Africa and is a practicing Muslim-homosexual-polygamist-vegan-speed-freak on the side, besides being the Antichrist [thank the Lord the end is near!]. Well, Muhammad, you are much better informed than 82 percent of America.

This nation allows the freedom to burn the Quran, the Bible, the Cross, the Torah, the Rig Veda, and Beatles records. But before you do this, Muhammad, I recommend you read up on the religion you think you hate, and meet up with a few people from that religion. Get to know them, really. Then you will understand that they are human as well and they have faith with striking parallels to yours. Let us all get to know each other, each of us a Muhammad.

You may wonder why I have addressed you as Muhammad, this whole time. Well, Jesus, it is because that as Americans we are all in this together. Yes, Moses, Americans come from all sorts of faith. Buddha, that means your brethren may be Sikh or atheist or Wiccan.

Peace between religions, and religious tolerance in America, is a long way away. But we have had 9 years to at least figure out the difference between Islam and its radical variant. Muhammad, I weary of our hatred. Inshallah, let us find peace soon.