December 7th, 1941; blue skies blanket the alluring island of Hawaii as morning rises. It seems as if this small collection of land is the final lasting haven for peace in the World during these unsettling times. This peace, like all good things, was destined for a rather atrocious termination. Without proper warning, 353 aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy flew over and opened fire on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The results of this hideous attack? 2,402 men were killed, and another 1,282 wounded. The United States took immediate aggressive action against the Japanese, including the innocent ones in America. Oppression and injustice prevailed in "The Land of the Free."
The same blue skies of sixty years past now carpet New York on the morning of September 11th, 2001. The World Trade Center, the two tallest buildings in the World, pierce through the horizon as they did for the past thirty years. And, although these steel giants have been attacked unsuccessfully in the past, nobody expected what would happen at about 8:45 am. A pair of Boeing 767s flew directly into both Trade Centers 1 and 2, the two attacks being about 20 minutes apart. The results of this appalling act? 2606 deaths, a number slightly more than that of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. President George W. Bush, 8 months into his first term, declared "The War on Terror." If you ask me, the "War on Terror" quickly turned into "The War on Islam."
Do you see any similarities between these two events? Of course you do. Both are horrible acts of hate where thousands lost their lives, and later for which the innocents of the same culture had to pay. The only difference between the two is that the oppression of the American Japanese is long gone, whereas American Muslims are still misunderstood and hated. They say history always repeats itself, but nobody told me it would happen almost purposely.
What do I mean by purposely, you ask?
- September 11th, 2010; In protest of what it calls a religion "of the devil," a nondenominational church in Gainesville, Florida, plans to host an "International Burn a Quran Day" on the ninth anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 attacks [1].
- August 28th, 2010; A mosque in Nashville is set ablaze [2].
- August 24th, 2010; Ahmed Sharif, a Muslim cab driver, is stabbed [3].
- August 24th, 2010; A California mosque is vandalized with graffiti making reference to Ground Zero [4].
This post will be continued and reflected upon in future posts. Feel free to email me your opinions and perspectives, nzrmhmmd72@aol.com.
1: Adapted from CNN
2: Adapted from CBS News
3: Adapted from NY Daily News
4: Adapted from Newsweek
In my opinion, the Muslim-American's of today do face a seemingly growing army of "haters" If only I were mature enoguh to remember how Muslims were looked at pre-9/11, I could probably give a better opinion. However, the existing "hate" or "fear" does have to do with 9/11 and that is a fact. Prominent news reporters have stated "Muslims killed us on 9/11 (bill o'reilly on "The View") This obviously proves the latter, that Muslims are "hated" because of the events that occured on 9/11. To hate one religion for the acts of certain people is wrong but to fear is at the very least an arguement that can be made. I dont personally see much to fear but playing devils advocate I can see validity in the arguements of fear. There is an extremist wing of the whole Muslim world and no matter how small it is people will always fear whats worst and not notice whats best. It's the mentality of the world; not just America. To me religion should be the absolute most discrete and private thing. Religion should not be flaunted and thrown around. I sometimes think to myself that religion just might be the worlds problem. Think about it. Religion, true family values, are just another label on a person and a reasonb to stop the progression of society. Going back to Islam in America, people make the arguement of fear towards Islam; although personally disagreeing, I can see the small validity of their concerns. Their wrong, but they make their own point. Wars have to end and wounds have to heal before we can trully know America's stance on this. But we should hate Al Qaueda before anything. Sure a majority of those part of the attacks and in it now claim to be Muslim, and thats why people feel that way. Then again, "Christians" blow up abortion clinics everyday, threaten to kill and bring hell upon transgender people. So I ask the question, even though I am religious and do believe, Isn't religion what's wrong with our Earth and why all these problems exist?
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Dan! I see your perspective clearly, and of course since you are not a Muslim, you cannot fully see mine. I understand that there are some people whose ignorance sends truth and justice into oblivion, but there are some who are just confused. Those are the people who I hope to influence by these posts.
ReplyDeleteReligion is actually the cause of most problems in the world, I totally agree with you Daniel. But you cannot just erase religion, it is a part of most people's lives. The only solution to this predicament is tolerance. Religious tolerance...how many times have we heard that before? Each generation is promised this God forsaken phrase, but it seems as if with each new generation, a new religion becomes victim to the exact opposite of religious toleration. I cannot reach out to everyone, but if one person who reads this post is moved and enlightened, I have done my job and am satisfied.
Thanks again, for your input!