E Pluribus Unum, out of many one?

By: American Decency Staff

By Chris Johnson According to the CNSNews.com and other news outlets, Secretary of State  Hillary Clinton recently met with the Organization for Islamic Cooperation to discuss defamation of Islam in America. From CNSNews.com: "The OIC, a bloc of 56 Muslim states, has campaigned for more than a decade against “defamation of religion,' galvanized by actions such as the publications of newspaper cartoons satirizing Mohammed, anti-shari’a activism, and threats to damage copies of the Qur’an." In 1990, the OIC issued the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, a document founded on Shari'ah law which established their version of human rights. The first two articles show the mindset of its signers. Article 1 (a) All human beings form one family whose members are united by submission to God and descent from Adam. All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities, without any discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, language, sex, religious belief, political affiliation, social status or other considerations. True faith is the guarantee for enhancing such dignity along the path to human perfection. (b) All human beings are God’s subjects, and the most loved by him are those who are most useful to the rest of His subjects, and no one has superiority over another except on the basis of piety and good deeds. Article 2 (a) Life is a God-given gift and the right to life is guaranteed to every human being. It is the duty of individuals, societies and states to protect this right from any violation, and it is prohibited to take away life except for a Shari’ah-prescribed reason. (b) It is forbidden to resort to such means as may result in the genocidal annihilation of mankind. (c) The preservation of human life throughout the term of time willed by God is a duty prescribed by Shari’ah. (d) Safety from bodily harm is a guaranteed right. It is the duty of the state to safeguard it, and it is prohibited to breach it without a Shari’ah-prescribed reason. And then drop down to a terrifying article ten. Article 10 Islam is the religion of unspoiled nature. It is prohibited to exercise any form of compulsion on man or to exploit his poverty or ignorance in order to convert him to another religion or to atheism. And then a little further down is article 22. Article 22 (a) Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shari’ah. (b) Everyone shall have the right to advocate what is right, and propagate what is good, and warn against what is wrong and evil according to the norms of Islamic Shari’ah. (c) Information is a vital necessity to society. It may not be exploited or misused in such a way as may violate sanctities and the dignity of Prophets, undermine moral and ethical values or disintegrate, corrupt or harm society or weaken its faith. (d) It is not permitted to arouse nationalistic or doctrinal hatred or to do anything that may be an incitement to any form of racial discrimination. Now, to be fair, the articles in between say plenty of nice things like how you shouldn't start genocides or mutilate bodies in war, but the fact is that the rights granted to you by 57 Islamic countries require you to live under the law of their religion or to be punished according to the law of their religion. Now, if you remember, way back at the beginning of this piece we were talking about how these countries met with our Secretary of State to discuss religious intolerance in the United States. According to CAIR – and, doubtless, the OIC would agree – , the American Decency Association, the Florida Family Association, Jihad Watch, and Atlas Shrugs – the most vocal organizations regarding "All-American Muslim" – are guilty of "bigotry" and "Islamophobia." Here's a question, how does our organizations' criticizing a television program for not telling the whole story of Islam stack up to burning down the churches of alternative religions? You've got to go to OIC's member state Egypt to see that kind of bigotry. How about beheading people for not following the "right" religion? That would be something that happens in the OIC member state of Saudi Arabia. Or arresting and sentencing an ex-Muslim convert to Christianity to death? That kind of "Christophobia" can only be found in an OIC nation like Iran. How can we be bigoted, I've wondered, when  every single one of us has said something to the effect of, "look, the Muslims on this show seem like great folks and I'm not the least bit worried that they might have bomb-making materials in their garage?" From what I've seen, every one of us has said that. The point has always been, these people are great, but what about those people? TLC follows these families around and calls them "All-American Muslims," but Nadal Malik Hassan is an American Muslim too. In fact, he was under an oath to protect and defend the United States and its Constitution at the time that he was walking around Fort Hood shooting people and shouting "Allahu Akbar." Anwar al-Awlaki was also an American Muslim before joining al Qaeda and helping recruit terrorists responsible for attacks in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. Another American Muslim, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, opened fire on a recruiting office in Little Rock, AR killing private William Long. His justification? "The attack was justified according to Islamic Laws and the Islamic Religion. Jihad—to fight those who wage war on Islam and Muslims.â€Â But, the argument goes, you can't judge the whole religion by those few. And I agree. You also can't judge the whole religion on the cast of "All-American Muslim." What we have to do is admit that both sides exist – Muslims who want to integrate into American society and get married and play football and raise kids and Muslims who want to destroy America and turn into a Shari'ah-governed, OIC-member type of Islamic state. Those of us who are opposed to "All-American Muslim" are not hateful just because it's a show about Muslims. We are concerned that the show’s premise – "All-American Muslims" just want to get along – will translate to all American Muslims just want to get along. That's irresponsible and it has the capacity to result in a lot of people dying. That's not a bigoted statement. It's a factual statement, proved by the above-mentioned cases. Honestly, if TLC just came out and said it – "we know Muslims have a bad name because some who share their religion are terrorists, but look how nice and normal most of them are" – I wouldn't have a problem with the show. As I've said before, it's just as important to recognize that most Muslims aren't terrorists as it is to recognize that some of them are. America has been described as a melting pot, where all the cultures of the world are blended together and become one new culture – E Pluribus Unum, out of many one. So long as that is the aim of Muslims I would be glad to call them friends. That's not bigotry, it's common sense. ======================================================== To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412. American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

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