Shallow Islamic Association

Afzal Ahmad, the Chairman of the American Islamic Association, wrote a letter to the editors of the Chicago Tribune. In the letter titled “Shallow knowledge”, Mr. Ahmad assumes that the Tribune’s readers do not pay any attention to what is printed in the Tribune and what is going on around them. I really have to wonder why the Tribune would even print such nonsense, but hey, they’ve printed worse. Mr. Ahmad mischaracterized a previous column written by Dennis Byrne and then went on to preach that what we have been seeing for decades simply never happened. For well over a quarter century the Chicago Tribune has reported on instances of Muslims murdering non-Muslims for the simple fact that the victims are not Muslim. The Arabic “war cry” used by these Muslims, “ala akbar” is very well known in non-Muslim communities; it is the last thing you hear before a Muslim blows you up.

We have also been repeatedly told by Muslims that the murders will “receive” seventy-two virgins for murdering infidels. The repeated and casual use of the term “infidels” by Muslims to describe non-Muslims also belies the “religion of peace” tag that Mr. Ahmad is trying to attach to his religion. Mr. Ahmad also neglected to write that we non-Muslims are considered inferior beings under Islamic law. Mr. Ahmad is simply trying to distance himself and his religion from other practitioners of his religion. If Mr. Ahmad was at all serious he would’ve written that he renounces Sharia, Islamic law. Mr. Ahmad also does not comment on the fact that Muslims around the world follow Imams rather than a central religious authority, so each one is essentially following the Koranic interpretations of a preacher. It is also notable that it is believed that the Koran can only be read in Arabic, leaving the non-Arabic speaker at the mercy of a preacher. Mr. Ahmad also leaves out the fact that the Koran (a document that I have only read in English) contains enough declarations on how life should be lead that one could make virtually any argument or excuse concerning the violence that is being perpetrated by Muslims around the world.

The sad truth is that being a neighbor to the Islamic world has historically been a dangerous proposition. Here in the US we are all fortunate that our Muslim neighbors are not actively taking up arms against “infidels” like Muslims in much of the rest of the world. Instead some try to get their way by employing people like Mr. Ahmad, who tries to make us feel so guilty for something that we have not done that we eventually acquiesce to much of Sharia anyways. Mr. Ahmad’s dishonesty cannot help relations between religions, we have eyes too. If Mr. Ahmad wants to be taken seriously he should be actively campaigning against any idea of imposing Islamic Law on non-Muslims, something that the poor “infidels” in the Islamic world would greatly appreciate.