Kracka
09-09-2010, 08:31 AM
Good opinion letter from the the Star Tribune:
Having spent nearly two years of my life in an Arab Muslim nation and having extensively studied the principles of the Qur'an, I feel that I am somewhat qualified to address Ahmed Tharwat's assertion in his Sept. 1 commentary ("The inescapable conclusion: Americans hate Muslims") that Americans "oppose the building of an Islamic center" and that their "sudden obsession with ground zero as a hallowed site is idolatrous."
I can't speak for most Americans, and neither can Tharwat. But I can speak for the facts of what most Americans see in this country: a diverse country of all ethnic groups, all religions, virtually all walks of life ever imagined in the universe, living, working, playing, praying, and marrying, all for the purpose of living in freedom, thriving in liberty, and enjoying the pursuit of happiness. Americans see millions of people just like Tharwat, who hope to come to this country for a new life, whether they come here legally or illegally.
What Americans don't see in this country are Baptists killing other Baptists, or Catholics torturing Jews, or Muslims beheading Lutherans. As imperfect as Tharwat claims America to be, it remains a country that is mostly tolerant in almost every category of life.
But what do Americans (and other nationalities) see in the Arab Muslim world? What do other Arabs and Muslims see in their world? They see Sunnis and Shiites killing each other, and they see attempts to exterminate Kurds. All this is done in several countries. All this is done for the sake and in the name of religion.
The practice of both men and women strapping on explosives in the hope of killing and maiming as many innocent people as possible has become a daily occurrence in the Arab, Persian, Muslim world. A daily occurrence! Recently it has been reported that young children have been recruited to lure the unsuspecting victims into a death trap. For what reason? Why do they do this to their own kind? Perhaps Tharwat should reflect on these questions and present the "idolatrous Americans" with answers.
It's easy for Tharwat to write his dissenting view of Americans and be able to live freely without harm or malice. But in the Arab, Muslim countries I'm familiar with, such dissenting views would earn him (and most likely his family and friends) immediate imprisonment, certain torture and possible death.
SCOTT WERDAHL, CHASKA
Having spent nearly two years of my life in an Arab Muslim nation and having extensively studied the principles of the Qur'an, I feel that I am somewhat qualified to address Ahmed Tharwat's assertion in his Sept. 1 commentary ("The inescapable conclusion: Americans hate Muslims") that Americans "oppose the building of an Islamic center" and that their "sudden obsession with ground zero as a hallowed site is idolatrous."
I can't speak for most Americans, and neither can Tharwat. But I can speak for the facts of what most Americans see in this country: a diverse country of all ethnic groups, all religions, virtually all walks of life ever imagined in the universe, living, working, playing, praying, and marrying, all for the purpose of living in freedom, thriving in liberty, and enjoying the pursuit of happiness. Americans see millions of people just like Tharwat, who hope to come to this country for a new life, whether they come here legally or illegally.
What Americans don't see in this country are Baptists killing other Baptists, or Catholics torturing Jews, or Muslims beheading Lutherans. As imperfect as Tharwat claims America to be, it remains a country that is mostly tolerant in almost every category of life.
But what do Americans (and other nationalities) see in the Arab Muslim world? What do other Arabs and Muslims see in their world? They see Sunnis and Shiites killing each other, and they see attempts to exterminate Kurds. All this is done in several countries. All this is done for the sake and in the name of religion.
The practice of both men and women strapping on explosives in the hope of killing and maiming as many innocent people as possible has become a daily occurrence in the Arab, Persian, Muslim world. A daily occurrence! Recently it has been reported that young children have been recruited to lure the unsuspecting victims into a death trap. For what reason? Why do they do this to their own kind? Perhaps Tharwat should reflect on these questions and present the "idolatrous Americans" with answers.
It's easy for Tharwat to write his dissenting view of Americans and be able to live freely without harm or malice. But in the Arab, Muslim countries I'm familiar with, such dissenting views would earn him (and most likely his family and friends) immediate imprisonment, certain torture and possible death.
SCOTT WERDAHL, CHASKA