Letter to the Editor on The Murfreesboro Post

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Posted: Sunday, November 27, 2011 5:35 am

Two months following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, on Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing the military to operate military areas as exclusion zones, from which any or all persons may be excluded.

This order justified the exclusion and forced relocation of all people of Japanese ancestry from the entire Pacific coast into concentration camps in the United States.

Though the country was at war with Germany and Italy as well, and though no single case of suspected Japanese-American espionage activity was ever proven, the government stripped an estimated 110,000 Japanese-American citizens of their constitutional protections and their property, and transported them long distances.

It was not until 1988 when Congress passed legislation apologizing and providing monetary reparations to those affected for this tragic chapter in history.

The legislation confirmed that the actions taken by our government were founded on race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.

Fast forward to the horrendous events of Sept. 11, 2001. A national poll found that 31 percent of U.S. residents asserted that our government should incarcerate Arab- Americans in concentration camps as we did with Japanese-Americans during World War II.

I wonder whether we have learned anything from history?

To stereotype and scapegoat all followers of Islam for the events of 9/11 is as invalid as blaming all Christians for the despicable actions perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations released its 2006 report finding that approximately 25 percent of Americans consider Islam as a religion of hatred and violence, and that those with the most biased attitudes tend to be older, less educated, politically conservative, and are more often to belong to the Republican Party.

Though a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case ruled unconstitutional any mandatory prayers or Bible readings at public schools or the promotion of religion, subsequent rulings declared the constitutionality of many forms of personal religious expression on school campuses.

Muslim students, faculty, and staff, however, are routinely not accorded the opportunity to have a safe prayer space on campus to perform the salat (prayer), as required by the Five Pillars of Islam.

A case in point involved a 17-year-old high school junior in Ohio, who was barred by school administrators from praying in an empty classroom at lunch and before and after class hours. In this case, CAIR stepped in on the student’s behalf, and convinced the school district to reverse its policy.

Today, we see growing numbers of violent acts directed against Muslims.

During the single year of 2005, for example, CAIR listed a total of 1,522 civil rights violations against American Muslims, 114 of which were violent hate crimes.

The report included incidents of violence, as well as harassment and discriminatory treatment, including unreasonable arrests, detentions, and searches or seizures.

Nearly one-quarter of all reported civil rights violations against American Muslims involve unwarranted arrests and searches.

Law enforcement agencies routinely profile Muslims of apparent Middle Eastern heritage in airports or simply while driving in their cars for interrogation and invasive and aggressive searches.

In addition, government agencies, such as the IRS and FBI, continue to enter individuals’ private homes and mosques and make unreasonable arrests and detentions.

Islamic xenophobia routinely surfaced throughout the last presidential election.

Members of the political right challenged and spread rumors regarding President Barack Obama’s cultural, social and religious background, political philosophies, birth status and patriotism.

Insinuations flew about his supposed Islamic background connected to his alleged Marxist and fascist political influences.

Opponents referred to him as Barack “Hussein” Obama in their attempts to connect him not only to the Muslim faith, but also to the former ruler of Iraq.

In actuality, his middle name is indeed Hussein, which in Arabic translates to good or beautiful.

Furthermore, since this country is founded on the notion of freedom of religion, whichever religious or non-religious background any candidate, or any individual, follows should in no way disqualify or call into question their credentials.

Islamophobia can be defined as prejudice and discrimination toward the religion of Islam and those who follow its teachings and practices.

Like racism and sexism, for example, Islamophibia is much more than a fear, for it is a taught and often learned attitude and behavior, and, therefore, falls under the category of oppression.

So, I would ask in light of the comments regarding the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, who is truly “free” in your town?

Warren Blumenfeld
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Iowa State University

Tagged under Letter to the Editor

Member Opinions:

By: dirtdigger on 11/28/11
Kuddos to Mr. Blumenfield. Throughout history numerous groups have been persecuted and been victims of hate whether it be race, sex, religion, etc. All these people that are afraid of Muslims and Islam I ask you this "Have you ever met or talked with a Muslim?" Chances are you have not. How can you judge and hate when you don't have all the facts. Yes there are extremists, as there are in any religion and in any group of people. For all the Christians - do you really believe that the Fred Phelps group represents your Christian beliefs? I seriously doubt it. Before you all spout hate and enact violence against a group of people you should make sure you have your facts right and maybe you should re-read your bible. Let's face it Jesus was a middle eastern man who looked just like Muslims who are being profiled and treated with hate.