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Muslims Stress Abrahamic Character of America
A host of leading Muslim organizations in the U.S. are orchestrating a campaign to replace the "Judeo-Christian" phrase in describing the values and character that define the U.S. with a one that would not exclude its more than 8 million Muslim population, reported the Newhouse News Service. The change campaigners, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, American Muslim Alliance, the Muslim American Society and the American Muslim Council, stress it is high time for Americans to stop using the outdated phrase and replace it with "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" or "Abrahamic," in reference to Abraham (Ibrahim), the patriarch held in common by the three monotheistic religions.
| Then we'd have to use the term "non-homicidal" when referring to just Christianity and Judaism... |
Dr. Agha K. Saeed, founder and chairman of the American Muslim Alliance, a Fremont-based political group, underlined that "the new language should be used in all venues where we normally talk about Judeo-Christian values, starting with the media, academia, statements by politicians and comments made in churches, synagogues and other places."
| Yeah, what the hell? Everybody else feels free to rearrange the language. Why not them, too? |
U.S. President George W. Bush is always quick to add "mosques," when he mentions churches and synagogues. "These are not just let's-make-you-feel-good words," he said, asserting that "these are words that define how we're related to each other."
| I thought he was just being polite... |
Dr. Zahid Bukhari, vice president of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), says that an inclusive change of language could alter the perception that the U.S. as a Christian country is hell-bent on dominating Muslims in a modern-day crusade.
| When the president shows up at a mosque for a foto-op and puts on a turban, I'm leaving for someplace else. I'm just not sure where, since the entire world seems to be infected with this "tolerance" silliness... |
Sharifa Alkhateeb, president of the Washington-based Muslim Education Council, is quick to assert, "What we call Western culture is in fact based on Muslim Middle East culture, but the average American doesn't know that."
| Well, I must be ignorant and certainly must be average, since the idea never even occurred to me. All this time I thought the Song of Roland and the Siege of Vienna were significant events in our history â where our fairly ignorant and brutal ancestors kept out the forces of even more ignorance and brutality, so that our society could mature while the other side's stagnated... |
"We believe in heaven and hell, in doing good deeds, in following the Ten Commandments," asserts Hannah Hawk, a spokesperson for the Houston Muslim Public Affairs Council.
| "We believe we're going to heaven and God's going to roast you infidels' stomaches in hell. We believe in several of the Ten Commandments, except the ones about killing people, coveting, telling lies, and that sort of thing. And we only do good deeds for Muslims, 'cuz why waste the money?" |
"Islamic values are not only compatible with American values, they're almost identical. I personally believe the most Islamic country in the world is America, where we believe in freedom of religion, freedom of the press and equality of all."
| "Gentle reader fwowed up..." |
The call for new terms, which shows that words carry huge symbolic importance for Muslims trying to find their role in America after Sept. 11 and the Iraq war, has its proponents and opponents. The campaign is significantly backed by non-Muslim organizations, including the head of the National Council of Churches.
| Oh, dear! Oh, golly! Wotta surprise! |
Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the council, which represents 36 Christian denominations, said he prefers "Abrahamic" to "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" because it "rolls off the tongue a little easier."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-05-17 |
