A Muslim Who SUPPORTS Israel's Right to EXIST as a Jewish State is CENTRAL to
the DEFINITION of a MODERATE Muslim. - Gary Ratner, Executive Director of
American Jewish Congress (AJC)
In Search of a Moderate Muslim
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Sept. 18, 2006
The Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission has finally voted to
reaffirm its selection of Muslim leader Dr. Maher Hathout for a human relations
award, ending a bitter, two-week battle that many lamented has seriously set
back the region's Muslim-Jewish relations.
The furious fight on the selection process was sparked when the Zionist
Organization of America and some other Jewish groups charged that Hathout, a
70-year-old retired cardiologist, has denounced Israel as an apartheid state
and supported of Hizbullah as freedom fighters.
Dr. Hathout's long years of interfaith work prompted him to invite the Muslim
leader to meet Pope John Paul II during his visit to Los Angeles in 1987 and to
deliver a eulogy during the pontiff's memorial service.
Interestingly, the vote for Dr. Hathout came two days after the American Jewish
Congress honored another resident of California, Tashbih Sayyed, and four other
'moderate' Muslims for what it sees as their friendly attitudes toward Israel .
Sayyed was honored along with Satanic Verses-famed author Salman Rushdie, who
received the AJC's highest honor, the Stephen Wise Humanitarian Award. The
three other Muslims honored by the AJC were: Salim Mansur, Nonie Darwish and
Wafa Sultan. The honoring ceremony was billed as "Profiles in Courage: Voices
of Muslim Reformers in the Modern World."
Gary Ratner, executive director of the Congress' Western region office in Los
Angeles, says his group believes support for Israel 's right to exist as a
Jewish state is central to the definition of a moderate.
The definition Mr. Ranter implies that a moderate Muslim should support:
Israel's occupation of the Palestinian land.
Israel's occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
Israel's killing of unarmed Palestinian men, women and children.
Israel's right to imprison some 10,000 Palestinians.
Israel's right to imprison elected government of the Palestinians.
Israel's attack on civilian targets in Lebanon killing hundreds of innocent
men, women and children.
Israel's sole right to have nuclear weapons in the Middle East .
Israel's right to defy all the UN Security Council resolutions while Arab
and Muslim states should comply.
Apparently another factor in AJC's choice of honorees is that at least three
of them have renounced their faith. Salman Rushdie is a self-described atheist
while Wafa Sultan and Nonie Darwish say they left their faith years ago.
If you are not convinced, here are some more takes on the credentials of the
six honorees:
The less said the better about the Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie.
Contrary to the basic Islamic belief that the Quran is a revealed book, Rushdie
subscribes to the Rand Corporation criteria for a moderate Muslim that he/she
believes that the Quran is a historical document. While honoring Rusdhdie, the
AJC said "Mr Rushdie is among the great minds of today that can help us learn
how to understand and combat terrorism."
Egypt-born Nonie Darwish is the founder of Arabs for Israel and author of Now
They Call Me an Infidel. She blames Arabs and Palestinians for all the strife
and killings in the Middle East .
Syria-born Wafa Sultan is a resident of California who came into prominence
for her bitter attack Islam in her TV on Al Jazeera in February this year. She
believes that the Muslims are the ones who began the so-called clash of
civilizations.
Pakistan-born Tashbih Sayyed is editor of 'Pakistan Today' weekly that is
supported by a number of Jewish groups because Muslims declined to give ads
when he published pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian articles. Sayyed says it is
debatable that Islam was spread by the sword and Prophet Muhammad's actions
were divinely inspired.
India-born Salim Mansur is one of the leading members of Canadians Against
Suicide Bombing (CASB). Mansur, a political science professor at the University
of Western Ontario, Canada, argues that the Muslim world must stop blaming the
West for all its own ailments, including poverty, illiteracy, injustice or
extremism.
Now the question is why the AJC wants to honor such Muslims whose only
qualification is criticism of the Islamic faith and of course, support for
Israel. The reason is obvious. The Jewish groups have been trying to promote
alternative Muslim leaders in America who are friendly to Israel though they
may enjoy little following among the Muslims. In this drive they are helped by
the mainstream media.
In the post-9/11 era, we see efforts by many Jewish groups to discredit and
dislodge the established American Muslim organizations, such as the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).
While leaders of these groups are being accused of promoting 'extremism' and
'terrorism' for their stance on the Arab-Israeli conflict some fringe groups
are encouraged and promoted to make the voice of the 7-million strong American
Muslim community. One such group the Progressive Muslim Union of North
America was launched in November 2004 amid wide media publicity. However, the
group lost steam when many of its disappointed founding members resigned.
A recent article over the controversy of Dr. Hathout's nomination, the Los
Angeles Times poses an interesting question: Who is a moderate Muslim? Is it
Maher Hathout, the Los Angeles Muslim leader who has promoted interfaith
relations and women's equality but denounced Israel as a brutal apartheid
regime? Is it Tashbih Sayyed, a journalist based in Alta Loma, Calif. who
praises Israel's behavior toward Palestinians as tolerant and criticizes
Muslims for corrupting Islam?
Surely, the answer will depend on who is reading the question; a supporter of
the Israeli atrocities against Palestinians and Lebanese or a sympathizer of
the besieged Palestinians and Lebanese victims of the recent Israeli rampage.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Executive Editor of the online magazine, American
Muslim Perspective: www.amperspective.com
AB
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"For to us
will be their return; then it will be for us to call them to account." (Holy
Quran 88:25-26)
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