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nbcrusader said:


Perhaps it would be helpful for the Muslim community to (i) educate the US public on the basic tenants of Islam (not the simplistic "we worship the same God" stuff, but the 5 pillars, etc.) and (ii) take a more vocal role against the militant elements of the Islamic faith.

i agree with the former part, most people i talk to get shocked when they hear that we believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, and believe in him as a prophet and the coming Messiah... the second part I think the muslim community does do a lot of but no one really takes notice... organizations like the Islamic Society of North America, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and high profile muslims like Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) continually denounce specific terrorist acts in press conferences/press releases.. but no one ever reports it
 
bcrt2000 said:
the second part I think the muslim community does do a lot of but no one really takes notice... organizations like the Islamic Society of North America, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and high profile muslims like Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) continually denounce specific terrorist acts in press conferences/press releases.. but no one ever reports it

Perhaps some of the larger organization should step up the pressure. Go after the militants in the court of public opinion.


As for Yusuf Islam, three countries have him on the watch list. I guess his money goes to less than reputable sources while he denounces terrorism.
 
nbcrusader said:


Perhaps some of the larger organization should step up the pressure. Go after the militants in the court of public opinion.


As for Yusuf Islam, three countries have him on the watch list. I guess his money goes to less than reputable sources while he denounces terrorism.

its pretty ridiculous if they think that... most extremist muslims don't see eye to eye with Yusuf Islam... he still writes music, he performed at the 4-6-6-6-4 concert with Peter Gabriel last year, and supported the cause to fight AIDS, which is unheard of from any high profile muslim... everything stems back to a comment he made when the Salman Rushdie thing was going on.. he was still finding his way as a muslim and made an out of context comment saying the punishment of insulting the prophet is death (when actually the truth behind this is its context is during the early islamic era the non-muslims had made a deal to stay in a muslim state and be protected by the muslims), I don't think he meant to say he supported him getting killed, but I think at that time he wasn't that developed as a muslim to understand the tone that he was protraying... I think since then hes not only become much more aware of the spirit of Islam and being a Muslim (thats why hes back into the music business), but hes also one of the torch bearers for the majority of Muslims around the world in terms of the example he portrays and the voice he holds.. unfortunately it has been brutally tarnished by unsubstantiated accusations
 
bcrt2000 said:


its pretty ridiculous if they think that... most extremist muslims don't see eye to eye with Yusuf Islam... he still writes music, he performed at the 4-6-6-6-4 concert with Peter Gabriel last year, and supported the cause to fight AIDS, which is unheard of from any high profile muslim... everything stems back to a comment he made when the Salman Rushdie thing was going on.. he was still finding his way as a muslim and made an out of context comment saying the punishment of insulting the prophet is death (when actually the truth behind this is its context is during the early islamic era the non-muslims had made a deal to stay in a muslim state and be protected by the muslims), I don't think he meant to say he supported him getting killed, but I think at that time he wasn't that developed as a muslim to understand the tone that he was protraying... I think since then hes not only become much more aware of the spirit of Islam and being a Muslim (thats why hes back into the music business), but hes also one of the torch bearers for the majority of Muslims around the world in terms of the example he portrays and the voice he holds.. unfortunately it has been brutally tarnished by unsubstantiated accusations

At least three governments have thought otherwise (US, Canada and Israel). Instead of evidence to the contrary, we get the "who, little ol' me?" routine. If you make general statements about being a religion of peace, yet send money to Hamas related organizations - which action speaks louder?
 
nbcrusader said:


At least three governments have thought otherwise (US, Canada and Israel). Instead of evidence to the contrary, we get the "who, little ol' me?" routine. If you make general statements about being a religion of peace, yet send money to Hamas related organizations - which action speaks louder?

Its not very surprising that US/Israel would put him on a *watch list*, I don't think you can call that credible evidence, secondly if you just look at Yusuf Islam the person, if you've actually followed his life, the way he does things, if you've gone to see him speak and meet him in person (like I've done) you get the impression hes one of the most sincere and honest people you ever met... secondly Hamas handles most if not *all* charities coming into Palestine if I'm not mistaken.. they have a separate branch for humanitarian efforts... its possible that Yusuf Islam gave money to a charity which in turn gave money for humanitarians efforts through Hamas, the other explanation is the fact that before the suicide bombing culture started, Hamas would attack military targets, and the pre-9/11 opinion in the world of Hamas on whether they were to be considered legitimate freedom fighters was divided in the world.. so even if he did give money (which is VERY unlikely) to Hamas pre-9/11 (like in the 80's) I don't think it would still constitute branding him as a terrorist... heck the USA was still giving money to the Taliban up to 6 months before 9/11

edit: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/07/lkl.01.html

check this out.. near the end he talks about Islam being hijacked by terrorists, etc.. if this doesn't convince you of anything, I don't know what will
 
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