[Industrialblog,
September 12, 2006]
What American Muslims should have done in response to 9-11
Passed the hat. And paid to rebuild the Twin Towers. And bought United and American two jets apiece. And paid for the Pentagon repairs.
Or at least tried. That would have made the point that they're interested in living in peace. Instead, they've complained about "Islamophobia," acted as a special interest group trying not to protect America but advance its own interests at the expense of others, acted as victims, and otherwise been silent or very quiet.
If Muslims want to be taken seriously by a majority of Americans, they need to put their money where their mouth is. Pay for the new Towers. Pay for the increased security measures their presence in our country requires. And beat down anyone in their community who fucks up, or even looks like they're about to fuck up.
And they'll be surprised by the generosity of the response by the rest of us.
Or at least tried. That would have made the point that they're interested in living in peace. Instead, they've complained about "Islamophobia," acted as a special interest group trying not to protect America but advance its own interests at the expense of others, acted as victims, and otherwise been silent or very quiet.
If Muslims want to be taken seriously by a majority of Americans, they need to put their money where their mouth is. Pay for the new Towers. Pay for the increased security measures their presence in our country requires. And beat down anyone in their community who fucks up, or even looks like they're about to fuck up.
And they'll be surprised by the generosity of the response by the rest of us.
Back on topic- you remember the big UK anti-terrorism bust that was all over the papers last month? (the reason we can't carry 'fluids' on planes anymore) The most useful tip in that case (ie, names, addresses etc of individuals suspected to be plotting) reportedly came from informants within the British Muslim community. Not cultivated informants - but Muslims doing what they thought was right and calling the cops with information that fit into a bigger picture that intel agencies were putting together.
Now, that tidbit came from early news reports, and early news reports on terrorism incidents have a way of not getting the story right the first time - but still - reason for hope if it's true, eh?
It wouldn't surprise me if many muslims in America are here for the reasons that many europeans came here — to get the hell away from the ones who are still there. Don't you think that it's at least a little extreme to ask them to pay a great deal of money for what the people that they tried to get away from did?
Every other group has come here to build things; they didn't blow up airliners or buildings or import their own civil war. Muslims either need to pay the cost of their presence or get the fuck out.
But muslims are no more a single entity than are germans or irish or greeks; there only exists people who are muslim, or german, or irish, or greek. And if muslims from other countries came here to escape the assholes in the place where they were born, why are they uniquely responsible for the assholes? I mean, why not all men? It was only men on the planes on 9/11. Why does having the same religion as some lunatics make you responsible for them when you may well have been trying to get away from them?
German americans also returned to Germany to fight for it, engaged in spying, etc.
Islam is a religion, rather than an ethnicity, but I don't see how that makes its adherents more responsible for each other. Do you really want to be responsible for Jack Chick or Phred Phelps because they're also nominally christians? What about the anglican communion? You've personally tried to get away from it; how would you feel if someone held you responsible for it because you're a christian just like they are?
Look, obviously we agree that Islam isn't true, but since we have a form of government which has no official religion, we can hardly premise our laws on the idea that Islam is false. (Incidentally, why do you insist that Islam comes from the devil? What's wrong with the theory that it came from Muhammed?) Law aside, we can even less expect Muslims to act on the premise that their religion is false: "Because you guys practice a fasle religion, you're responsible for anything any adherent of it does" has at least a non-obvious logical connection, and in any event, you can't suppose any muslim would ever conclude what you want him to based on that argument.
To take a similar, though lesser, example, take fred phelps: the asshole who goes to soldiers' funerals and thanks God for their deaths as punishment to the US for allowing homosexuality. You're a christian, and you think that homosexuality is a sin: should you personally be responsible for taking up a collection for the soldiers' families who've had to endure this twit? Should you take days off from work to go work as free security staff for these funerals?
It would be very helpful if you could explain more carefully the doctrine of shared belief implying shared responsibility; at the moment you seem to only be applying it to muslims.
The U.S. Constitution is an experiment, not Holy Writ. The jury's out whether the Constitution is compatible with Islam, or, similarly, compatible with a population influenced excessively by postmodern thought (which undermines the rule of law).
George Washington himself said the success of a democracy depends on the virtue of the people. We know the Constitution works with Christians. We've seen secularists and scientists integrate just fine. Whether it can tolerate multiculturalism and Islam, especially at the same time, remains to be seen. My vote is at best one at a time.
Phelps does actually have a few people with him; it was only 19 people who committed the atrocities of 9/11; that's not a lot more. Granted, they probably had the backing of a few hundred more people, give or take. Then again, Pat Roberts, who has a large following, blamed 9/11 on america's unwillingness to stone gays (I'm paraphrasing, obviously).
Phelps is, while not violent, a complete asshole and identifiably Christian; he at least says that Jesus Christ is Lord. That's at least as much agreement as saying that two people are muslim because they both said the "∃ no god but God and muhammed is his prophet" line.
Incidentally, I'm well aware that the constituion isn't holy writ: that's why it's found on the document labeled "The Constitution of the United States of America" and not in the bible.