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Attack on Islam  
Danyala
10/21/03 at 16:02:00
[slm]

Blatant and Evil Attack on Islam

In a blatant and outrageous attack on Islam and its 1.5 billion followers world-wide, a senior US Defence Official condemned Islam as being a religion which adheres to a God that is no more than an 'Idol'.

William Boykin, the new deputy undersecretary of Defence for Intelligence, made his remarks and concluded by stating: 'Our spiritual enemy will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus'.

This disgraceful statement which incites racial and religious hatred, comes at a time when the US is claiming to play the role of a 'broker of peace' in the Middle East and elsewhere, and claims also to have only respect for Islam and for Muslims. It was astonishing however, that Boykin's senior, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfield refused to condemn these statements and defended them as being made 'in a private capacity'.

Once again, the US government has been the source of comments, statements and policies which target Islam and Muslims and add credence to the world-wide sentiment that this false 'war on terror' is nothing but a war on Islam and Muslims, under the pretext of a religious 'crusade' which the White House seems adamant on pursuing.

It is interesting to note that these statements also come at a time when our Government has demanded an explanation and apology from the Malaysian Government for comments made by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed during his address of the Islamic Organisation Conference in Kuala Lumpar, concerning Jews. How can one explain the expediency in which Western Governments rose to challenge Mahathir Mohammed on his comments, which were taken entirely out of context, regarding Jews, whilst total silence engulfs the same governments, including ours, on a blatant and evil attack by a senior US official on Islam and Muslims. Should we not be excused for using the terms' double-standards' and 'hypocrisy' again and again?

The Muslim Association of Britain and the entire British Muslim Community condemns unequivocally, the statements made by William Boykin, and request that our Prime Minister demands from the US Government a forthright and immediate apology and retraction of these statements which add fuel to an already considerable fire. It is futile of our Government to embark on initiatives which aim on bringing the Muslim community closer to the centre of British society, if it continues to actively alienate them through ignoring their feelings, sentiments and beliefs at such crucial and critical times.



ACTION REQUESTED
     

1.      Write to the American Ambassador, and the Foreign Secretary to condemn this outrageous comment by American official and to demand official condemnation from the British Government.

2.      Participate in the peaceful protest organised in London during the state  visit of President Bush, from 19th to 21 of November 2003.



The American Embassy, London                                                                                      Ambassador: William S. Farish                                                                          24 Grosvenor Square
London, W1A 1AE
020 7499-9000
FOREIGN SECRETARY:

RT HON. JACK STRAW MP:
jack.straw@fco.gov.uk
strawj@parliament.uk



The Muslim Association of Britain
19 October, 2003


[wlm]
Re: Attack on Islam  
ltcorpest2
10/21/03 at 18:24:00
It is interesting to note that these statements also come at a time when our Government has demanded an explanation and apology from the Malaysian Government for comments made by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed during his address of the Islamic Organisation Conference in Kuala Lumpar, concerning Jews. How can one explain the expediency in which Western Governments rose to challenge Mahathir Mohammed on his comments, which were taken entirely out of context, regarding Jews, whilst total silence engulfs the same governments, including ours, on a blatant and evil attack by a senior US official on Islam and Muslims. Should we not be excused for using the terms' double-standards' and 'hypocrisy' again and again?


actually,  boykin did explain and did apologize for what he said.
Re: Attack on Islam  
jannah
10/22/03 at 03:38:45

I think him saying 'oh hey i'll tone it down' doesn't really count as an apology or an explanation. there's no doubt that in some people's (muslim and non-muslim) minds that this is an attack on Islam.  the consequences of that will unfortunately affect all of us.

Re: Attack on Islam  
jaihoon
10/22/03 at 08:00:37
 [slm]

I see this as a political move only just to appease the jewish votebank in US, after the remarks made by Mahathir. 'coz with the present state of affairs in US, i dont see any relationship between their policies and Jesus (as)'s teachings.



Re: Attack on Islam  
Danyala
10/27/03 at 06:09:54
[slm]

[slm]

Silence speaks volumes



The British government's failure to condemn a high-ranking American's

anti-Islamic outburst is a disgrace

Anas Altikriti
Monday October 27, 2003
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1071571,00.html


In a world that has skewed the terms "terrorism" and "terrorist" so that they imply Islam and Muslims respectively, the cheapest shot around is to accuse a Muslim adversary of being a terrorist and to sanctify one's aggression by declaring it a "war on terror".

Britain did it when we assisted the US in attacking Afghanistan and Iraq, Israel does it on a daily basis when killing Palestinian civilians, Russia continuously does it in Chechnya, India is at it in Kashmir. Even Abdalla Yones, the Kurdish father who recently killed his daughter in north London, accused Muslim terrorists of committing the crime.

But even more abhorrent are those who attack the fundamental belief and faith of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims. So when British officials remained silent following the recent attack on Islam by a senior US defence official, the Muslim community in Britain took note.

Earlier this month, investigative reporters from the Los Angeles Times and NBC television published a number of ferocious comments made by Lieutenant-General William (Gerry) Boykin, the newly promoted under-secretary of defence for intelligence. Boykin has publicly declared that Muslims followed a god that was no more than an "idol"; he has said that whenever he came across a Muslim or read about Islam, he was further moved to believe that "his god" was bigger and greater than any god Muslims adhered to; and he believes that, in order "to defeat our spiritual enemy", Christians must fight it "in the name of Jesus".

Muslims everywhere were stunned. Had such an attack been against any other religious or ethnic group, there would have been an uproar. Indeed, we witnessed just such a reaction when Malaysia's prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, spoke of a world governed by the Jewish people and called on Muslims to use brain as well as brawn in order to assume their rights throughout the world. Everyone was understandably up in arms, and the British government demanded that the Malaysian ambassador issue a retraction of words that "incited racial and religious hatred". Even Muslims came out and spoke of Islam's obligation upon its followers to deal fairly and justly with all people, and even more so with followers of world religions, such as Judaism and Christianity.

Why then did Boykin's remarks fail to stir any official reaction outside the US (and only lukewarm rebuttals inside)? Perhaps because such Islamophobic remarks are increasingly common and widely regarded as acceptable.

When Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, stated his conviction that Islam was inferior to western civilisation a few months ago, little happened in terms of an official reaction. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham, among other prominent American men of the cloth, have attacked Islam as an "evil religion" and accused its followers of being "grossly misguided".

Surely in a world preoccupied by the "war on terror" - which targets Muslim countries, organisations and individuals - such remarks must be seen as a blatant incitement of racial and religious hatred, and a disgraceful offence to Muslims around the world. Some - the British government among them - may choose to disregard such "small matters", but they do so at their peril. Boykin has caused untold harm to any attempt to convince the Arab and Muslim worlds that the west, and particularly the US, approaches them with sincerity or goodwill. His remarks also fuel already strong feelings that "war on terror" is merely code for war on Islam.

Attempts to belittle the importance of such comments will undermine the efforts by the mainstream moderate Muslims around the world, and particularly in the west, to bring a sense of sanity to a world in the grip of war and unprecedented terror. They will confirm the US and its supporters as arch-enemies of Islam and thus endanger American and allied interests, personnel and installations around the world.

Boykin has already caused tremendous damage, but more carnage will follow if we choose to be selective about what we get angry about and what we disregard. Muslims in Britain will have noted the reaction to this incident. In a year which has seen relations between the generally Labour-voting Muslims and Tony Blair's government deteriorate, culminating in a shift of votes which contributed towards the recent Liberal Democrat win in Brent East, this was a golden opportunity for Downing Street to put things right. Unfortunately, it was an opportunity wasted.

Labour's decision to expel George Galloway, a figure who has been instrumental in promoting forgotten issues that are of great concern to Muslims and a champion of the British anti-war movement, was another blow to these relations. The government must realise that its failure to swiftly condemn an attack on the very essence of Islam effectively condones it.

· Anas Altikriti is director of media and public relations for the Muslim Association of Britain

anas@mabonline.net

[wlm]


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