By Liz Harrison
Mar 24, 2012
CDN:
President Barack Obama knows better than Congress what the U.S. needs to do. In spite of any objections from the Hill, our country is sending $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt. While there’s been many comments bandied about on the right about the dangers of the Muslim Brotherhood, Obama’s reply has been to deny any potential problems with the organization. Well, if he does have any doubts, sending billions of dollars to them was no way to show it.
When considering the pros and cons of giving aid to any government that is controlled entirely or in part by Islamic organizations, it is best to consider the current and past situations that have been faced in these relationships. The U.S. has had a tumultuous history, at best, when it comes to dabbling in the Islamic world. Whether one considers our part in the creation of Israel, or the wars in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, since the end of World War II, we haven’t been very lucky in our involvements. We backed Saddam Hussein in his war against Iran, only to end up battling him later – twice. And there is a school of thought out there that we made Osama bin Laden what he was with our initial involvement in Afghanistan in the 1980′s.
Obama is not a Muslim, and it shows in how he approaches foreign policy. He suffers from the same mental disconnect that most Westerners have when it comes to dealing with followers of Islam. It is difficult for him to comprehend why the killing of 16 civilians by one soldier in Afghanistan is less offensive to Muslims than the accidental burning of copies of the Koran. It is the inverse of Christianity, that places such a great value on human life, and is extremely difficult for many Americans to comprehend fully. This disconnect is the reason why it is foolhardy to offer any degree of support to any organization that is even remotely associated with known Islamic terrorist organizations.
While it is tempting to give in to the demands of law-abiding citizens here in America that claim there is a problem here with Islamophobia, that is also a questionable choice, at best. Either the definition of “hate” is different for followers of Islam, or there is already a major problem with our institutions catering to the whims of Islamic organizations. The fact that faith is the most sacred part of life for a follower of Islam controls their world view. Even the most minor statement against their faith can be worse than anything Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern together could manage against anyone else. CAIR-PA, the Pennsylvania affiliate of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has been under scrutiny for having too close a relationship to an institution charged with giving reports of discrimination and bias in the Commonwealth. The research so far is indicating that CAIR-PA screams foul over citizens exercising their right to free speech, not discriminatory or biased behavior. There is no law stating that people must like everyone else. It is also not illegal to state those feelings. But, to CAIR-PA, saying anything against their faith is considered biased – Islamophobia or hate speech. When it comes to CAIR-PA members speaking about others, that’s another story.
At the same time, CAIR-PA is guilty of the unreflective prejudice it condemns, yet it remains a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force. Referring to a 2010 profanity-filled letter sent to the imam of the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley (BI #24788), CAIR-PA’s Khawaja wrote: “If [the purported sender’s] name is actually Joe Martin, the offender is most likely white.” When discussing the World of Islam book series previously mentioned, CAIR described the publishing partner, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, as “a right-wing, pro-war think tank.” Referring to the Peter King congressional hearings, Khawaja tweeted: “If ur minority and havent figured that GOP is bastion of racism and bigotry, get ur head out of ur ass.” Apparently, malicious characterizations give offense only when the receiving end is an Islamist organization.
And CAIR and CAIR-PA are off-shoots of the Muslim Brotherhood – the organization that will arguably benefit the most from the aid Obama is sending to Egypt. No doubt they will happily spend that money. But if Obama expects anything in return for it diplomatically, he more than likely will be very disappointed – if CAIR-PA’s behavior is any indicator.
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