In the wake of the recent attempted suicide bombing at the Wichita airport, I fear a new resurgence of Islamophobic sentiment. The actions of one man based upon his perception of an otherwise peaceful religion ought not to be generalized to an entire population, but that does seem to be the media’s special talent. So, in an attempt to provide the information the media much prefers to suppress, allow me to inform you: Terry Lee Loewen did not act under the edicts of Islam. To say that he was a radical Muslim is pushing the boundaries of the truth. While I do not wish to blaspheme by saying he was not a Muslim, I cannot reconcile his violent notions with the peaceful religion of Islam, and to even say that Loewen is a radical Muslim is to acknowledge his connection to Islam. The media has overly and incorrectly used the words “Islam,” “Muslims,” “radicals,” and “jihad” so much that they no longer represent their true meanings in their everyday usage.

Misconception #1: Muslims hate America.

It is a miniscule minority of extremists who believe America is the “spawn of the devil.” According to a poll by Gallup, 93% of Muslims do not support these extremist views or terrorism. Yet listening to some media stations, one would think all Muslims are terrorists. The truth, however, is that America is home to nearly 3 million Muslims, and of them about 2,790,000 fully support America. Islam promotes unity between people of all colors and religions. “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you,” (49:13). Islam teaches that all people should be accepting of every person, for after all they are human, too.

Misconception #2: Islam supports and encourages terrorism.

It is extremely important to note that Islam is a peaceful religion, despite any media sensationalizing. In fact the Qur’an “…decree[s] upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul… – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely,” (5:32). Islam discourages violence in every form and condemns it as a sin.

Misconception #3: “Jihad” means suicide bombing, death, violence, etc.

Contrarily, jihad means “the struggle” and is most commonly used in reference to each individual’s internal struggle towards salvation and away from the earthly temptations of Satan and damnation. “The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then doubt not but strive with their properties and their lives [in jihad] in the cause of Allah . It is those who are the truthful,” (49:15).

As for the idea that Islam promotes suicide bombing as a form of martyrdom that guarantees men virgins in heaven, this too is a common misconception. “…Do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful. And whoever does that in aggression and injustice – then We will drive him into a Fire.” (4:29-30). Suicide is explicitly prohibited in Islam; no exceptions. Suicide that would also cause innocent deaths is an even greater sin.

Misconception #4: Islam oppresses women and views them as inferior to men.

While this doesn’t necessarily directly relate back to Terry Lee Loewen’s heinous acts, it is important still to clarify: Islam does not disrespect women. Muslim women are not oppressed or inferior due to the edicts of their religion. Granted, in some Islamic countries, Muslim women are denied certain rights, but the actions of a group of people should not be generalized to an entire faith. To understand a religion, one should look to their book, not their people. While Saudi Arabia may only be now joining the modern era of gender equality, Islam was the first religion to explicitly deny men the right to oppress their female counterparts. Men cannot beat women. They cannot physically abuse them. Women have the right to ask for a divorce that carries equal weight as a man’s request. Women can bear witness to actions as men can. Consider this famous Islamic saying: “Heaven lies beneath your mother’s feet.” If Paradise lies beneath women, how can Islam oppress women?

Misconception #5: Muslims reject Jesus and worship “Allah,” a distinct entity from the Christian “God.”

Rather, “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for God. If one was to look at an Arabic translation of the Bible, they would note “Allah” frequently appears. Furthermore, Muslims believe there is only one true god whom all three monotheistic religions worship; thus the Jewish Yahweh, the Christian God, and the Muslim Allah are one and the same. The Qur’an tell Muslims to “say, ‘O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you – that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah,’” (3:64). Muslims also believe in Jesus and his virgin birth, but do not worship him as the son of God. Under Islamic creed, he is a mortal man of great moral fiber whom God made a prophet.

What I’m trying to say is that though some Muslims commit awful, heinous acts, it is not Islam (or the Qur’an) that commits those acts. We should always remember that there are people who commit awful heinous acts, regardless of the faith with which they identify themselves. After all, Timothy McVeigh, the man who bombed the FBI building in Oklahoma, was a terrorist but not a Muslim. Yes, there are Muslim extremists- such as Terry Lee Loewen- who have distorted the teachings of the Qur’an, even if they regard it as the ultimate authority… but there are similar extremists in every other religion, including Christianity. We simply cannot always take the prejudicial comments of the media and/or politicians at face-value. Consider this final statistic: 90% of all terrorist attacks are by non-Muslims.

Loewen asserted that

“the Muslim who is labeled ‘a radical fundamentalist’ is closer to Allah than the ones labeled ‘moderates.’ Just my opinion; if l’m off base, please set me straight.”

Well, Mr. Loewen, I hope this has set you straight. Islam does not hate America or encourage the attempted terrorism you perpetrated. So while you were correct that “the Qur’an and the sunnah of the Prophet [demand] jihad and the implementation of Sharia… of all the Muslim Ummah (people),” you were pretty far off base about what jihad in and of itself is. Please reread the Qur’an and do not place your contempt for the American government under the guise of Islamic sentiment.

The post 5 myths about Muslims, Islam and jihad appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Right-wing politicians, their media allies—and probably somebody at work or in your family—are peddling a lot of bull about immigration reform, a topic that is once again heating up in Congress. To counter the myths and misinformation, the progressive Media Matters has created a handy one-pager of counter-talking points. Here are some of the highlights. You can try them out the next time your BS detector red-lines and your blood starts to boil, but there’s no guarantee that facts will make a difference. Of course, you knew that.

BS statement #1: “Legalization is amnesty.”
Not really. We’re talking about giving people the chance to earn citizenship — after waiting years and meeting multiple requirements, like learning English and passing a background check. It’s in all our interests to give them that opportunity to continue contributing to America.

And, by the way, politicians who say we can deport 11 million people aren’t being honest. It doesn’t make financial sense either: it would cost us a quarter of a trillion dollars and cost our economy billions.

It’s also worth noting that President George W. Bush supported created a road to citizenship, and now, a bipartisan group of senators is leading the way with a proposal that includes earned citizenship for immigrants.

BS statement #2: “The Southwestern border is less secure than before.”
Fox News recently [April 2013] aired a report using skewed time periods and statistics to “prove” that immigration arrests at the border are at an all-time high. In fact, crime along the border is down, illegal border crossing under President Obama are at historic lows, and border security benchmarks have been met or even exceeded in some places.

Why? The border is more secure than ever, partially because federal government has ramped up enforcement resources in recent years—to the tune of $18 billion per year. At the same time, Mexico’s economy has been growing at a good rate for the past decade — better than America’s — giving people less reason to leave and immigrate to the U.S.

BS statement #3: “Illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes.”

Not true. First of all, everyone pays sales taxes, state and local taxes, and property taxes. Many Immigrants say that they would love to be in the system and pay regular taxes like any other American citizen. That is their dream.

In addition, many do also manage to pay income and payroll taxes, paying nearly $15 billion into Social Security each year, though they cannot collect benefits.
BS statement #4:  “Immigrants will take jobs away from American workers.”

We’ve heard that one many times before—with every wave of new immigration. The Irish, the Germans, the Jews, the Chinese. This is merely the latest incarnation of an old, disproven argument.

Research shows clearly that immigrant workers help grow the economy overall, leading to lower unemployment and higher wages for those of us already here. That’s partly because immigrants and workers born in the U.S. generally don’t compete for the same jobs. Even with highly skilled workers, higher immigration increases the demand for workers, stimulates investment, and promotes specialization for many workers already in the labor force.

Most importantly, fair and practical immigration reform will allow us to crack down on businesses that undercut American workers by exploiting cheap immigrant labor off the books. That levels the playing field for honest businesses that play by the rules and pay their workers decently.

Because immigrants are also consumers and taxpayers, comprehensive immigration reform would be good for the economy. That’s common sense — the more people we have buying food, clothing, housing, and cars, the more businesses need to hire to keep up.
BS statement #5: “Illegal immigrants come to the United States to take advantage of government welfare.”

Okay, let’s get this straight, people: Federal programs like food stamps have always excluded undocumented immigrants, and the leading immigration reform proposals on the table do not even give immigrants with legal status access to federal public programs.

Ask anyone in your own family why they came to America [and someone in every American citizen’s history was, in fact, an immigrant, unless you are a Native American, and that’s a whole different story.] People come to America for the opportunity to work to get ahead, to make life better for themselves and their families. Most families moved here in the past for the same reason that American immigrants move here today — to seek freedom and a better life for their children.
B.S. statement #6: “The Obama Administration is trying to promote food stamps to illegal immigrants.”

To quote Al Gore: “Sigh.” Undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for food stamps. People who have immigrated legally make up less than 4% of food stamp users.

Right-wing Obama-haters and fear mongers have this one so wrong that it’s almost comic. They are referring to a program that only provides information, not food stamps. It provides outreach information on benefits that are already available to people who’ve been in the country legally for five years. If people are eligible for a program, they should be able to access it.

The funny part is that the program they’re ranting about was started under…wait for it…President George W. Bush.

BS statement #7:  “Illegal immigrants are criminals and commit more violent crimes than US citizens.”

Let’s review: Immigrants have the lowest crime rates of any demographic group, and compared to people born in the U.S., immigrants are less likely to end up in prison — a fact that even anti-immigrant groups have acknowledged.

Many law enforcement officials say cooperation from our immigrant communities helps keep our neighborhoods safer — and that anti-immigrant state laws actually do the opposite by breeding suspicion and fear among members of the community who’ve done nothing wrong.

Let me know if the facts work. And don’t bullshit me.

The post Activate your BS detector: You’re gonna need it for the immigration-reform debate appeared first on Occasional Planet.