[Peace-discuss] Racism towards Muslims

[John Fettig]

In the hopes of starting a discussion on the topic, I'd like to toss an
idea into this circle.  It has come to my attention that anti-Muslim 
sentiment seems to be spreading in america like a black plague.  It 
seems we hear on the news all too often about a man who is under 
investigation, and they never forget to mention that he is Muslim.

For instance, tonight I heard a brief story about a house that was 
raided by the FBI for the second time, and it sounded like the scoop was
that the previous owner was Muslim!

Another example is the anti-war ad in the Wall Street Journal.  While I
was extremely happy to see this ad which supports our cause on ending
war, after my excitement died down and I read it again, I was struck by
the paragraph which reads something like (if you like, I can dig it up
and quote it precisely) "There are 1 billion Muslims in this world, and
there is a steady trickle of them into the Al Queda.  If we go to war in
Iraq, we will turn this trickle into a torrent, and we don't want to
create 1 billion enemies."

The racism contained is subtle, but I think it is important that we
recognize it and make sure it doesn't happen again (and speak out
against it!)  Did anyone else notice that paragraph, and see the racism?
I believe that comments like these are among the most dangerous, because
they sneak into your thoughts without the warning signs and buzzers
going off that these are racist ideas.

I am fearful that if we don't stand up and speak out against racism
directed towards Muslims, we could end up in a society that is poised to
make some serious (read: WWII Germany-like) mistakes.

Somebody please help me with the story, I am sure that there are
hundreds of examples of racial profiling done by the FBI and many other
stories which need to be told.

John Fettig