Hearts and minds
by Liberal Seagull
While the discussion goes on about how to win hearts and minds in the Iraqi Muslim community, it seems we're having a bit of trouble treating Muslims here decently.
Case in point: Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, is up in arms about a group that plans to build a mosque. A neighbor of the building site has put up a website protesting the plan, and has declared that he will hold weekly pig races on his property. (Apparently he doesn't realize that Muslims don't dislike pigs, they just don't eat them.) The County Commissioner has gotten letters protesting the mosque, including one that declared it a security risk and asked "Would you and your family safely and comfortably live next to this 11-acre Muslim mosque and facilities?"
Not only is this kind of bigotry distasteful, it's also counterproductive when it comes to national security. It's much easier to find criminals within a population that's integrated with society than it is to find them in a population that's been pushed into the shadows. In dozens of ways we've made it clear we, as a society, don't trust Muslims. This hardly encourages them to step forward and provide law enforcement with information about the small minority who might be up to no good.
This kind of treatment also breeds resentment that can eventually become civil unrest. The riots France experienced a year ago are an example of what can happen if you create a group of people who feel like oppressed, second-class citizens. Those riots were not so much about Islam as they were about unemployment, poor living conditions, and social discrimination.
We need to stop regarding Muslims as terrorist sympathizers and start treating them as real Americans.
While the discussion goes on about how to win hearts and minds in the Iraqi Muslim community, it seems we're having a bit of trouble treating Muslims here decently.
Case in point: Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, is up in arms about a group that plans to build a mosque. A neighbor of the building site has put up a website protesting the plan, and has declared that he will hold weekly pig races on his property. (Apparently he doesn't realize that Muslims don't dislike pigs, they just don't eat them.) The County Commissioner has gotten letters protesting the mosque, including one that declared it a security risk and asked "Would you and your family safely and comfortably live next to this 11-acre Muslim mosque and facilities?"
Not only is this kind of bigotry distasteful, it's also counterproductive when it comes to national security. It's much easier to find criminals within a population that's integrated with society than it is to find them in a population that's been pushed into the shadows. In dozens of ways we've made it clear we, as a society, don't trust Muslims. This hardly encourages them to step forward and provide law enforcement with information about the small minority who might be up to no good.
This kind of treatment also breeds resentment that can eventually become civil unrest. The riots France experienced a year ago are an example of what can happen if you create a group of people who feel like oppressed, second-class citizens. Those riots were not so much about Islam as they were about unemployment, poor living conditions, and social discrimination.
We need to stop regarding Muslims as terrorist sympathizers and start treating them as real Americans.
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