Do the Math
Or just blame Muslims. It’s one or the other.
I blogged about the Boston bombings as they happened. And now that Muslim brothers (Chechen Americans) are the suspects of this heinous crime, Muslim backlash is in full swing.
I’ve been grieving like the rest of the country at the hatred and confusion around us.
And as a Muslim American, I am emerging even closer to my faith than ever before. My Muslim brothers and sisters as well as non-Muslim supporters- we have rallied around each other in the wake of the Boston bombing events.
Once again- Islam strictly condemns all acts of violence against innocent people. In Islam, saving one life is like saving all of humanity. Taking one life is like taking the lives of all of humanity. Self-defense is the only excuse for physical fighting in Islam. (This blog post is not about this though.)
I don’t like dancing around a subject.
I’m tired.
Tired of the reality of crime in the United States and crime in this world and the unfair picture painted about this word “terrorism.”
Terrorism defines a crime if perpetrated by a Muslim.
“He’s insane/nut job/wack job/crazy/didnt take his meds/bi-polar/schizophrenic/was the outcast at school/his Momma didn’t hug him/his dad was an alcoholic/he snapped! etc.” if a crime (ie. Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech) is perpetrated by a non-Muslim.
Do you want to argue with me? About this reality in our society?
Please- let’s do that. Comment on my post here or tweet at me on Twitter.
Show me the numbers. (Don’t give me the Twitter Islamophobic rants with nothing to back it up.) I want to see numbers, facts, truth and realities. Else, don’t waste my time.
Show me the numbers of “terrorists acts,” murders, crimes committed by Muslims in the U.S. and around the world and those committed by non-Muslims and please- prove to me that violent crimes are committed more by Muslims than non-Muslims.
Juan Cole’s Terrorism and Other Religions Article
I invite you to read Mr. Cole’s article linked above.
“Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States.” ~Juan Cole
And he goes on to explain and prove this with numbers and facts.
Not with a tweet sent at me that says, “Islam is a supremacist, imperialist,{insert word} ist, {insert word} ist, {insert word} ist cult!” Those kinds of “arguments” don’t prove anything to me except that you like using words that end in “ist.”
I invite you to watch this interview linked above with RT’s Abby Martin and global media commentator, Arsalan Iftikhar. They analyze the phenomenon of the extreme Islamophobic rhetoric taking place in our society today that perpetuates fear.
Abby points out that you are more likely to slip and die in the shower than die of a terrorist attack in the United States.
Iftikhar points out that 90% of domestic terrorist plots foiled in the United States are by white domestic terrorists.
Yasmina Reality likes facts and figures.
That’s me. Liking facts and figures.
Iftikhar also refers to the domestic suicide terror attack perpetrated by a white dude named Joe Stack: Article about a white dude that flew his plane into an IRS building and how if the dude were brown, or worse yet, Muslim- it then would have been called an act of terror.
Respected Muslim journalist, Qasim Rashid, wrote this on point article for the Huffington Post about the phenomemon of the public demanding Muslims condemn violence yet … don’t seem to hear them when they do: Qasim Rashid’s Do you even hear Muslims when we condemn violence?
“If Americans have any hope of winning the “war on terror,” it won’t come from demonizing American Muslims, or Islam in general. It will come from education through interfaith dialogues, joining together in service of humanity, and recognizing that we are all equal human beings in search of similar goals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It will come from all Americans rejecting ignorance and uniting even stronger against extremism that tries to divide us.” ~Qasim Rashid
To those who want to believe the media outlets that slant reality or develop a narrative to make you believe there is some scary Islamic threat or that Islam is violent, I ask you first, do you know any Muslims in real life? Have you ever visited a mosque? Have you gotten the information you have about Islam from Islamic sources?
Have you done the math?
Keep Calm. Use Your Brain Cells.
(It won’t hurt- I promise.)
About the Author
About the Author: I'm a Writer, Speaker and Muslim Activist. I'm a former Board Member of the #MyJihad Public Education Campaign.
Follow my blog at yasminareality.com or follow me on Twitter: @yasmina_reality. I'm also now on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YasminaReality
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