02 October 2008

Rico feels for them. Not.

The Columbus Dispatch has an article by Meredith Heagney about the problem of being a Muslim in America:
Maybe she'll knock on her neighbors' doors and introduce herself, Dina Abdulkarim said. She could try to talk to them about Islam and what Muslims are really like. "I have to prove my good intentions," she said. It's not fair, she said, but it's a reality of life as an American Muslim: Too many people think Muslims are radical and violent. Abdulkarim and her husband, Muhannad Hammash, and their 2-year-old daughter, Sarah, attended morning services at the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Dublin yesterday to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. It's a three-day celebration of feasting and socializing that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight. For Eid, Muslims stay home from work and school and give gifts to their children and money to the poor. They feel a sense of accomplishment after completing a month of fasting and constant worship.
"It's sort of like a booster shot for your faith," said Rob Engel, a resident who converted to Islam three years ago.
They praised God in Arabic and asked him to accept their fasts. The men prayed together in the main prayer hall, and women, wearing vibrant head scarves adorned with sequins and beading, prayed upstairs. Some had painted henna on their hands. About 9,000 worshippers attended three services, said Hany Saqr, who is on the mosque's board of directors. In unison, the Muslims bent at the waist and then knelt on the ground, face down.
John Kashubeck, who attends the Islamic Center, told the crowd that being Muslim and being American are compatible identities. The ideals in the preamble to the Constitution, such as justice and domestic tranquility, are all found in the Quran, he said.
He talked about anti- Muslim prejudice, citing the recent distribution of the DVD titled Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, which Muslims have denounced as spreading fear about all Muslims. The movie, produced by the nonprofit Clarion Fund, shows images of terrorist attacks and training camps. Kashubeck encouraged Muslims to register to vote at tables set up outside the prayer hall. He told the crowd to educate their neighbors and co-workers about the true nature of Islam. "Let them know you're Muslims somehow," he said. "Then show good character and good qualities."
Rico says that he has good feelings about Muslims, dating back to his old camp counselor, Farouk, in the 60s, just not all Muslims... (And just what is it, Moslem, Muslim, Mohammedan, what?)

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