Iranian of the Day

It was once said

The capacity for people to do good Makes Democracy DESIRED.

The capacity for people to do evil, Makes democracy Necessary,

Cool, Ha?:)

MasoudA

MasoudA Thats a great point.Europe which has dealt with Islam for 1300 years.

The false point here of Islamophobia is it is comparing the awareness of a existant danger of Islam (a normality) with abnormality.

Unfortunately it (Islamophobia) can be overdone and that argument can be made but you can't argue the cause of it sensibly.

And I agree with alot of your comments quite often,I enjoy seeing them.Thanks

FYI/ Saudi Arabian employer hammered nails in Body of Maid (bbc)

Live From the Land of Prophet Muhamad:

Doctors have removed 13 nails and five needles from a Sri Lankan housemaid who said her employer in Saudi Arabia hammered them into her body.

//www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11109726

Now You tell me if there is a direct Corrolation or Not between such behaviors and Islam ? ...

I don't have the answer ... Do You ?

rtayebi1 Jaan

Thank you for explaining. The important thing is what we identify with. If you get comfort from Quoran good for you. I am no fan of Islam but I do respect people's right to their peaceful beliefs. Good for you my friend and I am sorry you lost your father.

Islamophobia

is meant to be a fear of Islam or to be exact an irrational and baseless fear of Islam. I  argue that in the current times Islamophobia is justified and has a strong basis.

Islam as Anahid points out is used as an excuse to hang men and stone women. This is indeed frighting.

Islam was used as the basis for terrorist actions in many cases in recent times. Now to be fair there are plenty of other terrorist actions. But this also scares people. Peaceful Muslims have not been outspoken enough in condemning terrorism. 

Islam is particularly harsh on Muslims. One of the worst rules is that against changing religion out of Islam. The penalty for this is death by execution. As a former Muslim {no IMF I am not a Christian convert} I do not appreciate a death penalty imposed on me. Am I afraid of Islam? You bet. Only a fool would not be afraid of a religion with over a billion people and a death penalty on his head. Until Islam and Muslims reject these kinds of violence Islamophobia will be a well justified thing.

There are many other reasons; this is just my 3 point highlight.

VPK

ayatollah masoudA

You belong in Qom with your "antilectual" nonsense. you and the Qom ayatollahs are made for eachother.

MM

There is not much doubt that the building of this Muslim centre is probably legal. But sometimes just because you could it doesn't necessarily mean you should.

If Imam Rauf "the moderate Muslim scholar" as you call him, is trying to build a bridge towards other religions, perhaps he should've taken time to consider that pushing ahead relentlessly with building this Islamic centre, despite all the objections, accusations (whether right or wrong) of insensitivity, provocation, inappropriateness, and apparent opposition of most Americans (70% according to polls), might not foster the atmosphere in which "bridges can built". It seems to me more a recipe to burn bridges.

Why has it not occurred to Imam Rauf, being a "moderate Muslim scholar" and all, that maybe if he and his backers changed their minds about the location of this centre and announced publicly that, out of respect to all vicitims of 9/11, their families and all the Americans who oppose the building this centre, they will build it else where, they would actually win plaudits and have a better chance of building those bridges that you are talking about?

As it happens, the NY governor has offered to find an alternative site but Rauf has refused to contemplate it. The questions that needs to be asked are why this site was chosen when it would be known to be a very contentious issue and why would Rauf insist on going ahead with the project when so many Americans are against it? Is it because what Islam wants is non-negotiable whatever the cost to anyone else?

Also, you might be interested to know (if you didn't already) Imam Rauf is a supporter of the Islamic Republic of Iran and wrote a lengthy statement in support of Iran's election and juidicial system .

Take a look:

//www.huffingtonpost.com/imam-feisal-abdul-rauf/what-president-obama-shou_b_218249.html

He is absolutely correct

That bastard Newt Gingrich along with his bastard friend Orreilly should be held as accessories for the attempted murder of that Muslim cabbie.  What they are doing is the definition of fear mongering and slander.  Every day they come on television and say that the Muslims in the US are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.  Their slander has only intensified since this "ground zero mosque" controversy.  

It's no wonder this cabbie got attacked.  I'm surprised it hasn't happened more often.  At least in Iran, the government and people are smart enough to distinguish between Israelis and Jews.  Despite Israels repeated threats against Iran, there hasn't been any violence against Iranian Jews.  Imagine if an Iranian Jew had his throat slit by some idiot in Tehran, simply because he was Jewish.  The Western press would go crazy.  If that happened wouldn't it be accurate to label Iranians as bigoted and ignorant? 

On top of that 18% of Americans think Obama is Muslim?!?  Reza is right, this is scary stuff!

"People fear what they do not understand."

Massoud, you can not even be

Massoud, you can not even be truthful to your own cultural identity. But maybe this recollection will shake some sense back into you:

Iran became an Islamic Republic through a 98% "in favor of" referendum vote. 98%!

Yeah, that's real"islamophobe." (sarcasm alert)

How did all you rejects manage to pass the citizenship exam or swear the oath to the US Constitution when it came to recognizing freedom of religion? Did you have your fingers crossed behind your back? Or what?

And some of you that hold these views can't comprehend why you're not treated as "real" Americans among native sons. Go figure. You'll never get it.

Iranians are the Original Islamophobes

Agha Reza Aslan - you have been talking on our behalf for a while now - it's time you learn a few things about us!!  Iranians are the Original Islamophobes and if you wonder why, it's because you don't know anything about our history.   Islam is in full contrast with our culture and has been forced upon us from day one - and as you can see it still is.  

The Muslim Canadian

The Muslim Canadian Congress is considered a liberal Muslim organization, but recently announced its opposition to the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York.

"We believe the proposal has been made in bad faith and, in Islamic parlance, is creating 'fitna,' meaning 'mischief-making,' an act clearly forbidden in the Qur'an," the group said in a statement.

Arrests a 'serious problem' for Canadian Muslims

The way Islam is practiced in many countries, ...

I can understand some Americans be anti Islam. They see women get killed by stoning in Iran and Iran was supposed to be one of more open minded Islamic countries. Poeple see how IRI treated their own people and I don't blame them to have phobia about Islam. I have phobia too because of the way Islam in many countries is practiced.why do you think so many people left Iran?Many of them were/are afraid of how some moslems treat others.

Time to rethink freedom of religion Ari

Religion is nothing but an ideology with a god slammed on top. So, lets talk about freedom of ideology. After all it's unfair to extend that freedom to the believers in supernatural only. Well, you now have to defend the rights of members of the KKK to promote their ideologies. Any other hate mongering sect should also be given the freedom to spread its vision. After all it's the state who has the power as witnessed by bombings in the London undergrounds by radicalised Muslims. 

Perhaps it's the time that we take the god out of the equation and curtail the activities of any group who promotes hate and segregation. 

Divaneh, concern not fear

Example 1:

In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972).

The Amish challenged the state regarding compulsory education above the eighth grade. The court ruled that no one is entitled to an exemption from reasonable state regulations for purely secular considerations. "the very concept of ordered liberty precludes allowing every person to make his own standards on matters of conduct in which society as a whole has important interests.”

Example 2:

Reynolds vs. US (1879).

On the issue of Mormon bigamists challenging the US monogamy law the Supereme Court ruled, "...it is impossible to believe that the constitutional guaranty of religious freedom was intended to prohibit legislation in respect to this most important feature of social life. Marriage, while from its very nature a sacred obligation, is nevertheless, in most civilized nations, a civil contract, and usually regulated by law."

Such rulings put to rest fears that somehow the children of US Muslims could be isolated from mainstream education or that Sharia law could take hold in the US. Of course court cases where religion challenges the power of state will continue to come up as one would expect in any democratic society where freedom of religion is respected.

Well said Ari and thank you Reze Aslan,

As a an Iranian-American agnostics who believe all organized religion are only a means to control minds, I find it highly disturbing to see all the anti Muslim chatter that is being used primary for political gain in this country. If as an Americans we allow such hypocritical Islamophobic take root, who is it to say where it would end. Have we forgotten the disgraceful act against Japanese American during WWII? Or are we going to justify this discriminatory act in reaction and direct comparison with those in Iran or Saudi Arabia?

Mehrdad

The fear is not baseless

Islam promotes a segregated society by its nature. It is in fact a very old sexist, fascist ideology and is nothing but poison for young minds. It needs to be challenged without people getting too emotional or feeling victimised.

vpk joon

Its not necessarily what they call me (even though its very important to me) but rather what I identify with. When my dad died just a while ago one thing that calm me down was listening to goraan. It wasn't because  I believed in it but rather because remind me of my childhood. That was my comfort area.

Reza's resume was accepted by

Ahmadinejad for a new position in the beautiful islamic republic of Iran.

make sure to bring trita joon with you,

ta baraye ham ja namaz(i) ab bekeshin!

Here is Ron Paul on the issue of religion and property rights

Ron Paul: "Timothy Mcvey was probably a Christian.  Does that mean that you cannot build a church around Oklahoma City downtown?"

masoudA

rtayebi1 Jaan

I have lived in the USA for over 30 years. I have known liberals and right wingers. But all of them know who is trying to impose Islam on them and who is not.

• When they say Muslims; them mean someone who practices Islam and is intolerant of  other people not normal peaceful sane individuals.
• I assure you God's name is not Allah; that is Ahriman's name.

This is a 1st amendment issue as well as property rights issue

Yes, there are many examples in the world where Islamists are shown themselves to be very intolerant of other religions and even sects.  I can even direct you to a place where the worst of the worst videos are gathered (//www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1538605872960). But, here in the US, this is a core issue circling around the freedom of religion and property rights.  The same laws protect the right of Nazis and devil-worshipers to operate here.  Ari also had a good cartoon where he asked how far is far enough to build this mosque; 2 blocks or 200 blocks?  I bet some commentors here would say 20,000 blocks, or more!

We are also talking about a moderate Muslim scholar who is trying to build a bridge towards other religions and this whole thing has been highjacked by Fox news and a few politicians who are using this issue to divide the population while the families of 9/11 are divided on this mosque issue.  Nonetheless, the close associates of the builders have said to be leaning to move the mosque further north since this whole thing is putting a wedge amongst the people rather than bringing them closer.

1st amendment of the US constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (//www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am1).

Property Rights also states that you can build what you want to build on your property as long as it adheres to the zoning laws.

Phobia? What phobia?

Phobia? What phobia?

American founding fathers

American founding fathers were a bunch of slave owners who did not necessarily believe in the rights of women to vote - but they created a document called the Declaration of Independence - a document which a nation stood by to this point at which men and women, black and white have equal righs - do you think this dynamic nation is going to tolerate going back ? way back to the dark ages?  

Anti human rights sentiments must be abolished - it has no room or rights in our societies - even if it is packaged as a religion. 

Muslims are the most intolerant of societies

Precisely. What these Muslim apologists cannot establish is one example of a Muslim country which shows tolerance towards other minorities. Shall we set eyes on 'Iraq as a bastion of religious hrmoney? How about the 'moderate' Malaysia whose constitution purports to protect the right of belief of other religions whilst hounding apostates and bias towards Muslims in issues of inheritance and marriages between non-Muslims?

You often hear Muslims talk about how 'tolerant' they are towards other religions throughout history but nothing is further from the truth. Non-Muslims are tolerated so long as they live under the dhimmi, pay a poll tax and keep a low profile so Muslims do not see or hear theur religious practices.

The only exception is Turkey, whose secular nature is being undermined by its islamophile leader whose wife wears a hijab. Disgraceful. 

According to 2010 estimates

There are 7 million Muslim Americans (ie. citizens) currently living in the USA. There are probably millions more Muslims who are not necessarily citizens, but who have also chosen (legally or illegally) to live, work, study or just waste time there. Every year there are more and more Muslims who immigrate to the USA to add to the millions already there.

Also, there are currently over one thousand and two hundred mosques dotted all around the USA along with many more Muslim community centres. Again this number is rising every year.

Apart from isolated cases, the great majority of Muslims live, work and prosper in the USA without being harassed or mistreated. Unlike what Reza Alsan says, the same is true in much of Western Europe. In fact since 9/11 the Muslim immigration to USA has accelerated. Why would this be the case if "Islamo-phobia" was becoming rife in the country?

So, I find Aslan's view on this matter not only alarmist and an overreaction, but pretty ill-informed too. He is essentially focusing his view on the actions/words of right-wing nut jobs, who dislike anything alien (not just Muslims), and from that he extrapolates that "Islamo-phobia" is becoming mainstream in the West.

At the same time Aslan utterly fails to see the insensitivity and inappropriateness of the building of this Muslim "community centre" in the vicinity of Ground Zero, which has genuinely upset and angered many other Americans, who would otherwise have nothing against Islam and Muslims.

Maybe Reza Aslan should spend a little time living in some Islamic countries of the Middle East and see how religious minorities are treated there, to get a sense of perspective and how well, in the main, Muslims are actually treated in the USA and indeed in Western Europe.

To conclude, seems like the term "Islamo-phobia" has become the cry wolf of some Muslims in the West to throw at anything they don't like, in the same way that the "anti-Semitism" charge has so often been misused by some Jews, the perpetuate the victimhood mentality.

Mr. Ari Sieltz

I am afraid you are clueless what you are talking about.   USA is a country bilut on the concept of equality of all regardless of race, religion and Gender.   What we have here is not Islamophobia - we have Americans being Americans and standing against a cult that is anti Human Rights - can you get that?    

Yes Reza, we're in trouble

The US is not held together by cultural allegiances or even a unique and common language; it is held together by the strength of the freedoms and equalities guaranteed by her constitution.  Any move to udermine those aspects of the Constitution that address freedom of diversity is tantamount to a lobotomy on the collective mind of this nation.  

Thanks for the much needed video. Please do more in this series--perhaps with a public place background where the diversity of the US population is more obvious.

what a weird

crazy situation I am in. I think Islam has hurt me more the anything else , but when they talk shit about Muslim I think they R talking about me. I don't even want to visit a Muslim country anymore and yet I was born as one and I like to die as one. I know there is no god, but if there is one I think his name is Allah

eslam = es-haal

Saag shaashid be in eslam!