Hearings on Islamic extremism set the worst example

By Fedwa Wazwaz, Engage Minnesota Next month, the chair of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security plans to launch hearings on so-called domestic Islamic terrorism. To justify the hearings, Rep. Peter King, R-New York, has made grossly irresponsible statements to right-wing broadcasters — claiming that 80 percent of U.S. mosques are extremist hotbeds and that Muslims aren’t cooperating with law enforcement. Read Fedwa’s full article here.

Egypt’s Muslims express solidarity by acting as “human shields” for Coptic Churches

We thought it is important to show examples of solidarity and tolerance in a time when contention and division are celebrated by the media. In case you missed it, here are a few links: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/3216/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-Muslims-to-act-as-human-shields-at-Coptic-Ch.aspx http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/01/07/egypt.coptic.church.attack/index.html http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/egyptian-muslims-lend-support-to-coptics-on-religious-holiday/article1860811/ http://www.insidecatholic.com/9228-egyptian-muslims-act-as-human-shields-at-coptic-christmas-mass.html http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/29940-egyptian-muslims-serve-as-christian-body-shields

Monitoring Muslim Americans

By Hani Hamdan, Engage Minnesota Some time ago, a friend told me a story about his workplace. A Sudanese client came in for a visit. One of my friend’s colleagues met the client, and afterward described him as “a very smart guy.” He said it as though it were a cause for concern. Read the rest of Hani’s piece here.

Don’t define Muslim societies by their flaws

Fair criticism means looking beyond the faults and failings By Fedwa Wazwaz On October 22, The Minnesota Daily published my commentary “Islamo-Fascism a very racist concept.” On October 23 and 24, a couple of letters to the editor responded to my artcle. A common thread in the letters was the right to criticize Islam. Do people have a right to criticize Islam? Let me begin by quoting a couple of lines of Islamic poetry: “The eye of Love to every flaw is blind, While the eye of hatred reveals all flaws.”