Let stereotype go

By Harris Zafar

Close your eyes and picture this: A jet with 111 passengers and crewmembers is about to land when a religious fanatic stands up and declares that he has a bomb.

Now open your eyes. Was your first thought anger that Muslim terrorists were at it again? Or perhaps you wondered why Muslims do this so often? Or maybe you’re frustrated that we haven’t done enough to stop these Arab terrorists from hijacking jets?

But this time, the alleged hijacker wasn’t a Muslim. Or even an Arab. The suspect in the Sept. 9 Aeromexico Flight 576 incident is José Flores, 44, a Bible-carrying Christian who was overheard saying, “Christ is coming soon.”

As an American Muslim, I cringed when I first heard of this hijacking. “Not another radical Muslim,” I thought to myself.

And there, I suppose, is the lesson. Though like my fellow Americans, I’ve unfortunately grown accustomed to hearing about acts of religious fundamentalists around the world, I know Islam and understand that this strain of violence is not my faith.

Even so, the post-9/11 construct of “us against them” subconsciously defines “them” as Muslims.

Perhaps only time will release us from this stereotype, but I ask my fellow citizens to make a deliberate attempt to leave this suspicion behind. After all, does the Ku Klux Klan represent all whites? Or did the Irish Republican Army terrorists represent all Catholics? Of course not.

Many Muslims actively preach and believe in the message of peace, love and tolerance for people of all faiths, races and ethnicities.

If you open your eyes, you’ll see that peaceful Muslims are the majority, and like you, we have nothing but disdain for the radical few who have tried to hijack our faith.

Harris Zafar is a freelance writer based in Portland, Ore.

Posted at 12:15 AM/ET, September 21, 2009 in Forum commentary, Race Issues/Civil rights

Kosher and halal foods — as defined by the sacred dietary laws of Jews and Muslims, respectively — must be produced and processed according to standards that far exceed those imposed by the U.S. government.

“U.S. consumers who are not followers of Judaism or Islam are largely unaware of the specific qualities that distinguish kosher and halal from conventional foods,” says Packaged Facts Publisher Tatjana Meerman. “However, factors related to safety, quality, and ‘truth in labeling’ should prompt these mainstream consumers to seek out kosher/halal more often.”

Read the full article.

According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, 45 percent of Americans state that they have a good basic understanding of Islam. About as many, 47 percent, personally know a Muslim.

Islam is the religion of one-fifth of the world’s humanity. There are a lot of Muslims around. Have you ever spoken with one? Have you heard directly from a Muslim what she or he believes? Are you part of the 47 percent that personally knows a Muslim?

If not, what’s holding you back? Don’t rely on potentially unreliable second-hand sources. Go to the source – a real, live, practicing Muslim. Contact us today – we are here to answer your questions.

And if you’d like to be able to say that you’ve met a Muslim, we can help with that, too.