Islam is peace

There are so many stories in the headlines every day. Too many to comment on. I will choose the one which has occupied the thoughts of many over the last two weeks.

Like many others, I am concerned by the seemingly violent response to the provocative cartoons published in Denmark. I have come to two conclusions. First, I believe that much of the violence is being instigated by outside forces. Two, the demonstrations are not just about the cartoons. Rather, they are an expression of anger at the overall state of affairs for the Muslim ummah.

The West preaches democracy. But the favored leaders of Middle Eastern countries are dictators. When Muslims succeed in democratic elections--in Algeria, Iraq, and Palestine--the West responds with condemnation. Muslims are ready for democracy. The West is not ready to let Muslims have it.

Then there is always the question of Israel. A country was established on a land already occupied. Palestinians lived in that land for over 2000 years, and were not responsible for exiling the Jewish populations. From day one, the situation has been handled unfairly. Muslims have proven, time and again, that we are able to get along peacefully with people who practice Judaism. Jews were treated much better under Islamic rule than under Christian rule in places like Spain. The problem is Zionism. Unfortunately, the problem won't go away. If the leaders of the U.S. ever saw fit to end their unconditional support of the Zionists and work for justice, there would be no reason for a war on terror. But support for Zionism seems to be an inherent code in the U.S. government.

Donald Rumsfeld said the other day that "al-Qaeda" has better PR than the U.S. I won't get into my doubts about the existence of "al-Qaeda." The point here is, Muslims throughout the world cannot be misled as easily as the American public has been. If the U.S. government wants better PR, then it had better treat Muslims as equals.

There is rage in the Muslim world. Some say it is being deliberately provoked. I don't doubt it. I only hope and pray that my Muslim brothers and sisters are smart enough to see the game for what it is and refuse to play along. It's time for Muslims to set our own agenda. Be proactive.

In some circles, Muslims have become the butt of jokes for being close-minded and rooted in historical tradition. Once again, the non-Muslim world has shown its inability to see what is so clear to us. Once again, many non-Muslims have shown their unwillingness to try.

What they need to understand is this. There is so much more to the story than a handful of cartoons.