As I watched Holy War: Should Americans Fear Islam?, I kept wondering why? There was a panel and no one on the panel had facts about why Americans should or should not fear Islam. They voiced their opinions.
Unfortunately the panels had three uninformed people fearing Islam, and three people talking about Islam from a more informed perspective. Yet aside from saying Islam was protected by the first amendment, they had little to add to the conversation.
And then there was this radical Islam Mullah, who sounded just like a Christian fundamentalist with shades of Glenn Beck. Of course Franklin Graham was careful not to be as extreme as he is in his sermons.
There was only one person with any facts and that was a former FBI agent Brad Garrett who said:
But if we look at this historically since 9/11, the numbers don't support. You're talking about the US Department of Justice has prosecuted a little over 400 people for terrorism or terrorism-related crimes. If you break that down into violence, it's like 130 some odd numbers. So, compared to other crime, compared to other issues in this country, it is -- it doesn't sort of match up in that regard.
In other words the numbers do not support fear of Islam.
I was a federal employee when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed. The bombing shook me to my core. The bombing took place on the same day that the attacks were made on the Branch Davidian ranch in Waco Texas. The Branch Davidians are a protestant sect that broke of from the Seventh Day Adventists and later excommunicated by the Seventh Day Adventists. The Branch Davidians are a Christian sect. Yes the bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was a militia movement member and a former member of the US armed services. But the bombing was done in support a Christian sect. Then we have the Klu Klux Klan, another Christian sect. The KKK kills people, hangs them.
So I ask, Should Americans be Afraid of Christianity? The answer is simple, no more than Americans should be afraid of Islam. Some members of the ABC panel had this fear of Shariah. Well, I am afraid when judges put the bible in their court rooms. Why should the ten commandments be put in political settings in the US. Why do certain groups of Christians want to pass laws making contraception and abortion illegal? Isn't this the same?
Now to get back the issue of 9/11. Fifteen, the vast majority, of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia, as is Osama bin Laden. Many of the Mosques that preach hatred are funded by rich Saudi Arabians. The question then becomes should Americans be afraid of Saudi Arabia? Given the oil embargo of 1970s and the support of terrorists in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and in Lebanon, I think the answer to that question is an unequivocal yes. Yet because of oil we suppress the fear and place that fear on Islam.
