In
Defense of the Constitution
December
8, 2007
Open
Letter from Anti-CAIR Founder
to CAIR and IslamOnline
The
following is the personal opinion of Andrew Whitehead, founder of Anti-CAIR.
On 5 December, JihadWatch posted
an article referring to an online posting made by IslamOnline.
As I do not speak/read Arabic, I am relying on
the translation provided by JihadWatch.
According to JihadWatch's translation,
IslamOnline has implied that Anti-CAIR is engaged in activities
on behalf of Michael Savage in
his lawsuit against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
While Anti-CAIR supports Savage's
free speech rights, we are not spearheading any coalition nor
organizing opposition to CAIR's newest group, "Hate Hurts America"
(HHA).
My support for Savage, and others attacked by
CAIR, is based on my belief in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; that
all Americans are created equal; that all Americans have the right to
be equal before the law, and that the Constitution, not Islamic law,
should be the touchstone of civil society. In my opinion, CAIR does not
believe that all people are created equal, does not abide by or believe
in the Judeo-Christian values that are the bedrock of our society, nor
support the fundamental principles that inform our legal system (a
system, however, that CAIR will happily abuse to advance its agenda).
IslamOnline seems offended because Anti-CAIR takes CAIR/HHA to task for
failing to defend Daniel Pipes, Steve Emerson, Robert Spencer and Joe Kaufman, calling
these distinguished Americans "most hostile to Islam." While these
gentlemen do not need me to defend them, I can say I have never heard
or read of any of them using hateful language against peaceful Muslims.
Peaceful members of any religion know that
they can find sanctuary in the United States. We Americans know, from
our founding, what it means to be persecuted for our religious beliefs;
we know what it means to be run out of a country. We have reached out
to Jews, Catholics, Lutherans, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and even "home
grown" religions like the Mormons. All have found America a welcoming
place. We are equally welcoming of Islam; but do not make the mistake
of assuming our acceptance implies surrender. Islam is welcome - so
long as its adherents respect and accept the basic values and practices
of our government and our people.
We Americans are, for the most part, a very
tolerant people. Radical Islam has mistaken that tolerance for
weakness. Radical Islam has completely failed to understand the resolve
of most Americans when it comes to the global battle to exterminate
radical Islam. Radical Islamists view the statements of some elected
"leaders" in support of radical Islam as "proof" that America is on the
verge of surrendering Iraq and Afghanistan to radical
Islam. They hear the words of some of our leaders and believe that all
our leaders are of the opinion that we have lost the battle against
Islamist terror.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Radical Islamists tend to originate in countries that have no freedom
of speech, nor religion; where the leaders all speak in the same voice;
where any type of public dissent is ruthlessly suppressed, all in the
"name of Allah". When they hear five or six American congressional
leaders saying that the United States has lost the war, they assume
that these "leaders" are speaking for America, not understanding that
under our Republican Democracy, even America-haters have the
opportunity to be elected to high office.
What the editorialists of IslamOnline have
failed to understand is that by tolerating groups like CAIR in North
America, we are not signaling that we agree with them. After all, we
have the Ku Klux Klan and
American NAZI Party in the USA as well, but we
don't base our public policy on what these groups might prefer.
If IslamOnline and other peaceful Muslim
groups want to show America the peaceful side of Islam, the first step
they should take is to disown CAIR.
Andrew
Whitehead
Director
Anti-CAIR
ajwhitehead@anti-cair-net.org
www.anti-cair-net.org