>>Valley Patriot>> |
In being this movement’s leader, it is important to state that as Americans, regardless of many of us being Muslim or Republican, we are outraged over the reports of Quran desecration in Guantanamo Bay and other areas of detention. However, despite our outrage, I represent the constituency in our movement when I say that we deeply stand by our man – our man who is working hard to bring liberation and love to the Muslim World – President George W. Bush. As leaders of Muslims For America, we have often felt that the failure of many American Muslim political groups has been in their unforgiving nature. Within this global War on Terror, mistakes are bound to happen. No candidate, administration, or even execution of detention can go perfectly – after all, I quote the Quran itself in saying, “only God is perfect.” Therefore, we agree that investigations should take place, and we deeply agree that fair punishment should be given to those guilty of wrongdoing, just as they were to Charles Graner, Sabrine Harman, and six other soldiers, within the Abu-Gharib cases. But such advocacy can be made without alienating ourselves from the only presidential candidate who is committed to bringing liberation to the Muslim World and peace on earth. We cannot so easily forget that it was President Bush who worked tirelessly to deliver $18 billion in aid to Iraq – a measure that was criticized by Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. The deliverance of gigantic aide to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and most recently, a pledge of $50 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority, are only small examples of President Bush’s concern and compassion for the rebuilding of the Muslim World. To all American Muslims, we call upon you to continue supporting President Bush and believing in his vision for the Muslim World. And furthermore, we warn all of you to not fall into the trap of being seduced by the collective mindset of the Democratic Party that has only set itself out to hurt both President Bush’s reputation and the cause of American Muslims and Muslims around the world. After all, let us not forget that it was “supposed” liberal Senator Diane Feinstein of California, who introduced the first bill of hatred-legislation into Congress shortly after the tragic 9-11 attacks, that condoned the termination of all student visas to countries that were high in Muslim population. Let us not forget that it was Senator John Kerry who wrote parts of the Patriot Act, later advocated for “strengthening” the act, called Israel’s wall a “fence”, and penned the sanctions bill against Syria. This latter action had to be tempered by President Bush, who encouraged that food and medical supplies be removed from such a bill. And the above is only a small example of the differences between President Bush and the collective Democratic Party in their policies towards the Muslim World. In turn, we would hate to see what Sena-tor Feinstein’s or Senator Kerry’s response to this desecration outrage would be. Sadly, with the exception of Senators Feingold, Kennedy and Byrd, we would hate to see the response that most Democratic Senators would have to this issue. After all, it is Senator Arlen Specter, a devout Jew and Republican, who is penning a bill that will better specify the religious rights of detainees at this moment in time. What we can all agree upon is that Presi-dent Bush and his administration should be judged upon their response to such dese-crations. Their reaction to the Abu-Gharib abuse was most appropriate – it was agreed upon that misdeeds had been done, and in an extensive investigation, Charles Graner, Sabrine Harman, and others were found guilty of such abuses and quickly punished. The primary cause of the missteps at Gitmo, Iraq, and Afghanistan is not one of systematic malice or directions for mistreatment by our own President. The cause of these abominations is a few uncouth individuals, who are wrongdoers within a system that has sometimes lacked the command structure necessary to keep these abuses in check. We must remember that, to its core, the United States of America does not have an imperialist history, nor one of a police state. Therefore, measures of detention are going to have missteps. More importantly though, our own American courts have asked that our detainees in Guantanamo Bay and other detention centers be given trials immediately, and the Bush administration has complied in facilitating such tribunals to take place soon. Therefore, President Bush already has a solid reputation for not tolerating abuse towards religion. For such steadfastness in this resolve, his decisions and conviction should be celebrated, not questioned. As confirmed by journalist Robin Wright, it was under President Bush’s leadership that, two years ago, the Pentagon had already established rules for the way the Quran should be handled. Considering the help he has given to Muslims all over the world and his response to the Abu-Gharib case, we take President Bush at his honest word that justice will be served in this Quran desecration case. In the meantime though, we cannot give up in our support for President Bush. When we list the pros and cons of political candidates and parties above, we do not do it for the purposes of saying that President Bush is the “lesser of two evils.” Rather, we see President Bush as the best supporter towards the religious rights of Muslims because he is genuinely dedicated to helping and supporting Muslims worldwide. President Bush has this established reputation and history, and abandoning him upon the desecrations of the Quran would be a desecration in itself. And to our friends at MPAC, PMU, CAIR, AMA, AMC, and AMT – we hope you hear this message. May Allah Bless America and this Earth! You can email Ali at:
muslimsforbush@mac.com *Send your questions
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One
of the proudest endeavors of my life is serving as the
Co-Founder and Co-President of Muslims For Bush and
Muslims For America. In our quest to re-elect President
Bush and deliver better relationships between Republicans
and American Muslims, I have had the privilege of
representing a group that has grown to over five hundred
in membership. And I am deeply proud to serve as the
leader of this cause.