"But, like love that develops into marriage, I had to come to America and become a citizen to be a full American. And, [pledging allegiance is] like pledging to a marriage: 'I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, . . . one nation under God.' That's when I said to myself: 'God is paramount here, too.'"
"Previous Pew polls showed that 42 percent of Christians identify with their religion before their country. . . . That doesn't make them less American."
Rereading the entire Qu'ran as an adult, Mohammed has discovered much that he said previously eluded him:
"The hundreds of warnings, in a tough language, to those who stray from the 'Straight Path,'ã ‚¬ ‚¬. . . ? The rest of the Koran, like all other major religions, calls for love, peace and justice, but I have found that accompanied by warnings, threads and repeated mentioning of 'Hell's Fire.' I have found God both merciful and angry, but, I am afraid, I feel He is more angry, which adds to my fear of Him.?[Also striking to Mohammed are] 'sensational' verses about cutting hands, stoning sinners and marrying four wives, [which occur in] very few . . . numbers. All the verses about that and the rest of the Sharia (Islamic laws) [comprise] about 1 percent of the whole Qu'ran. [The rest] is God talking about His powers, books, angels, prophets, and about right and wrong and heaven and hell.?[Also striking are] the very many times God refers to Himself; in almost every verse and, sometimes, more than once in a verse.ã ‚¬ ‚¬There are about 7,000 'ayat' (verses) in the Koran, divided into 114 'suras' (chapters). There are probably 7,000 mentions of, or references to, God.
And, on the subject of religious values, in another of his op-eds he recalls a conversation among some of the men in the village he once called home. They were railing against the wickedness of Westerners when one old man chimed in, "Why speak of punishing these people instead of helping them?"
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He wrote about a cover story that appeared in Time magazine August 30, 2010, on Islamophobia: It mentioned that more than half of Americans had a negative attitude toward Islam and Muslims and that almost half of them said that Muslims believed in ideas contrary to basic American ideals of freedom and justice. The magazine said Islamophobia influenced domestic and foreign U.S. policies.
Further, according to Time, in 2003, "a survey by Pew Research Center found that the percentage of those holding a "favorable view" of the United States was as low as 1 percent in Jordan, 13 percent in Pakistan and 15 percent in Turkey."
"However, those who admired U.S. technological achievements were 59 percent in Jordan and 42 percent in Pakistan. Opinion of U.S. popular culture was mixed, but more positive than one might expect. In Lebanon, 65 percent said they liked American music, movies and television, and in African countries with significant Muslim populations, such as Senegal and Nigeria, majorities said they liked American popular culture, although majorities in Jordan and Egypt said the opposite."
He marvels at Hillary Clinton's request to Congress for more funding for the State Department to be spent on improving the U.S.'s image in the world, as if money were the answer, as if minds could be changed with the right p.r. ,"as if the U.S. reputation were based on how much we spend."
He is bitterly disappointed that the U.S. supports the partitioning of his native country, wondering where the spirit of Lincoln has fled, a spirit that fought to the death to keep this country whole.
Ambiguities pervade all of our lives, as do jihads--struggles--of every description. Mohammed's thinking about one aspect of the Muslim-West jihad, the struggle between Palestine and Israel, has evolved:
"1960's and 1970's (in Sudan): supported Egypt's Nasser call for the expulsion of the Jews."
"1980's, 1990's and 2000'sã ‚¬ ‚¬(in U.S.A.): supported the two-state solution."
"2010 and 2011: support one Palestine/Israel becauseã ‚¬ ‚¬I have come to believe that the Israelis, with the help of the U.S., will expand theã ‚¬ ‚¬settlements and will not accept aã ‚¬ ‚¬viable andã ‚¬ ‚¬sovereign Palestinian state. Many countries might recognize th currentã ‚¬ ‚¬Palestinian 'state,' but, it is not a state. Within a Jewish/Palestinian state, the Palestinians can expand in numbers and call for equal rights."
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