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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I noted that there was something being sponsored by a
Young Republican club at WSU recently, something about Islamo-fascism, and I
have not understood what that was. Now I note this article in the UI
paper, the Argonaut.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><A
href="http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/4683/48/">http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/4683/48/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Not having read much if anything about the so-called
"Islamo-fascist" movement, I wonder whether the Islamo-fascist movement
has been mis-representing Islam and tarring the entire religion with the
acts of an extreme faction? This story in the Argonaut makes me think that
is what has been happening, but the story does not say specify the
message of hate that the opposers of "Islamo-fascism" are promulgating. I
would like to hear more about this from people who surely have followed
this issue much more closely than I.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I am curious about what is going on with this issue, as I
have only heard this term "Islamo-fascism" in the last several weeks, other than
seeing the term in a book review that I did not read closely about a year
ago. I assume from the very little I have read about "Islamo-fascism" that
the announced aim of the Islamo-fascist movement is to address/publicize/oppose
those who practice terrorism in the name of the Islamic religion -- the Bin
Laden/Al Queda/Taliban camp. But it seems, based on the story in the
Argonaut, that much more is going on than that, and that good Muslims are being
caught in the overbroad net aimed at the terrorists by those who oppose/head-up
the "Oppose Islamo-fascism" movement. As I understand the statements of
the Al Quaeda/Bin Laden terrorists, they practice a form of Islam that is
anti-thetical to the vast majority of the Islamic world, killing in the name of
religion but without the approval of most of the Muslim world.
Essentially, as I understand it, the terrorist, so-called "Al Quaeda" wing of
Islam mis-represents and mis-uses Islam as it is understood by the
vast majority of Muslims. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Am I correct in assuming that the Islamo-fascist movement
is castigating all/most Muslims, rather than the small minority of
terrorist sects that are murdering in the name of Islam, while violating Islamic
law? Are there any on this list who might elaborate on
this issue for me?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bruce Livingston</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
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<TD vAlign=top align=left width="70%" colSpan=2><SPAN class=small>Written
by Jessica Mullins - Argonaut </SPAN> </TD></TR>
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<TD class=createdate vAlign=top colSpan=2>Tuesday, 23 October 2007 </TD></TR>
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<P><STRONG>Community members gather against movement</STRONG> </P>
<P>Palouse community members organized events and spread information in
response to this week’s national “Islamo-Fascism <BR>Awareness Week.” </P>
<P>The movement is intended to promote hostility and hate toward Muslims,
Arabs ands people who resemble them, said retired University of Idaho
economics professor Ghazi Ghazanfar. “The whole idea is to create more
hate and demonize the religion and people,” Ghazanfar said. “This is a
systematic, well-organized effort in the country.”</P>
<P>The week, part of a “terrorism awareness project,” is sponsored by the
David Horowitz Freedom Center. Activities are planned at nearly 100
U.S. universities including Washington State University, but none at
UI. “The movement is unfortunately all over the place,” said Andy
Neukranz-Butler, UI’s human rights compliance officer. The Web site,
www.terrorismawareness.org/islamo-fascism, says the protest is to confront
the two “big lies of the political left”: that President George W. Bush
created the war on terror and that global warming is a greater American
danger than the terrorism threat.</P>
<P>In light of the movement, UI President Tim White re-released the UI
civility statement on Oct. 11 to “raise to top-of-mind” UI civility
expectations. The civility statement acknowledges everyone comes
from different backgrounds and supports the discussion of different points
of view in a civilized manner, Neukranz-Butler said. The statement
says “expressions of hate and intolerance meant to discriminate against
entire groups are beneath the ideals that we aspire to at the University
of Idaho.” </P>
<P>While there are no events planned at UI, organizers wanted to prepare,
just in case. “We want to be proactive to include people in
community discussion,” Neukranz-Butler said. “We would hope things
wouldn’t get out of hand.” While debate is important, it
shouldn’t include hateful or fighting words, she
said. “Obviously, good debate is what we want. We just want to
do it in a respectful manner,” she said. “We want to create an environment
where we can talk about it.” The civility statement is
appropriate to combat feelings of threats, said Rula Awwad-Rafferty, UI
faculty and JUNTURA committee chair. </P>
<P>The WSU College Republicans will show the film “Obsession” on
Wednesday. “The film has a lot of nasty things to say about the
Muslim religion,” Neukranz-Butler said. The film doesn’t encourage
constructive discussion, she said. Palouse community members,
including Neukranz-Butler, Awwad-Rafferty and Ghazanfar, met and organized
events and ads to run in local newspapers in response to the week.
“Regardless of your political orientation or religious orientation, I
think knowledge is power and it is important to question information and
go to try to find other sources,” Awwad-Rafferty said. </P>
<P>The efforts in response to the awareness week focus on the unity of the
community. “We all stand together,” Awwad-Rafferty said. “If it
hurts someone in the community it hurts us all. We combat stereotypes
because we believe they hurt all of us no matter where they come
from.” Awwad-Rafferty said it is nice how the community came
together against the movement. “I don’t think hatred ought to be
tolerated anywhere,” Awwad-Rafferty said. “But you don’t fight hatred with
hatred.” </P>
<P>The Islamic community at UI is growing, Ghazanfar said. Since Sept. 11
more Muslims are returning to the U.S. There are more than 25 Islamic
faculty members, he said. Movements such as this week are extremely
counterproductive as far recruiting foreign students, especially from the
Islamic world, Ghazanfar said. “We are doing everything possible and
organizing things on campus to create more harmony and unity,” he said,
“but a group is here to create exclusiveness.” The movement is
inflammatory and has incorrect information, Awwad-Rafferty said. "It
is important to assure everybody they will not be harmed,” Awwad-Rafferty
said. “The fear of being harmed is, in my opinion, equivalent to being
harmed.”<BR></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV></BODY></HTML>