Pipes' paranoia
By Letters To The Editor Daniel Lynx Bernard (10/15/06)
Aside from being petty, paranoid, and hateful, the Oct. 10 opinion piece "Don't Bring That Booze into My Taxi" by Daniel Pipes (http://americandaily.com/article/15986) contains a flagrant lie.
Pipes refers to "the Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society,
an organization the Chicago Tribune has established is devoted to
turning the United States into a country run be (sic) Islamic law."
These few words are so thick with distortions it requires some
diagramming:
--The Chicago Tribune article that Pipes relies on ("A rare look at
secretive Brotherhood in America" by Noreen Ahmed-Ullah et al, Sept.
19, 2004) did not establish what he claims it established. The
article asserted that the founders of the Muslim American Society
(MAS) included an undetermined number of members of fundamentalist
Muslim Brotherhood. The article said that some of those members mused
that it would be nice if the United States were run on Islamic
priniciples someday -- voluntarily. Pipes' garbled paraphrasing
suggests the organization plans to overthrow our government. He is
whipping up fear of a minority group in order to keep them
marginalized.
--Tribune reporter Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah told us that the national MAS
leadership has changed greatly since then; she is not certain any
current officials are Muslim Brotherhood members.
--In any case, the Tribune article was about the founders of the
national organization based in Washington, D.C. The Minnesota chapter
was formed independently by Muslims resident in Minnesota unaffiliated
with the national officers. Pipes deliberately suggests that the
Tribune article described the Minnesota chapter. That is
irresponsible.
The dominant culture in the United States has the power to be
welcoming to newcomers. We can afford to grant a little respect for
their religious wishes. Pipes has twisted it around to suggest that
any accommodation of this particular minority is a threat to our
democratic way of life. Sadly, his aversion to Muslims seems to be
shared by many in Minnesota: The Minneapolis airport commission later
rejected this accommodation in the face of protests from members the
public.
--
Daniel Lynx Bernard
Master of Public Affairs candidate/research assistant
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota
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