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Imagine what it would be like if it were normal to walk past tanks everyday.  

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A women doing laundry.... 

Sorry for all the weepy pics, but I am just trying to capture real life...and life in a war torn country is not happy.... 

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A Nokhchi play...the actress is wearing some traditional clothing.... 

An example of a traditional Nokhchi ensemble... 

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Women gathering water in a refugee camp.  

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Today I decided to feature Chechnya, dear to my heart. It is known as Chechnya to the rest of the world, but to Chechens, it is known as Ichekeria-Chechens call themselves Nokhchi....I know that many of you will have already come to this site with an opinion of Chechnya and Chechens that may not be that good. Esp. after what happened last fall to the Russian school children. Please do not think that that act of terrorism had anything to do with Islam. Like the Palestinians, the Chechens are in a struggle for their freedom, and thus some are doing very bad things to attain it. I do not condone it, and I was disgusted with what happened. But please, please, please, read up on Chechnya and it's history, and it's people. Then maybe you will try to understand them a little, and what is happening to them.
 

In the year 2005 I resolve to: Get all my belongings repossessed by the government. Get your resolution here.

Help! I am being held prisoner in a Chinese bakery. Add a fortune to your website orblog, clickhere.

And I should end my posts for the day with something funny...a lighthearted Turkish story....

One Friday, Hodja stood up in the pulpit in the masjid to preach a sermon. "O ye believers, do you know what I am going to talk about today?"
"We have no idea," they answered him.
"Well, if you have no idea at all, then what's the use of my telling you?" With that remark, he descended from the pulpit and went home.
The next Friday, he returned to the masjid, and once again stood up in the pulpit and asked the congregation, "O ye true believers, do you know what I am going to talk about today?"
"Yes," they answered him.
"Well, if you already know, then what's the use of my telling you?" And he again descended from the pulpit and went home.
Again, the following Friday, he entered the masjid, mounted the pulpit, and asked the same question: "O ye, true believers, do you know what I am going to talk to you about today?"
The congregation had prepared their answer in advance: "Some of us do, and some of us don't."
"In that case," Hodja said, " let those who know tell those who don't. " And he went home again. :)

Today, I had English 278, (yup, back to school with full force...) and we discussed Transcendentalism...I cannot believe that the very ideals of Transcendentalism are totally in unison with the ideals of Sufism. At least, for as much as I could get out of Transcendentalism in a 3 hour class period, that is... it seems similiar. I was totally amazed. And then this girl spoke up, and was like, "Well, I can see why Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" was so controvertial...during the period that he was alive, everyone was really into religion, and really, the ideas of Trans. (I am not going to spell out that word again!) are totally contradictory to religion as we know it." And in my head, I was like, "what? This TOTALLY aligns itself with my religion." But I get her point, I just feel sorry for her that her idea of religion doesn't coincide with those ideals. I don't know. I don't mean to get all philosophic on you here, but I have to mix it up a bit...I mean, I've got the whole depressing blog posts (like anti-muslim stuff, etc.) and the whole pictorial spread, so I thought I better mix in a little bit o'philosophy. That word, it just looks like it's spelled wrong to me. I don't know why. Oh well, I gotta let it go. (New Year's resolution...not to be too obsessive over spelling...)

BTW, I took the pics I just published of the leaves and stuff...I think they turned out lovely! (mashallah.) Anyways, have another thing from a Sufi story....once a child came to a Sufi mystic and asked him what religion she was....he replied: "You are a Christian because you believe in Jesus, and you are a Jew because you believe in all the prophets including Moses. You are a Muslim because you believe in Muhammad (pbuh) as a prophet, and you are a Sufi because you believe in the universal teaching of God's love. You are really none of those, but you are all of those because you believe in God. And once you believe in God, there is no religion. Once you divide yourself off with religions, you are seperated from your fellowman."

Oops...I accidentally published that post without finishing it...hehehe. Anyways, I found some verses that are very thought inspiring...here they are: All Religions all this singing, is one song, the differences are just illusion and vanity, the sun's light looks a little different on this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different on this other one, but it's still one light we have borrowed these clothes, these time and place personalities, from a light, and when we praise, we're pouring them back in.  

I found some nice verses in one of my Sufi books..."The Illuminated Prayer-The Five Times Prayer of the Sufis" ~ 

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This is the first lady of Syria, Asma al-Assad...she is soooooo pretty, mashallah!  

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This is an Olympic runner for Syria... 

Today's country is Syria! This is a very interesting photo that I found, and so I thought it fitting to put it first... 

This is just sick....


NAVY PROBES NEW IRAQ PRISONER PHOTOSSeth Hettena, Associated Press, 12/3/04http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041203/D86OEJ7G0.htmlCORONADO, Calif. (AP) - The U.S. military has launched a criminalinvestigation into photographs that appear to show Navy SEALs in Iraqsitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees, and photos of what appear to bebloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.Some of the photos have date stamps suggesting they were taken in May 2003,which could make them the earliest evidence of possible abuse of prisonersin Iraq. The far more brutal practices photographed in Abu Ghraib prisonoccurred months later.An Associated Press reporter found more than 40 of the pictures amonghundreds in an album posted on a commercial photo-sharing Web site by awoman who said her husband brought them from Iraq after his tour of duty.It is unclear who took the pictures, which the Navy said it wasinvestigating after the AP furnished copies to get comment for this story.These and other photos found by the AP appear to show the immediateaftermath of raids on civilian homes. One man is lying on his back with aboot on his chest. A mug shot shows a man with an automatic weapon pointedat his head and a gloved thumb jabbed into his throat. In many photos,faces have been blacked out. What appears to be blood drips from the headsof some. A family huddles in a room in one photo and others show debris andupturned furniture. "These photographs raise a number of important questions regarding thetreatment of prisoners of war (POWs) and detainees," Navy Cmdr. JeffBender, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, saidin a written response to questions. "I can assure you that the matter willbe thoroughly investigated."The photos were turned over to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service,which instructed the SEAL command to determine whether they show anyserious crimes, Bender said Friday. That investigation will determine theidentities of the troops and what they were doing in the photos…

Oh my gosh, maybe there IS hope for peace in the 'Middle East'...check this out....it is sorta old, but my friend e-mailed it to me.

JEWISH SUPPORTERS BACK MUSLIM TO UNITE DEMOCRATS
Anthony Mann, Sun Sentinel, 12/4/04
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-panthony04dec04,0,1795099.column
In an impressive display of the South Florida melting pot, Palm BeachCounty Democrats elected a Muslim as their party chairman for the next twoyears. His strongest supporters were Jewish politicians, activists and clubpresidents from south county.He narrowly was elected by leaders of a deeply divided party. But thedivision shown by his 109-103 victory over incumbent Carol Ann Loehndorfhad nothing to do with Wahid Mahmood's religion.It didn't happen overnight.One of his earliest champions, Sylvia Wolfe-Herman, is a vice president ofthe United South County Democratic Club. One of her missions in the pastyear was getting Mahmood acquainted with the largely Jewish Democraticleadership in south county.Wolfe-Herman, who is Jewish, said there was initially some unease. "Untilthey got to know who he was and what he was all about ... there was amistrust," she said.Eventually his personality, enthusiasm for politics and affection for theDemocratic Party won many converts.Andre Fladell, a prominent south county activist, helped Mahmood's effortto become chairman, and considers Jewish support for the Muslim leadersignificant. He said Jewish party activists understand that Mahmood, who isoriginally from Bangladesh, doesn't share attitudes held by people Fladellcharacterized as extremists."The public will learn," Fladell said. "He's just an extraordinarycharacter."Mahmood, 42, said his winning with a Jewish base of supporters showsfollowers of different faiths don't have to be divided.

Wait, omg, there is more. Hahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahah. Read these:

SEND IN THE PIGS! Yvonne Knickerbocker, Worldnetdaily.com, 12/2/04
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/letters.asp
It's not enough that they die {I think she means all Muslims}– we need to inform them that there will be tons of pig remains in the bomb or following right behind in another one to deny them entry into their fantasy paradise. {Hahahah...I think she thinks that we believe that if we touch pigs we won't go to heaven...that's the only explanation I can think of for this commentary of hers} If they are stupid enough to believe something like that, then we needto be smart enough to use it to our advantage!
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NO MECCA, NO PRAYER Malcolm Charles, Worldnetdaily.com, 12/2/04
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/letters.asp
It would be kind of hard for radical Muslims to wake up and face Mecca to pray if it were no longer there. I not only support, but encourage our nation to make it known that if a WMD attack occurs within the UnitedStates, that the "holy" city of Mecca will be no more. Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath. {I think he should write a letter to G.W....he's really got something here.}


Where do these people come from?? I would really like to know. Is there some group of people that go around writing amusing letters to the editor or something?

Ok, so I was just surfing the net, casually, and I ran across this:

I think it is from a Christian Newspaper (?) I am not certain, however. There were crosses on the page, and also lots of mentioning of Jesus...it's a response to the Editor's Letter I think...the name of the Newspaper is World Net Daily...I stumbled upon it by accident...

K, here it is:

You have it wrong. God did not cause and is not responsible for the tsunami.
The CIA and the MOSSAD have conspired to initiate an atomic underwater bomb that would do harm to thousands of Muslims living in littoral areas of Southeast Asia. Their purpose is to kill and to frighten Muslims who oppose the Zionist hegemony.
Sid Krimsky

What the?? I have no idea what this means! What is the Mossad?? Please, anyone who knows, tell me! Also, what is the 'zionist hegemony?' I was curious about these two things, so that is why I put this here on my blog, in case anyone knew and could enlighten me....

I find it frightening that someone actually thinks that the CIA and the 'Mossad' (still don't know what that is...) have the capability to create a tsunami. Hhahahahahahhahahahhaha.

And this last article takes the cake for me. As usual, I will add my commentary in brackets throughout the article in another color....

Plan for Muslim Cemetery Met With Fear
Critics in Tennessee Community Suggest Move Could Bring Terrorism, Disease
By Woody BairdAssociated PressMonday, December 27, 2004; Page A10
SOMERVILLE, Tenn.
-- Muslims planned to turn an old sod farm near Memphis into a cemetery, but angry neighbors protested, complaining that the burial ground could become a staging ground for terrorists {because cemeteries are a common location for terror training camps} or spread disease from unembalmed bodies. {yeah, people all over the country are dying off from the horrible illnesses that are spread from Jewish and Muslim cemeteries}
It was not the first time a group faced opposition when trying to build a cemetery or a mosque, but the dispute stood out for the clarity of its anti-Muslim rhetoric. "We know for a fact that Muslim mosques have been used as terrorist hideouts and centers for terrorist activities," farmer John Wilson told members of a planning commission last month. {Yeah, we always throw Bomb-making parties at ours on Friday nights...Next Sunday we are doing a Bin Laden book signing...}
Similar disputes have arisen elsewhere when Muslim groups sought to develop mosques or cemeteries, which are often the first Islamic institutions in some communities. Opponents of a proposal to open a mosque in Voorhees, N.J., distributed an anonymous flier warning that Islamic worshipers might include "extremists and radicals." {Yeah, so we better not let ANY of them worship, just in case...} Arguments over a proposed Muslim cemetery near Atlanta persisted for more then a year before officials approved preliminary plans. {Why should Muslims be allowed to bury their dead? Stuff Grandma in the attic...the smell will go away after a couple of years}
critics of the projects generally complain about potential damage to the environment {because it's just not NATURAL for someone to be buried without chemicals...that's why God invented formaldehyde} reduced property values {in case someone wants to sell houses on top of the cemetery} and traffic congestion {because Muslims die off at an alarming rate, and they will have funerals every 30 minutes...that leads to excessive traffic...} but many also associate Islam with terrorism.
Rabiah Ahmed of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said she noticed more protests of Muslim building proposals after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, so she was not surprised by the cemetery critics near Memphis.
"It's not shocking, but it is discouraging," Ahmed said from the council's headquarters in Washington.
Opponents told the Fayette County planning commission in November that power lines would be prime targets for terrorists {haahahahhahahahah} in the region about 20 miles east of Memphis.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you may think this is far-fetched, but that is what the Jewish people thought when the Nazis started taking a small foothold, a little at a time, in their community," Wilson said.
{omg, I cannot believe that they actually compared a group of Muslims trying to bury their dead with the Nazis...I am speechless. And you know you're crazy when you start out a sentence with "You may think this is far-fetched, " and it actually IS far-fetched.}
In a telephone interview later, Wilson said he and his neighbors are primarily worried about their property values, but, he added, news reports cannot be ignored.
"I don't think anyone who has read the newspaper or seen what investigations have gone on about other mosques would not have those kinds of concerns," he said. {What newspapers are they reading in Tennesee??}
Belinda Ghosheh, owner of the five-acre plot being considered for the cemetery, said a meeting of planning officials drew such a hostile crowd she feared for her safety. One woman yelled, "We don't need bin Laden's cousins in our neighborhood." {OH MY...}
Ghosheh and her husband, a native of the Middle East who has been a U.S. citizen for more than 20 years, live in neighboring Shelby County.

Well, I never. This article just about does it for me. It's too much. I feel like laughing at it's ridiculousness, crying at it's hatefullness, and dying from lack of hope of ever changing America's view of Muslims. And I am sorry to say, but I feel sorry that this country has such a group of idiots in it. I wouldn't have said it, unless I meant it. And I do.

Speaking of the media and late night T.V.'s portrayal of Muslims...I am watching NCIS and guess who the bad guy is? He's a MUSLIM! Not only that, but he was born in Egypt and he speaks not only Arabic, but Pashtu AND Uighur...Because everyone knows that all us Muslims are the same and we speak the same language and dress the same, and it doesn't matter if we are from the Western China Area(Uighur), Tribal Afganistan (Pashtu) or an Arab Country...we all speak the same and understand each other perfectly...the show even has Arabic music for it's background. Hahahhahahahahhahahahahhahhahahahahahahha. It's too much. I think I am crying I am laughing so hard. It reminds me of the time I was at work (I work in a doctor's office...) and a pregnant lady came in with her husband. They didn't speak any English, and the lady was wearing a Hijab, so the front receptionist came and got me, saying "Hey, there are some Islamic people here, and uh, I don't understand what they want. You speak Muslim don't you? Can you talk to them?" I was like, what? As if just because I am Muslim I would know what they were talking about. And just as I suspected, I had no idea what the lady was saying, and I didn't speak her language (she was from somewhere in Africa..?) I eventually figured out that the lady was having some pains in her abdomen, which she indicated by pointing to it and wincing. Then the receptionist was like, "Thanks! What would we have done if you weren't here?" I was like, "Uh, you could have done the same thing..." It was so weird.
If you haven't seen Team America, watch it, because I just about DIED LAUGHING. It is HILARIOUS!
Oh wait, the show I am watching just got interesting. Another Muslim guy (who doesn't speak good English) is another bad guy (friends with the other Muslim bad guy) and he is wearing a kufi and everything...and he is being interrogated, and he is totally like, Praise Allah! Allah wants us here! We are doing Allah's bidding!
(Because there is this huge surah (chapter) of the Qur'an that states that all Muslims should smuggle jewels into the U.S. and then drug deal. Oh, and then commit act of terror in order to get 77 virgins in heaven. It's right after the story of Ibrahim...)

Oh wait, and the first Muslim bad guy loves porn. The investigators just cracked into his harddrive and discovered thousands of porn files. Those damn porn loving Muslims...let's kill 'em ALL!

And I can't resist adding commentary from my old buddy Daniel Pipes...for those of you that don't KNOW him, he uh, has some fairly strong opinions about Muslims...to say the least. I will add my personal commentary in another color throughout the article in brackets....

Columnist Pipes Calls for Crackdown on Civil Liberties for all Muslim-Americans By E&P Staff Published: December 31, 2004 1:00 pm ET

NEW YORK When an opinion survey released by Cornell University last week found that 44% of Americans wanted to curtail the civil liberties of all Muslim-Americans, with better than one in four saying they should all be required to register their location with the federal government, many commentators expressed concern. Not syndicated columnist Daniel Pipes, however. In his latest column he declares that he was “encouraged” by the Cornell survey, calling it “good news.” But he also identifies “the bad news,” which he describes as “the near-universal disapproval of this realism. Leftist and Islamist organizations have so successfully influenced public opinion that polite society shies away from endorsing a focus on Muslims.” {Uh, "Polite Society? I must be living in the wrong neighborhood, because I haven't ran into anyone that's SHY about endorsing focus on Muslims...in fact, they aren't SHY at all about their FEELINGS regarding Muslims, and it usually isn't pretty...}In addition to those who want all Muslim-Americans to register, 29% agree that law enforcement agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organizations, and 22% said the federal government should profile citizens as potential threats based on the fact that they are Muslim or have Middle Eastern heritage. Pioes, director of the Middle East Forum, says the backlash against such notions stems from a “revisionist” negative view of the Japanese internment during World War II wielded by such “radical groups” as the American Civil Liberties Union. He hailed the recent work of columnist Michelle Malkin, who supports the Japanese internment and claims the apology by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, plus the nearly $1.65 billion in reparations paid to former internees, was premised on faulty scholarship. {Yeah, because really those damn Japs DESERVED to be held like animals...*sarcasm*} According to Pipes: “Malkin has done the singular service of breaking the academic single-note scholarship on a critical subject, cutting through a shabby, stultifying consensus to reveal how, given what was known and not known at the time,’ FDR and his staff did the right thing.“She correctly concludes that, especially in time of war, governments should take into account nationality, ethnicity, and religious affiliation in their homeland security policies and engage in what she calls ‘threat profiling.’ {Because that 80 year old Afghan lady up the street could be plotting an attack} “These steps may entail bothersome or offensive measures but, she argues, they are preferable to ‘being incinerated at your office desk by a flaming hijacked plane.’” {Because everyone Muslim in the country could defect and go Bin Laden on us}

And this one really confused me, so if someone could please explain it? I got is from an Israeli Newspaper, called Haaretz...


Soccer / No Muslims at Betar, fans warn
By Itzik Ganish
Two months after Nigerian defender Ibrahim Nadala departed from Betar Jerusalem after fans verbally harassed him for being a Muslim, some fans are voicing similar feelings about a possible Betar signing of Ghanaian forward Ismail Ido.
Two Betar fans made calls to this reporter on his cellular phone at Hadashot Netanya yesterday, inquiring about Ido's religious background. Ido played for Maccabi Netanya in the past.The first caller, who identified himself as Yisrael, said: "They told us in Jerusalem that you could help us."Reporter: "How?""Do you know if Ismail is Muslim or Christian?""I'm not sure.""Check for us, b'hayat rabak (by the life of God), before our management screws up again. I'll get back to you. Check, do me a favor, so there won't be any mistakes."Why? What difference does it make?""What do you mean? If he's Muslim, then we veto him, [Betar chairman Meir] Fenigil will have a veto on his hands. You know, it's serious, I'm asking you."An hour and a half later, another fan called:"My name is Lior. I'm with some Betar fans, we called you earlier to find out if Ismail Ido is an Arab or a Christian. Can you let us know?""He's Christian. He even has a cross, and before he goes out on the field he crosses himself.""Ehiye salamtak (Be healthy), you've really helped us out. If you hadn't, we'd have kicked up a real stink, you know, like usual. There's no way we'd have a Muslim. You're the man.""Tell me, why behave this way?""What do you mean, why? An Arab at Betar? They tried to bring us a Muslim. We've never accepted one and we never will, God forbid. We're Betar, not Maccabi, not Hapoel, and not even Bnei Yehuda, no way. We hate Arabs.""What would you have done if he was Muslim?""The same we did to the other Hamas member, it doesn't matter who you are. There are a lot of the things the newspapers don't know, things they don't report on. We know there's a trend at Yediot Aharonot not to write too much about violence. They'll soon discover what they don't know. Any means is legitimate, God forbid that an Arab comes to Betar."Then the first fan, Yisrael, got on the line, and said, "Don't write any names, forget about it, what for? After all, we were only checking. He's not Muslim, and that's it. Yalla salamtak (be healthy) bro, walla (by God) you're okay."

What gets me that most about this conversation is that I noticed that we Muslims say the exact things...like God Forbid, W'allah (sort of like, I swear by God), and we have a similiar phrase toYalla Salamtak (sort of like, May God give you peace) ...WE SAY THE EXACT SAME THINGS!!! FOR GOD'S SAKE! And we HATE EACH OTHER! What the hell. (Pardon my french...and when I say "we hate each other" I mean they hate each other...I don't hate anyone...) This is so ironic. Hhahaahhahahahha. Everyday I realize more and more how alike Jews and Muslims are.
Also, I never realized that someone's religious standing affects how they play soccer...(*sarcasm*)

And, uh, I got this from the Washington Post from Dec. 29th...
I find it funny. It's so ridiculous that it is actually comical. Are we in high school or what?

End Note
And we leave you with a belated and un-Christmasy Christmas thought given to us by none other than that the liberal-blasting, knock-you-off-your-seat Ann Coulter, as posted on her Web site last week. Stand back, people, here it comes: "To The People Of Islam: Just think: If we'd invaded your countries, killed your leaders and converted you to Christianity YOU'D ALL BE OPENING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS RIGHT ABOUT NOW! Merry Christmas." When we asked Coulter what the response was to this little ditty, she e-mailed us: "It's a big hit!" We bet.
-- Compiled by Anne Schroeder

It's about time....

CAIR-CAN: RIGHTS AND SECURITY: WE MUST HAVE BOTHRiad Saloojee, Toronto Star, 12/29/04
Eight to one. That margin represented an overwhelming repudiation byBritain's high court when it ruled recently that the London government cannotdetain foreign suspects indefinitely without bringing them to trial.Nine Muslims launched the appeal after being held for nearly three years underthe country's Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act.In its ruling the court stressed both the disproportionality of the measures -"draconian measures" that "cannot strictly be required by the exigencies of thesituation" - and their clear and present violation of the rule of the law.The British ruling rings familiar. In June of this year, the U.S. Supreme Courtheld, 6-3, that Guantanamo Bay prisoners are entitled to due process "no lessthan American citizens" to challenge the evidence against them, among otherrights.In Canada, the issues ring familiar. Five Muslim non-citizens have waited acombined total of more than 174 months - about 14 years - in Canadian jailcells under what might be the country's dirtiest little secret: securitycertificates.The men have languished in a legal black hole, without bail or charge and unableto respond to the evidence against them. All face the risk of deportation totorture.Much to the shock of human rights advocates, the Federal Court of Appealrecently upheld the use of secret evidence and the differential treatment ofnon-citizens. The case will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.The decisions underscore a key intellectual battle of our times that is usuallypresented as a take-it or leave-it binary: security or human rights.In Canada, as in a number of other countries, the victor has been an expansivesecurity agenda that has seen a host of legislation passed with much still inthe works. The loser has been both a number of fundamental rights - the rightof an open trial, to due process, to see the evidence against you, to be freefrom torture, not to be held without cause - and the rule of law, with itsinsistence that state actions cannot be arbitrary, discriminatory or withoutaccountability…Riad Saloojee is executive director of the Canadian Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations.

This man shares my feelings exactly! ......

RELIGION: You don't have to be Christian to respect ChristianityBy Eric Mink
Post-Dispatch
12/29/2004
People of different faiths coexist respectfully and have much in common; shared moral, ethical and religious values transcend religious labels. Last week, this commentary page carried an opinion piece by Ibrahim Hooper, who represents the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. Reflecting the season's sentiments of peace and good will, Hooper wrote of the commonalties of Islam and Christianity. Among other things, he noted that "disrespect toward Jesus, something we have seen all too often in our society, is very offensive to Muslims." For some Christian readers, however, it was Hooper's comments that gave offense. "Can anything be more disrespectful," wrote an Illinois man, "than the Quran's denying that (Jesus) was crucified and raised from the dead?" Others noted that Islam does not accept Jesus' divinity. These reactions - the article didn't provoke a lot of response, but the references above are representative - disturbed me deeply. Not for their personal testimonies of faith, certainly, but because by the criteria they set forth, the only way to show respect for Christianity is to be a Christian. They have every right to feel that way, of course, but with 2 billion Christians and 4.4 billion non-Christians in the world, it is a formula for conflict and hostility without end. If they regard affirmations of other beliefs as declarations of contempt for theirs, they are left no basis on which to seek common ground and shared values and no incentive to embrace, much less practice, tolerance. I am not a Christian. I am Jewish. I do not believe that Jesus was the son of God or that he rose from the dead. I do not believe that he was the messiah prophesied in the Old Testament or that the New Testament is a holy text. These are not expressions of disrespect but descriptions of difference. I respect the profound faith of Christians, the power and reach of their message of forgiveness and redemption and the remarkable diversity of their denominations. I stand with them against government interference or participation in their faith, in my faith or in anyone else's faith. But when it comes to my relationship with God and the specifics of religious conviction and observance, I go a different way. Indeed, for me to accept the central tenets of Christianity - as our letter writers imply I must to be respectful - I would have to betray my faith, the faith of my brothers and sister, of my father and mother, of their fathers and mothers, of the Jewish religious teacher who was my great-grandfather and for whom I was named and of the generations uncounted before them spanning thousands of years. I've puzzled this Christmas season over an apparent increase in protests that excessive government sensitivity to non-Christians was inhibiting Christians' rightful expressions of faith. I say "apparent" because I think it's even money that the only thing increasing is media coverage of the seasonal protests provoked by acts of alarmist local officials overly fearful of breaching the wall separating church and state. Let's take stock: The United States has long since granted national-holiday status to the day marking Jesus' birth. In the last election, 82 percent of Missouri voters and 83 percent of Illinois voters identified themselves as Christians. And Christian conservatives are taking credit for twice electing a born-again conservative Christian president and handing Republicans control of both the U.S. House and the Senate - to say nothing of state legislatures and governors' mansions. I think it's hard to make a case that Christianity is being marginalized. If there's a danger, surely it is the reverse: that the combination of Christian numerical superiority and political dominance increases the risk that legitimate concerns about an illicit marriage of government and religion will be overlooked or disregarded and that non-Christian faiths will be overwhelmed. Vigilance is ever necessary. Years and years ago in Miss Collie's singing class at Flynn Park School, I dutifully belted out Christmas carols both religious and secular - "Jingle Bells" and "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Frosty the Snowman" and "Good King Wenceslas." Every year, I was confronted, to take but one example, with the climactic line of "Silent Night": "Christ the savior is born!" My childhood dilemma wasn't one of mere inconvenience or awkwardness. It is a sin against God for a Jewish person to refer to Jesus as the "Christ," a violation of, among other strictures, the second of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." My mom, savvy soul that she was, advised me to just shut up whenever I came to a word or phrase I shouldn't say, and I did. But why should a 9-year-old eager for the approval of his teachers and the acceptance of his classmates be put in such a position in the first place? Christian parents might imagine their reaction if an official public school (i.e. government) event asked their child to choose between refusing to participate or directly denying the divinity of Jesus. To the extent that present-day sensitivities make it easier on kids in those situations, whatever their religions, it is progress that must not be lost. Contrary to the sentiments of our recent letter-writers, non-Christians can and do hold strong moral, ethical and religious beliefs: I believe in God, and I believe it is momentous that his first act in Genesis was an act of creation. I believe that in creating humanity in his image, God endowed us with the power to create: to create ideas, to create art in its infinite variations, to create love, to create new life. I believe in God's intelligent design of the universe, and I believe that evolution is evidence of it - evolution and gravity, mathematics, geology, particle physics, genetics, the order of the cosmos and forces and structures we have yet to understand or even discover. I believe in the genius of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and most especially the Bill of Rights, the 156th anniversary of which was the day I was born. I believe in the inherent goodness of human beings, but I believe that decent people can inflict pain on as well as bring joy to those they love, and I know I've done both. I believe in the boldness and wisdom of Abraham, the strength and courage of Moses and the enduring completeness of Judaism. I believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the most influential person ever to walk the earth, and I believe in the principles of compassion, love, justice and universal dignity he preached. But Jesus is not my God. I say that with the greatest respect.

Ok, so I have some particularly disturbing things to discuss today. Here is the first of my complaints:

MUSLIMS DECRY '24' DEPICTIONRichard Huff, Daily News, 12/30/04
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/266720p-228238c.html
Kiefer Sutherland of '24.' The first new episode this season of Fox's "24" has yet to hit the screen andalready the network has offended a Muslim group.After viewing a portion of the first episode included on a DVD in EntertainmentWeekly, officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations expresseddismay at the depiction of a Muslim family."At first I was shocked," organization spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed told the DailyNews. "In this particular case, they show an American-Muslim family and theyportray them as terrorists."Ahmed was alerted to the 24-minute promotional DVD earlier this week.At issue is a scene in which a teenager helps his parents plot to killAmericans."What we will accomplish today will change the world," the father tells the sonover breakfast. "We are fortunate that our family has been chosen to do this."Ahmed said the scene "casts a cloud of suspicion over every American-Muslimfamily out there."A Fox spokesman said the company had no comment.Ahmed acknowledged the possibility that in the remaining half of the firstepisode - which was not on the promotional DVD - the story line could haveindicated this was not a typical family.In fact, based on preview episodes sent to critics for the start of the "24"season, while the family appears traditional on the surface, they turn out tobe a sleeper terrorist cell.Such a story line is not unusual for "24," which centers on Kiefer Sutherland,as Jack Bauer, an counterterrorism agent who works for the secretary ofdefense.
ALSO SEE:
FOX'S 24 ANGERS MUSLIM GROUPJim Finkle, 12/29/04http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA490488?display=Breaking+News
Fox is under fire from at least one group for scenes in the Jan. 9 debut ofdrama 24 that portray a Muslim teen-ager and his parents as members of aterrorist cell plotting a mass attack on Americans.It’s the second Fox show to generate controversy in the past two weeks,following demands by the National Council for Adoption that Fox cancel Who’sYour Daddy, a guess-your-birthfather reality special the network may developinto a series.Concerns about 24 were raised by a preview of the Jan. 9 season-opener in a DVDsent to some general entertainment magazine subscribers..On of the villains is a Walkman-toting, bubble-gum-chewing teenager who fightswith his conservative Dad about dating an American girl and talking on thephone.The young man also helps his parents mastermind a plot to kill large numbers ofAmericans that begins with an attack on a train.Over the breakfast table, the father tells his son: “What we will accomplishtoday will change the world. We are fortunate that that our family has beenchosen to do this. “Yes, father,” his son replies.The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group,plans to bring their concerns about the episode to Fox, says group spokeswomanRabiah Ahmed.That group has previously received complaints about the depiction of Muslims on24, but this episode is particularly egregious, she said.“They are taking everyday American Muslim families and making them suspects;they’re making it seem like families are co-conspirators in this terroristplot." In another scene, she says, a terrorist is shown coming out of a mosque.The way the episode depicts Muslims creates an atmosphere in which manyAmericans look at all Muslims as suspects in the war on terror, she adds. “It’svery dangerous and very disturbing.”Hate crimes and civil rights abuses against Muslims have soared since the Sept.11 attacks. Surveys commissioned by the council show that more than 40% ofAmericans believe it’s appropriate to curb the civil rights of Muslims as partof the war on terror…


Wow. Just what we need. It's bad enough trying to undo the damage the media has done about Muslims, but then, having a show that comes right out and depicts AMERICAN MUSLIMS 'next door' as TERRORISTS. Great. This is JUST great.