| A Houston Islamic Newspaper Draws Death Threats from Muslims |
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| by Tom McGregor | Sat, Jun 21, 2008, 12:52 PM |
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According to the Houston Chronicle, “the ad, announcing a local Ahmadiyya celebration and describing the faith as Muslim, prompted death threats from anonymous callers, cancellations from advertisers and removal of his papers in bulk from various distribution sites, he said.” The ad and subsequent coverage of the celebration has drawn fierce criticism from Muslims who accuse Ali of insulting them by giving authenticity to a sect that they deem non-Muslim. Ali, whose free Urdu weekly has a circulation of 15,000 in the Houston area, never anticipated the feisty reactions from local Muslims. Members of the Ahmadiyya faith follow Islam’s main tenets and estimates reveal that there are 70 million followers worldwide. But Pakistan’s constitution declared the Ahmadiyya faith a non-Muslim religion. To read the entire article from the Houston Chronicle, link here: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Comments (15)
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written by Dallasite1 , June 21, 2008 So somebody did something that Muslims disagreed with, and their response is murder threats and violence. What a shock...
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written by Lee , June 21, 2008 They are sounding like some Christians who want to kill doctors, gays, other Christians, and anyone who disagrees with them. People are the same everywhere.... there are nuts in each group.
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written by Dallasite1 , June 22, 2008 Yeah Lee, they sound just like the furthest fringes of Christianity... except that they aren't really the fringe of Islam. They are the mainstream. Apples and Oranges.
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written by Libby Shaw , June 22, 2008 According to the piece, the newspaper in Houston is written in the Urdu language. Urdu is not Arabic. So, those who are reading the newspaper are very likely Pakistanis. The publisher and some of the newspaper’s readers obviously belong to a different sect of Islam than other Muslims in Houston. And they have fundamental differences much the same as our Christian religions have differences. Like, certain Episcopal and Methodist Churches in Houston are more accepting of homosexuals than are others. Joel Osteen of the Lakewood Church in Houston, a bible based Christian preacher, teaches a message of tolerance, forgiveness and inclusiveness. I think most folks in Texas appreciate the rather diverse and quite extraordinary attendance the Lakewood Church commands every week. Other preachers of the Christian faith will rail and threaten vengeance on anyone who does not believe or conform to the scriptures according to the preacher’s interpretation. This piece is a travesty really. To call it tabloid journalism would be a compliment. The post is too short, severely under-researched, and it merely serves to ignite even more ignorance and fear about Muslims who happen to live in the U.S, especially in Texas. Let’s be honest and call the post mere propaganda, spin, disinformation, fear mongering if not hate mongering. For what purpose may I ask? Whom is the Dallas Blog serving in posting such a poor excuse for a “news” article?
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written by dvs , June 22, 2008 libby, please read the whole original piece at http://www.chron.com/disp/stor...49356.html
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written by maximus , June 22, 2008 Libby's comments demonstrate how far the ideological adherence to moral relativism and "tolerance" have progressed in our culture. Mainstream Christian denominations who fail to embrace homosexuality are equated with Islamic radicals. An article that dares to discuss the radical intolerance of Islam is dismissed as "hate speech". And, diversity is celebrated as the ultimate goal...as long as it doesn't include traditional American values. Why are so many Americans so eager to defend and defer to inferior cultures? Probably some form of unresolved guilt or anger.
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written by dt , June 22, 2008 Libby's opinion is defined as honesty. How typical. Libby, your piece is arrogance personified. I find you entertaining. I doubt if Osteen, or any other Christian group, receives death threats from others. You talk about preachers railing when others don't accept their interpretation, yet it seems to be ok with you when Muslims actually threaten people with death for the same thing. We can see how smart you are by telling us how Urdu is not Arabic, but what does that have to do with anything? So they are Pakistanis? Here's my beef with you. You think it's nothing to worry about when some Muslims threaten and carry out blood vengence, yet you find it offensive when some Christians criticize each other verbally.
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written by Jonathan Green , June 22, 2008 In America, we have a media that shapes news coverage to appease the affluent masses creating through manipulation an insideous fear. This has and continuous to be the way our current President George W. Bush operates in his oppressive administration. Miseducated people buy into the fear because they resigned themselves to seek truth. Surah 3:16 says we [accept] the same books passed down from our fathers...The Old testament is the spoken word of God and the same truths Muslims around the world accept faithfully. However, when a mass of people are miseducated it results to hatred.
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written by Jonathan Green , June 22, 2008 Correction, Surah 3:3 It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong). And Surah 3:7 :7 He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
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written by maximus , June 22, 2008 This topic wouldn't be complete without one of Jonathan's anti-American comments. Jonathan, George Bush has nothing to do with the hatred and intolerance exhibited by the Muslim copmmunity. The same goes for the media and the "affluent masses" that you despise.
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written by Libby Shaw , June 22, 2008 Pointing out the difference in Urdu and Arabic is neither smart nor arrogant. It is merely stating a true fact that was not clear in the article. In this environment I know when the facts don’t fit a particular ideology those posting the facts are considered entertaining and/or arrogant among other things. Planned Parenthood and other organizations that support a woman's right to choose receive death threats on a daily basis from some people who call themselves Christians. Some of these believers can be extremely violent as we've witnessed in the past given the clinic bombings, vandalism, arson, assault and attempted murders. If Planned Parenthood receives death threats it is not unreasonable to assume that a minister who is open minded with regard to homosexuality can receive the same treatment from more extremist Christians? Joel Osteen, though he likely does not receive death threats is routinely criticized by evangelical Christians and others for a vast number of reasons, ranging from not including enough Bible references in his sermons to Osteen’s attempts to lead tens of thousands of Christians astray with his message of positive thinking. As for G.W. Bush, no he is not responsible for the violence between the sects of Moslems here. But he is responsible for opening a Pandora’s box of violence between Sunni and Shia Moslems in Iraq and for the existence of Al-Qaeda there.
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written by Winston Smith , June 23, 2008 Dallasite1: "Yeah Lee, they sound just like the furthest fringes of Christianity... except that they aren't really the fringe of Islam. They are the mainstream." And you know this because you have exactly what education in Islam and the Muslim world? Did you even read a book, or are you parroting an opinion from a web site designed to spread ignorance? What's *your* faith? Tell me, and I'll find a web site that claims that you and others like you are destroying America. I don't even have to know what you do or do not believe to be certain that such a web site exists. If you didn't learn about Islam from observant Muslims, then you are just spreading propaganda. My faith is in Jesus Christ. He does not tolerate the spread of falsehoods. He also tells us to love our neighbor as He loves us. What faith do you practice that permits you to spread bigotry and ignorance? It sounds a lot easier to follow than mine. Maybe I should switch. Write comment
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Publisher Sheikh Najam Ali, the publisher of the Pakistan Times, a Houston area newspaper, has been looking over his shoulder every day for a month since running an ad that proved controversial in the local Muslim community.
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