"Ground Zero Mosque" Imam Reportedly Eulogized Daniel Pearl, Saying "Today I am a Jew"

[G_j]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/08/ground-zero-imam-i-am-a-jew-i-have-always-been-one/61761/


'Ground Zero' Imam: 'I Am a Jew, I Have Always Been One'

Aug 19 2010, 11:13 AM ET

The right-wing campaign against the so-called "Ground Zero mosque" includes vicious personal attacks on the Muslim cleric who leads the Cordoba Initiative, the organization behind the plan. I know Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, and I know him to be a moderate, forward-leaning Muslim -- yes, it is true he has said things with which I disagree, but I have never expected him to function as a member of the Zionist Organization of America.

In 2003, Imam Rauf was invited to speak at a memorial service for Daniel Pearl, the journalist murdered by Islamist terrorists in Pakistan. The service was held at B'nai Jeshurun, a prominent synagogue in Manhattan, and in the audience was Judea Pearl, Daniel Pearl's father. In his remarks, Rauf identified absolutely with Pearl, and identified himself absolutely with the ethical tradition of Judaism. "I am a Jew," he said.

There are those who would argue that these represent mere words, chosen carefully to appease a postentially suspicious audience. I would argue something different: That any Muslim imam who stands before a Jewish congregation and says, "I am a Jew," is placing his life in danger. Remember, Islamists hate the people they consider apostates even more than they hate Christians and Jews. In other words, the man many commentators on the right assert is a terrorist-sympathizer placed himself in mortal peril in order to identify himself with Christians and Jews, and specifically with the most famous Jewish victim of Islamism. You can read the full text of his remarks on the B'nai Jeshurun website, but here is an especially relevant portion:

We are here to assert the Islamic conviction of the moral equivalency of our Abrahamic
faiths. If to be a Jew means to say with all one's heart, mind and soul Shma` Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Ahad; hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One, not only today I am a Jew, I have always been one, Mr. Pearl.

If to be a Christian is to love the Lord our God with all of my heart, mind and soul, and to
love for my fellow human being what I love for myself, then not only am I a Christian, but I
have always been one Mr. Pearl.

And I am here to inform you, with the full authority of the Quranic texts and the practice of
the Prophet Muhammad, that to say La ilaha illallah Muhammadun rasulullah is no different.

It expresses the same theological and ethical principles and values

[uppityperson]

1. k&r

http://www.markfiore.com/political-cartoons/watch-ground-zero-mosque-islam-ramadan-cordoba-house-animated-video-mark-fiore-animation

[madrchsod]

2. the two enemies of the fundie christians-judaism and islam.

the catholics come in a distant third.....

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, G_j.

[KamaAina]

4. Shhhhhhh!

Don't mess up their propaganda with the truth!!

[Scurrilous]

5. K & R

:thumbsup:

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Ah but who will catapult the propaganda?

[ejpoeta]

7. jon stewart showed a clip of that guy on faux news after 9/11.... he was good enough for them

then, but now he's some kind of terrorist? wtf is wrong with these idiots.

[Warpy]

8. Sufis are totally different, arguably both the most meditative

and cerebral branch of the faith, and certainly the most artistic.

How can anyone possibly argue against movement meditation this beautiful?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEdCXRGJuM8

[JuniperLea]

15. That's beautiful...

Wow...

[G_j]

16. yes, beautiful

:applause:

[damntexdem]

9. OK, the AP has joined the NYTimes in not using the GZM term.

It's time for us to stop it, too.

[Kalyke]

10. Can we stop calling the Cordoba Center a mosque?

I would think that on DU, we'd call it the Cordoba Center or the Muslim Community Center to be built in lower Manhattan.

I refuse to call it the "Ground Zero Mosque," because that's not what it is at all. It's the Cordoba Center to be built at 51 Park Place.

[ck4829]

11. Stop making this guy sound sane and reasonable!!11!!

How can the right wing scare you if this guy doesn't look like some sort of 10 foot tall clone of Osama bin Laden who will blow up at a moment's notice, huh?

K&R.

[LostinVA]

12. BUT IT WAS A SACRED BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY!

[TheKentuckian]

13. All hail the sacred discount outer garments that are in homage of our fallen heros

[LostinVA]

17. Baby Sufi hates discount outerwear

:cry:

[Karenina]

14. And SACRED DEBRIS FELL ON IT!!!1!

[G_j]

19. btw

I watched the rest of that segment...


:banghead:

[Karenina]

20. Siehst Du?

:banghead:

[Douglas Carpenter]

18. kick and recommend!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!

[Ignis]

21. K&R

Mr. Rauf is a mensch. :patriot:

[Forkboy]

22. K&R

[G_j]

23. ---

[G_j]

24. last k