Fear and hate have been enemies of progress and humanity for as long as we have had recorded history, so it would be safe to say they have been around doing ill will for even longer than that. The conservative right of Jacksonville, mostly represented by Act! for America, have been attacking Dr. Parvez Ahmed simply because he is a Muslim. Not long ago the mayor and city council nominated and confirmed Dr.Ahmed, a Fulbright Scholar and college professor, to serve on the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. Right wing militants cannot stand the idea of this, and it seems as if they hate so intensely that they'd line up Muslims and shoot them if they had the authority to, just because....
People and groups like Act! would have everyone believe that every Muslim is out to "get us" and kill our babies, cut off our heads with a saif, and blow up our cities.... they also normally believe that American fundamentalists, namely they themselves, have the only correct belief concerning God and religion, and that anyone not like them is evil and because of that worthy of their persecution.
Act! has grouped ALL Muslims together as an evil enemy out to get us "good Americans". Jews, Christians, and Muslims share many of the same texts, and we must remember that it wasn't long ago that "good Christians" were shooting and hanging blacks right here in the South and were using the Bible to justify themselves. Dr. Parvez Ahmed is not an enemy of America, he is an ally of peace, and it will be men like him who help build the bridge to peace and understanding.
When you remind crackpots like fundamentalist Christians, or Muslims, or Zionists, that God and religious texts teach tolerance and peace and that their hateful views are in conflict what they say and do they come up with some twisted way of justifying their actions, or start attacking you for telling them they are wrong.
These types of people also tie patriotism with religion, which is expressly prohibited by our form of government and spoken against in the Bible... It is hate and use and abuse that created this rift between the Children of Abraham in the first place, but this now brings us to the heart of the problem.
No matter what land, people, or time, there have always been conservative and haters and alternately progressives who stand against them. There is a segment of society always resistant to progress, who hate what they do not know or understand or what is not like them, and will lie and use twisted morality to attack those they oppose.
It has been 2,000 years since Christ walked and preached His message and while the message is spoken of widely there are so few people who actually apply it to their life and live it. One would figure that by now we should have learned how to live together a little better.... People and groups like Act! for America preach hatred well enough and speak about "God" but I don't see them feeding the hungry or working against poverty or illiteracy or for world peace. They are more likely to be members of the NRA and to pass by those in need than to help others or society.
I am as disgusted by these people who I think are anti-American as I am Islamic radicals or Israeli Zionist radicals who are hell bent on deporting Palestinian Muslims and stealing their land.
In every land, by every people, fear, hate, and lies set policy and drive an agenda of blind self-interest that is anything but........
We deny Global Warming and evolution even though the proof is there. We allow so many forms of injustice and abuse to be perpetuated then wonder why there is suffering and why groups are in conflict and attack each other. It isn't rocket science to grasp an understanding of these problems and their causes. They reside in the fear-filled, cold, dark hearts of the ignorant and hateful, and the only human and Godly thing to do is to stand against that which is destructive.
I myself am not a Gandhi, King, Christ, Buddhist type that will turn the other cheek at every sort of attack or injustice. The meek may inherit the earth, but it will be moral warriors who stand up for justice and goodness that bequeath it to them. That was the attitude of our nation in World War 2 when we stood up against evil that came from Japan and Germany, but that mindset seems to be dying with the passing of that generation at times.
Evil seldom gets abolished, and the type of people who subjugate their people and set nations on paths to war have not gone away. It is a form of wealth to have power and control one class over another. It doesn't matter if it is a socialist or communist regime or a capitalist one corrupted by Plutocracy like ours has been. Until the best interests of all people are put first and we learn to respect and love each other as equals, different though we may be, we will be doomed to be in conflict.
Dr. Parvez Ahmed is just one more victim of this form of abuse and reactionary attacks from those who live in fear and ignorance with hate as their guide.
