
COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS - CHICAGO | DEFENDING CIVIL RIGHTS. FIGHTING BIGOTRY. PROMOTING TOLERANCE

I read Neil Steinberg’s Oct. 3 column, “Suddenly they trust Obama to kill people.” I appreciate that he pointed out that the murder of Anwar al-Awlaki’s violates the Constitution.
The Sept. 21 opinion piece in the Daily Herald, “Israel’s future under siege from U.N.,” by Cal Thomas was inflammatory and illogical.
Terms like “radical Islam” reflect negatively on a peaceful religion. The terrorists who recognize themselves as Muslims are not true followers of the religion as Islam condemns the killing of innocents. Therefore, the term “Islam” should be avoided in the discourse of terrorism and 9/11.
Faux liberal and pro-occupation advocate, New Republic editor Martin Peretz is back at it again. Last fall, he caused a firestorm with his racist comments that “Muslim life is cheap”. On Monday, he dished out some raw Islamophobia-denial in a gullible column entitled “The Invention of Islamophobia.”
CNN’s recent decision to fire their Senior Middle Eastern Affairs Editor Octavia Nasr showcases the mainstream, corporate media’s bias against the Arab world.
Amina Sharif writes, “The conflict in Israel and Palestine is political, not religious. It is not between Jews and Muslims; it is between the government of Israel and the people of Palestine (who are Muslim and Christian).
“In reality, many Jews — even in Israel — sympathize with the Palestinians and criticize their own government’s policies toward Gaza and the West Bank.”
In his op-ed Nasatir highlights the amazing efforts by Jews in America and Israel in the humanitarian crisis in Haiti and for this, I truly commend them. But what about the humanitarian crisis in Palestine? Israeli checkpoints violate Palestinians’ basic human rights by denying medical vehicles and services. This contrasts sharply with Israel generously building a hospital in Haiti.
Thank you, Neil, for you intelligent, informed article “Fear and loathing in the cat food aisle” (Dec. 13). I am appalled by the attitude of the letter writer who said she wanted to physically assault three Muslim women praying in a Costco, and your response that “hating other people is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die” is right on target.
I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in complete agreement with Neil Steinberg’s column, “Before you generalize about the major.”
Thank Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg and the paper’s editors for Neil’s brave and heartfelt article, “Before you generalize about the major”, which criticizes those who are implicating Muslims in the wake of the Fort Hood shootings. Read the article and find their email addresses here.