''Who’s Defaming Arab-Americans?''The spokeswoman was decrying the typecasting of American Muslims as implanted terrorists by television drama series. She noted particularly the extremely popular series, “24” that stars Kiefer Sutherland. The very realistic series portrayed an American Muslim terrorist cell stealing a nuclear warhead and attempting to use it on Los Angeles. It also showed how they attempted to cause a meltdown on several nuclear power plants. They were successful in a one, which caused the death of thousands of people.
I must admit I watched every episode of “24” with growing interest and concern. It was compelling because it was so believable and probable. I was amazed that the Fox Network had the courage to produce such a program. Most Media executives will not touch such a theme because of fear of being “politically incorrect”, or worse, facing a lawsuit from the ever more aggressive C.A.I.R (Committee on American-Islamic Relations).
I have watched with intense interest the tireless and aggressive activity of organizations like C.A.I.R. To hear them speak, you would think that there was absolutely no basis for Americans to have concerns about the usually tightnit Muslim communities in our midst.
The slightest innuendo that there could be Muslim terrorist cells hidden in their midst is greeted with a flood of protests about their Constitutional rights being violated. The mere semblance of focusing on young Arab-American men for security checks brings out cries of “profiling” and “prejudice.”
I think it is far past time for a reality check by Arab-Americans, and especially the US leadership.
As it has been aptly said, “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim.” Let that sink in for a moment. In the light of this stark fact, is it not insane that we greatly dilute the effectiveness our very limited security forces by forbidding them to focus on young Middle Eastern types and Muslim communities?
When America is destroyed, we can write over it, “They were Politically Correct.”
American born Muslims need to stop focusing so much on blocking security efforts to root out possible terrorist hiding in their midst and use that energy on zealously helping to find them.
It isn’t the pitiful few dramas on Muslim terrorists or the news commentators who are the cause of a growing suspicion toward Muslims. No! It is the increasing, ruthless attacks against Western Countries by your fellow Muslims that is doing it.
The more you demand your Constitutional Rights and do nothing to expose and cast out the extremists among you, the more suspect you will become in the eyes of fellow Americans.
Even when few Muslim leaders speak out against terrorist outrages – like 9/ll and the 7/7 and 7/21 attacks in London – they usually add, “But we can understand why these young Muslims came to feel the way they do.”
All it is going to take for a terrible backlash against the Muslim communities is a terrorist attack using some form of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). It will not be motivated by the few media dramas involving Muslim terrorist themes. It will be motivated by the present ‘do-nothing-attitude’ being demonstrated by you now.
It is time for the Arab-Americans to actively demonstrate that they are true Americans who want to do everything possible to apprehend the Muslim terrorists in our midst. Then fellow-Americans will leap to your defense when ‘American extremists’ seek revenge for future attacks on our country.
Hal Lindsey
http://www.hallindseyoracle.com/articles.asp?ArticleID=11615