My Jihad

I was doing some research for a post and I stumbled onto this blog. The woman, Cassie, is not a mother, but had relevant things to say about parenting these days. She was discussing how kids as young as 6 were wearing inappropriate clothing (thong underwear for girls as young as 7 and padded training bras) and I enjoyed her perspective because, as she said on her blog, “How about parents try being parents?” (This is a topic for another post, which I will get to at a later date.)

I noticed her photo on the side and at first thought she was being ironic. The blog’s subtitle is “smoking hot commentary” and she is standing next to it, smiling, arms extended, and pointing a handgun. Then I read her blogroll and got extremely worried. I clicked on a few of the sites and what I discovered horrified me. There, in a very long list, were several anti-Arab and anti-Muslim blog sites. What I read simultaneously scared and angered me. In fact, it was history repeating itself (Hitler came to mind). This is what one of the sites claimed:

Because non-Muslims in the West, as well as in India, China, Russia, and the world over, are facing a concerted effort by Islamic jihadists, the motives and goals of whom are largely ignored by the Western media, to destroy their societies and bring them forcibly into the Islamic world -- and to commit violence to that end even while their overall goal remains out of reach. That effort goes under the general rubric of jihad… Jihad Watch is dedicated to bringing public attention to the role that jihad theology and ideology plays in the modern world, and to correcting popular misconceptions about the role of jihad and religion in modern-day conflicts. We hope to alert people of good will to the true nature of the present global conflict…

I am amazed people actually believe this stuff. What I realized is that most Americans who trust this hype (aka: bullshit) have never met and/or befriended an Arab-American or a Muslim in their lives. My mother-in-law, who lives in Oklahoma, said her own neighbor – who knows I am a Muslim – said, “Well, I know you have a 'diverse' family, but trust me. They’re [Muslims] going to come over here and kill us all one day.”

We are? Jeez. I guess I better hurry up get ready then.

People, I am a mother, a wife and an American. I don’t need to wave the stars and stripes to prove my patriotism. Just because some folks decided to commit a heinous act in the name of one religion (hello, does Timothy McVeigh or the Irish Republican Army mean anything?), doesn’t make a billion people guilty of the same crime. When people such as the men and women who pen these sites claim Muslims are preparing for a jihad, I can’t help but laugh. (To understand the true meaning of jihad, please click here, because those folks have an entirely false interpretation.) Because clearly they have never been to the Middle East or the Asian countries. If they had, they would realize that to invoke that kind of group effort would be next to impossible. A large portion of the people in those countries are so poor and uneducated and they probably don’t even know what an American is. Their mistrust of government leaders – or any leader, for that matter – is much stronger than their desire to join a group and hurt foreigners. These are people who are struggling to feed their families and make ends meet. Do you think they have the time or care to join an anti-American terrorist group?

I wrote Cassie and let her know how I felt. I told her I doubted she had ever met a Muslim or an Arab-American because if she did, she probably would not have formed such strong opinions. I hope to open a discussion with her, because maybe, just maybe, if I can convince her to take everything on a case by case basis rather than a “they are out to get us” perspective, she may open her mind and realize there are bad people in every walk of life.

I know my efforts will probably be in vain, but my jihad is not being done for myself. I'm doing this for my children. I don't want them to grow up thinking they are the bad guys, that just because they happen to be partly Arab-American and also Muslim they are any different from their Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh or Buddhist pals. America is not the same country it was when my parents moved here more than 40 years ago. We are a true melting pot now, with every culture and religion represented.

And God, what a beautiful country we are because of it.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng