American Muslims don’t deserve to bear Islam-bashing, but we must , By Aziz Junejo

Special to The Seattle Times

Freedom of religion was one of the principles upon which our great country was founded, and we are admired the world over as a free, tolerant and literate people. We are proud of the fact that many U.S. citizens struggled to come here in order to freely practice their religions.

This freedom and the diversity it brings contributes greatly to my personal pride in being an American. So it was with dismay that I read online in the Huffington Post about the plans of a church in Florida, the Dove World Outreach Center, to mark this year's anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with an event it's calling "Burn a Koran Day." (Koran is an alternate spelling of Quran, the holy book of Islam.)

Fueled by ignorance, such Islam-bashing is on the rise in our nation. It is something I view as a threat not only to the freedom of American Muslims, but to practitioners of all faiths. Intimidation of one faith poses a threat to all.

American Muslims have been peaceful through protests over the building of Islamic centers in multiple states, through the hype over "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day" and during the current national debate about plans to build a mosque a couple of blocks from Ground Zero. These represent just a handful of indignities we have quietly borne over the past decade.

We practice patience and forbearance because as Muslims, we are required by God to be peaceful. The word Islam means surrender; it is related to the Arabic word salam, or peace. God says in the Quran:

Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant.

Quran 7:99

American Muslims are more than patient, however. We reach out to other faiths, honoring them in their beliefs as we hope to be honored in ours. For the past eight years, the Idriss Mosque in Seattle's Northgate neighborhood has hosted an interfaith barbecue every August. That outreach has resulted in a multitude of invitations to the mosque from other congregations seeking to explore common ground and bolster mutual understanding.

Many local churches, synagogues and other groups use the 9/11 anniversary to reach out to Muslims in a positive way, and Muslims universally respond in kind with invitations to speak, meet and greet.

American Muslims were largely silent when the cartoonist Molly Norris of Seattle created artwork offensive to Muslims by inspiring the "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day."

Muslims believe visual representations of all prophets are inappropriate because they distract from God's message and could lead to a kind of idol worship, something forbidden in Islam. Norris was responding to the dismay among Muslims worldwide when a Danish newspaper published cartoon depictions of Muhammad in 2005.

The media were quick to focus on the handful of Muslims who threatened the creators of the cartoons, ignoring the millions worldwide who bore the insult silently.

Norris' idea, she said, was that if everybody drew Muhammad, terrorists would be unable to carry out such threats against all. Norris eventually regretted her idea and renounced the campaign it had put in motion, saying, "I apologize to people of Muslim faith and ask that this 'day' be called off."

Next week's plan by the Dove church to burn Qurans in order to persuade Muslims to convert to Christianity is terribly misguided if the church is trying to reach out to Muslims.

If members of that church had attended a multifaith scriptural reading, they would know that Muslims believe in the Torah, Psalms and the Gospel, and that the Quran instructs Muslims to live in peace with non-Muslims.

Many people don't realize the Quran is so sacred to Muslims we cannot touch it without first undergoing a detailed ritual washing called wudhu.

It is ironic that Dove church members will have to buy a number of Qurans, something that will benefit a Muslim printing business, and that when they burn them, they will use a preferred method for disposing of old holy books so they are not defiled.

Sadly, recent events demonstrate that nine years after 9/11, many still blame all of Islam for the actions of a handful of terrorists. Even so, I believe Muslims will stay the course with displays of peace and patience in the ugly face of intolerance.

Muslim Americans are equal citizens living, worshipping and contributing to one nation under God. Let us, together, try to adhere to the ideals of America. Let us, together, work to improve the lives of all Americans.

Aziz Junejo is host of "Focus on Islam," a weekly cable-television show, and a frequent speaker on Islam