CNN Unwelcome: Muslims Next Door Soledad O'Brien

I watched this video last night that aired on CNN this previous Sunday:



I'm amazed at how optimistic the Muslims remained. Personally, things like this make me believe that the average American Muslim has a higher risk of being attacked by an American non-Muslim than vice versa.

So often we hear that Muslims are trying to change the face of America, and "they" are working to make Shariah law into everyone's law. And by golly, we all know that Shariah law is all about cutting off appendages and stoning people to death! *shakes head* There's so much more to Shariah than that. I liked that they pointed out that Shariah is more of a way of life than just a list of punishments. InshaAllah, I would like to become much more knowledgeable in Shariah so I can confidently refute comments I hear, such as, "What about XYZ thing that happened in X country that I heard on the news?" There is so much garbage on the news, it is hard to come back with the specific cultural practice of every country that has an ocean between us.

It really is about "us" and "them", isn't it? This has been the fight throughout American history, and possibly history in other countries as well. First "they" were the Native Americans, then came those pesky Italians and Irish. After that, all the Europeans could band together to hate the blacks, Japanese, and most recently the Mexicans. Dang immigrants coming to "our" country! Do we forget our past? As much as people say that people need to learn English before coming here, I am pretty certain their original ancestors to this country didn't know perfect English before settling in the mighty U.S. of A. So many were fleeing persecution or poverty. What lazy dimwits they must have been for not stopping to take an English class before leaving their country! *sigh*

Now "they" are the Muslims. As I look through history, there has never really been an easy way to settle this. There are fights for equal rights, such as we see with Martin Luther King, Jr., and some things just take time for people to warm up to. Time will tell what will happen in the coming year. I know Muslims are watching the news, and this upcoming election seems pivotal for the outcome of Muslims in America.

Islam is on trial. We know the truth, but will it set us free, in America?