Being A Muslim in America
 

We have talked quite a bit this past week about religious tolerance. While I believe that the First Amendment codifies such tolerance, far too many people didn't get the memo. Here is the story of what an American-born citizen, who grew up Muslim in the Connecticut suburbs, faced after 9/11.

Regards,

D-Ray

My niece (brother's daughter) married a Muslim fellow from Morocco and converted to Islam. They have three lovely children and are raising them to speak both English and Arabic. Her husband, Radouanne, is really a fun, interesting and educated guy (he was nearly finished a degree in Chemical Engineering in Morocco and completed his degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland). He speaks fluent English, French and Arabic, has a good job and is a great husband/father. We all love him dearly.

That said, I will admit to feeling a bit sorry for my niece marrying into Islam (though she doesn't seem to feel the least bit sorry for herself). She wears full Muslim garb and they went to Mecca on the Haj last fall (leaving their kids here with my brother and his wife for 3 weeks). They both said it was a life-altering and life-affirming experience. Her religion may well offer lots of the discipline, etc. referred to in the religion thread, but I think I'd find it stifling. Different strokes, I suppose.

I hope he gets a big settlement.

Here is recent guilt by association, in Elk Grove, what amounts to a 'burb of our state capital. It is very embarrassing.

Surinder Singh, 67, died Friday on East Stockton Boulevard from a shot to the upper torso, while Gurmej Atwal, 78, remained in critical but stable condition in intensive care from two bullets to the chest. He still cannot talk, but is nodding yes or no to questions, said his son, Kamaljit Atwal.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/08/345...#ixzz1Ld8nEJiA



The 78 year old man died after a month.


Gurmej Atwal – one of two elderly Sikh Americans shot March 4 on their afternoon walk through Elk Grove – died at 2 p.m. Friday after six weeks in the hospital.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/16/355...#ixzz1Ld9KmObN


Carl

It's frightening when being the "other" is a reason to be hated.

Regards,

D-Ray

My nieces oldest son is in a relationship with a Syrian girl in college. She is beautiful, intelligent (near the top of her class), and very athletic. Everyone in the family seems to like her, except my oldest brother the redneck. But, he's an asshole anyways, so who cares what he thinks? Not me, that's for sure.

Dave

My second wife was a Moslem. She is more "western" and sophisticated than anyone I ever met from any red state.

You really ought to visit Dearborn, MI sometime. My company's office is there, so I get over there frequently. It's an extremely diverse community with a checkered history in the area of race relations. However, as many are aware, it now boasts the largest Arabic population outside the Middle East, and is the home of the largest mosque in North America.

The diversity is truly fascinating. Many businesses have outdoor signs that are bi-lingual, and some businesses have signs only in Arabic. It's not unusual to see a group of women wearing burkas walking through the neighborhood or at the playground with their kids mixing with other women in typical attire. Most folks socialize pretty well, and show general respect and tolerance for each others cultures and religions. The school populations are also very diverse, both public and parochial.

The city is not without its issues, but what city of any size isn't. There are sometimes ethnic tensions, but with Detroit just across the boarder from Dearborn, racial and ethnic tensions are nothing new around here.

But the issue of religious tension is nowhere near the issue that one might think or expect. Sure it happens from time to time, but given the diversity of the population, it's quite understated. The themes that you hear from both mosque and church are more likely to be those of tolerance and respect than division.

There's hope....

I'd love to go there with my feed bag on. I love Middle Eastern food.

way healthier than american cuisine

Michigan must be one of those "northern secular" states that flacaltenn speaks of? And, of course there's hope, we protect religious freedom here. Which means we protect Muslims from getting the crap beat out of them by stupid rednecks who think America is for "Christians Only". God Bless America!

Dave