I’m Jewish, and I disagree with the Muslim bashing that’s been going on
I’m Jewish by birth, agnostic by choice, and I have a strong interest in Jediism and Greek Mythology.
President Obama recently referred to
“… the many achievements and contributions of Muslim Americans to building the very fabric of our nation…”
Well, message boards and article comment sections all over the internet are flying with all sorts of criticism of Obama’s claim. Sadly, many of these people are claiming that Muslims have contributed nothing whatsoever to this great country of ours.
But the fact is that Obama does have a valid point.
The Sears Tower, which was the tallest building in the world for 25 years, was designed by a Muslim guy named Fazlur Khan. Khan was known as the “father of tubular designs for high-rises.” The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat named its lifetime achievement award, the Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal, after him.
Ayub Khan Ommaya was a neurosurgeon who invented the Ommaya reservoir, which delivers chemotherapy directly to brain tumors. He was Muslim.
People should be judged as individuals. There are good and evil people in all religions. Some of the professional people that you come across in your day to day life are probably Muslim, and you don’t even know it. Doctors. Lawyers. Bankers. Teachers. Scientists. Entrepreneurs. Muslims are well represented in all of these professions.
Bash Obama all you want. I certainly do. But I bash him as an individual. Bash any individual all you want. But please don’t bash an entire religious population because some of its members are evil.
In July 2010, Charles Bolden, the administrator of NASA, said that Obama had told him that the primary purpose of NASA was “to reach out to the Muslim world.” If Obama really did say that, then he was wrong. The real purpose of NASA is to teach all of humanity about the universe in which we live. So that would be a good reason to bash Obama, if he really did say it.
In September 2012, after four U.S. citizens were killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration falsely said that the attack was a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim video at YouTube. That’s certainly a reason to bash Obama.
In September 2012, the Obama administration phoned YouTube to complain about an anti-Muslim video. That’s certainly a reason to bash Obama. Ben Wizner of the ACLU said that of this, “It does make us nervous when the government throws its weight behind any requests for censorship.” Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said of this, “I am actually kind of distressed by this… Even though there are all these great quotes from inside the White House saying they support free speech….by calling YouTube from the White House, they were sending a message no matter how much they say we don’t want them to take it down, when the White House calls and asks you to review it, it sends a message and has a certain chilling effect.”
In June 2013, Rasmussen conducted a poll to find out what people considered to be the “nation’s top terror threat.” Reporting on the results of the poll, Rasmussen wrote: “Among those who strongly approve of the president, more fear the Tea Party than radical Muslims.” That’s a good reason to bash people who strongly approve of Obama. And it’s a good reason to bash the terrorists who happened to be Muslim. But it’s not a good reason to bash all Muslims, or to claim that they have contributed nothing whatsoever to the building of this country.
I’ll close with this statistic that may surprise a lot of people: in the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, nearly 80% of Muslims voted for Bush.
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Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog 
poetopoet replied:
Muslims are born despots, unfit to be called human, and you are unfit as any crazy non-practicing jew, are insane and cursed from birth.
At no surprise 95% of blacks in 2008 and in 2012 voted for Obama. Why; because he is a black despot and like all muslims and blacks that 95% are insane.
July 30, 2014 at 3:50 am. Permalink.
poetopoet replied:
And I suppose of the 75% of American jews who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 you were one?
July 30, 2014 at 5:14 am. Permalink.
danfromsquirrelhill replied:
poetopoet, you said: “And I suppose of the 75% of American jews who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 you were one?”
You must be new to my blog. Please see this other blog post that I wrote:
Obama supporters will go hysterical over this well sourced list of 800 examples of his lying, lawbreaking, corruption, cronyism, etc. https://danfromsquirrelhill.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/obama-252/
July 30, 2014 at 5:12 pm. Permalink.
poetopoet replied:
Please take me off your mail list, because you are insane.
July 31, 2014 at 2:54 am. Permalink.
danfromsquirrelhill replied:
I can’t find anything in my admin power that would let me take you off my mail list. Perhaps the email that you receive has a link that would let you do that. Or perhaps your email account has a filter that you could use to block the emails.
July 31, 2014 at 3:43 pm. Permalink.
BGills replied:
The thing I find so odd about Obama’s comments, is that he has spent any effort at all denying his own religions contributions to this nation, and the world for that matter, and then goes out of his way to extol the virtues of a religion that remains largely silent about it’s own radical elements, who attack the very religion he claims as his? He says Muslims are a peaceful people, but extreme violence is seldom far from from where they live in the majority? Muslims have a long, and well established history, of violent conflict between separate factions of the same religion, a form of division in fundamental ideas being promoted by the Left, and I see it beginning to take root here in this country.
July 30, 2014 at 4:39 am. Permalink.
poetopoet replied:
This type of accepted gullibility is for liberal demonic democrats who are trained infants that survived their own abortions, only.
If this news of Obama’s Muslim praise does not make you shout and cry-out, in defense of America, too impeach Obama, you are and never have-been an American.
“Obama: Muslims Built ‘The Very Fabric of Our Nation’ by Robert Wilde 28 Jul 2014
(on Sunday July 28, 2014)
On Sunday, President Obama and First Lady Michelle released a statement thanking Muslim Americans for their many “achievements and contributions… to building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy.”
The comments were made to mark the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr, a time of spiritual renewal for Muslims which comes at the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan. The Obamas said in their statement that Eid “celebrates the common values that unite us in our humanity” and “welcomed their commitment to giving back to their communities.” The International Business Times reports that during Eid, Muslims join in Islamic prayer, while saying “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is Great,” and feasting.
The statement further reads that the administration “wishes Muslims in the United States and around the world a blessed and joyous celebration.” The letter ended with salutation of “Eid Mubarak,” which roughly means “blessed celebration.” President Obama.
July 30, 2014 at 5:11 am. Permalink.
hmichaelh replied:
what incredible confused logic both you and Ohbongo are using to claim mooooslums contributed “… many achievements and contributions of Muslim Americans to building the very fabric of our nation…” It appears you suffer from the mental abnormality of COGNITIVE DISSONANCE so many of Ohbongo’s adorers have.
Ohbongo lists NONE of these achievements and contributions, and you list only TWO…..and the two you list hardly qualify as achievements and contributions “…building the very fabric of our nation…”
The fabric of our Nation was built from the 17th and 18th centuries by men and women who were, for the most part, Christians. There were no moooooslums in North America at that time. They contributed NOTHING to the “Fabric of Our Nation.” …………………N O T H I N G………………. Building a building in the United States, and discovering a surgical procedure when our Nation is well established hardly contributes to the Naitonal Fabric.
I understand Ohbongo was raised as a small child in a moooooslum country (Indonesia) and his formative years were greatly influenced by his Step-Father’s mooooooslum cult. It’s very, very difficult to shed the indoctrination of your formative years, and while he may not be a practicing moooooslum, he certainly is greatly influenced from his youth by the moooooslum cult.
His Foreign Policy initiatives are clearly anti-Semitic, and in favor of the moooooslums. His invitation and behavior in the White House, catering to mooooooslums in America in 2014, demonstrates how close his beliefs are consistent with those of moooooslums.
You seem to be just one more susceptible, low information American who believes the lies told by mooooslums, (known as Taqiyya to the moooooslums) to convince anyone dumb enough, about how peaceful and wonderful is the cult of mooooooslums. They are the most deadly, destructive, insane, violent, violators of human rights, cruel to believers and non-believers, alike, war-like, criminal people on earth. You have been duped if you believe otherwise.
July 30, 2014 at 7:08 am. Permalink.
danfromsquirrelhill replied:
Plenty of the decent people whom you know are Muslims, and you don’t even know it.
A significant percentage of U.S. slaves were Muslim.
July 30, 2014 at 5:16 pm. Permalink.
poetopoet replied:
Yes, and they are getting also asking for their retribution and redistribution of blood, as long as it theirs, let them have it.
July 31, 2014 at 2:58 am. Permalink.
hmichaelh replied:
Dan…there is not much I disagree with you on, but this one I do. The decent people you identify as mooooslums are not decent people. They may not be violent, and have not, yet, gotten their “Suicide Belt,” but they are a threat to Western Culture. They peacefully go to the Mosque to hear what is written in the Koran. Believe me, it is not a peaceful message. They may not be acting on what Muuuuuhamid dictated, but they hear what they are supposed to do, and if ever they get an opportunity to exercise the preachings of their cult, you, and I, and all of Western Culture are at risk. You may even read in the comment section here what those peaceful mooooslums have to say about me and my opposition to them. It won’t be peaceful.
Your last comment on here, Dan, confuses me. I read it, and agree with what you have said, but it seems to contradict your position about all the wonderful mooooslums who are not violent. Which is it?
August 2, 2014 at 7:52 am. Permalink.
danfromsquirrelhill replied:
hmichaelh, you said: “Your last comment on here, Dan, confuses me. I read it, and agree with what you have said, but it seems to contradict your position about all the wonderful mooooslums who are not violent. Which is it?”
I’m not sure what you mean. Would you please quote my two comments that contradict each other?
August 4, 2014 at 6:54 pm. Permalink.
gghd replied:
About the 2000 Presidential election and the Muslim vote, that went to a Republican.
1. Al Gore, the Democrat nominee for President, is known for wanting to make oil/gasoline expensive, for regular people at least.
Oil is the main source of wealth in the Muslim world.
2. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat nominee for Vice President is a >Jew. Plus, Joe Lieberman has a public reputation of being an honest person/politician.
Obama, the current Muslim favorite, has a well deserved reputation as being a ‘Chicago Way’ politician.
July 30, 2014 at 7:23 am. Permalink.
The Old Coach replied:
Dan, your editorial leaves me breathless. Two citations of “muslims” who contributed a stitch apiece, and you somehow equate that with “the fabric of our nation”? And BTW the Sears Tower may be an engineering achievement, but great architecture it ain’t. Furthermore, being the lead architect on a project that size is about like being Eisenhower in the European campaign. He may get the credit, but other people did all the work. Which is the ongoing story of Islamic “culture” from the 7th Century to this day. Enslave a population of dhimmis, and then take credit for all they do. As well as raping them for the jizya.
July 30, 2014 at 7:38 am. Permalink.
ML/NJ replied:
There were doctors and scientists in Nazi Germany too. So two cheers for the Nazis.
July 30, 2014 at 8:58 am. Permalink.
wildbill2u replied:
I don’t have a problem with your article pointing out that not all Muslims should be lumped together as murderous religious fanatics. In fact, many people have pointed out polls which say that maybe only 10% of Muslims worldwide are in that category–with another 20% or so actively supporting the radicals, another 20% neutral and the rest hiding their heads in the sand. (not knocking their homelands).
Do those numbers make your point? It’s a common defense of those who don’t want to stigmatize an entire religion. Makes you feel good doesn’t it?
To me, considering the estimated worldwide numbers of Muslims at over one billion, it says that 100 million religious fanatics want to behead or enslave me simply because I’m an atheist and don’t belong to their ‘religion’—and another 200 million or so are OK with that.
I’m not OK with that. I don’t care that it’s possible that a majority are willing to join the rest of the modern world with good will and love of humanity. No other modern religion has a track record of lethal terrorism and bigotry so I don’t have to cut them any slack. They are responsible for their reputation.. By their works you will know them.
July 30, 2014 at 11:33 am. Permalink.
poetopoet replied:
I agree with you, but I am Catholic and find by compromising a six thousand year old (?) text of these words from God, our creator, a warning to your type and others; sorry for you, not them.
For Jesus Christ the Lord said: “Whoever, ‘blasphemes’, My words, and My Testimony, will not, enter, the Kingdom, of Heaven! – will not ‘enter, into Eternal Rest’; but will, be ‘blotted out’, of the Book, of Life! For any ‘sin’, can be forgiven, but whoever sins, against the True Holy Spirit, will never, be forgiven. And why is this My son?”
July 30, 2014 at 3:12 pm. Permalink.
drketedc replied:
I understand that there are individual contributions to the USA by people who are Muslim, but to say they had input into the fabric of our country is going a bit too far. They are new on the scene. It’s troubling that so many want sharia law to be their contribution. The scummy thing about Obama is that he sides with Muslim sensibilities but lies about it. But then, he lies about almost everything. Even when he doesn’t have to.
July 30, 2014 at 11:34 am. Permalink.
Chillingworth replied:
I basically agree with Dr. Keted (?), “I understand that there are individual contributions to the USA by people who are Muslim, but to say they had input into the fabric of our country is going a bit too far.” That said, I guess some of the first comments above are an example of what the original post is trying to push back against. So, to paraphrase him, “The fact is that Dan does have a valid point.”
But maybe part of the reason that people are pushing back so hard against President Obama’s reframing of Muslim-American history is that it seems like part of a larger project of revisionism. I can’t improve on Mark Steyn’s sarcastic observations on the subject:
http://www.steynonline.com/6492/my-fellow-canadian
July 30, 2014 at 12:33 pm. Permalink.
happypappies replied:
The Comments on the Blog today are unreal. No matter what they did in this “country” they are “human” and the Christians we were and Jews were were did the same atrocities at one time or another.
The Hindu-Arabic numeral system and the rules for the use of its operations, in use throughout the world today, likely evolved over the course of the first millennium AD in India and were transmitted to the west via Islamic mathematics through the work of Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī.Islamic mathematics, in turn, developed and expanded the mathematics known to these civilizations.
At this time Anglos and Franks were in Caves just as bloody uncivilized as the Terrorists the Jihadists have become. Lets just hope someday we can get past all this terrorism and hatred because you can be sure it is not inbred
July 30, 2014 at 10:20 pm. Permalink.
poetopoet replied:
“because you can be sure it is not inbred.”
Really! Islam derives its origin from the Koran, the most idiotic ramblings of crazies ever read and written down, followed by pathetic moronic killers called Muslims, as their justification.
July 31, 2014 at 2:45 am. Permalink.
wildbill2u replied:
You and Dan have a flaw in the logic of your defense of Islam. Whatever contributions to civilization were made by adherents of the religion were made by individuals and not by the religion itself.
The flaw is that those contributions by a few individuals don’t serve to absolve the rest of the Muslims from the the moral standards of the modern world. Do we condone the heinous acts of Hitler’s Germany or Stalin’s Russia or Mao’s China because of Wagner, or Dostoevsky, or Confucius? I think not.
And your historical argument about the Anglos and Franks living in caves at the same time that a few Arabs were working in science and math is simply untrue on its face. This is a prejudicial straw-man argument that is historically inaccurate.
Europe was in a period of dislocation after the fall of Rome and the end of the Classic period of Western civilization, but that doesn’t mean that individuals such as Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas and Isaac Newton didn’t make contributions that underpinned the development of the modern world and Western thought.
The Muslim faith was spread by the sword with entire populations annihilated or sentenced to dhimmi (slave) status if they were true to the religion they were born into. This sound similar to what today’s Islamic radicals are proposing in the lands they conquer.
What we are seeing in the Muslim world is a growing return to the religious beliefs of over a millennium ago. I suspect it is a reaction to the growing frustration of a population and countries which have not progressed and find themselves living in poverty in a modern world where other folks have material riches beyond their grasp.
As the world becomes a smaller place because of developments in communication and transportation, it is imperative that different cultures and religions become more tolerant, not less so.
They are the modern barbarians at the gates, self-deluded by the rationale of a violent religious doctrine to sustain their jihad.
July 31, 2014 at 11:36 am. Permalink.
Michael Rojo Sr replied:
Our President wears many hats “the hood” The Muslim Brotherhood, Com-munist/Socialist,Head Coyote. Don’t be surprised that the United States is gone into the Crapper, Look at who is in office, The Democrats and they have been in charge for SIX YEARS and the promises made by “Mentirrosa” LYING president.
July 31, 2014 at 11:32 pm. Permalink.
Dan replied:
Out of the hundreds and hundreds of architectural wonders you name ONE designed by a muslim. Out of the literally THOUSANDS of life changing inventions created in the past century you name ONE created by a muslim. Get real. The contributions to modern society that have originated from muslims pales to insignificance….to the level of near nonexistence…when compared to the contributions of the jewish people, of white European society, of the Japanese….in fact George Washington Carver likely produced more meaningful works of science than all of islam.
The Islamic creed is a violent antisocial, retrograde racist and intolerant political system with but one command and one agenda…..to enslave, subjugate or kill any and all who do not embrace the 6th century disease of islam. It is a society that finds value in using it’s ONE CHILDREN as shields from attack and as suicide bombers in their quest to murder innocents of other cultures. Islam is totally and completely without redeeming qualities and anyone who finds ANYTHING of value in that culture is mentally ill or a traitor to civilized society…..Obama is the epitome of what a traitor is.
August 2, 2014 at 2:26 am. Permalink.
ML/NJ replied:
” using it’s ONE CHILDREN as shields from attack”
Just so we’re clear … The Democrats do this too. Hitler liked to appear with children; Churchill,not so much.
August 2, 2014 at 7:46 am. Permalink.
AWC replied:
WOW. W O W. I can’t believe the amount of HATE in these comments. Dan writes posts that surgically dissect all of Obama’s failings, with citations, to the point that every American should be mortified for being associated with Obama in any way, we KNOW where Dan stands, but when Dan writes a post asking for peope to simply use logic and reason and common sense, and he cites a few examples, everyone tears him apart for that? WTF?
Liberals are always whining about being tolerant and yet there is no tolerance from these comments at all. It’s YOUR view or FUCK you? Is that how we roll now?
Dan cited two examples. Someone bitched. Fine, go cite some examples of how Muslims DIDN’T do shit for America. Go do some footwork of your own instead of armchair bitching about someone else’s efforts. How many contributions would he have to cite to appease you anyway? 5? 10? 100? What’s the magic number? How many contributions suffice to make the statement that Muslims contributed to the U.S.? For every hour Dan spent researching Muslim contributions, he would find a few more great examples, but I’m sure Dan has a day job and he was trying to just MAKE A POINT, not write a thesis paper.
The fabric of America never stops being built. If I said Obama was fundamentally altering that fabric, a bunch of people here would agree with me. So that means it happens in real time. Muslims are here. They’ve been here for a long time. So have the Irish, Polish, German, Scottish, Italians, Greeks, Jews, Catholics, Mormons, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Blacks and countless other races and religions. They have ALL contributed in one way or another. Hitler was a Christian. So what, I am supposed to hate all Christians now? Is that how it works?
Is that what you teach your kids? If you’re an Irish Protestant and your kid’s best friend turns out to be an English Catholic you move to a new town?
My mom is Protestant, my Dad is Catholic (two opposing religions). My mom is Scottish, my Dad is Irish/Italian. My mom is a legal alien, my dad is a citizen. I’m an Agnostic. Do you know how many people hate me for various reasons just based on that last statement alone without knowing ANYTHING ELSE about me. Is that the way it’s supposed to be?
I hate Obama. There, do you all love me now? Suddenly?
Blaming an entire race or religion on the acts of a few is infantile. Think about what you are. What race are you? What religion are you? Here’s a fact: there is a group of people walking around right now, somewhere, that HATE YOUR GUTS. But what did you ever do to them? Probably nothing. But woe the day they get into power, if they think like you, they are going to convert that hate into action, and you will be on the receiving end of that. How does that make you feel?
I can’t believe I am even saying this…umm….here goes….JUDGE PEOPLE INDIVIDUALLY. Fuck me. I thought that was something we learned around 5. I thought Dan’s post was pretty straight forward. Clouds make it rain, judge people individually, the sun is bright…you know…straight up facts.
Dan. GOOD WORK! THANK YOU! I AGREE WITH YOU! LET THE HATERS HATE – there is no saving them from themselves anyway, and you know that.
AWC
P.S. Sorry for cursing, but I was BLOWN AWAY by the HATERS.
August 5, 2014 at 9:16 am. Permalink.
danfromsquirrelhill replied:
Thanks!
August 5, 2014 at 4:05 pm. Permalink.