A Muslim American writes about Hate in USA.

Islam teaches love, peace and respect

Islam and the world THE demise of the USSR seems to have brought in its wake feverish playing-up of the doctrine “The clash of civilizations” by Huntington. And strange as it is, every passing day gathers more and more of this fury against Islam and especially against the Holy Quran. The abhorring incidents in Guantanamo Bay and some very recent ones in Israel are, indeed, glaring instances of this hate campaign. Although it is difficult to stem this rising tide of antipathy by quoting only from the book titled, “The History of Moorish Empire in Spain,” by Robert Briffault, I deem this as a modest attempt to enlighten in a humble way both the biased and unbiased to what Islam had actually contributed to the western culture and civilization a long time ago: “We may well consider with admiration the rapid progress and enduring effects of this extraordinary religion which everywhere brought order, wealth, and happiness in its train... which fastened the graceful arches of cathedrals, which placed its seal upon the earth in the measurement of a degree, and inscribed its character in living light amidst the glittering constellations of the heaven: which has left its traces in the most familiar terms of the languages of Europe; which affords daily proof of its beneficent office in the garments that we wear, in the books that we read, in the grains of our hearths, in the fruit of our orchards, in the flowers of our gardens and even in the choir that we sing in our churches, and which gave rise to successive generations of sovereigns whose supreme ambition seemed to be to exalt the character of their subjects, to transmit un-impaired to posterity the inestimable knowledge, and to extend and perpetuate the intellectual empire of man.” Furthermore, it will be quite in order to quote from western scholars, thinkers and philosophers, the first reference being made to George Bernard Shaw who in his book, “A Collection of Eminent Scholars”, 1933, writes: “I have studied him — Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) — the wonderful man, and in my opinion far from being anti-Christ, he must be called the saviour of humanity.” Next in the context of the Holy Quran, I dare quote the world famous versatile German philosopher Goethe, who after reading the Quran said, “If this is Islam, then we all thinking individuals are Muslims.” Likewise, the greatest historian of science, Dr George Sarton, who in his monumental work, “Introduction to the History of Science”, writes that “the driving force behind the blossoming of science in Islam was the inspiration received from the Holy Quran about the natural phenomena as signs of Allah and exhortations to study”. BRIG (retd) HABIBULLAH BABAR Rawalpindi

‘Hate in America’

THIS refers to Art Buchwald’s column ‘Hate in America’ (June 14). As an American travelling to Pakistan this summer, I disagree with some, if not most, of his views or quotes. First, Americans are not taught to hate at young age. This may be a view expressed by the syndicated column writer. My parents taught me to always respect one. My family comes from an interesting background. My mother is an American (born and raised in North Carolina) and my father is a Pakistani. I am a practising Muslim. Our religion teaches us to respect one, not to hate. Before 9/11, many Americans would travel around the world without fear. But after 9/11 many Americans are afraid of travelling even outside their own towns owing to the fear of Arabs and people who have a Middle Eastern background. I for one am not afraid of travelling, and will stand up for the many Americans and foreigners who love to travel and are not afraid of a group of people who claim that America has infidels and that all Christians and other people should burn in hell, just because they do not follow Islam. Many in the US are peace-loving, and even if they do not appear so, they most certainly are. Many do not understand the reasons behind the attacks on the World Trade Centre and other terroristic attacks. But I understand why these have happened. I do not acknowledge these attacks as correct or even in the name of Islam. I do believe these were attacks by people who were oppressed, who had the urge to show their strength and their courage to fight a people that they know nothing about. Many of these Islamists take an extreme view of religion which I do not understand or agree with. This is why Americans today fear and hate others. The end to this should be through tolerance and education. FAROOQ J. KHAN Karachi

link .... letters col: June 24th, 05