Dr. Jasser joins Varney & Co

11/30/2015 Pope Francis tackles Central African Republic’s Christian-Muslim Divide

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

By choosing the travel to CAR, Pope Francis spotlighted the need for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims.

Africa Monitor is an occasional blog offering subjective views on African subjects. The views expressed are the authors’ own.  

Pope Francis arrived yesterday in the troubled nation of Central African Republic, the last part of his three-nation African tour.  While CAR has had bouts of political instability, the past two years have witnessed horrors that have plagued other nations  – explosive Muslim/Christian violence, along with targeted killing of people because of their faith and destruction of houses of worship.  Since late September, new fighting has led to nearly 100 deaths and 40,000 people being forced to flee their homes.

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AIFD Urges Liberty-Minded Muslims and Allies to Focus on Shared Values on Eve of Controversial Event

We at AIFD have been made aware of the protest planned for tomorrow, May 29, outside of the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix, Arizona. According to multiple reports and the group’s own Facebook page, bikers will meet nearby for a “Muhammad cartoon contest,” and take their drawings to the mosque. Protesters intend to be armed.

While we support the free speech rights of these protesters, including their right to draw what they wish, we are also dismayed by the less than constructive approach of the group and its leader. We have defended the right to protest and have even put ourselves front and center in defense of people like Molly Norris, the young woman who had to go into hiding after her “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” contest went viral. Our record on these issues is unquestionable. That having been said, we are alarmed by the tone of the event’s Facebook page.

As Muslims ourselves, we have been expressing outrage and deep concern about the fact that too many people have been radicalized right under the noses of imams, while leaders of so-called “mainstream” Muslim organizations deny the real problems. We at AIFD have demonstrated, written, and spoken against terror, radicalization and those who enable both since our inception. Many of us have an even longer track record of anti-Islamist work in our individual capacities. We, too, have raised issue with the fact that there are indeed Islamists in Phoenix – these efforts have been vigorously supported by other Muslims in the region, while groups like CAIR-Arizona have viciously maligned us.

Courtney Lonergan, a Phoenix-area Muslim who works with AIFD on our community engagement, spoke with Arizona Central recently (click here for the video and story) about her own run-ins with Elton Simpson, the man who sought to murder participants at the Garland event. She, like others at AIFD, is a staunch supporter of freedom of expression and a courageous voice against the ideology that drove Simpson to violence. Similarly, Dr. Jasser debated CAIR-Arizona’s Imraan Siddiqi about radicalization and the appropriate response to incidents like that in Garland (click here for the video). We are not lone voices, and we will not be deterred – but when a group plans an armed protest of a place of worship, its Facebook page bearing comments from supporters advising participants to bring ammunition “coated in pig blood and fat,” efforts at real reform are set back. Ultimately, this kind of rhetoric empowers Islamists, not reformers like us.

We would ask that non-Muslims who are concerned about radical Islam to recognize that many Muslims are allies in the fight against terror. We can best be reached not by armed mobs brandishing drawings, but through meaningful efforts at moving the public’s focus toward effective change – which must include the unconditional rejection of Islamism.

We hope and pray that the event is truly peaceful, and that the Muslim community remains so as well.

Memorial Day 2015

We at AIFD would like to take a moment to wish our fellow Americans a blessed Memorial Day. We pause to remember, with tremendous gratitude, the sacrifices of the men and women we have lost as they’ve served in our Armed Forces. They, and their families, have made the ultimate sacrifice.

At AIFD, one of our foundational values is the support of America’s Armed Forces. As liberty-minded Muslims, we hold the memory of those who died to preserve our American freedoms especially close. May our work honor them, and honor this great nation. As enemies of freedom continue their march, so must we continue, ever steadfast, in our dedication to liberty.

Wishing you a Happy Passover and Easter

We at AIFD would like to wish our Jewish friends chag Pesach sameach (happy Passover holiday) and our Christian friends a happy Easter.

May we remain committed and undeterred in our mission to advance freedom for all persecuted people, and to stand with all those facing oppression everywhere. Indeed, this is the core of AIFD’s work –  to challenge theocracy and fascism as they threaten our most precious G-d given blessings: freedom of conscience, the choice to have a relationship with the Divine that is based on sincere conviction, and the right to connect with others around our most sacred values.

May your holidays be blessed and your prayers answered.

 

 

AIFD sends our condolences to loved ones of Chapel Hill shooting victims

AIFD wishes to send our condolences to the family and loved ones of Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, murdered in cold blood in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. These young people – ages 23, 21, and 19, respectively, may have  been targeted because they were Muslims – and in the case of the Yusor and Razan, who both wore headscarves, they were visibly so.

We know little about the suspect – Craig Stephen Hicks, age 46. Social media indicates that he was someone who wished religion would be eliminated entirely; some have questioned if there was some dispute between the parties over parking in the neighborhood. But as details emerge and as his ideology is examined, one thing is undeniable: unchecked and dangerous hatred is at the core of any senseless murder such as this.

The victims were young, but had already chosen paths that involved giving back to their communities: from feeding the homeless in North Carolina and providing them with medical supplies, to donating dental care to Syrian refugees and working to provide support to deaf communities.

Some have speculated that these murders were connected to vengeance – that is, revenge for the horrors committed under the banner of Islamism. Again, while we do not yet know what motivated Hicks, we must continue to work to combat the kind of hatred and hostility that pits good people of all faiths and none against one another.

As liberty-minded Muslims, we at AIFD receive  hostility and worse from all fronts: from those within the Muslim community who wish to see us silenced, to those outside of our community who harbor hatred toward all Muslims. Young people in particular who choose a path of peace and positive action represent the future of not just this country, but of our improved global security and international peace.

It is essential to remember that the militants of ISIS and their ilk would like nothing more than to enflame the world into a tit for tat of public executions. Our prayer is that our fellow Americans join us, reform-minded Muslims, on a firm trajectory towards anti-Islamist reform globally, which promotes genuine liberty under the law. This cannot be done without the full constructive engagement of American Muslim communities.

We extend our deepest sympathies to the family, loved ones and friends of Deah, Yusor and Razan; and to the entire Chapel Hill community, now rocked by this senseless and horrific violence. Our hearts are with you.

02/10/2015 AIFD STATEMENT ON DEATH OF KAYLA MUELLER

My heart goes out to the family of American ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller, whose death was confirmed this morning. This young woman dedicated her life to helping those who needed it most, and the world has lost a bright light now that she is gone. This tragic news only furthers our resolve to speak out and shake the hold of political Islam, the ideology that fuels the radical Islamists who continue to commit these barbaric acts. As an Arizonan and a Syrian-American, I, along with my family, will be eternally indebted to Kayla for the ultimate sacrifice she made in trying to aid our beleaguered extended families suffering in Syria. She and her family will forever be in our prayers.”

-Dr. Zuhdi Jasser