Hey! Where are the so-called "moderate Muslims?"

A guest post by AB

People often wonder where the so-called “Moderate Muslims” are, and why they don’t vocally condemn terror or support law enforcement in preventing attacks, etc.  So, in case you (or your local media outlet) is not paying attention:

• Muslim Peace Coalition Condemns Attempted Mail BombingThe Muslim Peace Coalition(MPC) was founded in September 2010, in part it says to support those who stand with Muslims in this era of growing Islamophobia. Imam Griggs expressed satisfaction at the successful interception of these mail packages and stated that Islam teaches Muslims to respect human lives and places of worship of other religions.
• Area Muslim society condemns alleged Ashburn terroristThe All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) on Oct. 27 issued a statement on the arrest of suspected terrorist Farooque Ahmed, saying the group and the entire Muslim community of the Washington, D.C., area are outraged by the news of an individual being involved in a plot to attack the Metro system. 
• CAIR Applauds International Effort to Foil Cargo Bomb Plot“We applaud the efforts of all the law enforcement and intelligence personnel who cooperated across international borders to foil a terror plot targeting Americans. We condemn both the plot and all those who would sow fear through attempts to harm the innocent.
  “It is clearly against the teachings of Islam to attack places of worship. We offer our support to the American Jewish community, the apparent target of this plot.”
• ISNA Condemns Attempt to Bomb U.S. Synagogues, Applauds Law Enforcement for Intercepting Explosive Packages
  ISNA President Imam Mohamed Magid states, “ISNA and American Muslims lend their support to our fellow Jewish American community and strongly condemn this attempted bombing and any actions to attack our Jewish neighbors or any person by means of violence and terrorism.”
  ISNA has strong partnerships with members of the Jewish community in America and has a long record of fighting hate, extremism, and bigotry, including anti-Semitism. ISNA promotes peace and tolerance through its interfaith activities, including those with members of the Jewish community.
  On September 7, 2010 former ISNA President Dr. Ingrid Mattson stood beside Rabbi David Sapperstein, from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and other interfaith partners to share a statement that “to attack any religion in the United States is to do violence to the religious freedom of all Americans.”
• Standing Together: Chicago’s Muslims Stand with her Jews, by Rabbi Lopatin
  “We are thankful to our law enforcement agencies to uncover this plot before it could cause any harm,” said Dr. Zaher Sahloul, chairperson of the Council. “Illinois Muslims stand united with our Jewish partners and organizations in condemning this terrorist and heinous act. There is no place in Islam for terrorizing innocent people or spreading mayhem.”

Also, in terms of Middle East cooperation, are people going to overlook these reports?

• Saudi Arabia’s shadowy connectionOn Monday, a senior British official confirmed that Saudi counter-terrorism chiefs had simultaneously tipped off British, US and UAE intelligence about al-Qaeda’s plans to send explosive devices on aircraft bound for the West.
• US, British officials call President Saleh on mail bombs
  President Ali Abdullah Saleh received on Saturday a telephone call from the assistant of the U.S. President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan on the incident of two suspicious parcels found Friday on cargo to the United States.
  Official Saba reported that Brennan conveyed to President Saleh greetings of U.S. President Barack Obama and praised Yemen’s efforts in the fight against terrorism, hailing Yemenis’ encouragement and sacrifices in order to fight the terrorists and defeat them.
  Saleh and Brennan discussed aspects of cooperation and partnership between the two friendly countries, particularly the security aspects and the fight against terrorism.

Again, I once cited this CNN segment featuring Imam Shamsi Ali.  The segment notes that there are two extremist protestors outside a mosque that attracts 4,000 regular worshippers, yet the focus of the segment, if not entirely on the protesters, certainly gives them disproportionate significance.  This goes back to our for-profit news media, which relies on advertising dollars and generates conflict and sensationalism in order to produce ratings.  Not even intentionally; it’s just the way the system is set up.  But the midterms are tomorrow, so we need to analyze polls that will be completely irrelevent in 24 hours and speculate about results and strategies that are still completely hypothetical.

---

Search for more information about [topic] at 4torah.com.