Hooliganism, under the pretense of patriotism.

FBI investigates bomb threats against a local mosque.

I would like to apologize to you all. This is not the kind of post I normally like to write, but the circumstances of the last 2 trying days made it seem necessary.

Last Tuesday was like any other workday until I received a call that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington DC has notified the FBI that two right wing hate sites had comments inciting violence again a St. Louis mosque. A press release was distributed to national media and contained some samples of the hate filled comments, and explicit reference to violence against the Islamic community Center in south St. Louis, MO, with threats of shooting, using dynamite and a plan to "drop bombs from a light plane". The hateful violent threats were posted comments on 2 websites (Little Green footballs, and Gateway Pundits).

These tirades followed a fear-mongering and less-than-insightful article about the new Minaret constructed at that Islamic center. That tiny bit of news was enough for the hooligan-spirited macho fans of those sites to respond with hundreds of hateful comments against American Muslims and their devilish plan to take over America. The knights of the little green footballs and gateway pundits were coming to the rescue of Christianity and the Western Civilization with their brilliant plans for appropriate response (i.e., vandalism, shooting, bombing, etc) commensurate with the magnitude of the crime committed - building a tower for a small mosque after getting all the required permits.

The following morning, the Post-dispatch printed an report by Tim Townsend on the incident and about the progress of the FBI effort thus far. That was followed by a torrent of hate and Anti-Muslim emails sent to the Post-Dispatch for their criminal participation in the CAIR-led conspiracy against the USA. The defenders of Western Civilization also started putting anti-Muslim comments on a truly nice and informative article by Ryan Miller on his Middled blog as they searched my name and found a reference and an interview with me (amongst other St. Louis Muslims) on his blog.

I know that sounds comical, but they are really upset that the Post Dispatch and the local CBS affiliate KMOV, reported that the FBI is investigating a bombing threat against a St. Louis target.

'CAIR’s propaganda also made it to the local CBS affiliate, KMOV, where they uncritically label LGF an “anti-Muslim site” at CAIR’s bidding: FBI investigating threats made against mosque in St. Louis.'

I guess they may see that threatening to bomb a mosque is an act that should be awarded a medal, not investigated. Any media reporting to the contrary should, in their little green minds, be treated as an act of treason not an exercise in the freedom of expression. As for Ryan Miller, his major sin is that one may get the impression after reading his article that Muslims may not all be terrorists. How blasphemous of him.

The good news is that while the little ones (green footballs, pundits or otherwise) carry on with their hate-spreading activities, the FBI will continue investigating, and Tim Townsend will continue the great reporting we are familiar with, and as far as I know, Ryan Miller has already moved on with a new posting of a beautiful and very thoughtful response to the critical comments.

But it cannot stop there. We, Muslims and non-Muslims, need to realize that the serious threat to all of us may not only be coming from the outside. It is also coming from the inside, and it is not from the American Muslims. It is from the hate-filled minds that are incapable of understanding the beauty of diversity and coexistence. It is from the minds of the ignorant, the racist, and supremacists that can never see any possible good in someone that has a different look, a different dress or a different religion. People with such minds that are intellectually lazy and empty. And like all fanatics, they live in closed circles - physically or emotionally- of like minded people, and for them ignorance of the outside is bliss.

We, Muslims and non-Muslims, need to make a goal of ACTIVELY endorsing civility, and expressing discontent with ignorance and indiscriminate hate.

• Please log on to those hate-filled sites, little greens and little pundits, and leave a rational comment on why you disagree with them, what you really think of them, and why they are a disgrace to the great tradition of this country.
• Please visit to the Post Dispatch Forum and leave a message of support for Tim Townsend, and reporters like him.
• Please visit Ryan Miller's Blog and show some support for the spirit of inclusiveness and understanding that he expresses repeatedly there.

And finally: PLEASE spread the word to colleagues, friends and family urging them to do the same. If we just watch from the sidelines, we leave the field to the Hooligans to set the standards for all of us.

khaled