Pseudo-Muslims & Pseudo-Christians Cut From the Same Cloth
Posted Oct 25, 2007

Pseudo-Muslims and Pseudo-Christians Cut From the Same Cloth

by Sheila Musaji

I recently wrote an article expressing my sorrow and conveying my apologies to Jewish Voices for Peace for a few individuals placing anti-semitic and racist comments on their “Against Intolerance and Islamophobia” petition site.  I wanted JVP and the American Jewish community to know that such comments do not represent all Muslims and in fact represent a very small number of people. 

In response to my article “Pseudo Muslims Representing Pseudo Islam Must be Outshouted” - Robert Spencer published part of the article on his Jihad Watch website simply noting that it was a curious title, and Hugh Fitzgerald also posted an article on Dhimmi Watch entitled “Please Explain”.

Fitzgerald seems to believe that even if it was not Muslims who put the comments on the petition site, the comments were actually made by Muslims and they were simply being quoted.  Fitzgerald also believes that those expressing such racist statements are the “real Muslims”, and mainstream, moderate Muslims like myself are uninformed, confused, naive or purposefully lying to the infidels.  Fitzgerald also thinks that because I did not respond with chapter and verse from the Qur’an to each of these statements, that I “don’t quite know what to do with the quotes from important figures who are Muslim that show up all that interfaith feelgood nonsense of the petition.” 

It wasn’t my intention to debate anyone Muslim or non-Muslim, and I do know what to do about these statements made by “Muslims” - I reject them and I reject their interpretation of Islam which I call Pseudo-Islam.  Somehow he also seems to believe that as an American Muslim I am somehow responsible for explaining everything that is said by any Muslim anywhere in the world (the comments were from Palestinians and Pakistanis).  I don’t think I am any more responsible for explaining them than the American Catholic community is capable of explaining the rantings of Mussolini, or the violent faction of the IRA, or Christians in general to explain the Rwandan genocide, etc.

No matter how many times Spencer and Fitzgerald and their ilk say that they have no problem with Muslims, only the fanatical ones, or how often they claim that they make a distinction between Muslims and Islamists or say that they want to show support for the moderate Muslims against the extremists - they show themselves to be confused or lying in that they react to all Muslims in the same way.  It would seem that the only moderate or “good” Muslims they recognize are those who have left Islam and converted to Christianity.

What did Spencer not deem worthy of including from my article?:

Only 5 disgusting, racist, anti-Semitic comments (supposedly from Palestine, Pakistan, and the UK) out of hundreds and all on the same day which might mean a planned attempt by some Islamophobe to enter these comments under false names in order to degrade the Muslim community.  (It would be wonderful if there was a way to trace back the email addresses to see if they are legitimate).

I sincerely hope that that this was done by Islamophobes and not by Pseudo-Muslims.  But, as Tariq Nelson pointed out in his article The Islam I Accepted, we do have some real criminals attempting to hide their criminality by claiming an Islamic justification, and as a community we need to stand up to them and outshout them.

Only 5, but the small number does nothing to make me feel any better, it only takes a handful to destroy any positive gains made by thousands of Muslims working for peace, justice and tolerance.  The hijacking of the Muslim Day Parade in New York by a tiny group calling themselves The Islamic Thinkers Society is an example of what damage a few extremists with loud voices can do.

and

I appreciate the courage it takes for those in Jewish Voices for Peace to stand up for a Muslim issue.  I appreciate all of those who signed this petition of any faith or none.  And, I hope that this small group claiming to represent a Pseudo-Islam that I don’t even recognize will not make them question whether or not they should continue to stand with all people of good will for justice and tolerance.

Someone responding to Fitzgerald in the comments section of the Dhimmi Watch site and calling himself Marc-or said that he confessed to posting those entires on the JVP petition.  And aanother comment by “Terp Mole” says that the “lizard army” (what this might be who knows) had been sicked on the petition on October 22nd.  And, another comment by “awake” is thrilled that “The petition, as it were, was appropriately squashed by the LGF crowd, as “terp mole” relayed, and rightly so.” 

So, the comments were put on the JVP site by non-Muslims who wanted to point out to those who are opposed to Islamophobia and intolerance that Muslims are not deserving of tolerance because they have among them some individuals who are capable of making such statements.  These people are simply cowards.  If they were concerned that others should understand the “truth” about Islam and Muslims then they would have left a comment under their real name and said that they were quoting someone else.  I also know what to do about such people - I reject them as cowards.

The comments to both Spencer’s and Fitzgerald’s references to my article are very informative.  They are hate filled, and childish, and make all sorts of negative statements without having any idea what they are talking about.  Whether Spencer and Fitzgerald mean to do so or not they are stirring up some disturbed people and they are agitating anti-Muslim feelings.

I am described as “one of the legions of witless muslimahs, headbagged and brainwashed, who actually believed the story they got about how Mohammed ‘respected’ women and gave them ‘rights’ that no other women had - in the 7th century” (Marwan’sDaughter).  True, I do believe that, but I am not brainwashed, don’t wear hijab, and have enough wit to get along.

(Alarmed pig farmer) thinks “That a rag named the American Moslem can exist is indicative of catastrophic failure in the American government; that a writer named Sheila Musaji can exist in America is indicative of a failure in American culture.”  I’m not sure if this means I should be deported, or simply killed, but I do exist, I am an American and a Muslim, and not only was I born here but my family has been here since the 1500’s, and I’m not going anywhere. 

(Battle of Tours) would like to see American Muslims “sent back to where they came from ...”.  Where exactly would you send all of us who were born here and are American right down to our toes? 

One of the comments referred to an article Daniel Pipes had written about The American Muslim some time back which included his concern that some of the people who had had articles published on TAM were people he considered Islamists.  He mentioned Yahiya Emerick and then referred to an article Emerick had written (published on a site called Jannah.org and never published on the TAM site).  Then lots of folks jumped on board to comment that this article proved written by someone else on another site somehow “proved” something about me.  A real stretch to even come to guilt by association.