A Few Words From Michael Graham

The following quotations are excerpted from a July 28, 2005 article entitled "The Tragedy of Islam," which appeared in the JewishWorldReview.com:

"...For years, I've been trying to give the world's Muslim community the benefit of the doubt, along with the benefit of my typical-American's complete disinterest in their faith. Before 9/11, I knew nothing about Islam except the greeting 'asalaam alaikum,' taught to me by a Pakistani friend in Chicago.

"Immediately after 9/11, I nodded in ignorant agreement as President Bush assured me that 'Islam is a religion of peace.'

"But nearly four years later, nobody can defend that statement. And I mean 'nobody.'

"Certainly not the group of 'moderate' Muslim clerics and imams who gathered in London last week to issue a statement on terrorism and their faith. When asked the question 'Are suicide bombings always a violation of Islam,' they could not answer 'Yes. Always.' Instead, these 'moderate British Muslims' had to answer 'It depends'....

"Another fact about the state of Islam is that a majority of Muslims in countries like Jordan continue to believe that suicide bombings are legitimate. Still another is the poll reported by a left-leaning British paper than only 73 percent of British Muslims would tell police if they knew about a planned terrorist attack.

"The other 27 percent? They are a part of modern Islam, too.

"The Council on American-Islamic Relations is outraged that I would dare to connect the worldwide epidemic of terrorism with Islam. They put it down to bigotry, asserting that a lifetime of disinterest in Islam has suddenly become blind hatred. They couldn't be more wrong....

"...All I care about is not getting blown to smithereens when I board a bus or ride a plane. I care about living in a world where terrorism and murder/suicide bombings are rejected by all. [Emphasis this blog-author's]

"And the reason Islam has itself become a terrorist organization is that it cannot address its own role in this violence. It cannot cast out the murderers from its members. I know it can't, because 'moderate' Muslim imams keep telling me they can't. 'We have no control over these radical young men,' one London imam moaned to the local papers.

"Can't kick 'em out of your faith? Can't excommunicate them? Apparently Islam does not allow it.

"Islam cannot say that terrorism is forbidden to Muslims. I know this because when the world's Muslim nations gathered after 9/11 to state their position on terrorism, they couldn't even agree on what it was. How could they, when the world's largest terror sponsors at the time were Iran and Saudi Arabia — both governed by Islamic law....

"Today, Islam has entire sects and grand mosques that preach terror. Its theology is used as a source of inspiration by terrorist murderers. Millions of Islam's members give these killers support and comfort. [Emphasis this blog-author's]

"The question isn't how dare I call Islam a terrorist organization, but rather why more people do not.

"As I've said many times, I have great sympathy for those Muslims of good will who want their faith to be a true 'religion of peace.' I believe that terrorism and murder do violate the sensibilities and inherent decency of the vast majority of the world's Muslims. I believe they want peace.

"Sadly, the organization and fundamental theology of Islam as it is constituted today allows for hatreds most Muslims do not share to thrive, and for criminals they oppose to operate in the name of their faith.... [Emphasis this blog-author's]

"But Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf admits what CAIR will not. He's called for a jihad against the jihadists. He's putting his life on the line (Islamists have tried to assassinate him three times) in the battle to reclaim Islam and its fundamental decency.

"He remembers, I'm sure, that at a time when Western, Christian civilization was on the verge of collapse, the Muslim world was a bastion of rationalism and tolerance. That was a great moment in the history of Islam, a moment that helped save the West.

"Let's hope Islam can now find the strength to save itself."

Michael Graham's words on ABC-Disney owned WMAL radio "Islam is a terror organization" may not have been explicated at the time, but what he has written in the above cited article appears to be a well-reasoned argument.

For several days, I have watched cable news to learn more about Graham. Why the silence?

Can we not have specific clarification, from Muslims and in a public forum, on the matters to which Graham has referred above? If not, what does this silence say about the state of Islam?

In the July 25, 2005 edition of Time Magazine, Irshad Manji wrote the following:

"...For too long, we Muslims have been sticking fingers in our ears and chanting 'Islam means peace' to drown out the negative noise from our holy book. Far better to own up to it....[A]s long as Muslims live in pretense, we will be affirming that we have something to hide. It's not enough for us to protest that radicals are exploiting Islam as a sword. Of course they are. Now, moderate Muslims must stop exploiting Islam as a shield--one that protects us from authentic introspection and our neighbors from genuine understanding."

And if CAIR wanted to dispute Graham's on-air claim, why didn't CAIR seek out media exposure instead of urging his suspension and firing? (sssuming that CAIR did indeed have enough influence to encourage WMAL to suspend Graham) After all, CAIR representatives frequently appear in the mainstream media to discuss other matters, most recently the fatwa against terror.

Note 1: Thanks to the many bloggers, too numerous to name here, who brought this July 28, 2005 article to my attention.

Note 2: At the bottom of this CAIR link, you can find email addresses and phone numbers as to how to contact ABC representatives.

Note 3 (12:32 P.M): Please scroll down to the next August 2, 2005 posting.