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My heart ached when I read about the arson at the Murfreesboro, TN mosque building site.
Here is what I wrote to the Islamic Center:
Dear ICM,
I just wanted to offer my support for you and your center. I am from Ohio, and the ugly mob mentality scares me. I am so sorry you have to go through this.
When my mother was a little girl, it was the 1st World War. She lived in a tiny town in Oklahoma. There were many residents of German heritage and they were treated horribly, she said. Their shops were vandalized, they were called bad names…all because we were at war with Germany.
This is not new, but that doesn’t make it less painful and scary for you.
I’m so very sorry. I cry that our country has fallen into such ugly violence and I will send prayers and good thoughts to you.
They responded the next day: . . .
Hello and peace be upon you;
Dear Margot,
Thank you for your support and kind words. We appreciate people like yourself going out of their way to show their support to the values and rights that make America the great nation it is.
As Americans and as Muslims we believe that we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Your letter makes a huge difference in our hearts and minds as it represents and supports our constitutional rights and our nation’s pledge.
Thank you again, and may God bless you and bless our great nation.
The Islamic Center Of Murfreesboro
In America, we aren’t bound by race, ethnicity, creed, country of birth, political belief; we bow to no king and no man is our ruler.
We are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We have the freedom to worship; that’s one of the benefits of living in a free society. We are now in a hate cycle and we have to get out.
We have to.
It is humbling to have this correspondence and I thank the Center for their kindness.
[photo: Brian Auer via Flickr]
24 Comments
recommended and tweeted. thanks for sharing this margot…
Margot,
Thanks so much for being a voice for peace and mutual respect.
Thanks Margot.
Mahalo, Margot…! ;-)
Margot,
What a lovely thing you did – bravo!
Recommended – thanks Margot
Thank you, Margot !!
Margot…
Bless you for your letter and your spirit! Peace!
blessed are the peacemakers..
Thanks for sharing Margot, you’re a good one.
We are “one Nation” is a very different sentiment than we are “one Nation under God.” In truth, I was misled by the title of your piece, and found myself excluded when I read further. “E pluribus unum” is also a very different sentiment than “in God we trust.” Both times, the focus on oneness, on unity, is changed to a focus on God, or to a national unity with God. It’s like you’re going out of your way to exclude those who believe in no God, those who doubt God is, and those who think God is unimportant or unnecessary.
The 1st Amendment guarantees both free exercise of religion and freedom from government establishment of religion. These 2 freedoms distinguish the US from states which either tolerate no religion or insist on 1 particular flavor of religion. It’s not God which makes the US different, it’s the free conscience with respect to God. God has nothing to do with my sense of national identity or national ideal, but indivisibility, liberty, and justice do.
Margot,
Thank you.
My father had a similar childhood as your mother. He and his brothers use to get arrested for any vandalism that would happen in their town just because they were German. Then they would be set free when the police realized they were not even near the location of the incident. It usually took a teacher or a sports coach to get them out of jail.
It was sad to learn about this yesterday, and so soon after the Jon Stewart piece.
To protect themselves from their failure’s the rich are nervous about getting a bank bailout. They are nervous about getting Obama to cut social security. They are nervous about screwing us on healthcare.
So they fund the hate movement they try to distract us to divide us hate the Muslim, the Gay the Immigrant please hate anyone else but the people actually stealing your money.
Oh and while your hating the scapegoats could you please help us get more tax cuts for the rich. As we outsource your jobs, lay you off and foreclose on your home?
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/aristotle-politics-polis.html
Some people well Aristotle and the Rich think that there must be slaves and that there must be rulers and they lie to the slaves to keep them divided.
They convince the Middle Class Whites that no they are not getting screwed by the rich that all their problems
are caused by the other slaves not the Master who assigns the tasks, screws them on pay,healthcare etc.
We are all getting screwed. The funny thing is the Silent Majority do nothing until life as a slave becomes to hard.
The Complainers the bad slaves from the Rich/Boss point of view (actually the real Leaders and change agents in society) are hated by the Rich/Bosses and the House N****rs the most.
Rich/Bosses hate them for obvious reasons the House N****rs because the Complainers threaten their Cognitive Dissonance belief that they are special.
The Silent Majority will either side with the bosses and attack the scapegoats and complainers or they will go after the Rich/Bosses and House N*****s.
My point the Rich/Bosses divide America and the House N****r Tea Partyiers are willing slaves. To unite America we must stop the rich from spreading hate and lies on the news, we must stop them funding the hate movement.
Speech is free but if you use your free speech to try and take away another person’s free speech rights well thats where your freedom ends.
Thank you, Margot. My German-heritage family elders also suffered similar experiences to your family in the early 20th century. It pains me now to witness my siblings behaving like goons towards Muslims (they are rightwing fundamentalists). I agree with your sentiments; have many Muslim friends, personally; and decry acts of violence like this. It is horrid and unnecessary.
America is about freedom for all people not just her Citizens sure we can’t and should not try and control the world to make them conform to our dream. But within our own land everyone Muslim, Christian, Atheist, Man Woman, Gay, Straight, Black, White even Illegal Immigrants are both subject to and Protected by our Laws!
The Founders thought our Creator gave all Men these InAlienable rights but these are the Rights the Rich the TeaBaggers the Republicans the people who watch Fox News want to take away.
Notice the only thing the Founders though in the Constitution that came from God is the one thing the Fake God Party wants to get rid of.
Notice the irony that while the rich try and keep us down and divide us they always try to get America into wars by saying America must spread the freedoms that we have to all people not just her Citizens to save the world we must control the world to make her conform to our dream.
Yet notice that our record in spreading democracy with our armies has not been so good since WW2 and the CIA well they have helped more murders into power, created more enemies to American (Iran, Ossama etc) helped train people to kill and torture Nuns in South America than any other terrorist group on earth.
Whats funny is when the CIA helps a country it always seems to backfire years later.
You can conquer by dividing people but to rule you must Unite Them.
Our rulers do not unite they divide so they are not really rulers then. Nobody who believes in slaves or oppresses another can be a Real Ruler. A real ruler is a servant of the People look at FDR if you need an example.
Yes, I agree with your analysis. The wealthy 3% are busily engaged in pitting the rest of us against one another. Some Tea Partiers will state that they have not been “paid off” by the Koch’s to attend Tea Party rallies, and I believe them. But what they’re willfully blind about is that spokespeopole like Glenn Beck are paid for by the Koch’s and the Murdoch’s to spew their hateful rants in order to gin up the Tea Party outrage.
The first Tea Party rallies happened shortly after BHO was elected. How did that happen? It wasn’t from the grass roots, as they like to think. Those of us who participated in real grass roots protests in the 1960s and 1970s have a better idea of the kinds of planning involved to get a real grass roots movement going.
No, the Tea Party has been sponsored all along by the wealthy 1% to gin up a gullible portion of the population easily misled by their inherent racism. It’s also no mistake that Doug Coe’s C Street “Family” has infested many mainstream Christian churches to preach their specious form of “prosperity Chirstianity,” which pretty much says that if you’re poor, it’s your own fault bc you are not “Christian” enough and Jesus frowns on you and you get what you deserve. Make no mistake, that was a very deliberate move on the part of the C Streeters to pit “average” white Xtians against the mostly poorer minorities.
Muslims are among the last hold-outs of “acceptable” hatred. It’s also no mistake that all these years later “suddenly as if by magic” there’s all this anti-Muslim sentiment and vitriol against Mosques. It’s a load of crap. Mosques have been built since 9/11 either with litte to no protest or even with community support. Suddenly there’s all this protest and anger… it’s not mistake. That’s where the support of the Koch’s and the Murdoch’s and also that Saudi Prince (forget his name) comes in. Yeah: the Saudi’s. It inures to their benefit, too, if the Xtians in the USA (and eleswhere) are riled up against Muslims (for not reason).
We’re all being played by the wealthy elite with only a few exceptions mainly found here. I have no idea how to reach the Tea Party bc it’s a neat trick that they’ve been set up by the Churches not to listen to another point of view. Doncha know that everyone else worships Satan? Why listent to satan-worshipping dfhs?? Believe me, I’ve tried, but I get nowhere. Too bad, but the Tea Party most likely has much more in common with people who post here regularly at FDL than they do with the Koch’s, the Murdoch’s and all the other elites who are manipulating them to vote against their own interests.
The wealthy elite want us all ground under so badly that we have no rights anymore. The Tea Party will gleefully lead the charge in the insane belief that they will be treated differently bc they followed “the rules.” What they don’t get is that they’ll be ground under just like all the rest of the so-called “satan worshipping” masses. More fool them. At least I have my eyes wide open.
Good points I think the timing of the 9/11 mosque controversy suggests the rich need a scapegoat now asthey try and cut Social Security.
Thank you, Margot, your email inspired me to write a short email of support as well. I received a very nice reply today:
As Detective Sergeant James Hathaway said on the Inspector Lewis mysteries, ‘our rulers live in a different country’.
Where they pretend to rule for the common good at the expense of others. Where they take the strength America gained by giving its people more opportunity to rise up as evidence that they are right about everything since America is #1.
Then they use that position of authority to destroy what made America #! in the first place class mobility is already greater in other countries.
Class Mobility anyone can get to the top depends on things like good jobs and good schools. It depends on the having the rich be rich enough to work at their business like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet.
Not rich enough to be Paris Hilton spending money trying to be famous for nothing but spending money and partying.
It depends on the middle class and poor to be rich enough and have the free time to better themselves with education. Buy tools and equipment to invent stuff and have the free time to do it.
It was wonderful of you to write that letter.
On a related note,
I’d say we’re one nation, indivisible.
The words “under God” represent another form of division. At least a few percent of us don’t believe in that deity in any of its numerous forms, and many of us believe in no deity at all.
Just saw that episode the other night. I loved that line.
You forgot all the Christians following the False Gospel of Wealth who might say they are Christians but forgot JC said give up all your worldly goods to the poor if you would follow me.
Fake Christians the ones who want to make Bush’s tax cuts for the rich permanent and cut Social Security to do it.
Well they are all going to HELL!
God told me this morning.
( I play a preacher quite well don’t I )