Muslim student and information warfare

Visit our News page A Muslim student at Arkansas State University (ASU) spreads more disinformation You don’t want to miss this—and our analysis! Is the Muslim college student from Saudi Arabia, who wrote the column below, naïve, uninformed, or deliberately feeding us disinformation (the practice of “taqiyya”)? We can’t know for sure. But regardless, this column, which appeared in the ASU newspaper, illustrates again how disinformation is being peddled to mislead Americans. Uninformed Americans are vulnerable to this “information warfare.” Please read her column, and note our editorial responses in red caps to her various claims. Get the tools you need to expose the information warfare being waged against us! Become a $19 a month Patriot Partner and we’ll send you our new resource “Unmasking the Enemy Among Us: Information Warfare and the Muslim Brotherhood.” We are nearly 60% of the way to our goal of 400 new Patriot Partners. This effort will help us fund our legislative campaign going into 2012. This campaign includes a goal of getting legislation passed in at least ten states that prohibits the use of sharia law by state courts. Can you help us reach our goal today by clicking here? Muslim student reflects on tragedy By Abdullah Raslan Published: Monday, September 12, 2011 http://www.asuherald.com/opinion/muslim-student-reflects-on-tragedy-1.2625549 Yesterday marked the 10-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. The attacks were associated with al-Qaeda, an Islamic organization founded by Osama bin Laden. Being a Muslim, I frequently get asked about my thoughts toward the incident. For everyone that is wondering, here is my answer: The word "Islam" comes from the word "peace" in Arabic. [THIS IS FALSE, AND SHE MUST KNOW IT. THE ARABIC FOR ISLAM MEANS “SUBMISSION.” THE ARABIC FOR “PEACE” IS A DIFFERENT WORD.] Muslims are brought up on morals and beliefs to do good to others and not spread harm, no matter what your religious background is. All Muslims are raised to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad. [MUHAMMAD ENGAGED IN OR AUTHORIZED NEARLY 90 DIFFERENT RAIDS, ATTACKS, ASSASSINATIONS AND OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE. DOES SHE NOT KNOW THIS? IF SHE DOES, IS SHE CHOOSING TO MISLEAD HER READERS WHEN SHE SAYS MUSLIMS ARE TO DO GOOD TO OTHERS WHILE FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MUHAMMAD? AFTER ALL, IT WOULD BE HARD TO CHARACTARIZE MUHAMMAD’S MILITARY CAMPAIGNS AND ACTIONS AS DOING “GOOD TO OTHERS.”] In fact, Muslims believe that if they don't strive to be like the prophet they might as well not call themselves Muslims. During the prophet's time, whenever Muslims would invade a city in the name of spreading Islam, there were strict orders to not hurt any civilians. [THIS IS FALSE. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN MUHAMMAD DEFEATED THE QUARAYZA JEWISH TRIBE IN MEDINA, HE ORDERED THE TRIBE’S 800 MEN BEHEADED AND HE SOLD THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN INTO SLAVERY.] The elderly, women and children were asked to leave and were not harmed. [THIS IS FALSE. SEE NOTE ABOVE.] It is a sin to harm any innocents. The attacks of 9/11 had a death toll of 2,977 people. Those were 2,977 innocent men and women that were working – not at war with any Muslims. Of those, 31 were known to be Muslims, and died during the attacks. Do I think this work would make the Prophet Muhammad proud? No. The prophet and the holy Quran teach us to lead by example and not use violence to force people to hear us. Islam is a religion that teaches tolerance and acceptance of everyone around us. [WHILE THERE ARE PEACEFUL AND TOLERANT MUSLIMS, THE CLAIM THAT ISLAM TEACHES “TOLERANCE AND ACCEPTANCE OF EVERYONE AROUND US” IS FALSE. SHE COMES FROM SAUDI ARABIA, THE COUNTRY THAT IS THE HOME OF ISLAM’S TWO HOLIEST SITES, MECCA AND MEDINA. SAUDI ARABIA IS THE PINNACLE OF INTOLERANCE. IN SAUDI ARABIA, NON-MUSLIMS CANNOT ENTER MECCA. CHRISTIANS CANNOT OPENLY CARRY BIBLES. JEWS CANNOT OPENLY WEAR A STAR OF DAVID. SURELY SHE MUST KNOW THIS. THE QUR’AN HAS NUMEROUS PASSAGES THAT CALL FOR WARFARE AGAINST AND THE SLAYING OF NON-MUSLIMS. PASSAGES, SUCH AS SURAH 9:5, THAT ARE UNDERSTOOD BY ISLAMIC SCHOLARS TO HAVE ABROGATED (ANNULLED) EARLIER, PEACEFUL VERSES IN THE QUR’AN. ISLAMIC CONQUESTS DURING ITS 14 CENTURY HISTORY WIPED OUT ENTIRE NON-MUSLIM SOCIETIES, LEFT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS DEAD AND TENS OF MILLIONS ENSLAVED. TODAY IN IRAQ, 500,000 CHRISTIANS HAVE HAD TO FLEE THE COUNTRY SINCE WE DEPOSED SADDAM HUSSEIN, DUE TO PERSECUTION BY MUSLIMS. WE COULD CITE MANY, MANY MORE EXAMPLES, BUT YOU GET THE POINT.] We believe that Allah is beautiful, and loves beautiful things. The prophet said that all men, including women, are equal in Islam. [THIS IS FALSE. ACCORDING TO SHARIA, A MUSLIM WOMAN’S TESTIMONY IN COURT IS WORTH ONLY HALF THAT OF A MAN’S. A HUSBAND CAN DIVORCE HIS WIFE SIMPLY BY SAYING “I DIVORCE YOU” THREE TIMES. THE WIFE HAS NO SUCH RIGHT. A MAN CAN BEAT HIS WIFE FOR DISOBEIDENCE, SURAH 4.34.] Arabs have no superiority over non-Arabs, nor do non-Arabs have superiority over Arabs. In the article "Racism and Islam" by Hisham Zoubeir, he was quoted saying "The people of other faiths have always enjoyed religious toleration under Islam; when the Jews were being persecuted in the rest of Europe, they found freedom and sanctity in Muslim Spain." [IT IS TRUE THAT JEWS AT TIMES AND IN SOME PLACES ENJOYED MORE FREEDOM UNDER MUSLIM RULE THAN CHRISTIAN. HOWEVER, THE CLAIM THAT “PEOPLE OF OTHER FAITHS HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED RELIGIOUS TOLERATION UNDER ISLAM” IS FALSE. AN ESTIMATED 2000 HINDU TEMPLES WERE DESTROYED IN ISLAMIC JIHADS OVER THE CENTURIES AND TENS OF MILLIONS OF HINDUS WERE KILLED. CHRISTIAN CHURCHES THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST WERE DESTROYED BY MUSLIM CONQUERORS AND MOSQUES WERE ERECTED IN THEIR PLACE.] The attacks have given Islam a bad name. The association of Islam with terrorism and hate is a stereotype that needs to be put to rest. Just because al-Qaeda believes that the attacks were justified doesn't mean all Muslims follow. Living in the Bible Belt for the past three years and befriending many devoted Christians here on campus, I've learned that Islam and Christianity have a lot in common. Both religions preach values and morals, stressing that violence is never the answer. My deepest sympathies go to all the families of the men and women that died in the attacks. I hope we can continue to find the positive in times like these instead of dwelling in sorrow. Raslan is a senior digital media and design major of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website. HOW CAN I TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Send a personalized version of this message to your friends. HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Click here to give an online donation.