"I am not American," said the Islamist; "I am Muslim"

by Majid Rafizadeh • December 2, 2017 at 5:00 am

For Islamists, non-Muslim land is different from Muslim land. Many can never identify themselves with a Western land -- or with a flag or nationality -- even though they may have been born in that land and their families may have lived there for generations.
When people are brainwashed not to identify themselves with a flag and a nationality, it disrupts the human connections and communications that need to take place within communities. It pits the indoctrinated person against the entire society and his own countrymen, and develops an "us versus them" mentality.
This view brings with it a wish for waging jihad against one's birth country. It creates the priority -- if the country attacking it is ruled by shari'ah -- of joining the enemy to fight against one's birth country.

When people are brainwashed not to identify themselves with a flag and a nationality, it disrupts the human connections and communications that need to take place within communities. It pits the indoctrinated person against the entire society and his own countrymen, and develops an "us versus them" mentality. Pictured: Muslims demonstrate in Sydney, Australia, September 15, 2012. (Image source: Jamie Kennedy/Flickr)

Several years ago, when first in the United States on a teaching scholarship, one issue leapt out. A man asked an innocent enough question: Where I was from? I told him; then, as a courtesy, asked him the same question.

"I am a Muslim," he smiled.

Thinking that perhaps he had not understood the question -- he sounded American or English -- I asked if he was from the United States.

"I am not American," he said again; "I am a Muslim."

I subsequently learned that he was an Islamist, a preacher of strict religious teachings, and that many of the people to whom he preached held the same views.

In Iran and Syria, where I was born and raised, I had never before heard this answer.

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Pope's High-Risk Visit to South Asia: Opposition in Catholic Hierarchy

by Lawrence A. Franklin • December 1, 2017 at 2:06 pm

"We are afraid that the pope does not have sufficiently accurate information, and is releasing statements that do not reflect reality." -- Catholic Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Myanmar's Bhamo Diocese, suggesting that the Pope is misinformed about the nuances of the Rohingya issue.
"If we had to take the Holy Father to the people who suffer most among us, we would take him to the refugee camps of the Kachin [a predominantly Catholic group], where many victims of the civil war have been displaced from their homes." -- Father Mariano Soe Naing, Spokesman for Myanmar's Bishop Conference
Even if Islamic extremists in Bangladesh do not mar the visit of the Pope, there needs to be pressure in the Vatican hierarchy for him to adopt a more realistic view of the objectives of radical Islam.

Pope Francis in Myanmar. The Catholic bishop of the country's Bhamo Diocese suggested that the pontiff is misinformed about the nuances of the Rohingya issue. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Pope's trip to Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh is occurring against a backdrop of political turmoil and criticism by some Vatican watchers. The visit may also present personal danger for the Holy Father. Although no one, of course, condones violence and mass expulsion, there has been been indignation, expressed by the spokesperson for Myanmar's Bishop Conference, as to the Pope's concern for the human rights of Muslims while failing to comment on the regime's persecution of Christian minorities in Myanmar.[1]

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