(Most Brilliant!) A Muslim's response to anti-Islam protesters in Germany

[AUz]

Dear 25,000 Anti-Islam Dresden Protesters and Pegida,

I hear you marched in your thousands against my religion. Last week, and last month. You marched against immigrants, foreigners, and anyone a shade darker. I will not draw comparisons to Nazi Germany. I will not call you bigots, I will not insult you, and I will not label you. But we do have a problem.

You marched with banners claiming your city is overcrowded with Muslims. Yet 0.1% of Dresden are Muslim. You marched claiming immigrants are cramming your schools and leaving your children to travel miles for an education. Yet 2.5% of Dresden are foreign-born.

You claim that Germany is being invaded by Muslims. Yet only 5% of Germans are Muslim.

You march "against the Islamization of the West". Yet within a century containing two World Wars, the decolonisation process, countless civil conflicts, foreign intervention, globalisation, and further displacement, Muslims remain a fringe minority in Europe. Less than 6%. A pretty lousy colonisation process, no?

You marched against refugees and asylum seekers, claiming Germany is their target for welfare and social security. Yet according to UNHCR, there are 51.2million refugees worldwide. Germany caters for less than 0.01% of them. Is that too much to ask? Is such a humanitarian obligation too large for the Refugee Convention 1951 your government ratified? Or is it actually punitive, for example, in comparison to Lebanon where every fourth person is a Syrian refugee?

Protesters, you are not alone. In my country, Britain, we have our own anti-immigration party. Ukip won their first seat in Clacton with nothing but anti-migrant rhetoric. Yet only 4.3% of Clacton are foreign-born. In a Parliamentary-based system, where each constituency elects a representative to voice their views, there is nothing Ukip can do for the people of Clacton.

Do you see a pattern? Perhaps I should explain. Your kind tend to establish themselves where their "problem" does not actually exist. Is this therefore an issue of negative perception? Fear of the unfamiliar? Intolerance in ignorance? Scapegoating an underclass? Media misinformation?

I will elaborate. London has a 36.2% foreign-born population. Relatively, that is fifteen times the population of foreigners in Dresden. A far greater diversity. Ukip poll the lowest in London compared to the rest of the country- in every demographic, foreign or not. London is a metropolis of brown, black, and white working side by side. We thrive. I saw an atheist today. Guess what? I did not try to convert him nor behead him for blasphemy; I helped him off the bus. He was 74 years old.

Does that make sense?

Your only insight into Islam is a box in your living room. Confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance infest the information you expose yourself to. Information which dehumanises and polarises anyone unlike you.

You enjoy the far-right media portrayal of Islam. It makes you feel good. Superior. Better. The barbaric Muslims, we are. We disrespect women, and we impose our beliefs on to others.

Yet did you know that Turkey, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, all Muslim majority states have had more elected female heads of state than almost every other Western country? Did you know that the Quran explicitly says "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256), and our Prophet clarified "whomever hurts a non-Muslim will not smell a whiff of paradise"?

Did you know that your twisted misrepresentation of my religion helps the terrorists? Did you know that you and the terrorists agree on what seems to form an integral part of your identity: that Islam is violent? Did you know that you even use the same methodology to proclaim this; taking a verse out of context and evading any intellectual discourse?

What are Muslims to you, anyway? Arabs? Less than 20% of us are Arab. Indian or Pakistani? Again, less than 20%. Turkish? Less than 5%. Nothing else? That is more than half of us you cannot identify.

You assume our identity by our race. Is it not disheartening to you that such a narrow world view is legitimately held by so many? Does it not display a perspective so constrained to the contents of immediate life and prejudice? Is that not likely to lead to ignorant assumptions and offence in face of what is unbeknownst?

What becomes of the German Muslim, I wonder? Is he spared because he is white? Or is he declared a traitor and shunned? Is it difficult to choose between racism and neglecting a fellow countryman? Choose neither. Choose education. Tolerance. Kindness.

Detach from the vicious cycle of far-right media (who are unfamiliar with foreigners) feeding the far-right populace (who are unfamiliar with foreigners) what they should think about foreigners.

I ask you, have you ever met a Muslim? "Met" is not a synonym for shouting abuse at or stabbing to death in or outside their home. No, have you ever sat with a Muslim? Talked to a Muslim? Worked with a Muslim?

You should. At an airport perhaps, where we are 42 times more likely to be searched, and thus declared safe for human interaction.

Sincerely,
A Real-Life Muslim (not the ones on TV)

---------------
A Muslim's Response to the 25,000 Anti-Islam Protesters in Germany | Rabah Kherbane
---------------

That's what we need. Highly sophisticated, educated, and real-life Western Muslims with background in law and policy making coming forward and literally destroying anti-Muslim bigotry with solid facts, impeccable logical reasoning, and brilliant presentation.

 

[I.R.A]

I ask you, have you ever met a Muslim? "Met" is not a synonym for shouting abuse at or stabbing to death in or outside their home. No, have you ever sat with a Muslim? Talked to a Muslim? Worked with a Muslim?

You should. At an airport perhaps, where we are 42 times more likely to be searched, and thus declared safe for human interaction.

Sincerely,
A Real-Life Muslim (not the ones on TV)

---------------

Brilliant.

 

[Cheetah786]

Pen is mightier then sword.This for sure is the best way to counter propaganda and Media biased..

 

[AUz]

Pen is mightier then sword.This for sure is the best way to counter propaganda and Media biased..

Yes it is.

This article has already got 116,000+ shares/likes on facebook alone. And the audiences are mainly Western/American readers.

There is a reason you don't see a lot of Indians, and other bigots in this thread.

The author just literally left no room for any counter argument. He just destroyed so-called "Pegida"...lmao!

@Audio @flamer84 You folks are clear-headed Europeans here..especially compared to lunatic, sad, lonely neo-nazi outcasts like @MarkusS ...You folks should read this.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Dear 25,000 Anti-Islam Dresden Protesters and Pegida,

I hear you marched in your thousands against my religion. Last week, and last month. You marched against immigrants, foreigners, and anyone a shade darker. I will not draw comparisons to Nazi Germany. I will not call you bigots, I will not insult you, and I will not label you. But we do have a problem.

You marched with banners claiming your city is overcrowded with Muslims. Yet 0.1% of Dresden are Muslim. You marched claiming immigrants are cramming your schools and leaving your children to travel miles for an education. Yet 2.5% of Dresden are foreign-born.

You claim that Germany is being invaded by Muslims. Yet only 5% of Germans are Muslim.

You march "against the Islamization of the West". Yet within a century containing two World Wars, the decolonisation process, countless civil conflicts, foreign intervention, globalisation, and further displacement, Muslims remain a fringe minority in Europe. Less than 6%. A pretty lousy colonisation process, no?

You marched against refugees and asylum seekers, claiming Germany is their target for welfare and social security. Yet according to UNHCR, there are 51.2million refugees worldwide. Germany caters for less than 0.01% of them. Is that too much to ask? Is such a humanitarian obligation too large for the Refugee Convention 1951 your government ratified? Or is it actually punitive, for example, in comparison to Lebanon where every fourth person is a Syrian refugee?

Protesters, you are not alone. In my country, Britain, we have our own anti-immigration party. Ukip won their first seat in Clacton with nothing but anti-migrant rhetoric. Yet only 4.3% of Clacton are foreign-born. In a Parliamentary-based system, where each constituency elects a representative to voice their views, there is nothing Ukip can do for the people of Clacton.

Do you see a pattern? Perhaps I should explain. Your kind tend to establish themselves where their "problem" does not actually exist. Is this therefore an issue of negative perception? Fear of the unfamiliar? Intolerance in ignorance? Scapegoating an underclass? Media misinformation?

I will elaborate. London has a 36.2% foreign-born population. Relatively, that is fifteen times the population of foreigners in Dresden. A far greater diversity. Ukip poll the lowest in London compared to the rest of the country- in every demographic, foreign or not. London is a metropolis of brown, black, and white working side by side. We thrive. I saw an atheist today. Guess what? I did not try to convert him nor behead him for blasphemy; I helped him off the bus. He was 74 years old.

Does that make sense?

Your only insight into Islam is a box in your living room. Confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance infest the information you expose yourself to. Information which dehumanises and polarises anyone unlike you.

You enjoy the far-right media portrayal of Islam. It makes you feel good. Superior. Better. The barbaric Muslims, we are. We disrespect women, and we impose our beliefs on to others.

Yet did you know that Turkey, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, all Muslim majority states have had more elected female heads of state than almost every other Western country? Did you know that the Quran explicitly says "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256), and our Prophet clarified "whomever hurts a non-Muslim will not smell a whiff of paradise"?

Did you know that your twisted misrepresentation of my religion helps the terrorists? Did you know that you and the terrorists agree on what seems to form an integral part of your identity: that Islam is violent? Did you know that you even use the same methodology to proclaim this; taking a verse out of context and evading any intellectual discourse?

What are Muslims to you, anyway? Arabs? Less than 20% of us are Arab. Indian or Pakistani? Again, less than 20%. Turkish? Less than 5%. Nothing else? That is more than half of us you cannot identify.

You assume our identity by our race. Is it not disheartening to you that such a narrow world view is legitimately held by so many? Does it not display a perspective so constrained to the contents of immediate life and prejudice? Is that not likely to lead to ignorant assumptions and offence in face of what is unbeknownst?

What becomes of the German Muslim, I wonder? Is he spared because he is white? Or is he declared a traitor and shunned? Is it difficult to choose between racism and neglecting a fellow countryman? Choose neither. Choose education. Tolerance. Kindness.

Detach from the vicious cycle of far-right media (who are unfamiliar with foreigners) feeding the far-right populace (who are unfamiliar with foreigners) what they should think about foreigners.

I ask you, have you ever met a Muslim? "Met" is not a synonym for shouting abuse at or stabbing to death in or outside their home. No, have you ever sat with a Muslim? Talked to a Muslim? Worked with a Muslim?

You should. At an airport perhaps, where we are 42 times more likely to be searched, and thus declared safe for human interaction.

Sincerely,
A Real-Life Muslim (not the ones on TV)

---------------

That's what we need. Highly sophisticated, educated, and real-life Western Muslims with background in law and policy making coming forward and literally destroying anti-Muslim bigotry with solid facts, impeccable logical reasoning, and brilliant presentation.

Well written and the stigma is understandable. But this is one side of the story. It is good that he refused to stay the silent majority. This needs to be a general response. All it takes for the goodwill to go away is one bomb. For example, a liberal may feel good with a dozen folks from the Quilliam Foundation and on his way back home take ham for his wife and gets slapped or abused by some Muslims. At the end of the day the negative influence will last longer than the positives that he saw all day long. Because it takes one bit of crap to ruin a meal.

There is one major fatal flaw in his argument. He is demanding the right to be in a foreign country. Over and above the right of the people of the country not wishing them in. In reality, as an immigrant, he does not have that right. The point that Dresden having 0.1% Muslim should not disturb the people of Dresden is ridiculous. The threshold of tolerance is different in different places. The Dresden citizens may be close minded. For them 0.1% is too much. Simple.

Is it fair? No it is not.

But can you as a foreigner do something about it? Nope.

That's what it boils down to.

 

[General General]

Already posted by me: A Muslim's Response to Anti-Islam Protesters in Germany

 

[AUz]

Well written and the stigma is understandable. But this is one side of the story. It is good that he refused to stay the silent majority. This needs to be a general response. All it takes for the goodwill to go away is one bomb. For example, a liberal may feel good with a dozen folks from the Quilliam Foundation and on his way back home take ham for his wife and gets slapped or abused by some Muslims. At the end of the day the negative influence will last longer than the positives that he saw all day long. Because it takes one bit of crap to ruin a meal.

I know what you mean.

But if Media doesn't fan the issue day in day out, and show more positive side of Muslim existence in West as well--we'll have a better society for all!

There is one major fatal flaw in his argument. He is demanding the right to be in a foreign country. Over and above the right of the people of the country not wishing them in. In reality, as an immigrant, he does not have that right. The point that Dresden having 0.1% Muslim should not disturb the people of Dresden is ridiculous. The threshold of tolerance is different in different places. The Dresden citizens may be close minded. For them 0.1% is too much. Simple.

Is it fair? No it is not.

But can you as a foreigner do something about it? Nope.

That's what it boils down to.

The flaw in your argument is that you assume that he is a "foreigner".... Millions of Muslims are born as Europeans, raised as Europeans, speak European languages, get educated in European institutions, take part in European systems and so on.

Moreover, when people from an area where there are 0.1% Muslims rise up and claim "Our national culture is under threat and we should stop Muslims" ..while at the same time, people from areas where Muslims are 10% or more rise up and reject this notion as ridiculous...then logical reasoning dictates that people who are doing all the noise are most likely bigots and at best, ignorant.

Lets not stretch this by bringing in things like "Oh may be 0.1% was too much of a threshold for protesters" ...Lets be rational and call it what it is!

Already posted by me: A Muslim's Response to Anti-Islam Protesters in Germany

Admins will merge it. Don't worry.

Lets continue the discussion here...

 

[SarthakGanguly]

doing all the noise are most likely bigots and at best, ignorant.

Most likely they are close minded. I would not say exactly racist. Many folks have problems with White Muslims as well. But you can't impose your will on them, however bigoted they may be. It's still their country. The smarter ones will leave for more tolerant areas.

 

[The_Showstopper]

Yes it is.

This article has already got 116,000+ shares/likes on facebook alone. And the audiences are mainly Western/American readers.

There is a reason you don't see a lot of Indians, and other bigots in this thread.

The author just literally left no room for any counter argument. He just destroyed so-called "Pegida"...lmao!

@Audio @flamer84 You folks are clear-headed Europeans here..especially compared to lunatic, sad, lonely neo-nazi outcasts like @MarkusS ...You folks should read this.

Why do you have to drag in Indians over here? The author raised valid points and a good way of representing muslims...

 

[Gunsnroses]

Brilliantly written.
But will not be sufficient for some!

 

[Black Widow]

Dear 25,000 Anti-Islam Dresden Protesters and Pegida,

I hear you marched in your thousands against my religion. Last week, and last month. You marched against immigrants, foreigners, and anyone a shade darker. I will not draw comparisons to Nazi Germany. I will not call you bigots, I will not insult you, and I will not label you. But we do have a problem.

You marched with banners claiming your city is overcrowded with Muslims. Yet 0.1% of Dresden are Muslim. You marched claiming immigrants are cramming your schools and leaving your children to travel miles for an education. Yet 2.5% of Dresden are foreign-born.

You claim that Germany is being invaded by Muslims. Yet only 5% of Germans are Muslim.

You march "against the Islamization of the West". Yet within a century containing two World Wars, the decolonisation process, countless civil conflicts, foreign intervention, globalisation, and further displacement, Muslims remain a fringe minority in Europe. Less than 6%. A pretty lousy colonisation process, no?

You marched against refugees and asylum seekers, claiming Germany is their target for welfare and social security. Yet according to UNHCR, there are 51.2million refugees worldwide. Germany caters for less than 0.01% of them. Is that too much to ask? Is such a humanitarian obligation too large for the Refugee Convention 1951 your government ratified? Or is it actually punitive, for example, in comparison to Lebanon where every fourth person is a Syrian refugee?

Protesters, you are not alone. In my country, Britain, we have our own anti-immigration party. Ukip won their first seat in Clacton with nothing but anti-migrant rhetoric. Yet only 4.3% of Clacton are foreign-born. In a Parliamentary-based system, where each constituency elects a representative to voice their views, there is nothing Ukip can do for the people of Clacton.

Do you see a pattern? Perhaps I should explain. Your kind tend to establish themselves where their "problem" does not actually exist. Is this therefore an issue of negative perception? Fear of the unfamiliar? Intolerance in ignorance? Scapegoating an underclass? Media misinformation?

I will elaborate. London has a 36.2% foreign-born population. Relatively, that is fifteen times the population of foreigners in Dresden. A far greater diversity. Ukip poll the lowest in London compared to the rest of the country- in every demographic, foreign or not. London is a metropolis of brown, black, and white working side by side. We thrive. I saw an atheist today. Guess what? I did not try to convert him nor behead him for blasphemy; I helped him off the bus. He was 74 years old.

Does that make sense?

Your only insight into Islam is a box in your living room. Confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance infest the information you expose yourself to. Information which dehumanises and polarises anyone unlike you.

You enjoy the far-right media portrayal of Islam. It makes you feel good. Superior. Better. The barbaric Muslims, we are. We disrespect women, and we impose our beliefs on to others.

Yet did you know that Turkey, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, all Muslim majority states have had more elected female heads of state than almost every other Western country? Did you know that the Quran explicitly says "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256), and our Prophet clarified "whomever hurts a non-Muslim will not smell a whiff of paradise"?

Did you know that your twisted misrepresentation of my religion helps the terrorists? Did you know that you and the terrorists agree on what seems to form an integral part of your identity: that Islam is violent? Did you know that you even use the same methodology to proclaim this; taking a verse out of context and evading any intellectual discourse?

What are Muslims to you, anyway? Arabs? Less than 20% of us are Arab. Indian or Pakistani? Again, less than 20%. Turkish? Less than 5%. Nothing else? That is more than half of us you cannot identify.

You assume our identity by our race. Is it not disheartening to you that such a narrow world view is legitimately held by so many? Does it not display a perspective so constrained to the contents of immediate life and prejudice? Is that not likely to lead to ignorant assumptions and offence in face of what is unbeknownst?

What becomes of the German Muslim, I wonder? Is he spared because he is white? Or is he declared a traitor and shunned? Is it difficult to choose between racism and neglecting a fellow countryman? Choose neither. Choose education. Tolerance. Kindness.

Detach from the vicious cycle of far-right media (who are unfamiliar with foreigners) feeding the far-right populace (who are unfamiliar with foreigners) what they should think about foreigners.

I ask you, have you ever met a Muslim? "Met" is not a synonym for shouting abuse at or stabbing to death in or outside their home. No, have you ever sat with a Muslim? Talked to a Muslim? Worked with a Muslim?

You should. At an airport perhaps, where we are 42 times more likely to be searched, and thus declared safe for human interaction.

Sincerely,
A Real-Life Muslim (not the ones on TV)

---------------

That's what we need. Highly sophisticated, educated, and real-life Western Muslims with background in law and policy making coming forward and literally destroying anti-Muslim bigotry with solid facts, impeccable logical reasoning, and brilliant presentation.

Why don't this Good-Cop(So called Moderate Muslim) talk with Bad-Cop (Taliban) and teach them real Islam?

 

[Cheetah786]

Well written and the stigma is understandable. But this is one side of the story. It is good that he refused to stay the silent majority. This needs to be a general response. All it takes for the goodwill to go away is one bomb. For example, a liberal may feel good with a dozen folks from the Quilliam Foundation and on his way back home take ham for his wife and gets slapped or abused by some Muslims. At the end of the day the negative influence will last longer than the positives that he saw all day long. Because it takes one bit of crap to ruin a meal.

There is one major fatal flaw in his argument. He is demanding the right to be in a foreign country. Over and above the right of the people of the country not wishing them in. In reality, as an immigrant, he does not have that right. The point that Dresden having 0.1% Muslim should not disturb the people of Dresden is ridiculous. The threshold of tolerance is different in different places. The Dresden citizens may be close minded. For them 0.1% is too much. Simple.

Is it fair? No it is not.

But can you as a foreigner do something about it? Nope.

That's what it boils down to.

Isn't this what the guy is talking about the Media biased, this argument all Muslims have to condemn this or we are not going to believe really.

What exactly do they mean, it needs to be general response, every time a white man commits a crime should all white people come out on the streets and say we condemn this or we are sorry for his or her actions.

When an Indian commits a crime should all the indians come out on street and say we condemn this. If not why not.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Isn't this what the guy is talking about the Media biased, this argument all Muslims have to condemn this or we are not going to believe really.

What exactly do they mean, it needs to be general response, every time a white man commits a crime should all white people come out on the streets and say we condemn this or we are sorry for his or her actions.

When an Indian commits a crime should all the indians come out on street and say we condemn this. If not why not.

Apologies are meaningless. It makes it appear that the crime was done collectively. What needs to be done is prevention of the attacks. The Muslims should themselves hold patrols and rein in the Islamist patrols for example. That would send a very strong message. This guy has done something - he has written. Staying a silent majority will be of no use.

 

[Cheetah786]

Apologies are meaningless. It makes it appear that the crime was done collectively. What needs to be done is prevention of the attacks. The Muslims should themselves hold patrols and rein in the Islamist patrols for example. That would send a very strong message. This guy has done something - he has written. Staying a silent majority will be of no use.

Brilliant, i take it crimes in India dont exist. Try hard to disguise your biased ,but unfortunately for you its not working out.

 

[Jungibaaz]

Saw this on Mehdi Hasan's feed a few days ago. Though none of the European right would actually take this seriously, let alone read it.