The Chris Plante Show on Muslim Outrage
Mike Ghouse, December 10, 2007

Chris Plante is a conservative Radio talk show host and articulates the issues very well. He read my article “Where is the Muslim Outrage” and acted out in giving the moderates a voice. As one of the first South Asian Radio talk show hosts in the US, it was a delight to be on his show, he allowed the callers from all hues, giving it a true range, at least two callers were Muslim, and it was good to hear them. That was the purpose of the show to get the Muslims to speak up.  My show was about giving a voice to the extremes from conservative to liberal and certainly the silent ones. I believe to make an effective long lasting decision; we have to put all the cards on the table. 

The following is a quick recall and a few highlights and ideas for Muslims. I dedicate this column to Chris Plante, those of you who are in DC; I encourage you to get involved with Chris.

I appreciate him for understanding the reality of the public perception of Muslims and his ultimate desire to know the truth, so we all can live with it. There is a thirst for knowledge from the main stream community, and I will bullet a few key points;

Our silence is construed as approval of the wrong doings by the extremists. The constant question is “Where is the Muslim outrage?” 

1. On Darfur

2. Sudanese mis-treatment of Ms. Gibbons

3. Saudi treatment, rather mistreatment of the rape victim.

4. Beheading of Buddhists Monk in Thailand

5. Minnesota Taxi drivers

6. Flying Imams suing the passengers

7. Other issues...

Let us not discount that this outrage is from the hard core neo-cons, who may not even believe that Jesus’ taught that we must treat others as we would want to be treated.  

We cannot discount the extremists, like the Islamists, the Neocons are making their faith look bad too, but maligning comes only to Muslims at this time.

I expect Muslims to differ as individuals and they should express all points of view without any hesitation.

I am not talking about the Neocons, I am talking about is the mega majority – 99% of the silent majority on the other side of the isle, who are vulnerable to the daily news (wrong at times) items and could easily subscribe to the propaganda of the Neocons.

It is necessary for the Muslim majority to connect with the non-Muslim majority to keep the peace in the world and check the extremism from all sides

How do you connect? 

• Write to the newspapers, call them up and ask their criteria to be published. Don’t give up, keep writing.

• Call in the talk show radio, learn to say what will get you on the air, and make your point as precisely as you can without ranting.

• Just clarify the item, and not travel the word map.

• Attend the public meetings

• Get involved in the political party you belong to

• And simply have your presence, when they see that you are not a terrorist, almost all of us in the USA are not, and they will be re-assured with their prime belief that all are good people.

• Since, our fellow Muslims are committing crimes, we obviously and wrongfully are associated with them, the only way to change that false perception is to be with them and let them see who we are.

• If we see an extremist among us, it is obligatory on us to talk with that person or report to the authorities. We cannot let one idiot endanger the lives of people; it goes against the foundation of any religion in general, and certainly Islam.

The highlight of the program was a question that came from a man named Jerry, who said the typical things about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – Murderer, Pedophile and several other labels. I felt his anguish and offered him to respond to any question he may have about Islam and the prophet. Jerry was as mis-informed about Islam as our President was about WMD’s. There ain’t any WMD and Prophet Muhammad was pure a human as one can get.

Just as we have ‘Massacred’ a Million Iraqi’s and sacrifice nearly four thousand of our men and women based on fabricated and false WMD information, we have wronged Prophet Muhammad as well. He delivered several models to be peace makers. Chris reiterated the million figure, possibly reluctantly, but I take truth is important to him as well, when presented.

I leveled with him, if I were to have a Qur’aan, which I got free from the Wahhabis, and if I were a Jew or Christian and opened the book, on the very first page, the 7^th verse will throw me off. That particular translation by Hilali goes as follows:

1:7 the way of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, not of those who have been condemned [Like the Christians], nor of those who go astray! [Like the Jews]

With that, I would be outraged too. This is where deliberate misinformation creeps into the holy books for some one’s gain. I apologized to all the Christians and Jews for having to endure that translation, as that is the only thing they go by, what they have on their hands is the genuine Qur’aan for them. Indeed, the Qur’aan is genuine and has remained intact for fourteen centuries, but the translation is not.

The truth is far from it. In the Arabic version; the genuine Qur’aan does not have those two words; Christians and Jews in the chapter.  However, thanks God, there are 16 new translations available now, including that malignant translation for people to verify on their own as finding the truth is one’s own responsibility.

As a Muslim I am outraged that we were duped with the wrong meaning of Jihaad for centuries by the Muslim Neocons for their own gains. Thanks God, and thanks to the environment of freedom available to Muslims living in democracies for re-discovering the truth, that Islam does not call for violence and in fact it condemns and abhors violence.

The other question that piqued my attention was a typical Muslim question, not a common one, but from a man who sees the world “either with us or with the enemies”. It came on my email.  “How come you are not condemning the Palestine…. Chechnya and a host of other places...” My response has been the same, we can breath only once in a given moment, and can talk about one issue at a time in that moment. Right now the need of the hour is to condemn what happened in Sudan and Saudi Arabia, both in the name of Islam. By not expressing our outrage, we may be giving the impression that we subscribe to that ideology. We don’t.

Chris graciously acknowledged that it is the case with all majorities; however none from them is committing the crimes in the name of God. There are indeed an equal amount of crimes, but not invoking God’s name.

Muslims do condemn these wrongs but not enough to make a difference.  The media must be some what guilty for not giving a lift to build momentum either. Thanks to WMAL station and Chris for letting a moderate voice on the airwaves.

Chris Plante’s  main contention was lack of rallies by Muslims to stand up with America, and he compares Al Sharpton’s rally in a hurry against the treatment of six African Americans.  Farrakhan got a million mans March in DC. Where is the Muslim March for 9/11? http://www.630wmal.com/showdj.asp?DJID=28590

As a community, we have commemorated the 9/11 with the Unity Day in Dallas, and the Unity March rally in his own town DC and in Tuscaloosa Alabama that I am aware of.

Osama bin laden is indeed the biggest enemy of Muslims; i) he put a billion and half  Muslim lives at risk around the globe and iii) his acts were anti-Islam but he posed it as if it were an act of Islam through the word Jihad. Muslims in America and from around the world have condemned it vigorously.

On the website http://www.630wmal.com/showdj.asp?DJID=28590 the following appears with the title Quote of the Night: "What is wrong is wrong, I am not embarrassed condemning Muslims." Mike Ghouse.

There is an audio version of it as well. The above statement stemmed from the talk about Justice, where Caliph Omar had punished his own son against a complaint from a Jewish business man. One’s moral strength comes from being Just. You speak out against every wrong. A wrong does not become right if the wrong doer is your brother or sister.

It was in response to an email from a Muslim who said that I was with the Kuffars and why don’t I condemn other atrocities against Muslims? We do, he fell into the same pit that some of the Neocons fall – where is Muslim condemnation for 9/11? There is plenty from the Muslim community in the US and abroad, Neocons don’t see it and the media do not give the circulation either. I should have asked the man, if he thought Caliph Omar was supporting Kuffars against his own son? A word whose context has gone universal, it meant those who deny the creator – today, no one including the atheist deny that there is a causer of the creation. Personally I and a majority of Muslims don’t divide the world, just as a majority of any group.

What others say or do matters, but how we react to an incident matters more. As Muslims, we need to get our house in order and then that might lend us the ability to cast the first stone. Right now, no one can cast the stone. Jesus knew the weakness in human beings. 

In the last few days, I have received a few hate mails from Neocon Muslims, Christians, Hindus and few others who cannot stomach the idea of peace. Creating chaos is entertainment to them. I wish they go watch a good movie instead.

The extremists have the passion to mess up the world, and we moderates, the darn majority need to build that passion to fix the world, if not our words are meaningless.

Be just, as much as you can, do not hesitate to criticize our own wrongs first. The moral strength comes from being just. You can really change the world if you earn that moral strenght and it is easy, be just.. There is a joy in working for other’s good. Don’t miss it.