CAIR representative answers questions on CNN

CAIR played a critical role in the case of Gulet Mohamed.

http://www.adl.org/Israel/cair/default.asp

It's a complicated world.

Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious centers get attacked every year in this country. Let's clearly be on the side against the haters, no?

yes ... absolutely.

It's just not obvious to me who are the haters. This group seems like a good group, they seem to say the right things, and in general I think the world sorely needs moderate Muslim groups.

But there is evidence that this group funds Hamas (which is a hater). They have also supported rallies where people have signs that liken Israel to Nazis, they compare Zionism to Nazism, and call Gaza a concentration camp. Looking at the middle one, you and I have our differences, but do you think it is fair to compare me to a Nazi because I believe that the Jewish people have rights to a homeland?

I'm too tired to figure out the culpability of this group in all of this. Every rally has its fringe. Maybe they just can't control it, or maybe they secretly support it. Enlighten me.

The haters are the Christians, Jews. and Muslims that prefer violence.

The Vatican called Gaza a concentration camp. Are you going to make out Archduke to be an anti-Semite because of it? Are you going to go about questioning every organization that associates with the Vatican as anti-Israeli? Muslims deserve the same kind of non prejudiced treatment as any other American.

I agree with you that it is complicated, that is why blind hateful prejudice is so dangerous.

No, I'm okay with anti-Israel organizations. My issue is with organizations using this particular WW II imagery and equating Israel with the Nazis. I would think that the Vatican would be more cautious in their language given their history, but some Cardinals are not.

Of course Muslims deserve the same kind of non prejudiced treatment. I certainly haven't said otherwise.

We can keep this discussion going on hate against Muslims. I agree with you that there is too much hate against ordinary Muslims. For some perspective, here are some stats on hate crimes in the US http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/26 ... d-in-2009/

Attacks against Jews and Jewish sites accounted for more than 70 percent of the 2009 incidents against religious targets, while Muslims were targeted in just over 9 percent of the incidents. Both groups have relatively small communities, a few million in each case, as opposed to the nation's more than 65 million Roman Catholics, for example. The FBI tallied 51 anti-Catholic incidents in total in 2009, 38 against Protestants, and 10 against atheists and agnostics.

http://www.icna.org/2011/03/hateful-pro ... #more-6386

Just some more background because it is complicated. The event was held by ICNA, so here's a link to their website. They also have a comment section on the article that is mostly supportive, but there are a couple of posts that accuse ICNA of supporting terrorism and/or having prominent officials who support terrorism and blame Israel for 9/11. I applaud ICNA for not taking down these comments.

Overall, I'm okay with ICNA because there is no evidence that fully condemns them, and there are many people looking for such evidence. No matter what your position on ICNA, no doubt some of the protester comments went outrageous.

Ah yes, people are only allowed to protest when it is against whites!

I sympathise with the protestors. Our politicians here in aus keep letting more and more people into the nation when the most of us do not want it.

The immigrants who come here are usually hard working and respectable people. Unfortunantly there children grow up thinking it is little lebanon or little pakistan.

We dont have this problem with Greeks/Islanders/Asians or Europeans, only the muslims and the muslim wannabees. AKa the lebanese.

So yeah, dont like our laws and freedoms.... Go home!

You're like Bush term one never came to end...too fun...don't ever change.

Life must be quiet in your bubble to make assumptions like that but it is ok i understand the truth is a hard pill to swallow.

I dont beleive what i see on TV. I dont beleive what i read in the newspapers. I dont believe what i hear on the radio.

If i give an opinion it will be based on what i have heard, seen and smelt for myself in this world not some cheesy link to a biased news article with a biased OP attempting to make his POV understood on how evil white is.

The truth is, of all the immigrants that come to australia it is those of muslim heritage that generally struggle to integrate into society. Whilst the vast majority of those people are hard working contributing members to society it is sad to say that alot of there children grow up alienated into there own racial groups seeing themselves as lebanese/australians as opposed to just 'australians'.

This then causes huge social problems when people like Sheikh Al Hilali use metephors like (you dont blame the cat for eating meat that was left out on the table>), or using ''cultural'' differences to try and defend Lebanese youths who gangrape young white women....... Cultural differences? they were born in this country ffs!

Sad truth is buddy there is alot more to this world then right/wrong and what you see on TV, if you ever leave your bubble to take a walk down the street and take in the atmosphere you might see this for yourself.

Now... Im not advocating those protestors are right. But i sympathise with them.

You don't like our laws, and our way of life. They come here to get away from there wartorn 3rd world backwards shithole nations and then try to turn this nation into tha which they fled.... no thanks, you don;t like it go home.

Multiculturalism has failed. Multi ethnicity has not. Pretty fair i think.

smelt? Why are they being dragged into this?

I have trouble agreeing with Rolls since he sounds so damned racist and bigoted, but I find myself agreeing with almost all of what he has to say and if he had toned down those thoughts it would be a whole different and quite agreeable story. He's right yet we find ourselves ashamed to agree. I especially like his multiculturalism vs multietnicity statement and he shows (at least in some degree) he is not a racist and is open to people being different and maybe even embracing our differences if we could simply do so as one common people.

GMTom wrote:

But according to you, the Left are worse.

...quite childish, was I not critical of both sides?

Well, you decided that as you hadn't seen the video you'd cover all bases by criticising both sides. I'm sure that's the benchmark of considered and mature debate...

If you insist on this line of questioning,
as a matter of fact I [b]do[//b] think the left is generally worse!

So if the answer to my question is 'Yes', why so sore about it?

This particular example is what is being discussed and I have no problem admitting the right has their fair share of whackos as well. I am sticking to the issue at hand thank you

Says the guy who littered the Gifford thread with various 'examples' which were totally different, and introduced a load of people from the other side as counters.

Why treat the two so differently?

and this group gives the TP a bad name, no doubt

Do they? I didn't actually see a direct link to the Tea Party movement in this video or with the politicians involved. A link to the Republican Party, yes, but nothing explicitly on the TP. Looked more like the deranged ultra-cons than the deranged libertarians to me...

Oh, and Tom, let's just say that Rolls comes across as a typically balanced Aussie - he's got a chip on each shoulder. I'd be wary of agreeing with him myself, especially if I were trying to argue that the other side of the left-right divide was more offensive than my own.

oh boy!
First, you did nothing to prove you are being anything but childish as I had mentioned

I was quite clear saying I had not viewed the video and my statements were not about that event in the least but what is happening regarding both sides of this tea party protesting. I said nothing that was not rue, I was correct in my observations and opinions that most certainly had to do with the topic while avoiding any specific mention of this one event.

Why so sore about your being childish and trying to get a rise out of me?
I'm not sore about it, simply a bit put off by your childishness is all.

Speaking of the Gabriel Giffords thread, I did no such thing in the least. Saying something posed as fact doesn't make it true. I have no freaking idea what you are speaking about but do find it pretty funny that you want to claim I was wrong for doing exactly as you seem to be doing here?

You continue to try and get a rise out of me, I do believe the left side is worse than the right side when it comes down to it. So what? I said both sides are bad, we are at a critical flash point and both sides are getting increasingly bad...so what? How was that wrong? and you simply prove my assertion, I am right leaning, you are left leaning ...who is the one attempting to provoke the other? Thank you for helping to prove my assertions, you're a sport!

GMTom wrote:oh boy!
First, you did nothing to prove you are being anything but childish as I had mentioned

You got me. I am childishly and provocatively using your own previous statements to show what your position is.

Wow. What a crime. Nearly as bad as screaming obscenities and "Go Home" chants at families, huh?

I was quite clear saying I had not viewed the video and my statements were not about that event in the least but what is happening regarding both sides of this tea party protesting. I said nothing that was not rue, I was correct in my observations and opinions that most certainly had to do with the topic while avoiding any specific mention of this one event.

huh? So your statements were 'not about that event in the least' but at the same time you are confining yourself to discussion on it?

Perhaps it's my childishness, but this confuses me a lot.

Speaking of the Gabriel Giffords thread, I did no such thing in the least. Saying something posed as fact doesn't make it true. I have no freaking idea what you are speaking about but do find it pretty funny that you want to claim I was wrong for doing exactly as you seem to be doing here?

I am not saying what you are doing is wrong. I am just describing what you are doing. Inference is a trap to avoid, dear Tommy.

You continue to try and get a rise out of me, I do believe the left side is worse than the right side when it comes down to it. So what? I said both sides are bad, we are at a critical flash point and both sides are getting increasingly bad...so what? How was that wrong? and you simply prove my assertion, I am right leaning, you are left leaning ...who is the one attempting to provoke the other? Thank you for helping to prove my assertions, you're a sport!

I'm not trying to 'provoke' you. I'm trying to get you to show how it is that the 'Left' are so much worse. Worse than this lot were, for example.

You make an assertion, but it's all bluster to back it up. And that, my friend, may or may not be childish, but I'm pretty sure it's less than rigorous.