New Propaganda theme: Muslims struggle to find sense of belonging

I know you are all sniff at the sad tone of the title but read on and I will explain why this article is bunk.

By Mohsen al Attar, March 14, 2008, The New Zealand Herald

Migrant Muslim communities in Western nations such as New Zealand and Australia are facing a psychological and spiritual crisis.
-Great lead in, play for the sympathy, set victim status and leave nothing arguable.

Post-September 11, Bali and London events and actions by Western governments, including the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, have produced widespread suspicion, detention and deportation of Muslim migrants and nationals.
-Bait and switch, no details or numbers of the number of Muslims deported along with a comparison of how many Muslims are in New Zealand and how many more arrived after 9/11. Somehow I am thinking a very small number were actually “deported”

And the highly xenophobic and hateful rhetoric of media pundits and politicians has produced a climate in which many Muslims feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in their homes.
-Really? Was there some unreported mass hysteria that the press missed?

But this is only half the story. We cannot disregard the fierce and hateful narrative of many Muslim fundamentalist groups – Islamists as they are termed by the West.
-Clever way to bring in the old-the other Muslims made us look bad play. Watch out west for “Islamists” ignore the other readers and followers of the koran.

These groups adopt an absolutist stance on religious form and duty that sandwiches Muslims between support for the violent and morally schizophrenic tactics of the movement and opposition to these tactics, often leading to accusations (and sometimes feelings) of betrayal to Islam.
-More of the same distraction-beware the bad muslims, listen close and he will show you the way to safety.

Many Western racists have exploited this double bind by questioning the loyalties of Kiwi-Muslims, Australian-Muslims, British-Muslims and, of course, American-Muslims.
-Broaden the number of victims to give validity to his point (again no data to support it) now the problem affects entire nations, poor dears.

Likewise, many Muslim fundamentalist groups have capitalised on Western bigotry to advance their personal clash of civilisation thesis by highlighting how quickly Muslims have been reduced to second-class citizens – not unlike what was done to Japanese migrants and citizens in Canada, America, and even New Zealand during World War II. Dual subjection to Islamophobia from the West on one side and reactionary currents within the Muslim community on the other has produced a situation in which many Muslims have lost a sense of who they are.
-An attempt to show a historical over reaction by white westerners. That argument in itself is racist but you are not supposed to think that way. Like most Muslim mouthpieces this guy will continue to rant in hopes you will find something you can agree on.

Feelings of belonging to a nation have been replaced by feelings of fear and paranoia, causing many to withdraw into themselves and self-segregate within their communities.
-And you would think word would get out that muslims are not welcomed, muslims would return home, warn others away from immigrating and the numbers of muslims would decrease sharply. Anyone see a slowing of immigration or is this guy a liar?

Lack of knowledge of the self inevitably produces a loss of confidence, a common feature of many Muslim communities today which, quite naturally, stimulates a powerful desire for physical and moral security.
-This line should read: ” Lack of knowledge of muslim propaganda tricks work very well in western countries if you can establish victim status and play to their cultural guilt”

For some, this security is found in religious norms and, ominously, in the strict adherence thereto. Blind adherence to norms is detrimental to a community because it forces its members to overlook the meanings underpinning the norms and the spiritual foundation that informs the entire belief structure.
-Wow this went this far before he offered a solution-allow muslims to be different and see if your way is better than theirs. Be patient he will spread it on thicker.

Contrary to many fundamentalist and Western representations, Islam is not a religion of rules but a religion of reason. Multiple passages in the Koran and historical anecdotes derived from the prophetic traditions (eg “Use your brain about matters that perplex you” and “Wisdom is the last bastion of the Muslim”) illustrate the depth to which reason and critique have traditionally been revered in Muslim societies. Regrettably, the same cannot be said about many contemporary Muslim currents.
-So the troubles with islamists is temporary? Now you all get it-allow them to practice peacefully and it will all work itself out. To think westerners were the real problem all along.

Oxford professor and Islamic theologian Tariq Ramadan had just been in New Zealand as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Office of Ethnic Affairs. His visit was an opportunity for New Zealanders of all ethnic affiliations to acquire a better understanding of some of the opportunities and challenges that Muslim migration presents for New Zealand.
-This is another common trick, make the propagandist sound highly educated and capable of very deep analysis.

Professor Ramadan met MPs, academia and the media, and gave several public talks to New Zealanders of Maori, Pakeha and Muslim descent. His message was one of reconciliation.
-We are all brothers speech, a real yawner.

Migration can produce dislocations on physical, cultural and spiritual levels. For migrants, an underlying feeling of alienation almost perpetually lurks in the shadows as they try to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the unknown in their new home, while longing for the comfort of familiarity.
-A familiarity with an oppressive, murderous and domineering ideology is exactly the problem, egghead.

There is little in Kiwi society that prevents Muslim or other migrants from remaining true to their faith while integrating and gradually contributing as citizens of their new nation.
-Actually western laws tend to severely curtail traditional muslims practices, pedophilia, honor killing and slavery are a few examples.

For instance, as many Western states became venomously suspicious of their Muslim communities post-September 11, New Zealanders re-elected Dr Ashraf Choudhary to Parliament, demonstrating New Zealand can be a welcoming place even to those who do not fit the mould of Kiwiana.
-Another hint the muslims are the victims but New Zealand’s dhimmis are still ignorant of their fate.

Reconciliation must thus happen on both an individual and communal level as Muslim migrants attune their spiritual preferences with their physical location.
-Here he is placing some distance from other muslims as a buffer zone if one decides to practice islam and kill someone.

Reconciliation must also happen on a national level. Muslim migration to New Zealand has a long history. From Chinese Muslim miners in the late 19th century, to tradespeople of Gujarat at the turn of the 20th century, to Fiji-Indian workers in the 1950s, to Malaysian and Indonesian professionals in the 1980s, to refugees from Kosovo, Iraq and Somalia today, there is a strong Muslim presence in New Zealand totalling, by some estimates, nearly 50,000.
-Only the first line supports his purpose, give in, back to sleep others have fallen you will too.

Despite their long history of peaceful participation in Kiwi society, the posturing of anti-Islamic reactionaries and the ad hominem persecution of Ahmed Zaoui have had an impact.
-Excellent news, you have managed to push them back. Which btw is not the same as stopping them.

And New Zealand’s continued participation in Afghanistan despite a large number of civilian casualties has not gone unnoticed in Muslim communities.
-Very true, many are already making threats against New Zealand for turning on them.

If we are to manage the shifts that increased migration produces and counter the feelings of alienation that Islamophobia and fundamentalism inflame, we must adopt a proactive stance as opposed to a passive one; to transcend mutual suspicion and embrace mutual trust.
-That line was a call to his fellow muslims to turn up the heat.

This was the essence of Professor Ramadan’s timely message to New Zealand and the world.
-And this was Ronin’s counter to the professor’s silly attempt to misdirect, mislead. I also wanted to teach the world how muslims conduct the non violent jihad while their other brothers use the direct aproach.

You are all supposed to blindly trust the “moderates” they will save you all from the bad muslims. Or go with the truth and ignore what they say-watch what they do.

The truth and exposure of their agenda is our greatest weapon against islam.

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