Opinion

OTHER VIEWS

Other Views from page 23

CAIR denounced him and portrayed
him as a dog tearing apart the body
of Islam.
Imams denounced this doctor,
whose only sin was to claim that
Islam really was a "religion of peace!'
A radical cleric in Tempe, Ariz.,
Ahmed Shqueriat, who operates from
a prominent local mosque, told the
filmmaker that, in fact, it was the
patriotic Jasser who was an "extrem-
ist!'
Sheik Hisham Kabbani, a leader
of the peace-oriented Sufi sect of
Islam based in Washington, D.C.,
and Michigan, is also featured in the
film. He discusses how Saudi Arabian
funding has helped spread that
country's fundamentalist interpreta-
tion of Islam, called Wahhabism. The
Saudis, working through their embas-
sies, have helped bankroll mosques
throughout the country, including
those run by the Nation of Islam. In
exchange for this money, the Saudis
have installed militant Wahabbi
imams and education at religious cen-
ters around the world, including here
in North America.
While Kabbani and Jasser are fight-
ing for Islam's soul in America, two
other subjects of the film are on far
more dangerous ground.
French Muslim journalist
Mohammed Sifaoui and Danish leg-
islator Naser Khader have received
death threats and remain under police
protection for their opposition to the
violent Islamists who've spoken in the
name of all Muslims. Their stories
make explicit the risks faced by any
who dissent from the Islamist line.
As a recent survey by the Pew
Research Center shows, it is by no
means a foregone conclusion that the
radicals speak for all Muslims. Their
poll of American Muslims shows that
the vast majority are assimilating into
society and well appreciate the ben-
efits of living in freedom.
Less encouraging are the results
that show that about one-quarter of
Muslim respondents were prepared
to endorse terrorism in the name of
Islam under some circumstances.
Even worse, 60 percent either denied
it or refused to answer when asked
whether Arabs or Muslims had any-
thing to do with Sept. 11, 2001.
This shows that there is still room
for genuine moderates like Jasser to
find supporters among the majority
of American Muslims. But with Saudi-
funded Wahhabi imams deployed in
mosques and Islamist-supporting
groups like CAIR claiming the right to

speak for all Muslims, the drift toward
radicalism is growing by the day.
What is needed is for the rest of
society to reach out to the Jassers and
to stop playing ball.
The stakes involved in this issue
are enormous, as the Holy Land
Foundation prosecution demonstrates.
But as long as networks such as
PBS are heeding the radicals and
allowing the voices of moderates to
be drowned out, the terrifying drift
toward radicalism among Muslims in
the West will continue. ri

Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of
the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. E-
mail: jtobin@jewishexponent.com

AJC To Honor Nicholson
The American Jewish Committee
Metropolitan Detroit Chapter will
honor James B. Nicholson 6 p.m.
Monday, June 25, at the Atheneum
hotel in Detroit's Greektown.
At the dinner, Nicholson will
receive the Distinguished Community
Leadership Award from AJC's Institute
of Human Relations. The award will
honor his civic leadership.
Nicholson serves as chairman of
the board of the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra, the Futures Foundation
and the Huron Clinton Metroparks
Foundation, chair of the Detroit met-
ropolitan area's Tourism Economic
Development Council and a member
of the executive committee of the
board of Detroit Renaissance.
He is president and chief execu-
tive officer of PVS Chemicals Inc.,
an international manufacturer and
marketer of chemicals and related
environmental services. He is chair-
man of the board of LaSalle Bank
Midwest N.A. and of the Amerisure
Companies. He is a member of the
boards of the Handleman Company
and Cooper Natural Resources.
Tickets begin at $250 and an ad
journal book will be distributed. The
speaker will be president and chief
executive officer of LaSalle Bank
Corporation, Norman R. Bobins.
The evening's tribute co-chairs
include David A. Brandon, Eugene
Driker, Kenneth Eisenberg, Burt
Farbman, Stuart Frankel, Alphonse
Lucarelli, Alan E. Schwartz, Stephen
Strome, Sheldon Toll, and Gary
Torgow. The AJC tribute co-chairs are
Alyssa R. Martina and Nancy Bechek
Bluth.
For information, call (248) 646-7686.

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