L.A. MUSLIM LEADER FOOLED COMMUNITY.Byline: JONATHAN DOBRER Local View THE scheduled presentation of a Human Relations human relations npl → relaciones fpl humanas Commission award to Dr. Maher Hathout on Oct.5 in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. has stirred up a controversy and shattered the surface calm of interfaith dialogue locally. It has pitted rabbi against rabbi and minister against priest. Ironically, this prestigious award for promoting good human relations has turned into a melee. For years, Hathout has been the friendly face of Islam in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . This now seems to be a false face. Tapes and writings have revealed that Hathout has spoken in the kind of heated rhetoric -- against Israel and Jews -- that does not promote good relations among local humans. As senior advisor In some countries, a Senior Advisor is an appointed position by the Head of State to advise on the highest levels of national and government policy. Sometimes a junior position to this is called a National Policy Advisor. to the Muslim Public Affairs Council
Thus, I feel a sense of personal betrayal. This man, who has sat next to me and spoken of how Muslims were misunderstood and badly portrayed in U.S. media -- which I thought at the time was a fair point -- now places his complaint in context by explaining that ``the U.S. is under Israeli occupation.'' This is pretty much the touchstone of anti-Semitism: Israel controls American Jews American Jews, or Jewish Americans, are American citizens or resident aliens who were born into the Jewish community or who have converted to Judaism. The United States is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. , and together we run the government and the media. He goes on to say that ``the U.S. Congress is the only Israeli settlement Israeli settlements are communities inhabited by Israeli Jews in territory that came under Israel's control as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, which is partially under Israeli military administration[1] outside of Israel.'' He attributes this quotation to another source, but he uses it to bolster his argument. It gets much worse, and Hathout's real face shatters his amiable mask of reasonableness. ``Israel,'' he says, ``is a racist apartheid state practicing state terror.'' But he demurs that he doesn't want to criticize Israel in detail because ``butchers do what butchers do.'' This is exactly the kind of ``collective guilt and punishment'' with which critics charge Israel. Hathout also says, ``The (Arab) nations that made peace with Israel will be swept away in the cesspool cesspool: see septic tank. of history.'' Hathout seems to be following the lead of Yasser Arafat, who said one nice and tolerant thing in English and then in Arabic promised eternal jihad jihad: see Islam. jihad In Islam, the central doctrine that calls on believers to combat the enemies of their religion. According to the Qur'an and the Hadith, jihad is a duty that may be fulfilled in four ways: by the heart, the tongue, the hand, . Unfortunately, perhaps even tragically, this once beloved spokesman for moderation now injures Muslims and Jews by undermining the faith we can have in our communications. Many good-hearted American Jews and Muslims have been meeting and talking, trying to find understanding and bridge differences. We all must wonder if this is not like lying while in couple's therapy. How can we resolve issues if our therapeutic meetings are founded on less than truth? When the question is brought back to the question of the appropriateness of the award, Hathout claims that the issue is not whether he said Israel is a terrorist state governed by butchers. No the ``real question'' is one of freedom of speech. He says of the growing objections about his selection for the award: ``I'm not talking about Middle East politics. I'm talking I'm Talking was a 1980s Australian funk-pop rock band, noted for launching vocalist Kate Ceberano. History After the break-up of the Melbourne-based experimental funk band Essendon Airport in 1983, members Robert Goodge (guitar), Ian Cox (saxophone) and Barbara Hogarth freedom of speech here.'' No, he isn't. No one is trying to stifle his right to speak freely. Personally, I don't want him silenced. I want him to say the same things to Jewish audiences that he says to Muslims and Arabs. I'd like to see one face, one real face. I am able to tolerate being disagreed with, but trust between people and groups is not built by duplicity DUPLICITY, pleading. Duplicity of pleading consists in multiplicity of distinct matter to one and the same thing, whereunto several answers are required. Duplicity may occur in one and the same pleading. . To get a Human Relations award, one should be turning down the rhetorical heat so that light may be seen. Words and name-calling turn up the heat and set a fire, destroying the bridges I thought we were building together. The question before us is not, as Hathout would have it, if he should he be silenced. The appropriate question is whether calling Israelis ``butchers, terrorists and racist apartheid occupiers'' should be honored with a human relations award. And some predicted that after 9-11 there would be no more irony. |
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