Geneive Abdo was the keynote speaker at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Maiami on March 3rd. She is often introduced as a moderate Muslim like this
Speaker: Genieve Abdo, Religion Reporter at the Chicago Tribune, Author of "No God but God, Egypt and the Triumph of Islam." Genieve Abdo is an expert of the moderate modern Islamic movement; she spent 10 years in her professional life in Egypt and was introduced to the real moderate face of modern Islamic movement. She will discuss the impact of Media on Public Opinion, How is the American Media representing American Muslims and Islam, and what are the effective ways in dealing with the Media"
In this case she was giving a speech at the Mosque Foundation on American Muslims in the Eyes of the Media. Of course, she is part of the Media being a reporter for The Guardian. Back in 1999 when 13 Iranian Jews were arrested on trumped up charges of spying for Israel and threatened with execution, Abdo defended the Iranian government and attacked the Western press
Such considerations have shaped the response of Britain and other European powers to the Shiraz trial. In the same Guardian article, Temple-Morris advised religious minorities such as the Jews in Shiraz to “live their lives but without evangelism” and “take care” over “their international contacts.” This statement was made in the context of noting the arrest of the 13 defendants.
On May 5 of this year the Guardian's Tehran correspondent Geneive Abdo went further still, denouncing Western coverage of the Shiraz trial for allegedly showing an anti-Iranian bias and opposing any criticism of the extracted confessions. She attacked the BBC and supported the complaints of Iranian newspapers that in the Western media “there was an assumption that the suspects were innocent”.
CAIR, as an organization, is considered by many, including many on our government as being a moderate Muslim organization. CAIR has defended (instigated?) the Muslim Taxi drivers who refused to carry guide dogs. The defended (instigated?) the flying Imams.
But this pretense of being moderate has been unmasked in an op-ed piece recently written by Miss Abdo. To her, the Muslim Brotherhood notion that Muslims must never assimilate is the majority opinion.
In Europe and the United States, where Muslims have maximum exposure to Western culture, they are increasingly embracing Islamic values. In Britain, a growing number of Muslims advocate creating a court system based upon Islamic principles.
What all this means is that Western hopes for full integration by Muslims in the West are unlikely to be realized and that the future of the Islamic world will be much more Islamic than Western.
(emphasis mine)
Those calling for a "Reformation" in Islam, are but a small minority.
The self-proclaimed secularists represent only a small minority of Muslims. The views among religious Muslims from CAIR more closely reflect the views of the majority, not only in the United States but worldwide. Yet Western media, governments and neoconservative pundits pay more attention to the secular minority.
But what does she mean when she says "full integration by Muslims in the West are unlikely to be realized and that the future of the Islamic world will be much more Islamic than Western."
Perhaps it's a replication of her vision for the Arab world where the
Islamic parties that are far less tolerant of what has historically been the U.S. foreign policy agenda in the region and that domestically are far more committed to implementing sharia law in varying degrees.
When I see what CAIR is trying to do by instigating legal confrontations with the Taxi drivers and the Imams, it just seems to me that the goal is to institutionalize Shira law right here in America.
But I am hoping that she is wrong about the number of Muslims who do not want to assimilate in America. Because otherwise, we are going to have big problems.
