In response to the horrific Kenyan mall massacre, Fox News’ Bob Beckel recently declared, “No Muslim students coming here with visas. No more mosques being built here until you stand up and denounce what’s happened in the name of your prophet.” Needless to say, the controversial comment started an uproar in the media. One of the people currently pushing back against this comment is Muslim comedian Dean Obeidallah.
Obeidallah recently wrote an opinion article for CNN concerning the controversial comment and brought attention to his new documentary project, “The Muslims Are Coming!” Because I was interested in Obeidallah’s points, I downloaded and watched the documentary.
In “The Muslims Are Coming!” comedians Dean Obeidallah and Negin Farsad put together a touring comedy show starring Muslims. They faced considerable resistance such as defamatory comments and audience members walking out of their shows. The comedians reached out to the community wherever they performed, and in one city held up a “Hug a Muslim” sign. It’s an important documentary because it addresses critical issues in America in an interesting and comical manner.
Beckel has called on the Muslim community to stand up and denounce terrorism repeatedly. Multiple times throughout the documentary, the Muslim comedians denounced terrorism of any kind. Some of the Muslims interviewed in the documentary expressed the belief that they shouldn’t have to denounce terrorism simply because they are Muslim. I wholly agree. Peaceful people should not have to answer for the actions of terrorists.
It is un-American to oppose the building a mosque. It is un-American in the moral sense, but it’s also noteworthy that the suggestion literally goes against the United States Constitution. A minority community should not be responsible or punished for the heinous actions of a few.
Obeidallah’s Twitter account has recently been the target of several anti-Muslim comments directed at his recent CNN opinion article. @demsrfags tweeted “you’re an idiot, muslum scum.” @HEHF1 shared the belief that, “Muslims use the name of there god in all attacks.then the reward are virgins. Young girls? Sick.”
It scares me that there are people out there who not only believe all Muslims are “scum,” but also that they would attempt to spread their beliefs and ideals through their publication on social media.
My firm opinion is that the freedom to build a place of worship is a fundamental component of what is right and constitutional. Furthermore, it is not logical or morally sound to associate an entire religious group with the actions of a few. And finally, through “The Muslims Are Coming” it’s clear that some Muslims are speaking out against terrorism, but they shouldn’t have to. It’s unethical to ask a group of innocent people to speak out against terrorism solely based on their religion.
How do you feel about the treatment of Muslims in America? Let us know! Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
