President Bush honored Muslims who have assisted the War on Terror at an iftar dinner Monday night at the White House. He praised "New York City police officers and a EMT worker who risked their lives to save their fellow citizens on 9/11; a military doctor and a member of the Navy's Chaplain Corps; members of our Foreign Service; and military veterans who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq to protect our country and help those nations build free and democratic futures."
All well and good.
But when President Bush starts overgeneralizing and whitewashing reality, his shallow platitudes about Islam become a hindrance.
"Islam is a religion that brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people around the world. It has transcended racial and ethnic divisions. It has given birth to a rich culture of learning and literature and science...
Religious freedom? Ask an apostate. Ask Abdul Rahman. Ask Indonesian Christians. Ask Saudi Christians. Ask Egyptian Christians.
Tolerance? Ask gays in Iran. Ask Danish cartoonists. Ask Salman Rushdie. Ask Aayan Hirsi Ali. Ask brave moderate Muslims. Like the ones Robert Spencer pays tribute to today. Like Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, whose trial on charges of sedition for advocating ties with Israel starts today in Bangladesh. Like Teguh Santosa, the newspaper editor who faced indictment in Indonesia for publishing the Mohammed Cartoons. Like Abdulkarim Sabra and Muhammad al-Asadi in Yemen, who were also prosecuted for publishing the cartoons. ...
[Read on.]
