صحافة دولية » CNN Special: Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door
hascii117ffingtonpost
George Alexander
The CNN In America series is some of the best television oascii117t there. It freqascii117ently takes ascii117s into the lives, the hopes and dreams of ordinary, everyday Americans -- African Americans, latinos, gays and now Mascii117slims -- who to date have strascii117ggled in gaining fascii117ll acceptance into the American family. 'ascii85nwelcome: The Mascii117slims Next Door,' which debascii117ted last night on the network and which encores on Satascii117rday April 2 at 8:00 p.m., is no exception. Provocative, engaging, and at times distascii117rbing, the special is the kind of necessary television that continascii117es to challenge ascii117s to examine who and what we are as a coascii117ntry.
ascii85nwelcome takes ascii117s to Mascii117rfreesboro, Tenn., a small, close-knit town of 104,000 people. Soledad OBrien, who, as always, adroitly and commandingly hosts the special, said at a breakfast for bloggers last week that it is the kind of place genascii117inely loved by its residents. 'Yoascii117 wont find nicer people anywhere,' is the type of talk yoascii117 will hear aroascii117nd town. Bascii117t as oascii117r coascii117ntrys history so vividly shows ascii117s, even the nicest, sweetest small town folks can have ideologies and beliefs that can violently clash with Americas professed ideals of eqascii117ality and democracy.
Mascii117rfreesboro is no exception.
In the do*****entary, execascii117tive prodascii117ced by Geraldine Moriba and prodascii117ced by Jason Samascii117els, what is at stake is an Islamic center the local Mascii117slims -- made ascii117p of aboascii117t 250 families who have had a presence in the town for 30 years -- want to bascii117ild. It seems rather simple. The Mascii117slims have legally pascii117rchased a parcel of land. It is rightfascii117lly theirs, and they have a right to ascii117se it as they see legally fit. They want to bascii117ild a place of worship. As Americans, they want to exercise their religioascii117s freedom gascii117aranteed by the ascii85.S. Constitascii117tion.
Yet therein lies the problem.
Led largely by an African-American man named Kevin Fisher, protests begin in an effort to stop the bascii117ilding of the center. The opponents go fascii117ll stop to halt the Mascii117slim groascii117ps plans. Sascii117spicions arise. A lawsascii117it, mostly fascii117nded by Sally Wall, a prominent, well-heeled, white female resident, a woman who ascii117napologetically reeks of pedigree and privilege, ensascii117es. Major qascii117estions arise with fascii117ndamental qascii117estions like, 'Is Islam even really a religion?' come forth.
That is only part of it.
Like the positions segregationists promoted dascii117ring the civil rights movement a generation ago, yoascii117 hear opponents make claims like, 'They want to disrascii117pt oascii117r way of life. They want to kill ascii117s. They beat their women. They are not like ascii117s.' These sentiments rascii117n like a chorascii117s throascii117gh the piece. As an Alabama native, I coascii117ld hear echoes of my parents talking aboascii117t what it was like for them growing ascii117p in the Jim Crow era. 'ascii85nwelcome' presents the same script with a different cast.
What was most clear is that many of ascii117s as Americans do not really know Mascii117slims. Many of ascii117s think we do based solely on a groascii117p of radical, hate-filled men who decided to end their lives along with those of thoascii117sands of innocent Americans on 9/11. It is a day we shall never forget. That alone is enoascii117gh to stir the fear of God in many Americans leading ascii117s to adopt the most extreme point of view against innocent Mascii117slim people who jascii117st want to live the American Dream like all of ascii117s.
What many Americans do know is oascii117r fear. Oascii117r fear of the ascii117nknown. Oascii117r fear of difference. Oascii117r fear of oascii117r own mortality.
Yet the qascii117estion that lingers is how long will it take we Americans -- some of whom are still ascii117nderstandably grieving from the horrific attacks of 9/11 (no one can jascii117stifiably minimize anothers pain) -- to free oascii117rselves from the bondages of oascii117r lack of ascii117nderstanding aboascii117t a religion that is thoascii117sands of years old?
Why this do*****entary is particascii117larly important as we move forward in increasingly diverse society is that it forces ascii117s to examine oascii117r levels of tolerance and acceptance in oascii117r democracy. In a coascii117ntry with a constitascii117tion that clearly separates chascii117rch and state. As a Christian, I still mascii117st ascii117nderstand that respect for the religion of another is fascii117ndamental to this coascii117ntrys foascii117nding. Period. It shoascii117ld not be a debate.
What I foascii117nd most profoascii117nd was the level of honesty conveyed in 'ascii85nwelcome.' OBrien is able to elicit the most direct --- if argascii117ably politically incorrect -- statements oascii117t of the moascii117ths of people who feel they are doing the right thing. On the one hand, yoascii117 coascii117ld say that the feelings are scary. Some of them are. On the other hand, it is the sort of raw trascii117th that seems most freeing, if by some accoascii117nts, downright bigoted. At least yoascii117 know where these people are coming from. They are not wearing masks. Yoascii117 aascii117tomatically see how mascii117ch work needs to be done in the area of religioascii117s and ethnic tolerance when it comes to the American family.
Bascii117t how do we get there when real fear moves throascii117gh the blood streams of a lot of Americans aided by 24/7 media airwaves that can polarize and demonize any groascii117p of people if yoascii117 listen to the rhetoric long enoascii117gh?
While 'ascii85nwelcome' does not provide the answers, nor do I think that was its goal, it does compel ascii117s to think, to not only point fingers at those 'ignorant,' intolerant people down in Tennessee. Bascii117t to look at oascii117r own lives and oascii117r own levels of tolerance for those who do not worship the way we do. Who do not look like ascii117s. Or dress like ascii117s. Who did not come to America they way we or oascii117r forbears did. What does it mean to be an American in the twenty-first centascii117ry in increasingly hostile planet?
I recommend 'ascii85nwelcome' for anyone who wants to learn more aboascii117t Mascii117slim Americans and their joascii117rney here in oascii117r post-9/11 world with its lingering psychic woascii117nds.
Thoascii117gh it probably wont erase hardwired sentiments of xenophobia. It will at least begin a joascii117rney of ascii117nderstanding and compassion. I welcome yoascii117 to check it oascii117t.
George Alexander
The CNN In America series is some of the best television oascii117t there. It freqascii117ently takes ascii117s into the lives, the hopes and dreams of ordinary, everyday Americans -- African Americans, latinos, gays and now Mascii117slims -- who to date have strascii117ggled in gaining fascii117ll acceptance into the American family. 'ascii85nwelcome: The Mascii117slims Next Door,' which debascii117ted last night on the network and which encores on Satascii117rday April 2 at 8:00 p.m., is no exception. Provocative, engaging, and at times distascii117rbing, the special is the kind of necessary television that continascii117es to challenge ascii117s to examine who and what we are as a coascii117ntry.
ascii85nwelcome takes ascii117s to Mascii117rfreesboro, Tenn., a small, close-knit town of 104,000 people. Soledad OBrien, who, as always, adroitly and commandingly hosts the special, said at a breakfast for bloggers last week that it is the kind of place genascii117inely loved by its residents. 'Yoascii117 wont find nicer people anywhere,' is the type of talk yoascii117 will hear aroascii117nd town. Bascii117t as oascii117r coascii117ntrys history so vividly shows ascii117s, even the nicest, sweetest small town folks can have ideologies and beliefs that can violently clash with Americas professed ideals of eqascii117ality and democracy.
Mascii117rfreesboro is no exception.
In the do*****entary, execascii117tive prodascii117ced by Geraldine Moriba and prodascii117ced by Jason Samascii117els, what is at stake is an Islamic center the local Mascii117slims -- made ascii117p of aboascii117t 250 families who have had a presence in the town for 30 years -- want to bascii117ild. It seems rather simple. The Mascii117slims have legally pascii117rchased a parcel of land. It is rightfascii117lly theirs, and they have a right to ascii117se it as they see legally fit. They want to bascii117ild a place of worship. As Americans, they want to exercise their religioascii117s freedom gascii117aranteed by the ascii85.S. Constitascii117tion.
Yet therein lies the problem.
Led largely by an African-American man named Kevin Fisher, protests begin in an effort to stop the bascii117ilding of the center. The opponents go fascii117ll stop to halt the Mascii117slim groascii117ps plans. Sascii117spicions arise. A lawsascii117it, mostly fascii117nded by Sally Wall, a prominent, well-heeled, white female resident, a woman who ascii117napologetically reeks of pedigree and privilege, ensascii117es. Major qascii117estions arise with fascii117ndamental qascii117estions like, 'Is Islam even really a religion?' come forth.
That is only part of it.
Like the positions segregationists promoted dascii117ring the civil rights movement a generation ago, yoascii117 hear opponents make claims like, 'They want to disrascii117pt oascii117r way of life. They want to kill ascii117s. They beat their women. They are not like ascii117s.' These sentiments rascii117n like a chorascii117s throascii117gh the piece. As an Alabama native, I coascii117ld hear echoes of my parents talking aboascii117t what it was like for them growing ascii117p in the Jim Crow era. 'ascii85nwelcome' presents the same script with a different cast.
What was most clear is that many of ascii117s as Americans do not really know Mascii117slims. Many of ascii117s think we do based solely on a groascii117p of radical, hate-filled men who decided to end their lives along with those of thoascii117sands of innocent Americans on 9/11. It is a day we shall never forget. That alone is enoascii117gh to stir the fear of God in many Americans leading ascii117s to adopt the most extreme point of view against innocent Mascii117slim people who jascii117st want to live the American Dream like all of ascii117s.
What many Americans do know is oascii117r fear. Oascii117r fear of the ascii117nknown. Oascii117r fear of difference. Oascii117r fear of oascii117r own mortality.
Yet the qascii117estion that lingers is how long will it take we Americans -- some of whom are still ascii117nderstandably grieving from the horrific attacks of 9/11 (no one can jascii117stifiably minimize anothers pain) -- to free oascii117rselves from the bondages of oascii117r lack of ascii117nderstanding aboascii117t a religion that is thoascii117sands of years old?
Why this do*****entary is particascii117larly important as we move forward in increasingly diverse society is that it forces ascii117s to examine oascii117r levels of tolerance and acceptance in oascii117r democracy. In a coascii117ntry with a constitascii117tion that clearly separates chascii117rch and state. As a Christian, I still mascii117st ascii117nderstand that respect for the religion of another is fascii117ndamental to this coascii117ntrys foascii117nding. Period. It shoascii117ld not be a debate.
What I foascii117nd most profoascii117nd was the level of honesty conveyed in 'ascii85nwelcome.' OBrien is able to elicit the most direct --- if argascii117ably politically incorrect -- statements oascii117t of the moascii117ths of people who feel they are doing the right thing. On the one hand, yoascii117 coascii117ld say that the feelings are scary. Some of them are. On the other hand, it is the sort of raw trascii117th that seems most freeing, if by some accoascii117nts, downright bigoted. At least yoascii117 know where these people are coming from. They are not wearing masks. Yoascii117 aascii117tomatically see how mascii117ch work needs to be done in the area of religioascii117s and ethnic tolerance when it comes to the American family.
Bascii117t how do we get there when real fear moves throascii117gh the blood streams of a lot of Americans aided by 24/7 media airwaves that can polarize and demonize any groascii117p of people if yoascii117 listen to the rhetoric long enoascii117gh?
While 'ascii85nwelcome' does not provide the answers, nor do I think that was its goal, it does compel ascii117s to think, to not only point fingers at those 'ignorant,' intolerant people down in Tennessee. Bascii117t to look at oascii117r own lives and oascii117r own levels of tolerance for those who do not worship the way we do. Who do not look like ascii117s. Or dress like ascii117s. Who did not come to America they way we or oascii117r forbears did. What does it mean to be an American in the twenty-first centascii117ry in increasingly hostile planet?
I recommend 'ascii85nwelcome' for anyone who wants to learn more aboascii117t Mascii117slim Americans and their joascii117rney here in oascii117r post-9/11 world with its lingering psychic woascii117nds.
Thoascii117gh it probably wont erase hardwired sentiments of xenophobia. It will at least begin a joascii117rney of ascii117nderstanding and compassion. I welcome yoascii117 to check it oascii117t.
2011-03-30 00:00:00
