Summary
Mr. Islam's expulsion from the US shows how ill-equipped the [Bush] administration still is - three years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - to ferret out the real terrorists from the quirkier followers of a religion that is increasingly the target of Islamophobes. For Muslims like me who have worked tirelessly to bring moderate voices forward as our religion is seized by extremists from within and put under siege by Islam's detractors from without, the Yusuf Islam episode is mostly counterproductive because it not only increases the rage in rational segments of Muslim society, it violates the fundamental principles by which America holds itself out as a beacon of freedom and liberty to the rest of the world. We have to be better if we are to hold others accountable for their misdeeds.
Few of Islam's adherents have done as much to portray the religion positively as tolerant and dedicated to education and humanitarian causes as Mr. Islam. He founded Islamia Primary School in London in 1983, and in 1998 made it the first Islamic school qualified to receive British government support on the same basis as other sectarian schools, including Christian ones. His friends in British political life are a Who's Who of the British establishment, including Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prince Charles. He has raised money for charitable groups in Europe and in the US. Those charities have provided solace to the families and orphans of wars from Kosovo to Bosnia to Iraq. His practice of Islam's basic tenets is above reproach, and in fact sets a model for those who are born into the faith.See the full content of this document
Extract
Alienating Moderate Muslims
Cat Stevens, the pop artist best known for his songs +ACI-Wild World+ACI- and +ACI-Morning Has Broken+ACI- in the 1960s and 70s, was detained on board a flight from London to Washington when US transportation and immigration officials flagged his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, ...
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