Words from Palestine

The hotel we are staying in does not have a large gathering area for meetings, so we use an area in another hotel nearby. We had a large team meeting there the other day-there were about 42 of us from various groups- and we were all brought tea. After the meeting I inquired how much to pay for the 42 cups of tea and the waiter informed me it was a gift from the hotel, so I just tipped the waiter for his service. ( I am the team banker). A while later something came up and we had to meet again. Again the waiter brought 42 cups of tea and again the hotel refused to accept any payment. I noted to the waiter how busy we had kept him through these meetings and how much we appreciated his service to us. He responded:

“We are glad, so happy to have so many of you. You have a good message-a message to go all around the world. Peace. But not just peace for Iraq. Peace for everyone. All people around the world. Because we are all one people. We have one Father and one Mother.”

The media in the United States often portrays people of the Islam faith as radical fundamentalists who are committed to obliterating, freedom, democracy, non-Islamic faiths, and the people who adhere to these faiths, institutions and principles. During my time in Iraq, the overwhelming majority of Muslim people I encountered there expressed a faith similar to the one described in “One Father, One Mother.” To be sure, there are violent extremists within Islam. The same can be said of Christianity and Judaism and Hinduism, etc…. However, these violent extremists are a very small minority of the whole people who call these religions their faith.

The overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime left a void which many groups came forward to fill. Large demonstrations were held by Islamic fundamentalist groups- they protested for Islamic rule in Iraq and an end to the American occupation. On several occasions I was present on the street with these demonstrators. I was treated with courtesy and respect. I never felt threatened. From my experience, violent extremists of are a very small minority within Islam. To portray them as more is akin to describing a noble and upright family by relating the bad deeds of one member.

Religious extremists are sensationalized in U.S. media, but that is only because sensationalism is what we, the public, are willing to buy.If we demand responsible journalism, and back up that demand with our pocketbook, i.e., only buy, listen and watch responsible journalism, our media will become responsible to balanced, truthful reporting.