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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2016)
NOT AFRAID, from page 11 million of these DVDs were distributed by some 70 newspapers around the country, including The New York Times, although a December at Pioneer Courthouse Square few principled publishers refused. and the Lloyd Center demonstrating their Portland Mayor Tom Potter reviewed the stand against Islamophobia as a way of DVD and asked The Oregonian’s publisher, observing Hanukkah. Participants held nine the late Fred Stickel, not to distribute it signs, which together formed the shape of a According to a spokesperson in City Hall, menorah, each sign spelling out an injustice “The mayor felt that the tenor of the video that needed to be rectified. One of the contributes towards a climate of distrust statements called for a refusal to be silent towards Muslims that holds the entire about anti-Muslim and racist hate speech; Muslim community accountable for the another condemned state surveillance of the actions of a dangerously misguided few. Muslim community. Distributing [it] with The Oregonian lends the JVP’s website offers posters saying video an impression of objectivity and “Refugees are welcome here” that can be legitimacy it does not deserve.” downloaded. T-shirts and other materials are Stickel replied that the newspaper had an available for sale. JVP volunteers have walked obligation to accept the DVD as an printed posters around to businesses in the advertisement on the principle of free city with a request to put them in their shop speech. A group of more than 30 religious windows. The posters said: “Stop Profiling and community leaders also asked Stickel not Muslims” to distribute it, to no avail. As a last resort, Long before the invasion of Iraq, the the city’s diversity officer organized a protest Middle East was carved up by Western in front of the newspaper’s office, but the powers. Rosch is not the only one who has damage was already done. noticed that the U.S. systematically During 2012, messages to “Defeat Jihad,” overthrows or assists in the demise of aimed mainly against Palestinians, were existing governments, nearly always leading posted on Portland buses despite TriMet’s to chaos. The current result is that we have objections. Four years earlier, the Multnomah the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. County Circuit Court had ruled that TriMet And we have ISIS. Rosch believes that all this vehicles should be treated as public spaces is consistent with our history. “Our country and therefore subject to First Amendment was founded on genocide, then built upon protections. The ads remained for a month. slavery, and there’s never been a public They were funded by the American Freedom apology to either of these groups,” he Defense Initiative, whose president, the hate observed bleakly. blogger Pamela Geller, has launched legal campaigns to force public buses all over the country to run the anti-Islamic messages. espite a number of misguided federal Although Geller continues to run ads in U.S. attempts at concocting terrorist cases, transit systems, she is beginning to get Oregon has experienced less anti-Islamic vigorous pushback from social justice groups. activity than many other places in the nation. In the U.K., the Home Secretary banned her But we haven’t been immune. For instance, from entering the country because of her during the election fever of 2008, The Oregonian delivered it to our doorstep. A free inflammatory statements and behavior. No mosques have been bombed in DVD titled “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” was tucked into the Sunday Portland, as they have in several other places. But on Nov. 15, less than two days after the paper on Sept. 28, 2008 as “advertising.” It 2015 Paris attacks, a small crowd of was paid for by the shadowy Clarion Fund, protestors with loudspeakers demonstrated at founded by the Canadian-Israeli Raphael the Rizwan Mosque in Southwest Portland. Shore. The film uses extensive Arab They shouted insults and obscenities at the television footage of Islamic radicals faithful as they arrived for afternoon prayer. threatening and inciting violence toward the West It also includes scenes during the build The ruckus drew the attention of neighbors and a woman who stopped her car, and up of fascism in Nazi Germany. Twenty-eight D \lz people’s JT Street Roots • Oct. 14-20, 2016 Commentary Page 12 A food co - op FARMERS’ MARKET WEDNESDAYS 2-7PM 'S' H 11 g n Portland, negative events have been somewhat counteracted by sympathy and outreach. On Dec. 16, the Portland City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution whose purpose was to “declare support for the City’s Muslim community and reaffirm Portland’s welcoming nature for all immigrants and refugees.” The resolution called the recent demands seeking a ban on Muslim immigrants “unconscionable” and a violation of both the U.S. and Oregon constitutions, as well as “tragically reminiscent of prior historic profiling of race and religion.” The resolution declares the Muslim population living in the Portland Metro area to be an important part of our growing multicultural identity. It calls for an end to the use of anti-Muslim and anti immigration hate speech and resolves that Portland will continue to welcome many Muslims fleeing their violent and unsafe countries. We need to learn more about each other’s cultures and religions. There are several active interfaith groups in Portland besides EMO. Wadji Said mentioned a club for Christians, Jews and Muslims called Cousins; and Jan Elfers described a group called I Between Women, where Christian, Muslim and Jewish women meet on a regular basis to talk about religion. Common interests in their kids and lives have led to lasting friendships. When Elfers hears someone making negative comments about Muslims, she often asks, “How many Muslims do you have as friends?” Or, “How much do you know about Islam?” One way to get to know our Muslim neighbors would be to visit a mosque or Islamic center. There are at least 11 in the Portland metro area. Better yet, visit the recently opened center of the Muslim Educational Trust in Tigard. The MET is a community center and school dedicated to education, cooperation and networking through a variety of programs to benefit both Muslims and non-Muslims. The building houses a gym, swimming pool, Islamic museum, art studio and library, as well as classrooms. The center hosts a potluck supper on the second Saturday of the month and serves brunches featuring Middle Eastern food every Sunday. The public is invited. The MET’s website, www.metpdx.org announces current events of interest. We can all go a little beyond our comfort zone and reach out to those who seem different from ourselves. Have coffee, visit a mosque, go to a brunch or pot-luck, take a course, or page through a copy of the Quran. Find out what Islam is all about - and what it is not about. We can even appreciate differences in appearance. In our midst are Jews wearing yarmulkes, priests and monks in long robes, ministers in clerical collars, and all kinds of people wearing crosses, so we should be able to appreciate women in headscarves. It is their right to wear them. Nadia Najim asserted that right during the City Club forum when one of the audience members came up with what he thought would be a helpful solution. He noted that France has barred women from wearing'the hijab and perhaps our country could do the same. That way, the differences wouldn’t be so obvious. Nadia was quick to point out that this was an Islamophobic suggestion. Next question. Alice Hardesty is the author of “An Uncommon Cancer Journey: The Cosmic Kick That Changed Our Lives. ” How do At Health Share, we believe good health is more than what happens inside your doctor’s office. Good health starts in your community and includes staying active, eating healthy food and getting regular check-ups. Share your healthy habits with family and friends. We can all have better health when we share it together. B| ■ ) V III * UP TO $10 MATCH WITH EOT CARD ■_ together they confronted the protesters. The evening news played a cell phone video in which a woman’s voice could be heard above the din saying, “I feel sorry for you. I’m sure these people will pray for you.... You should be^ashamed of yourself.” Then on Feb. 10, Abdul Jamil Kamawal, a prominent and well-liked member of the Muslim community, was murdered in Metzger. The alleged killer, Michael Troxell, had been hired by Kamawal’s family to do some maintenance work outside a home on their property. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office decided not to investigate the murder as a hate crime. Public Information Officer Bob Ray stated that there was “nothing to indicate that it’s a hate crime,” and that “everything has been investigated thoroughly.” However, a Feb. 18 article in The Oregonian reported that Kamawal was found outside the home without his shoes, a sign that he may have been praying at the time of his death, adding weight to the hate-crime theory. We're passionate about helping our community access healthy food that they can trust. By shopping at our market, you'll get extra food dollars while supporting local farmers and community. 3029 SE 21st Ave. btwn Powell & Division health Better health together. www.healthshareoregon.org _ u ■ Cuts & Checks Barbershop Blood Pressure Program / Terrell Brandon Barbershop North by Northeast Community Health Center/ Legacy Emanuel Medical Center
