Why there are Muslim ghettos in Belgium, but not in the US

Why there are Muslim ghettos in Belgium, but not in the US from the Boston Globe
"Why, despite the efforts of Islamist pressure groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations — a Muslim supremacist operation that masquerades as an advocate for civil rights — are most American Muslims intent on adopting America’s customs and way of life? The United States has been far more successful at assimilating and integrating Muslim immigrants into American society and culture than has Western Europe."

Marco Rubio Proves Obama's Point About Islam

Marco Rubio Proves Obama's Point About Islam (David Graham) from the Atlantic
"The Florida senator accused the president, who visited a mosque to promote American values and stress the need for inclusion, of “pitting people against each other.”"

Proudly American... and Muslim

I am a Muslim. But Trump’s views appall me because I am an American (Fareed Zakaria) from the Washington Post
"I think of myself first and foremost as an American. I’m proud of that identity because as an immigrant, it came to me through deep conviction and hard work, not the accident of birth. I also think of myself as a husband, father, guy from India, journalist, New Yorker and (on my good days) an intellectual. But in today’s political climate, I must embrace another identity. I am a Muslim."

Syrians, Muslims, and Obama's Legacy

Why Obama Is Standing by the Syrian Refugees (Peter Beinart) from the Atlantic
"The president isn’t speaking to his opponents—he’s talking to history."

GOP NUTTINESS NUGGET!!

How Ted Cruz Gave Away The GOP’s Muslim Strategy (Amanda Marcotte)  from Talking Points Memo
A BIG excerpt is in order here!
"After affirming that he can read by noting that the constitution requires no religious test for office, Cruz said, “The broader question, and what I think Ben was trying to get at, is what are the consequences been in the last six and a half years of the Obama presidency?” Say what? ...  The last public poll on this belief showed that 86 percent of Republicans are warm to it, with 54 percent believing that Obama is a Muslim and 32 percent saying they are unsure. Only 14 percent of Republicans correctly describe Obama’s religion as Christian. ... In other words, the belief that Obama is a Muslim is an entrenched “fact” on the right, much like the belief that global warming is a hoax or Planned Parenthood is a for-profit company that makes its money selling fetal parts. Carson and Cruz aren’t really talking about a hypothetical Muslim president in some future world. This is all a coded way to talk about Obama. ... There are a couple of major benefits to this game, beyond just being able to demonize political opponents without being called out by the media for lying. For one thing, it reinforces the conservative narrative that they’re victims of a liberal elite suppressing their great truths through the almighty power of political correctness. After all, they have to talk in coded language like they’re all in some spy network! Clearly, they are being oppressed and censored by people who can’t handle the truth."

Looking for a New "Culture War" -- Conservatves Will Always FInd One

The New Enemy Within (Peter Beinart) from the Atlantic
"...  while they still depict themselves as under cultural assault, they don’t generally identify feminists as the ones leading the attack anymore. Increasingly, they blame Muslims."

Joining the Jihad: Why?

Here's The Real Reason Young Muslims Join The Global Jihad from Talking Points Memo
"One begins to see parallels emerge with past youth movements claiming to defend fundamental human values against powerful countervailing forces in the world, like the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. At its core, the global jihad presents itself as a challenge to the status quo, to a global order where the cultural, political, and economic positions of ruling elites in the West prevail, at least in part because of Western military might."

The Real Costs of Dysfunctionality in the Arab World

On Radical Islam, Say It Like It Is (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"It is the struggle within Arab and Pakistani Sunni Islam over whether and how to embrace modernity, pluralism and women’s rights. That struggle drives, and is driven by, the dysfunctionality of so many Arab states and Pakistan. It has left these societies with too many young men who have never held a job or a girl’s hand, who then seek to overcome their humiliation at being left behind, and to find identity, by “purifying” their worlds of other Muslims who are not sufficiently pious and of Westerners whom they perceive to be putting Muslims down."

Iran's Greatest Fear: "American Islam"

Iran's Greatest Fear: "American Islam" from the National Interest
"The Islamic State rages next door and the U.S. Congress is threatening new sanctions, but Iranian officials remain preoccupied by a different challenge, one that has haunted them for decades: “American Islam.”"

TODAY'S BIG NUGGET: Who Are We? The Question Asked by Arab Muslims

Who Are We? (Thomas Freidman) from the New York Times
"... conversations here in Dubai, one of the great Arab/Muslim crossroads, make it clear that the rise of the Islamic State “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, and its barbaric treatment of those who are against them — moderate Sunnis or Shiites, Christians, other minorities and women — has revived this central debate about “who are we?” Why? Because the Islamic State, or ISIS, is homegrown; its aim is not to strike at enemies far away, but to spread and impose its vision of an Islamic society right here and right now..."

The Proper Way of Dealing with Muslims - The Right Wing Version

Local Kansas GOP official: ‘Offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person. Especially with a .45.’ from the Kansas City Star
"Gavin Ellzey, the vice chairman of the Kansas Republican 3rd Congressional District Committee, advised on Twitter in early July that “offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person.” Ellzey added, “Especially with a .45.” In an interview with The Star, the Overland Park resident acknowledged writing the tweet in response to television news reports about Christians being “crucified” overseas."

The Fruits of Demonizing Muslimes

Americans' Attitudes Toward Muslims And Arabs Are Getting Worse, Poll Finds from the Huffington Post
"The survey, conducted by Zogby Analytics for the advocacy group, found that 42 percent of Americans believe law enforcement is justified in using profiling tactics against Muslim-Americans and Arab-Americans. The survey also shows American attitudes toward Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans have turned for the worse since the Arab American Institute first began polling on the subject in 2010."

Religious Intolerance in Europe and the US

Enlightened Intolerance (Ayaan Hirsi Ali) from the Economist [of London] 
"The way Ms Hirsi Ali talks about Islam strikes American liberals as strangely intolerant, but it has its roots in the prevailing discourse on religious freedom and Islam in the country where Ms Hirsi Ali first began seriously tackling these issues: the Netherlands. ... [In the US] once-open prejudices against Catholics and Jews were gradually wrung out of the public sphere in a process that started in the 1940s and was essentially wrapped up by the 1970s."