Re: Muslim Americans
I second the request.
@ CM: I don’t pretend to have knowledge of what I’m not familiar with. But funny enough, despite my limited interaction with Brit Pakistanis, the cab driver who picked us up from the Gatwick airport this past summer was a Pakistani settled in the UK for the last 25 years. In the course of the conversation we struck up, he was embarrased by the actions of the terrorists calling themselves Muslims and he understood why British society was now suspicious of Muslims. While one man does not represent the sentiments of all Brit Pakistanis - his views must be shared by some others. I don’t think the apologist attitude is unique to Americans (and Canadians).
And it has nothing to do with self-respect to feel remorse. The remorse may be born of a sense of accountability. Terrorists perverted the Muslim faith to justify their actions - but what did other Muslims do when the faith was being hijacked? Did they stand up at the masjids when the radical mullahs were preaching about hate and condemn those comments? Did they speak up amongst other Muslims and reiterate that Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace?
I think average Muslims are finally taking control of how Islam is perceived not just outside the masjid, but also inside the masjid.