Mehmet Demirci'nin yorumu USATODAY'de

Mehmet Demirci'den USATODAY gazetesinde yayinlanan yorum. O buradaki musluman toplum uzerine konusan bir sozcu. :))


Obama, N.Y. pols, Jewish groups show Ramadan hospitality with iftar dinners

President Barack Obama will give an iftar dinner during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this year, as he did last year where he introduced Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, a University of Memphis student, who, as a high school student in Massachusetts, broke the high school career points record in women's basketball for her state. CAPTIONBy Gerald Herbert, APAll the fracas over the mosque near Ground Zero isn't driving politicians away from acknowledging the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that began today. Starting with President Obama.


As he did last year he's scheduled an iftar -- a post-sunset meal -- for the White House on Friday. In his Ramadan greetings statement released today, (The Oval has full text) Obama said the holiday rituals, including a focus on service and charity...

... Remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam's role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings. Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality. And here in the United States, Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country...

And in New York, where voices screamed loudest about the Islamic Center planned for two blocks from Ground Zero, the same political leaders who gave iftars in 2009 are stepping up again to show hospitality.

Faiza Ali, community affairs director for the New York office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told USA TODAY's Benjamin Soloway,

This year, local elected officials across the five boroughs are hosting Ramadan iftars displaying their continued commitment to building bridges with all New Yorkers despite opposition to mosques and community centers.

Mehmet Demirci, who wrote about iftars all over Manhattan for the Turkish web site todayszaman.com last year, says he thinks there will be no shortage of similar events in 2010 because election season looms.

Politicians will consider Ramadan dinners as a chance to get to know Muslim communities better...Meanwhile Ramadan dinners serve a good purpose for Muslim communities as well. They give Muslims the chance to explain themselves better and ...show themselves as a community.

In Chicago, the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative and Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation are holding "Iftar in the Synagogue 2010 - Know Thy Neighbor" on Thursday evening. Their press release, also backed by several Jewish and Muslim community groups, notes:

The Torah commands us to "love thy neighbor," and the Quran reminds us that "We created you ... and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other."

Can hospitality -- an open door to people who differ from you -- make a difference? Or are the mosque protests disconnected from religion at this point