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  1. #1
    Senior Member butterbean's Avatar
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    A 'Million Muslim March' for Lodi?

    http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/ongo ... 1817c.html

    Sacramento Bee/José Luis Villegas

    A 'Million Muslim March' for Lodi?
    Fiery radio host promotes plan and draws a skeptical response.
    By M.S. Enkoji -- Bee Staff Writer
    Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, June 22, 2005

    One of Sacremto's most outspoken radio talk-show hosts, who has antagonized some Muslims with his on-air and online comments about Islam, is collaborating with Lodi Mayor John Beckman on what the two men are billing as the "Million Muslim March" to denounce terrorism.
    KFBK personality Mark Williams has been hosting on-air discussions about terrorism and the Muslim faith since news broke early this month about an ongoing federal terrorism investigation that has upended the Central Valley town. So far, five Lodi men have been arrested in the case - none on terrorism charges.

    Beckman called into Williams' evening show last week, answering what Williams calls a three-year standing invitation for Muslims to publicly rally against terrorism.

    "I heard him talking about it on the radio," said Beckman, of Williams' on-air proposal. After contacting a representative from the Lodi mosque, Beckman said he called Williams and committed to organizing the march in his town.

    Some Muslims wish Beckman hadn't made the call.

    "He's got Islamaphobic tendencies," prominent Lodi Muslim leader Taj Khan said of Williams. "How can (former white supremacist leader) David Duke walk with Jesse Jackson?"

    Williams, who frequently blogs about immigration issues, has campaigned online and on his radio show against driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. In April he joined a group of talk show hosts in Washington, D.C., to launch "Hold Their Feet to the Fire," a grass-roots campaign against illegal immigration.

    Lodi, home to a deeply entrenched Pakistani Muslim community centered around the Lodi Muslim Mosque, has moved into a glaring international spotlight in recent weeks after a Pakistani American father and son were arrested on federal charges of lying about alleged ties to terrorist activities in Pakistan. Three other Lodi men, in the United States from Pakistan on visas issued to religious workers, were arrested on visa violations, and their connection to the case is not yet clear.

    Beckman had originally envisioned the march in late July with local Muslims walking city streets, possibly between the mosque and City Hall. He wanted it patterned after the Million Man March by African Americans in Washington, D.C., in 1995. On Tuesday, the project was continuing to blossom. The Break Through Project, a local coalition of Muslim, Jewish and Christian congregations and the principal organizers, has asked for more time. No date has been set.

    Williams, who is unapologetically venomous at times in expressing his views - he suggested after the death of Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat that his headstone should be a urinal - says his heat is directed toward radical Muslim leaders who foster terrorism.

    Extremist factions, he contends, are smothering the voice of what he calls "Joe Six-pack Muslims," those who are too intimidated to voice objections to more radical views.

    A march or rally would give them an opportunity, Williams said.

    "I think American Muslims are just as upset when they see extremists speaking for them," he said.

    One of his frequent on-air targets is skeptical about Williams' motives.

    Basim ElKarra, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Sacramento Valley, said his organization has an online petition signed by 688,560 people who have denounced terrorism.

    "We've been denouncing terrorism forever. He's still not satisfied," said ElKarra.

    ElKarra says Williams has labeled him an extremist on-air. "He doesn't even know me."

    "He's calling our organization a radical, fascist organization," ElKarra said. "How can you respond to that?"

    Beckman said he's aware of the friction. He's extended an invitation for lunch to both Williams and ElKarra, he said. Williams has accepted. ElKarra is still thinking about it.

    How CAIR participates in the Lodi event will be decided by the group's leadership committee, ElKarra said.

    "We'll look at all options. We want to do what's best," he said.

    Khan, who is also on the board of the Break Through project, said ultimately that group's full board will make decisions on the event.

    The name, Million Muslim March, will probably be the first casualty of the event because everyone recognizes there aren't that many Muslims in Northern California, said Williams.

    "I'd be happy with a handful because it's the first step on a long road," he said.


    About the writer:
    The Bee's M.S. Enkoji can be reached at (916) 321-1106 or menkoji@sacbee.com.
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  2. #2
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    What a great idea. Would be great if a million muslims (or even a decent crowd) DID show up to protest terrorism. But more than likely they will have only a handful.. which if that happens... will speak VOLUMES about muslims in America.

    We keep hearing how everyday muslims oppose terrorism, here is their chance to step up to the plate. Whichever way it turns out.. we will all learn where muslims REALLY stand on the issue.

  3. #3
    Senior Member LegalUSCitizen's Avatar
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    I'll believe it when I see it.
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  4. #4
    ChrisF202's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DonQuixote
    What a great idea. Would be great if a million muslims (or even a decent crowd) DID show up to protest terrorism. But more than likely they will have only a handful.. which if that happens... will speak VOLUMES about muslims in America.

    We keep hearing how everyday muslims oppose terrorism, here is their chance to step up to the plate. Whichever way it turns out.. we will all learn where muslims REALLY stand on the issue.
    Exactly, if they are so opposed to Osama Bin Laden where is all their showing of this opinion? Left and right I see Muslims supporting terrorism but I see very little opposition to terrorism from them. I hate to say it, but this just proves that the majority of Muslims support Osama Bin Laden or terrorism vs the West and Israel in general.

  5. #5
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    And keep in mind.. Muslims living in the U.S.A. are MUCH freer to speak out against terrorism than any in the Middle East are. I can kinda see why some may be hesitant to speak out in the Middle East, since it could easily mean the death of you and your family... by just about anyone around you. Muslims in the U.S.A. have no such excuse for their near total silence.

    They really would not need to put together a march to convince me. They could, more simply, place a petition condemning terrorism in mosques around the country. Those who want to go on record as condemning terrorism could sign it. In fact, a persons signature seems to me to be a more "On the record" statement, carrying more weight, than simply showing up at a march. A few million signatures would mean as much or more to me as a few million marchers.. and should be MUCH easier for them to come up with... so why haven't they? Maybe they will.. maybe they won't. But I am not holding my breath in expectation.

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