04/26/2013
An excerpt from Tarek Mehanna:
"So, this trial was not about my position on Muslims killing American civilians. It was about my position on Americans killing Muslim civilians, which is that Muslims should defend their lands from foreign invaders – Soviets, Americans, or Martians. This is what I believe. It’s what I’ve always believed, and what I will always believe. This is not terrorism, and it’s not extremism. It’s what the arrows on that seal above your head represent: defense of the homeland. So, I disagree with my lawyers when they say that you don’t have to agree with my beliefs – no. Anyone with commonsense and humanity has no choice but to agree with me. If someone breaks into your home to rob you and harm your family, logic dictates that you do whatever it takes to expel that invader from your home.
But when that home is a Muslim land, and that invader is the US military, for some reason the standards suddenly change. Common sense is renamed ”terrorism” and the people defending themselves against those who come to kill them from across the ocean become “the terrorists” who are ”killing Americans.” The mentality that America was victimized with when British soldiers walked these streets 2 ½ centuries ago is the same mentality Muslims are victimized by as American soldiers walk their streets today. It’s the mentality of colonialism."
You may not agree, or you may have never thought of it from this angle before. Either way, we have to ask ourselves as global citizens: Is it okay for us to go into other lands and murder innocent civilians with impunity (we call it defending America) and then when it comes to the same thing happening here (but on a much smaller scale) calling people we have taught and trained terrorists. All religions, including Islam, speak truth to power and state that loving others is the singular most important thing. We can start practice loving our neighbor, and reap those benefits, or we can continue to wage "war" in our eyes (terrorism in others) and reap more death. I, personally, prefer the fruits of love to the tombstones of fear and hatred.
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/13/the_real_criminals_in_the_tarek_mehanna_case/
An American Muslim punished for his political views delivers an extraordinary statement in court