Rabbi Rick Jacobs: The Sin of Sowing Hatred of Islam

THE NEW YORK TIMES

By Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Op-Ed

Two weeks ago, on the morning of Sept. 11, I noticed a woman wearing a traditional Muslim head covering on the packed platform of the train station in Scarsdale, N.Y. Her attention was focused on a billboard ad that announced “19,250 deadly Islamic attacks since 9/11/01” and pre-empted those who might dispute that claim with the refrain: “It’s not Islamophobia, it’s Islamorealism.” I could only imagine what she was feeling. Yes, these ads are lawful. But they are wrong and repugnant. What other purpose can they have but to incite hatred against Muslims? The American Freedom Defense Initiative is the group spearheading this provocative anti-Islam campaign. This fall, when religious hate speech appears in public places, when several mosques across the nation have been desecrated and burned, when Sikhs have been murdered, it is time for our nation to raise our voices in repudiation of all manner of hate mongering. [link]