What We Believe – Page 3 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

The Lost Middle Ground

As a child, I remember my elementary school teachers condemning my search for balance in “social studies,” where I sought to understand the rationale behind different people’s views on topics of the day. I was taught, with great anger by my teachers that I had to take only one position, one side. I could not understand both sides of the argument and seek to find a solution that respected everyone. That was simply not acceptable to my public school teachers in the 1960s and 1970s; I had to take an inflexible stand on only one position. In “social studies,” I consistently had this challenge with my public school teachers.

In the 1970s, I remember being the only one in the classroom with a specific position on then President Richard Nixon, who was under attack due to the Watergate scandal. I was going to summer school to take extra classes during the summer so that I could take more classes during the regular school year. The “social studies” teacher was convinced in Nixon’s guilt, and while I personally and politically objected to Nixon, I wanted to find out the results of the investigation first. This made me a pariah to both those who hated Nixon and those defended Nixon. They shouted at me: How dare I wait for the investigation? How dare I not take a stand on Nixon?

For impressionable children, decades of being pressured by their teachers and pressured to reject FAIRNESS and BALANCE no doubt impacted some of my classmates. Perhaps if my teachers had been more subtle and less heavy-handed in their tactics to force me to reject fairness and balance, I too would have succumbed more in that area. But their tactics had the reverse impact, their forcing me to stop asking questions and understanding the view of others forced my mind to stay open, not closed.

But for how many of the Baby Boomer Generation in America was the very idea of “the middle ground” lost forever?

The effort to destroy the view of “the middle ground” remains a fixation in the minds of many.

We are told that:
— You are either right or wrong.
— You are either with us or against us.
— You are either part of the solution, or you are part of the problem.
— It is either my way or the highway.
— You are either Democratic or Republican, left or right, liberal or conservative.

This binary totalitarianism remains a choke point to our society in America and the world today — seeking a simplistic answer to every problem — that often does not exist.

In a nation and a world where education and understanding is essential to the long-term survival of the human race, we are taught that the greatest danger is “paralysis of analysis.” How dare we get caught up in THINKING, so much that we don’t act precipitously?

This rigidity of thinking seeks to silence discussion, end debate, and constrain the search for solutions – by offering only

In a culture of do, do, do, we need to stop sometimes and think, think, think.

America is an impatient nation, and sometimes we need to be impatient. But our young nation has to have learned by now that we can’t solve every issue through impatience and force disguised as “resolve and determination.”

There are many issues and problems that need human attention. Some can be solved quickly, some won’t be solved in the near term, and some simply need to be discussed so that human thinking on the issue can evolve.

But we won’t do that if we continue to teach generation after generation, decade after decade, that there is never any room for a middle ground in human understanding in our differences.

We are not binary calculators or computers. We are human beings. Let us defy a tyranny of the loudest and most impatient voices that seek to define our choices for us.

Let us instead try to use our human brains we have been blessed with to think of all of the solutions we can find to our problems and to preserving our universal human rights and dignity for all.

Most importantly, as fellow human beings in understanding human problems, let us treat one another with the respect and compassion that we would seek for ourselves.

Consistency in Human Rights Begins with Consistency on Darfur and Sudan

To my fellow Americans today

the most pressing issue we must face is consistency in human rights.

We must face the injustice, violence, oppression, and genocide in Darfur and Sudan

that stands as the benchmark for consistency for the world on the issue of human rights.

Some of us say Never Again to genocide, but we have seen genocide again, and we must stand up against it.

Not just when it is popular or convenient, or what some people call strategic, but when it is the right thing, the moral thing to do.

That is why the issue of consistency in human rights in Darfur and Sudan is so important, so vital for the American people and the world.

Our response there is a measurement of just HOW SERIOUS we are about being responsible for human rights.

We gain no major national security advantage, no major economic advantage, no major geopolitical advantage for actively standing up and being consistent on human rights in Darfur and Sudan, like our nation has and will continue to actively stand up in other parts of the world.

In Darfur and Sudan, the issues are simply are our moral integrity as human beings responsible for human rights.

It is not a special interest, it is a human interest, and our stand is an indication of whether we truly believe in the truths that we hold self evident

Some are pessimistic about the West and the United States taking such a principled stand on human rights, not dependent on “what we get out of it.” They believe that the West and the United States can not be taken serious on such human rights principles. Some believe Americans will only act on human rights when it is in our strategic interests.

I will tell you that I know different.

I will tell you that I have seen different in my own life, and with my own eyes.

In my own life, I have seen in American cities where races were forced to live in separate housing, eat in separate restaurants, and only go to certain schools and neighborhoods change.

America’s greatest human rights challenge was the challenge of racial supremacism within our own borders, based on horrors of slavery that was the great shame of a great nation.

That human rights challenge nearly destroyed America.

In fact, for a time that human rights challenge split America apart into a United States and a Confederate States.

But I know America, and I know the American spirit. The United States of America proved then that it could and must be consistent on human rights, not just when it is in our interests, but also simply when it is our responsibility – not just as Americans, but also as human beings. We must remember the lessons of our history that define our identity, when we look at the challenges in Darfur and Sudan.

I know the American spirit of justice and respect for human rights still burns in many many hearts across this great nation. It is defended by many who walk the streets of our nation’s capital. It is still inherent in the very Declaration that defines what it means to be American. I know the American people can reach for that principled stand once again.

I know that the people in America can demand that our nation and our nation’s leaders finally take a consistent stand on human rights in Darfur and Sudan and ACT to end the oppression, ACT to end the violence, and ACT to end the injustice. We must call upon the American people to ACT and not just say high-sounding ideals, but DEMAND that our national leaders finally determine that YES, we CAN be consistent on human rights in Darfur and Sudan, yes we CAN do something about it.

Some wonder when I call my group Responsible for Equality and Liberty – what that really means

it means the commitment that we have made not just as Americans…

but also as human beings to be CONSISTENT on the issues of equality and liberty –

for ALL PEOPLE-

EVERYWHERE –

in the World with their universal human rights –

Not just when it is convenient –

Not just when it is strategic –

But just because it is the right thing to do.

It is the responsible thing to do as a fellow human being.

Jeffrey Imm

— I am too, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

Free People Must Reject Dictators

The continuing human struggle for freedom, human rights, and human dignity will not end at just one nation’s borders, or with one nationality, one race, one religion, one gender, or any one identity group.

Those who seek to stem this endless tide of human freedom are like those who think they can control the oceans. For a time, one can try to restrain such natural forces, but inevitably the tide will turn, and those who reject our human freedoms will fall from power.

The real choice we have is whether we will be on the side of freedom – or not. The idea that we can support human freedom, human rights, human dignity just some of the time – for some people like us or those we like – is the foundational LIE that tyrants and dictators have used throughout history. Dictators and oppressors count on this lie, they depend on it, they create entire societies and tyrannies on this. But as history has shown and will continue to ultimately show, “A Lie Cannot Live.”

The lie that only some people, because of their identity group or elite status, deserve freedom, rights, and dignity, while others are denied such rights, will continue to be proven to be as a lie again and again around the world. In the racial segregation era of America, the lie of denying humanity to black Americans did not live. In Nazi Germany, the lie of denying humanity to Jews through the Holocaust ultimately did not live. But in too many parts of the world, similar lies continue to be propped up, defended, and excused.

We have seen our national leaders meet with and ignore the horrific human rights abuses and ignore the Laogai concentration camps in Communist China, while freedom is denied to the Chinese people, and people of all religions and beliefs are routinely tortured, kidnapped, and abused. We have seen our national leaders offer to take Sudan off the list of terrorist nations, while its leaders accused of Genocide continue to rule and travel freely around a world that has not seen fit to act for justice in Sudan’s crimes against humanity.

But from time to time, people will stand up to the lies of dictatorship and oppression. Millions have left and openly denounced the Communist Chinese Party. White supremacists no longer can promote hatred and contempt of other races without public rejection.

The days are numbered for societies and ideologies based on the lie of denying human freedom, human rights, and human dignity.

For those who think we can pick and choose who does and who does not deserve these rights, dignity, and freedom, you are on the wrong side of history.

To American and Western leaders, you too need to decide which side of history you are on, when you meet with dictators and when you dignify the lie of oppressors and societies that reject the truth of universal human rights, human dignity, and human freedom. To the American people and people around the world, whether it is in Tienanmen Square, the election protesters of Iran, or now in the streets of Tunis and Cairo, we must stand in solidarity with those who seek freedom. It is no surprise that the Communist China totalitarian leaders seek to censor the Internet to avoid the Chinese people finding out about what is going on in Egypt.

Egypt-Standoff-1 — January 2011 Egypt Protesters

The current popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt once again speak to how human freedom and rights will not be denied. There is much to be seen on how such uprisings occur and we must condemn violence against others. But to be consistent in challenging both societies and ideologies that seek to defy freedom, free people around the world must reject dictators and oppressors, no matter who they are, no matter what their identity group, and no matter what their rationale for dictatorship and oppression.

Dictators and Oppressors are dependent on the world’s silence about their lie that only some deserve human rights, human dignity, and freedom. We must speak out consistently on this anywhere and everywhere.

A Lie Cannot Live. Choose the Truth on Humanity and Its Universal Human Rights.

Choose Freedom, Choose Human Dignity, and Choose Human Rights.

America as a Haven for Religious Freedom

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our universal human rights of religious freedom, freedom of conscience, and freedom of worship for all people. R.E.A.L. rejects hatred and rejects the activities of those who seek to promote hatred towards identity groups and specific religions.

There are some today in America that have forgotten what America has meant as a haven for religious freedom, which is why our equality and liberty for all is one of the “truths we hold self-evident” in the defining declaration of what it means to be an American.

Fortunately, the United States Library of Congress provides an online exhibit called “America as a Religious Refuge: The Seventeenth Century,” to remind us of the historical importance as to why the United States Constitution and American law has sought to defend such freedom of religion.

The Library of Congress points out that “The religious persecution that drove settlers from Europe to the British North American colonies sprang from the conviction, held by Protestants and Catholics alike, that uniformity of religion must exist in any given society. This conviction rested on the belief that there was one true religion and that it was the duty of the civil authorities to impose it, forcibly if necessary, in the interest of saving the souls of all citizens. Nonconformists could expect no mercy and might be executed as heretics. The dominance of the concept, denounced by Roger Williams as ‘inforced uniformity of religion,’ meant majority religious groups who controlled political power punished dissenters in their midst. In some areas Catholics persecuted Protestants, in others Protestants persecuted Catholics, and in still others Catholics and Protestants persecuted wayward coreligionists.”

“Religious persecution, as observers in every century have commented, is often bloody and implacable and is remembered and resented for generations.”

“Many of the British North American colonies that eventually formed the United States of America were settled in the seventeenth century by men and women, who, in the face of European persecution, refused to compromise passionately held religious convictions and fled Europe. The New England colonies, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland were conceived and established ‘as plantations of religion.'”

Those who fled Briton and Europe to the United States to avoid religious persecution were from a broad range of religions and religious backgrounds. America served as a haven for such religious freedom for them.

The question Americans must ask is will we abandon the legacy and history of religious freedom guaranteed in our Constitution, as well as the freedom of worship and freedom of conscience that all deserve? We urge all Americans, instead to support our Constitutional freedom and universal human rights. Be Responsible for Equality And Liberty.

Join us in Washington DC at Freedom Plaza to stand up for our freedoms for on September 11, 2010.

We must never forget, as Americans where America’s first settlers came from, and why we made a decision to change the world by declaring our inalienable human rights of equality and liberty – for all – including freedom of religion, freedom of worship, and freedom of conscience.

Note that all images are credited to the Library of Congress.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html

Persecution of Jesuits in EnglandIn the image on the left is Brian Cansfield (1581-1643), a Jesuit priest seized while at prayer by English Protestant authorities in Yorkshire. Cansfield was beaten and imprisoned under harsh conditions. He died on August 3, 1643 from the effects of his ordeal. At the right is another Jesuit priest, Ralph Corbington (Corby) (ca. 1599-1644), who was hanged by the English government in London, September 17, 1644, for professing his faith. (LOC)

A Jesuit Executed for His Beliefs - Jesuits like John Ogilvie (Ogilby) (1580-1615) were under constant surveillance and threat from the Protestant governments of England and Scotland. Ogilvie was sentenced to death by a Glasgow court and hanged and mutilated on March 10, 1615. (LOC)

Execution of Mennonites - This engraving depicts the execution of David van der Leyen and Levina Ghyselins, described variously as Dutch Anabaptists or Mennonites, by Catholic authorities in Ghent in 1554. Strangled and burned, van der Leyen was finally dispatched with an iron fork. Bracht's Martyr's Mirror is considered by modern Mennonites as second only in importance to the Bible in perpetuating their faith. (LOC)

Drowning of Protestants - Shown here is a depiction of the murder by Irish Catholics of approximately one hundred Protestants from Loughgall Parish, County Armagh, at the bridge over the River Bann near Portadown, Ulster. This atrocity occurred at the beginning of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Having held the Protestants as prisoners and tortured them, the Catholics drove them "like hogs" to the bridge, where they were stripped naked and forced into the water below at swordspoint. Survivors of the plunge were shot. (LOC)

Persecution of Catholics by Huguenots - In the areas of France they controlled, Huguenots at least matched the harshness of the persecutions of their Catholic opponents. Atrocities A, B, and C, depictions that are possibly exaggerated for use as propaganda, are located by the author in St. Macaire, Gascony. In scene A, a priest is disemboweled, his entrails wound up on a stick until they are torn out. In illustration B a priest is buried alive, and in C Catholic children are hacked to pieces. Scene D, alleged to have occurred in the village of Mans, was "too loathsome" for one nineteenth-century commentator to translate from the French. It shows a priest whose genitalia were cut off and grilled. Forced to eat his roasted private parts, the priest was then dissected by his torturers so they can observe him digesting his meal. (LOC)

Persecution of Huguenots by Catholics The slaughter of Huguenots (French Protestants) by Catholics at Sens, Burgundy in 1562 occurred at the beginning of more than thirty years of religious strife between French Protestants and Catholics. These wars produced numerous atrocities. The worst was the notorious St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris, August 24, 1572. Thousands of Huguenots were butchered by Roman Catholic mobs. Although an accommodation between the two sides was sealed in 1598 by the Edict of Nantes, religious privileges of Huguenots eroded during the seventeenth century and were extinguished in 1685 by the revocation of the Edict. Perhaps as many as 400,000 French Protestants emigrated to various parts of the world, including the British North American colonies. (LOC) — Persecution of Huguenots by Catholics - The slaughter of Huguenots (French Protestants) by Catholics at Sens, Burgundy in 1562 occurred at the beginning of more than thirty years of religious strife between French Protestants and Catholics. These wars produced numerous atrocities. The worst was the notorious St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris, August 24, 1572. Thousands of Huguenots were butchered by Roman Catholic mobs. Although an accommodation between the two sides was sealed in 1598 by the Edict of Nantes, religious privileges of Huguenots eroded during the seventeenth century and were extinguished in 1685 by the revocation of the Edict. Perhaps as many as 400,000 French Protestants emigrated to various parts of the world, including the British North American colonies. (LOC)

Lutherans Expelled Who Flee to America - The Expulsion of the Salzburgers - On October 31, 1731, the Catholic ruler of Salzburg, Austria, Archbishop Leopold von Firmian, issued an edict expelling as many as 20,000 Lutherans from his principality. Many propertyless Lutherans, given only eight days to leave their homes, froze to death as they drifted through the winter seeking sanctuary. The wealthier ones who were allowed three months to dispose of their property fared better. Some of these Salzburgers reached London, from whence they sailed to Georgia. Others found new homes in the Netherlands and East Prussia.

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The Law, Human Rights, and the Right to Believe

Over thirty years ago, I came to Washington DC, and joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

My first job responsibility was to swear a promise to the United States of America, and I said:

“I, Jeffrey Imm, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.”

I swore this oath, because America cannot afford individuals in law enforcement that cannot defend the law of the land. If you can’t defend the Constitution of the United States, you have no business working for the American people. Amendment 1 of the Constitution supports the freedom of religion for all Americans.

To those who seek to promote human rights, I urge you to consider, can you unquestioningly support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? How credible are human rights activists that cannot defend the most fundamental international document of our universal human rights?

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Notice Article 18 states “everyone,” not just those we like, those we agree with, or those who are popular. In our international Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are no caveats creating exceptions to such human rights for Christian churches in Pakistan, for Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques in Indonesia, or even for Muslim mosques in America. Everyone has the right to believe.

This may not always be popular. In America today, there are endless news reports about the unpopularity of mosques in various parts of the country – from California to Florida – that are being protested by those who do not like Islam and by those who seek to challenge some Muslims’ right to worship.

But both law enforcement and human rights activism are really not a popularity contest. Certainly in every case, supporters of both seek popularity. But both are a commitment to a consistent application of the law and our universal human rights for all people – all the time.

Some people won’t like that. They won’t like laws that keep our society safe and civil when it inconveniences them. They won’t like human rights that apply to those that they may not like. They won’t care for those who flout their populist arguments with the law and with our universal human rights.

As a child, I remember the struggle in America for black Americans’ human rights in the 1960s and 1970s. There were plenty who did not like either the laws or the struggle for such human rights. Certainly if you had taken a poll in a nation which once had 4 million members of the Ku Klux Klan, you would have found there were plenty of people who would’ve opposed both the campaigns and the laws granting black Americans their human rights – and this in a nation whose national declaration is founded on equality and liberty. During those tumultuous days, there were protesting mobs that sought to stop racial integration of schools. I remember one populist campaigner Alabama Governor George Wallace whose racial segregationist policies were part of his campaign to seek to become president of the United States, and he had many, many supporters around the country.

I have seen first hand how such bitter disagreements on human rights can divide our nation, our cities, even our families. But we have an obligation to be a UNITED States of America, not just when it is easy, but also when it is difficult, when we have to make unpopular stands to be TRUE to the truths that we hold self-evident – as Americans.

Some people don’t like the law. Some people don’t like human rights. But the law is the law – and our universal human rights are our universal human rights, not just for those we like or people like us, but for everyone.

Today, CNN has now added to the ongoing furor in America on protests against Muslim mosques by doing a poll that shows that a majority of Americans object to a planned Islamic center on Park Place in New York City, about two football fields away from Ground Zero. It is clearly not popular to many people.

Many may not like the exercise of Constitutional rights or human rights by many people. If we took a national poll every time someone did something controversial, we can be certain of the results. But whether we like it or not, Americans and human beings have Constitutional rights and universal human rights. Don’t forget those are your rights too.

We cannot trade away our Constitution and our universal human rights to whatever CNN/Opinion Research Center finds through some telephone calls, what some people post on Facebook, or what some say with protest signs. Imagine if that was you that the nation was judging any time you did something unpopular or controversial. Imagine if that was you whose very freedoms were being assessed by cable television news hosts or the latest talk radio programs. We have the right to do and say things that may be unpopular, that many may disagree with, and that many may believe to be wrong. It is called FREEDOM.

Our Constitution, our law, and our universal human rights are not just toys for angry politicians, angry groups, and sensationalist journalism. Our Constitution, our Declaration, and our law are the foundation of America’s identity. Our Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the commitment of a pact by United Nations’ countries of the world, including the United States of America, after the horror of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany – as their way of saying “Never Again” and creating an international declaration for universal human rights and justice for all – all the time.

I may no longer be a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but my commitment to their goals of Fidelity – Bravery – Integrity to our Constitution and the truths that we hold self-evident that it is based on will not waver.

To those who seek to defy Americans’ Constitutional rights, remember there are those who vowed an oath to continue to defend such Constitutional rights – whether it is popular or not.

We urge all Americans to be consistently responsible for equality and liberty. It is the American way, and it is who and what America is all about.

United4Equality Social Justice Enterprise

United4Equality

Carolyn Cook leads the social justice enterprise United4Equality, LLC, dedicated to ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) by 2015, and in support of other social justice issues for women.

Carolyn Cook has invested three years pro-bono on a new strategy for E.R.A. She lobbied Congress and secured a House sponsor to introduce a proposed bill for the E.R.A.

Carolyn works with Maureen Gehrig in support of the United4Equality social justice enterprise, and has been an activist in many public events including Women’s Equality Day, International Women’s Day, and in support of human rights groups challenging the barbaric practice of stoning against women.

To contact United4Equality and find out more about its organization, see their Facebook or Twitter sites, or email them at united4equality@realcourage.org

United4Equality on Women's Equality Day 2009 - Maureen Gehring (Left) and Carolyn Cook (Right) — United4Equality on Women's Equality Day 2009 - Maureen Gehrig (Left) and Carolyn Cook (Right)

United4Equality's Carolyn Cook and Supreme Court Justice Ginsberg (Photo: Facebook)

United4Equality on Women's Equality Day 2009 - Carolyn Cook

United4Equality on Women's Equality Day 2009 - Carolyn Cook and Maureen Gehring (Left) and Other Supporters — United4Equality on Women's Equality Day 2009 - Carolyn Cook and Maureen Gehrig (Left) and Other Supporters

United4Equality on Women's Equality Day 2009 - Maureen Gehring — United4Equality on Women's Equality Day 2009 - Maureen Gehrig

United4Equality at Public Awareness Event in Washington DC's Georgetown for International Women's Day 2010 (Carolyn Cook - Right)

United4Equality at Lincoln Memorial on July 11, 2010 - Standing with Human Rights Activists Defying Stoning (Carolyn Cook - far left, and Maureen Gehring - left) — United4Equality at Lincoln Memorial on July 11, 2010 - Standing with Human Rights Activists Defying Stoning (Carolyn Cook - far left, and Maureen Gehrig - left)

United4Equality at Lincoln Memorial Defying Stoning of Women (Carolyn Cook - Left, and Maureen Gehrin - Right) — United4Equality at Lincoln Memorial Defying Stoning of Women (Carolyn Cook - Left, and Maureen Gehrig - Right)

United4Equality at Lincoln Memorial Speaking Out for Women's Right: Maureen Gehrin — United4Equality at Lincoln Memorial Speaking Out for Women's Right: Maureen Gehrig

Muslims for Democracy and Freedom

American Islamic Congress (AIC) Statement of Principles

“This statement was adopted by AIC’s founders in November of 2001.”

“Muslims have been profoundly influenced by their encounter with America. American Muslims are a minority group, largely comprising African-Americans, immigrants, and children of immigrants, who have prospered in America’s climate of religious tolerance and civil rights. The lessons of our unprecedented experience of acceptance and success must be carefully considered by our community.”

“* American Muslims must champion pluralism and condemn all forms of intolerance. American Muslims have a vested interest in the strength of religious freedom and democracy. Because Muslims are relative newcomers to America, we must work to guarantee our equal rights and prevent hate crimes. At the same time, we must condemn hate speech and calls for violence by Muslims. Hateful statements and actions by fellow Muslims threaten the reputation of our entire community. We must censure intolerance, whatever its source.”

“* American Muslims must be leading ambassadors to the Muslim world. America has been a haven for Islam. American Muslims must educate the Muslim world about the remarkable freedoms and coexistence we enjoy here. Calls for “Death to America” and the murder of Americans are an attack on millions of Muslims who are proud to call themselves American. Virulent anti-American rhetoric and action by radicalized Muslims threaten our country, our freedom, and our democracy.”

“* American Muslims must recognize and celebrate our own diversity. Our community comprises individuals of various religious strains, ethnic and racial backgrounds, and political outlooks. We embody the spirit of American diversity and represent a rainbow of humanity. By celebrating diversity and building bridges within our own community, we help strengthen American society.”

“* All Muslims should enjoy the social and economic prosperity experienced by American Muslims. We owe our strength and success in part to classic American principles of individual rights and social justice. And, as Americans, we are citizens of a nation that has prospered greatly in the global economy. But in much of the Muslim world, wide income disparities, high unemployment, economic underdevelopment, and limited individual rights create a fertile ground for despair and extremism. We should strive to improve economic conditions and individual freedom in the Muslim world.”

“* American Muslims must champion the rights of minorities in the Muslim world. We know firsthand the importance of protecting the full rights of minority communities. One of our gifts to the larger Muslim world must be a new emphasis on considering and protecting the rights of minorities. This includes a painful reckoning with past and present episodes of intolerance in the Muslim world – and a commitment to progress in the future.”

Muslims for Progressive Values is guided by the following ten principles.

“1. Identity: We accept as Muslim anyone who identifies as such. The veracity and integrity of that claim is between the individual and God, and is not a matter for the state nor an issue which other individuals can or should judge.”
“2. Equality: We affirm the equal worth of all human beings, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, creed, sexual orientation, or ability. We are committed to work toward societies that ensure social, political, educational, and economic opportunities for all.”
“3. Separation of Religious and State Authorities: We believe that freedom of conscience is not only essential to all human societies but integral to the Qur’anic view of humanity (see Qur’an 2:256). We believe that secular government is the only way to achieve the Islamic ideal of freedom from compulsion in matters of faith.”
“4. Freedom of Speech: We support freedom of expression and freedom of dissent, whether political, artistic, social or religious, even when that expression may be offensive and that dissent may be considered blasphemous. No one should be legally prosecuted, imprisoned or detained for declaring or promoting unpopular opinions.”
“5. Universal Human Rights: We affirm our commitment to social, economic and environmental justice. We believe that the full self-realization of all people, in a safe and sustainable world, is a prerequisite for freedom, civility, and peace. We support efforts for universal health care, universal public education, the protection of our environment, and the eradication of poverty.”
“6. Women’s Rights: We support women’s agency and self-determination in every aspect of their lives. We believe in women’s full participation in society at every level. We affirm our commitment to reproductive justice and empowering women to make healthy decisions regarding their bodies, sexuality and reproduction.”
“7. Lesbian and Gay Rights: We endorse the human and civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex individuals. We support full equality and inclusion of LGBTI individuals in society and in the Muslim community.”
“8. Critical Analysis and Interpretation: We call for critical engagement with Islamic scripture, traditional jurisprudence, and current Muslim discourses. We believe that critical thinking is essential to spiritual development. We promote interpretations that reflect basic Qur’anic principles of tolerance, inclusiveness, mercy, compassion, and fairness.”
“9. Compassion: We affirm that justice and compassion should be the guiding principles for all aspects of human conduct. We repudiate militarism and violence, whether on an individual, organizational, or national level.”
“10. Diversity: We embrace religious pluralism and the diversity of inspirations that motivate people to embrace social justice. We believe that one’s religion is not the exclusive source of truth. As such, we will engage with a diversity of philosophical and spiritual traditions in pursuit of a more just, peaceful and sustainable world.”

Center for Islamic Pluralism Mission:

“Founded in Washington, DC in 2004, the Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) is a think tank that challenges the dominance of American Muslim life by militant Islamist groups. Specifically, our mission is to:”

“*      Foster, develop, defend, protect, and further mobilize moderate American Muslims in their progress toward integration as an equal and respected religious community in the American interfaith environment;”
“*      Define the future of Islam in America as a community opposed to the politicization of our religion, its radicalization, and its marginalization, which has taken place because of the imposition on Muslims of attitudes opposed to American values, traditions, and policies;”
“*      Educate the broader American public about the reality of moderate Islam and the threat to moderate Muslims and non-Muslim Americans represented by militant, political, radical, and adversarial tendencies.”

Muslim Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD)

— “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
— “AIFD was formed as an unmistakable expression of American liberty and freedom in an attempt to take back the faith of Islam”
— “He felt that AIFD could formally articulate the fact that in commentary and scholarship that many Muslims believe that they are able to practice their faith more freely and more Islamically (in a personal and secular fashion which is most suited to preserve one’s faith) in America than in any other place in the world. ”
— “AIFD seeks to make a small contribution to the body of thought which articulates an understanding of Islam which separates religion and state and is in complete harmony with the U.S. Constitution and our citizenship pledge.”

Where Our Universal Human Rights Apply... — Human Rights Matter to ALL People

British Female Muslim Director of BMSD Explains the Need for Secular Democracy

Unitas Communications has provided Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) the following interview with Tehmina Kazi, director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy. R.E.A.L. supports the leadership, courage, and consistency on human rights issues of Tehmina Kazi and the British Muslims for Secular Democracy, and R.E.A.L. has previously posted on the BMSD’s leadership and activities.

British Female Muslim Director of BMSD Explains the Need for Secular Democracy

Question to Tehmina Kazi: What are the reasons behind the title ‘British Muslims for Secular Democracy’ (BMSD)?

Response: We distinguish between procedural secularism and ideological secularism. Ideological secularism is the type of model that is practiced in France and Turkey, where we see for example headscarf bans in university and we want to distance ourselves from that kind of secularism. We support instead, procedural secularism where the state remains neutral but different faith groups and of no faith have the chance to express their voices in the public sphere and everyone gets an equal share of the public sphere. We also want to highlight the benefits of living in a democracy and how British Muslims can become more successful democratic actors.

Question: What is BMSD doing to engage with British Muslims on a grass-roots level?

Response: On a grass roots level, I am the facilitator for the Young Muslim Leadership Network which is being run by the Citizenship Foundation, so I facilitate monthly workshops for young people, mainly women actually and they talk about issues that are important to them and find individual ways to present these to policy makers. My group for example is filming a myth-busting documentary about Muslim women, busting myths about the hijab, talking about their career choices and educational aspirations. Also we do democracy workshops for refugees in East London and we talk to them about their civil rights.

Question: What does being a British Muslim mean to you?

Response: It means that you don’t see the two terms as mutually exclusive. You can be just as comfortable with your British identity and totally integrated at the same time by totally Muslim.

Question: Eight Muslim MPs were elected this year, three of them women. How will they affect change for Britain?

Response: They set a very important change as role models, especially for Muslim women because now Muslim women can look at MPs such as Rushanara Ali and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who is the first female Muslim in the cabinet and say that if they can do it, I can do it too.

The government’s Prevent agenda has isolated young Muslim males. What are the possible platforms on which they can counter these stereotypes?

There was a very good platform just this Sunday. There was a big public meeting in Birmingham, attended by Salma Yaqoob, Shami Chakrabarti from Liberty and Gareth Pierce, the human rights lawyer and there were a lot of Muslims present there and they aired their concerns. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the increased surveillance in residential areas in Birmingham and I’m a civil libertarian and me personally, I was very affected by this. The more we voice these issues by signing petitions, attending public meetings, going on TV programmes, radio programmes to explain why this is wrong and why this is wrong approach is important. We need to do more of these things.

Question: Why is it important that Muslim youth vote?

Response: Because if you don’t vote then you shouldn’t complain when you see MPs ignoring your interest and hot shod of your wishes and implementing things such as the surveillance in Birmingham and the 42-day detention period. It is the individual that can make these changes within themselves, such as writing a letter to an MP. It’s the apathy that is the biggest enemy to both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Question: There have been news reports of Muslim parents removing their children from music lessons in a south London school. Many Muslim parents want to instil specific Islamic principles in their child’s education. Do you think it is possible to negotiate this in a school setting?

Response: I don’t think they should have the right to withdraw their child from music lessons. Children benefit most from a well-rounded education. What we need to do is to educate the parents because there’s a big difference from Mozart and a rap song. There are already comprises being made for other lessons such as swimming, where you have girls only lessons and that’s fine. But with something as universal as music, I mean why would you want to withdraw your child from that? Next you’ll have children being withdrawn for all arbitrary reasons. This has been going on for a long time, and is worse in areas such as Bradford and Ealing.

Tehmina Kazi took up the position of Director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy in May 2009. Prior to joining BMSD, she was a Project Officer at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, where she worked on a ground-breaking inquiry into the Human Rights Act and its impact on public service delivery, undertaking research, writing policy briefings, facilitating focus groups and interviewing victims of human rights violations.

To find out more about the BMSD, visit their website at: http://www.bmsd.org.uk/index.asp

Tehmina Kazi, BMSD Director — United Kingdom: Tehmina Kazi, director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD)

UK: Five Years After July 7 Terrorist Attacks – A New Direction of Hope

Five years after the July 7 terrorist bombings in London, the UK government is no longer holding any public remembrance of the victims, other than a wreath being sent to a memorial in Hyde Park. The Global Post’s Michael Goldfarb states that “Wednesday’s anniversary is being marked, well, it’s being marked by nothing.”

But while there may be no official remembrance activities, there are many whose lives and passion for democracy and freedom are living memorials to the July 7 victims, and whose efforts represent a new hope for the United Kingdom in the struggle of ideas.

We have been seeing increasing signs of hope and progress among British Muslims who are taking the lead in supporting secular democracy and human rights as a counter-message to extremists who seek to deny democracy and human rights. While some analysts believe that fighting terrorism can be measured by tactical achievements or failures, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) believes that solutions will come from a consistent support for democracy and our universal human rights from the public, including British Muslim and pro-human rights groups in the struggle of ideas.

We believe that it will be stories such as Tehmina Kazi’s, the director of the British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD), that will make the difference. We urge you to read the interview with Tehmina Kazi posted on R.E.A.L.’s website today at http://bit.ly/tehmina

While groups such as Anjem Choudary’s Islam4UK and the Hizb ut-Tahrir United Kingdom groups denounce democracy and equality, and on the other extreme, groups such as the English Defence League and the Stop Islamisation of Europe groups are protesting Muslim houses of worship, there are alternatives from those such as the BMSD and its supporters who provide an example in consistent support of democracy, human rights, and human dignity for rest of the United Kingdom and the world.

We urge others in the United Kingdom to follow the example of groups such as BMSD and choose to consistently be responsible for equality and liberty.

Independence Begins with Freedom from Hate and Fear

Once again, America finds itself commemorating another Independence Day. We recognize this day as the day when people of the English colonies in America could no longer live under rule of England. We associate American independence with July 4, 1776, and our Declaration of Independence. We remember this as the day that people officially declared themselves not to be British subjects, but to be free Americans.

Americans celebrate the day with picnics, flags, fireworks, and gatherings with family and friends. We live in this moment of freedom and enjoy this day.

I also reflect on our founding fathers’ vision on this day. I reflect on the moral courage in their declaration of freedom not only for America but for all humanity in the Declaraion of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

In the past year in our human rights efforts with Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), I have had great successes meeting with individuals of every identity group, every political cause, every race, gender, religion, that share our common commitment to such unalienable rights, and share our common commitment to challenging those who would take these away from us in America or anywhere in the world. From Muslim-Americans supporting democracy, women’s rights, and religious freedom to far-left Americans defying religious extremist views, I have found Americans who are truly united in this consensus in every religion, color, gender, and from both the right and the left. Political pundits may find stories of our political polarization to be interesting, but they neglect our greater consensus that we always had on the truths that we find self-evident. Most Americans hold fast to these truths and they believe in equality and liberty.

Many have concerns about groups that wish to do Americans harm and that seek to take our rights away. But we can never fall into the trap of letting our concerns and challenges become hate and fear.

Our independence and human rights mean nothing as long as we are enslaved to hate and fear.

Some believe that we can be enslaved to hate as Americans. A year ago, the press reported an American citizen expressed such views to his European friends that hate was “natural, normal and necessary,” and that “compassionate nations” would “die.” Those were the words of James Von Brunn to his friends, Nazi supporters in Germany, before his June 10, 2009 terrorist attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

As long as we are enslaved to hate, we have no independence. As long as hate rules our lives, we will never be free, no matter how we can justify such hatred to people of other identity groups, religions, races, genders, and ethnic groups. Hate destroys all, and it destroys our very freedoms. Hate is un-American.

Some also believe that we can be enslaved to fear as Americans. In an era of mass terrorist attacks, fear has gained more power than ever before in American history. We know that ultimately there is no way to stop the “lone wolf” terrorist with a single bomb, or even a private plane as the terrorist Joseph Stack proved in Austin, Texas. We also know that we have been incredibly lucky to have had few attacks on the U.S. homeland since 9/11.

But we have had more than luck. We have had many dedicated American law enforcement and government individuals giving their lives to ensure Americans’ safety, and there has been a massive network of volunteers who have kept their eyes open for Americans. We also not forget the power of teamwork and trust among Americans. We must not forget that on May 1, Muslims and non-Muslims together helped to notify the police to prevent the Times Square bombing.

As long as we are a UNITED States of America, we are bound by the same common cause of our democracy, our human rights, and our shared survival. We must not allow the power of trust and power of unity to be disintegrated by fear.

As long as we are enslaved to fear, we have no independence. As long as fear rules our lives, we will never be free, no matter how we try to justify such fear of people of other identity groups, religions, races, genders, and ethnic groups. Fear destroys all, and it destroys our very freedoms. Fear is un-American.

America is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

On this Independence Day, let’s remember this and let’s break the chains that enslave many Americans to hate and fear. Declare independence from hate and fear in our lives.

Let’s stand up for such freedom and bravery to the world.

Show the world what it really means to be an American.