Ani Zonneveld has guts and smarts in abundance. As the founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values, she has repeatedly spoken out against the violence and bigotry promoted by radical Islamists who not only grab the worlds attention with their despicable acts, but also create the impression that they are Islam. As a proud Jew and a lover of Israel, I worry about the same people Ani confronts in her work. I also hear many Jews and Christians lamenting the lack of vocal opposition within the Islamic community to Islamist terrorism and tyranny. And I hear Muslims lamenting the fact that such voices dont get the platform they deserve, and so desperately need, in American and western media. So lets do something about it. I had a different individual planned for this weeks Thursday hero. Then I saw Anis article in todays The Huffington Post. This is a must-read. Shes doing some of the most important work in the world today. As Ani notes in her piece, people who speak out in Muslim majority countries like shes doing here get imprisoned or killed, and their voices disappear. Thank G-d Ani lives in America where she can speak out, and she has the guts to use theta privilege. Lets make sure her voice is heard. An excerpt: Here in America, both Wahabist Muslims and Right Wing non-Muslims have been our traditional nemesis. The ultra-conservative Muslims spew out Wahabi theology as the purest, and the Christian Right Wing promotes it for political gain. It is disappointing to now have to deal with some Liberals and atheists who essentially promote radical Islam as the Islam, because according to them, one cannot possibly be a rational, fair-minded, progressive follower of Islam. We are often told, progressive Muslims are just not Muslim enough, or we have not read the Quran, because if we did, we would be killing non-Muslims too. But we are the Muslims who are taking on atrocities done in the name of Islam, at its roots, with religious language. Ani is G-d-loving woman taking hits from every side of the religious and political spectrum as she fights to save the soul of Islam, and thats why were proud to honor her as this weeks Thursday Hero at Accidental Talmudist.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 19:48:47 +0000
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