Yesterday when i was at my gym (the only place i go with a television) I saw this news story. I find this a typical Palm Beach headliner meanwhile the Government is funding and arming Al Qaeda in Syria on the even of an NSA controversy and Benghazi scandal. I saw fighting on the television and when I got home I had to youtube it to see what was going on.
My name, is
not important. I represent a small part of our society, known to you as the
humble graffiti artist. On the newscast yesterday, when I saw the way the name
was painted on the wall, I instantly recognized the handiwork of a fellow
graffiti practioner. Its sad that law enforcement wasn’t able to determine if
it was a terrorist threat or a prank- but If you drive a bit further south and
make a simple observation out the window, you will see more prolific works of Jihad and many other artists off the
highway. I guess what makes him stand out from other writers, is possibly the controversy
behind his name. That specific wall in Delray has seen its share of graffiti in
the last 10 years, so what makes more sense?
More of the same graffiti on the wall? Or is Al Qaeda being trained to
spray their “holy war” declaration on the US, in English, with purple paint and
a fancy exclamation point, on the highway. I cant promise you’ll be safer from terrorism
after the graffiti is clean, but I can assure you the same wall will eventually
be painted with graffiti, again.
When I first saw the yesterday’s story, I wasn’t surprised at seeing graffiti on the highway, but I was shocked to see the kind of prejudice and open hatred that went on in the aftermath. I saw a man that was so compelled to tell you and everyone there, that this was no threat- that it was “just a word”. Instead of listening- the mob instantly greeted him with profanity, threatened his job and Damen Rosen telling him to “take that back to the Muzlim land” followed by snapping photos of his license plate. I saw his frustration when he had to scream “ITS JUST A WORD” but it fell on deaf ears. Is this how we treat people trying to tell us something? Does that make him un American? Today it may be perfectly acceptable to be anti-Muslim, but would Rosen be wrong if he said the same words about another minority? Rosen showed his true ignorant colors on national television and insulted countless of innocent people and should either apologize or live with the reputation of being a bigot. I’m glad that Mr Rosen has “Christian friends”, although I wish he had “Muslim friends” that could teach him more about the Jihad “ideology”. The cherry on top is when he tells us to “wake up” and reminds us of the “Boston bombing” and “911”. I don’t know how living in fear could prevent that from happening.
When I first saw the yesterday’s story, I wasn’t surprised at seeing graffiti on the highway, but I was shocked to see the kind of prejudice and open hatred that went on in the aftermath. I saw a man that was so compelled to tell you and everyone there, that this was no threat- that it was “just a word”. Instead of listening- the mob instantly greeted him with profanity, threatened his job and Damen Rosen telling him to “take that back to the Muzlim land” followed by snapping photos of his license plate. I saw his frustration when he had to scream “ITS JUST A WORD” but it fell on deaf ears. Is this how we treat people trying to tell us something? Does that make him un American? Today it may be perfectly acceptable to be anti-Muslim, but would Rosen be wrong if he said the same words about another minority? Rosen showed his true ignorant colors on national television and insulted countless of innocent people and should either apologize or live with the reputation of being a bigot. I’m glad that Mr Rosen has “Christian friends”, although I wish he had “Muslim friends” that could teach him more about the Jihad “ideology”. The cherry on top is when he tells us to “wake up” and reminds us of the “Boston bombing” and “911”. I don’t know how living in fear could prevent that from happening.
The fighting during your interview was just a
microcosm of whats happening everywhere. Ben Becker said yesterday that this
was "anti American graffiti" and then you explained that Jihad was
Arabic to describe a "Holy War".
To better my
understanding of what Jihad meant, i decided to do a quick google search on the
subject and some research.
The word
"Jihad" does not mean holy war. It can be interpreted in English as
"Struggle","striving" or "to struggle in the way of
Allah". "The goal of true jihad is to attain a harmony between islam
(submission), iman (faith), and ihsan (righteous living)." When it is applied to warfare (Jihad bil
saif), the primary aim is not the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam by force,
but rather Jihad is essentially defensive warfare aimed at protecting Muslims
and Islam. Islam cannot justify aggressive war. Muhammad and the Tradition are
also specifically against killing non-combatants (such as women and children),
torturing of prisoners, the destruction of crops, animals and homes. (in this
case, highways)
By calling Jihad a "holy war" and
claiming that the graffiti was "anti American" only perpetuates the
western ignorance and the anti-Muslim narrative. I hear everyday how we live in
a post 911 world, I know it is important to stay vigilant; but does the world
we live in grant full privilege to collectivize and insult others? Is our
society still free enough where we can speak our mind, worship our own religion
and express ourselves without having cowards report our license plates? Will we
give into fear and hate, and lose what makes us American?
Yesterday I didn’t care about the name on the
wall, I wasn’t offended by the word; but I was offended by the hatred behind
the words during the argument. Now im glad he wrote it, because it forced me to
google it and find out its true meaning. Why did he choose JIHAD as his name?
Maybe that was the reason. I cant speak on his behalf because I don’t know him,
but perhaps he was playing off the ignorance of men like Rosen in order to
expose their prejudice and create controversy. It isn’t a “holy war” that will
destroy our society; its giving up who we are and giving in to fear and
ignorance that will.
This goes out to the nameless guy yesterday;
you inspired me, man. You were right all along and not afraid to say it. You
stood alone, for people who didn’t have a voice. Now I’m here to stand up for
you. Everything you said, I listened. You were RIGHT.
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