US scout troop balances Muslim faith with American values

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GETTYSBURG (United States) — In a bus taking them to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — site of the US Civil War’s most famous battle — the members of Boy Scout Troop 114 are all ears.
“Listen up during the trip! This is a rewarding trip — if you pay attention, it will help you get the merit badge,” booms one of the Scout leaders.

“We are going to Gettysburg!” says one of the 20 teenagers excitedly. “Alhamdulillah!” he cries, Arabic for praise God.
Troop 114 is like any other in the Scouts, except in one important respect: They are Muslim.
todayonline.com/world/americas/us-scout-troop-balances-muslim-faith-american-values
 
It is sad that what could have been an incredibly fabulous story of how Muslim boys are learning about being an American, embracing American cultural and social values, and still be able to maintain their Islamic faith, is tainted and cynically used as a political hit piece on Trump.

Now, I’m not a supporter of Trump because I lack trust in his conservatism. Even his comments about sealing the border from Muslims sounds progressive. After all, Carter did essentially the same thing in the wake the Iran hostage crisis. And of course, there was the un-American internment of Americans of Japanese origin by progressive FDR. But I find this kind of misrepresentation of even his position:
The Republican presidential front-runner wants a ban on Muslims entering the United States in the wake of attacks in Paris last November and the one that followed in California one month later.
This is not what Trump has said. He has been clear that this is a temporary situation, “until we can figure out what’s going on.” A lie of omission,as is committed by the writer, is still a lie.

More important than the rhetorical, politically motivated exploitation of these young Scouts by the author, is the proof of how Scouting can embrace various groups of boys, and still be able to state:
**On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
**

Jon
 
Now, I’m not a supporter of Trump because I lack trust in his conservatism. Even his comments about sealing the border from Muslims sounds progressive. After all, Carter did essentially the same thing in the wake the Iran hostage crisis.
Carter banned Muslims from entering the country? I’d need to see a cite for that.
 
He banned Iranians…Of particular interest is item four:

presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=33233
So he banned a particular nationality with whose government we were in diplomatic conflict. I don’t see a religious test; the ban appears to apply equally to Iranian Jews, Zoroastrians, and Christians. And it doesn’t apply to a broad swath of the world including Indians, Indonesians, Malaysians, Australians, Albanians, Filipinos, Turks, Canadians, etc, as Trump’s proposal would.
 
So he banned a particular nationality with whose government we were in diplomatic conflict. I don’t see a religious test; the ban appears to apply equally to Iranian Jews, Zoroastrians, and Christians. And it doesn’t apply to a broad swath of the world including Indians, Indonesians, Malaysians, Australians, Albanians, Filipinos, Turks, Canadians, etc, as Trump’s proposal would.
You don’t think that the events of '79 were related to radical Islam just like they are today?
I’ll let you defend Carter if you want, I’m just saying that Trump’s plan, while thoroughly misrepresented in the article, sounds like the plan of a progressive. Carter and FDR were just a couple of examples.

Jon
 
You don’t think that the events of '79 were related to radical Islam just like they are today?
Like “they” are today - what is “they”? The events of 2016, or 2015? There are certainly events related to radical Islam, although I don’t think the Shiite student revolutionaries in Tehran who idolized Khomeini are especially comparable with the Sunnis in Isis. Regardless of whether the events are comparable, your claim was that Trump’s plan and Carter’s action are comparable, which I reject.

Carter was trying to undermine a particular government by punishing its people. It didn’t achieve its goal, of ousting Khomeini or getting him to cough up the hostages. But neither have other visa bans (admittedly mainly against officials and cronies) over the years against Zimbabwe, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Belarus, etc. Whether it was a good idea or ham-fisted overkill, I don’t know. But it is a far cry from a religious ban.
It is sad that what could have been an incredibly fabulous story of how Muslim boys are learning about being an American, embracing American cultural and social values, and still be able to maintain their Islamic faith, is tainted and cynically used as a political hit piece on Trump.
It’s certainly a relevant point to bring up Trump in the article, since the Scout leader and some of the parents see him and his statements as threatening the ability of their kids to function and be accepted in American society. But I agree that making Trump the focus of the article is unfortunate.
 
=Digitonomy;13588785]Like “they” are today - what is “they”? The events of 2016, or 2015? There are certainly events related to radical Islam, although I don’t think the Shiite student revolutionaries in Tehran who idolized Khomeini are especially comparable with the Sunnis in Isis. Regardless of whether the events are comparable, your claim was that Trump’s plan and Carter’s action are comparable, which I reject.
The they, obviously, are the attacks by radical Islamists today. But you are correct regarding the that the Iranian Islamic radicals are and were shiite, and the ISIS Islamic radicals are Sunni. That seems to lend support to Trump’s plan, that terrorists are coming from various groups and nations.
Carter was trying to undermine a particular government by punishing its people. It didn’t achieve its goal, of ousting Khomeini or getting him to cough up the hostages. But neither have other visa bans (admittedly mainly against officials and cronies) over the years against Zimbabwe, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Belarus, etc. Whether it was a good idea or ham-fisted overkill, I don’t know. But it is a far cry from a religious ban.It’s certainly a relevant point to bring up Trump in the article, since the Scout leader and some of the parents see him and his statements as threatening the ability of their kids to function and be accepted in American society. But I agree that making Trump the focus of the article is unfortunate.
Like I said, I’m not defending Trump’s plan, it’s too much like what progressives have done in the past. His approach is not the thinking of a true conservative.
OTOH, the current president’s approach is playing loose with the security of the American people. He has his own agenda.
Jon
 
But you are correct regarding the that the Iranian Islamic radicals are and were shiite, and the ISIS Islamic radicals are Sunni. That seems to lend support to Trump’s plan, that terrorists are coming from various groups and nations.
I still can’t agree with that. I’m not sure the student revolutionaries in Iran even qualify as terrorists. It was domestic activity that had the blessing of the government - not before the fact, but certainly de facto approval after the fact.

This is not so much comparable to international terrorism as it is to police or paramilitary brutality like we saw after the stolen election of President Ahmadinejad, or similar actions in various authoritarian states over the years like Nazi Germany, Latin American dictotarships, and many communist countries.
 
I still can’t agree with that. I’m not sure the student revolutionaries in Iran even qualify as terrorists. It was domestic activity that had the blessing of the government - not before the fact, but certainly de facto approval after the fact.

This is not so much comparable to international terrorism as it is to police or paramilitary brutality like we saw after the stolen election of President Ahmadinejad, or similar actions in various authoritarian states over the years like Nazi Germany, Latin American dictotarships, and many communist countries.
It took place on American territory! It was an invasion, sanctioned by religious leaders. That’s a terrorist attack by Islamic radicals.

Jon
 
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