While there is no doubt that Muslims are more sinned against than sinning, it is also true that we need to take a good hard look at our own conduct and how we appear to others. There is no point in screaming: "They hate Islam and they hate Muslims anyway". We should calmly and dispassionately go into some of the things that we say and do in Islam's name. By continuing to sulk and playing the stricken party, we will help everybody except ourselves.It is in this context that a recently published report by the Centre for Religious Freedom, New York, should receive attention, not only of those who do not come out of it looking very good, namely the Saudi authorities, but of others who wish to restore the image of Islam and remove what they believe are misunderstandings in the West about one of the world's great religions and its adherents. The Centre is a division of Freedom House, founded more than sixty years ago by Eleanor Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie and others who were concerned about what they saw as threats to peace and democracy. The study undertaken surveyed more than a dozen of the principal mosques and Islamic centres in America, chose 200 of the books and publications they housed, 90 percent of them in Arabic, had them translated and then analysed. All documentation had some connection to the Saudi government. Not all, but many of the mosques surveyed receive financial support from the kingdom. In some, the staffing is done by the Saudi government. The results were quite shocking as much of the literature being distributed by these religious outlets preaches hatred for other religions and cultures. The bulk of the material was gathered in 2003, some as recently as November 2004.
A typical tract declares that America is the "abode of the infidel", the Christian and the Jew. "Be dissociated from the infidels, hate them for their religion, leave them, never rely on them for support, do not admire them, and always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law. There is consensus in this matter, that whoever helps unbelievers against Muslims, regardless of what type of support he lends to them, he is an unbeliever himself." Another says, "Never greet the Christian or Jew first. Never congratulate the infidel on his holiday. Never befriend an infidel unless it is to convert him. Never imitate the infidel. Never work for an infidel. Do not wear a graduation gown because this imitates the infidel." The last bit is for graduating Muslim students in America. The book from which this is taken is called 'Greetings from the Cultural Department' of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington.