|
Abraham Licoln and Recent Events: A Muslim Perspective Mohammed Alo was the only guest speaker besides Attorney General of Ohio, Betty Montgomery. This was the annual Lincoln Day Dinner held on March 14, 2002. Tim Kuhlman introduces Mohammed, and after Mohammed is done, Patrick Kriner, Chairman of Lucas County GOP concludes with some nice remarks. Tim Kuhlman mentions some of the non-profit organizations that Mohammed works with, namely Mobile Meals of Northwest Ohio (Meals on Wheels). Mohammed serves on the Board of Directors of Mobile Meals, which distributes food and sustenance to the elderly and needy. Begin Speech: I want to thank you all for being here tonight and supporting the Republican Party. I want to thank Attorney General Betty Montgomery for being here tonight. We have such a vibrant and growing party here in Lucas County. Last year, we had only two city council members, this year we have three, with the addition of George Sarantou. We reelected our clerk of courts, Maggie Thurber, and have two people running for state offices, Armiya Mohammed and my good friend Allen Roy. I am sure they would appreciate your support. Attorney General Betty Montgomery, please let the people down in Columbus know that we're sending two of our greatest assets to the state house this fall. My name is Mohammed. I am a Muslim, as my name implies, and I am... a very proud Republican. To me, it's a perfect and natural combination. The two compliment one another and help strengthen me as a person. Six months ago, to the day, Sept 13, we had the Lucas County GOP Hall of Fame dinner. For all of you, it may have been an ordinary day, but for me it was a lil bit different. Sept 11 was just two days before, and I wasn't sure if I should come to the dinner. All of America was outraged. We were all angry. And Muslims were being harassed. I didn't know if I want to put myself and my wife in... that type of situation. My wife wears a Muslim dress, and I knew we'd stick out like a sore thumb. But that Thursday morning, things were different. I heard the leader of the Republican Party, George W. Bush speak. He spoke to America from a Mosque. He told America that Islam means peace. He quoted from the Quran. He encouraged Muslim women that cover, not to be afraid, to go out and shop for their families. He said that if anyone harasses them, they represent the worst of humankind. So my mind was made up. I decided to follow the advice of the leader of the Republican Party, and attend and support my local Republican party dinner. (clapping, ovation) After arriving, of course, I immediately felt comfortable and felt at home. It's so wonderful to be among friends and people who really care. Of course, it helps to be seated at Maggie Thurber's table. And I want to thank you all for that. I really appreciate it. But not everyone in our party has been so kind. I have heard some very disheartening comments made by people who claim they are from our party. Rush Limbaugh, Michael Reagan, Glenn Beck have all been on the radio calling Islam a religion of hatred and violence. Ann Coulter, a Reagan speech writer said, we need to deport one million Arabs. Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson have said things about Islam that I am afraid to repeat. Cal Thomas claims that Attorney General Ashcroft said that Islam is a religion in which you have to kill your son for God. Of course, Ashcroft and the Justice Dept have been trying to distance themselves from Cal Thomas and saying that they were misquoted. Just yesterday Rich Lowery, Editor of National Review, said that we need to nuke Mecca. And that that would somehow solve all of our problems. To me, these comments are really disturbing. And to me, these people are no different than the terrorists themselves. Trying to scare Americans. Trying to whip us into a fury. Making us suspicious of our fellow citizen. As President Bush said, "That's not the America I know". So we may be, the party of the right, but all is not RIGHT in our party. We need leadership, education, and vision. We need to change some of our attitudes and stereotypes. Abraham Lincoln once said, "I am not concerned that you have fallen - I am concerned that you arise." "The struggle of today, is not altogether for today--it is for a vast future also." "It has long been a grave question whether any government, not too strong for the liberties of its people, can be strong enough to maintain its own existence in great emergencies." So, where are the Abraham Lincoln's of today? Abraham Lincoln stood up for the rights and emancipation of the slaves. Abraham Lincoln stood up for those who could not stand for themselves. He stood for the downtrodden and the weak. He stood up for what's right. He took a stand and did not stand down. We need to be Abraham Lincoln. We need to look to the future and do what's RIGHT. The party of the right, has to do what is RIGHT. George W. Bush has vision and is a modern day Abraham Lincoln. He was the first American President to ever go into a Mosque. The first president to quote from the Quran, the Muslim holy book. The first president ever to talk about Islam and say positive things about Muslims in his speeches. The first American President to have a Muslim as his guest of honor at the State of the Union Address. He has gone out of his way to stand up for the downtrodden, stand up for humanity, and stand up for what is RIGHT. Again, no pun intended. Even though it may have been unpopular. Governor Taft did the same. He visited a local Mosque here in Toledo and gave a historical speech. We need more Abraham Lincolns, George W. Bushes and Gov. Taft's in our party. We have to be the Abraham Lincolns of tomorrow. We are,... our future. In closing, I want to take you back to 1993. President Clinton was sworn into office and was giving his inaugural address. As much as I don't like to quote him, he made a very profound statement in that speech, that I don't think that he even realized at the time. He said, "There's nothing wrong with America, that what's right with America, can't fix." Think about that for a second, "There's nothing wrong with America, that what's RIGHT with America, can't fix." Notice, he didn't say, "There's nothing wrong with America, that what's LEFT with America, can't fix." I agree with him. How RIGHT he was. What's RIGHT with America is going to fix a lot of things, for many generations to come. And I am proud to be a part of what's RIGHT with America. We have some elections coming up this year, a governor, some state reps, Attorney general, State Auditor, and I want to remind you all to do the RIGHT thing. Vote Republican, and keep America in the RIGHT hands. Good night. End Speech. Email me your comments!
|