By a 22-3 vote the Hawaii Senate May 7 approved House Concurrent Resolution 100 which designates September 24, 2009 as Islam Day.  The State House had quietly approved the measure without dissent March 17. For details and links about the sponsors of the bill and other relevant information, CreepingSharia has posted two blogs worth reading:

Hawaii Lawmakers Create ‘Islam Day’

Hawaii ‘Islam Day’ falls on Sept 11 of Julian calendar!

            My first thought was for any person with awareness of significant  issues in American society this would seem to be a clear violation of the mistaken concept of “separation of church and state”. It appears in this case that Hawaii is clearly promoting a specific religion by designating a day to commemorate Islam. Where is the Hawaiian equivalent of Michael Newdow, the vehement atheist, filing suit to stop any government attempt to honor religion?  Are attempts to block the acknowledgement of religion in the United States only directed at religions that will not retaliate with bombings and beheadings?

         For a complete understanding of this situation one needs to read the actual bill passed by the Hawaiian legislature, which in my mind seems to whitewash the Islamic religion. See HRC100 before proceeding.  I won’t attempt to address every item in the bill but a few proclamations raised specific concerns that I could not ignore. Below I will quote specific text from the bill and follow with comments.  

“WHEREAS, the Islamic world preserved works of science and philosophy during the Middle Ages when these disciplines were threatened by bigotry and prejudice in other parts of the world; and”

       Crediting the Islamic world for preserving “works” that were threatened by “bigotry and prejudice in other parts of the world” fits the typical Islamic apologist tactic of blaming the West. This may have some merit but we cannot ignore the bigotry and prejudice that is exhibited daily by modern Islam.  Terrorism, beheadings, and outright threats against Israel and the West are all clear examples . Evidence of those promoting radical Islam throughout the Muslim world and fundamentalist Wahabi Islam are significant and numerous, demonstrating that “prejudice and bigotry” are widespread within Islam. 

       And recall in 2001 Taliban militia supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar  issued a decree ordering the destruction of all statues in Afghanistan including ancient pre-Islamic figures. If we must acknowledge that some in the Islamic world saved works of science and philosophy we must also condemn some for the destruction of historical and cultural artifacts.

“WHEREAS, Islam is a religion of peace, along with its monotheistic counterparts, and holds that peace is a divine quality and necessary for collective human happiness; and”

       I’m not sure I need to add much here. Given the clear and abundant evidence of violence and hatred demonstrated by radical and fundamentalist Islam. The prolific record of terrorist attacks, beheadings, violence against their fellow practitioners, and the rantings of Jihadist thugs leads an open-minded observer to conclude that Islam may not truly be a “religion of peace”.

“WHEREAS, the Islamic faith incorporates the teachings and texts of both Christianity and Judaism, whose followers are respected and considered “People of the Book”; and”

       Christians and Jews, though called “People of the Book” are considered inferior, called dhimmi and required to live under dhimmitude, basically subservience to Muslims. Contrast this statement about respect for “people if the book” to the treatment of Israel by Iran and other solidly Islamic countries or the pronouncements of hatred against the United States and other Western countries by  Al Qaeda and other Islamic hate groups, intent on dominating the world. Nothing less than total surrender or elimination of Western civilization is acceptable for too many Muslims.

            Other readers of the bill may find other proclamations to be of concern or may see the issues I raise in a different light. Everyone should be concerned when the state promotes a specific religion. I believe that such government endorsement and whitewashing of Islam in non-Islamic cultures is dangerous, as can be seen in the advance of militant Islam in the UK and EU. What is it that makes our leaders downplay or ignore the threat of radical Islam? Let Hawaiian Muslims openly display their faith but don’t elevate it and don’t expect non-Muslims to honor it.