Reza Aslan on Islam: “Who is ‘They’?”
On This Week, Christiane Amanpour hosted a special town-hall debate on the provocative question: Should Americans fear Islam? One particularly heated exchange featured Rev. Franklin Graham—who has called Islam "wicked" and "evil"—saying, “I disagree … with the Sharia law, because they do stone women, they do imprison, I've worked in the Sudan, where they've burned over a thousand churches .” “Who is ‘they’?” asked Daily Beast contributor Reza Aslan. “There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. It is unquestionably the most diverse, the most eclectic religion in the history of the world. This concept of just using this word ‘they’ to describe one-and-a-half billion people is actually the definition of bigotry.”
Daisy Khan: Moderate Muslims Must Take Back Discussion, Religion
Later, Daisy Khan, wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and one of the leaders behind the planned Islamic community center near ground zero, said that moderate Muslims are the ones who have to take their religion back from the extremists. The proposed Islamic center “will create a counter-momentum against extremism,” she argued, “because it will amplify the voices of moderate Muslims, which have gotten drowned out over the years by the extremists, because the extremists did not only hijack the planes, they hijacked an entire religion.”
Pakistan Ambassador: CIA and ISI Are Cooperating
On State of the Union, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani, assured Candy Crowley that the ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, is cooperating with the CIA to investigate the potential terror threat in Europe. “We are working together to foil any plot that targets Europe, the United States, or for that matter any part of the world,” he said.
Reliable Sources Breaks Down the Sanchez Meltdown
Considering it airs on the same network that canned Rick Sanchez, Reliable Sources was surprisingly even-handed in discussing the imbroglio. Carole Simpson, a former ABC News anchor, said that while she understands Sanchez felt targeted for his race, “I would be happy if Jon Stewart were replaying my takes… it’s a lot of publicity!”
Gov. Richardson to Dems: Listen to Us!
On Face the Nation, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico had some advice for the Democratic Party: “Stop talking about the Beltway and all the races in Washington” and “listen more to governors” because “we’re the ones creating jobs.”
Save the U.S. Economy, Save the World?
Premier Wen Jiabao of China went on Fareed Zakaria GPS, where he said that the world’s economy is linked to the health of the U.S. economy. “In spite of the twists and turns, I believe the United States will tide over the crisis and difficulties,” he said.
Rand Paul Calls Jack Conway on Flip-Flopping
Fox News Sunday hosted a debate for Kentucky Senate candidates Jack Conway and Rand Paul, where Paul grilled Conway on his seemingly changed position on the Bush tax cuts. While Conway maintained he hasn’t changed his position, Paul (loudly) disagreed.